HACK PACK HANDBOOK version 4.0 Wecome to the Kenzer and Company demo team the Hack Pack! This handbook will assist you in running demos for Kenzer and Company games, help you become comfortable in your role as a Hack Packer, and explain to you the benefits of being a Hack Pack member. As a member of the Hack Pack, you have the opportunity to tell the world about Kenzer and Company s current and upcoming games, including D&D: the Kingdoms of Kalamar, HackMaster, Final Days, Tech Support and the Great Space Race! In exchange for running demos, you earn cool Kenzer and Company product credit (more on this later). All that is needed are: 1) A true interest in the product you want to demo 2) A copy of the game, and at least an above average knowledge of its rules 3) Enough free time to plan, setup and run demos. Note that all Hack Pack members are expected to run events regularly. After one (1) year of inactivity, your Hack Pack status will be revoked and you forfeit any credit and experience points you had. If your membership is revoked, you may reapply, but you have to start all over again. Upon being accepted as a Hack Packer, you will receive access to the members-only Hack Pack discussion forums at http://www.kenzerco.com/forums/index.php where you will be able to read Hack Pack announcements and converse with other members. Upon acceptance, please post in the Hack Pack forums and introduce yourself. If you have any questions that cannot be answered by this document, you may email hackpack@kenzerco.com or post on the Hack Pack discussion forums at http://www.kenzerco.com/forums/index.php. REQUESTING DEMO MATERIAL If you need games, books, card decks or other materials for a demo you wish to run, submit a completed Event Proposal form to Kenzer and Company along with your request (as far in advance of the event as possible). You may also submit this info via email to hackpack@kenzerco.com. Keep in mind that Kenzer and Company may not be able to supply you with some materials, and that all materials will arrive labeled as Kenzer and Company s Hack Pack Demo Team material (to avoid resale of this material).
PLANNING YOUR DEMO As an active Hack Packer, you should follow the listed procedures when you decide to host events at a convention, game store or elsewhere. 1) Contact the staff of the convention/retail store/etc., by phone or email. Introduce yourself as a member of the Hack Pack, and get to know the people involved. Ask about the possibility of running game demos at their location, at a day and time that is convenient not only for you but also for the store or convention staff as well. 2) If accepted, submit a completed Event Proposal form to Kenzer and Company, as far in advance of the event as possible. It is not necessary to have your event pre-approved by Kenzer and Company, but please attempt to do so, as it is the only way we can help advertise the event (if possible). 3) Coordinate with the staff of the convention/game store/etc. to advertise your event. This is CRITICAL to achieving good attendance for your demo. Generally, many stores will have a bulletin board where you can post flyers, or may let you print out flyers to leave by the cash register. (The smaller the flyers, the better don t plan on covering their counter with full-sized stacks of printer paper. Try printing half-page or quarterpage sized flyers or bookmarks.) Many stores and conventions also have a web site as a cheap and easy form of advertising. If you have access to the internet, promote the event on newsgroups and discussion forums, as well as elsewhere. 4) Make a call to the convention/store staff approximately one week before the event to make any final plans. PROMOTING YOUR DEMO Promoting a game, especially one that is not currently known or popular in your area, takes time, patience and repetition. It may even mean scheduling several sessions in a row at which few or no persons attend. Keep at it! Gamers love games, and eventually your events will take on a life of their own. Here are some tips for increasing attendance at your events: 1) Ensure that your event is in a visible location, preferably one that is close to the flow of foot traffic. If you re running a demo in the dark corner of your gaming store, of the back corner of a conventoin hall, plelple are less likely to notice it. 2) Set up a visually appealing place to play. If, for example, you are demonstrating a Final Days miniatures battle, then paint up some pewter figures and find some terrain. The better the play area looks, the more likely it is that players will stop by to see what s happening. 3) Bring a friend (or two). Most gamers are naturally attracted to a crowd, and some are uncomfortable with being the only participant in a demo. If you have some friends with you actually playing the game, you increase the chances of attracting more players. 4) Advertise the game. Print out one or more Hack Pack event posters, and place them in prominent locations. Consider putting together a simply flyer containing basic information about the time, place and content of your event.
5) Post your event in the Conventions board on the Kenzer and Company online discussion forums, as well as on other gaming-related web sites that allow such posts. 6) Spread the word. Tell other gamers you know about your event and encourage them to attend. RUNNING YOUR DEMO As fun as it is, remember that you are an ambassador for Kenzer and Company and for the gaming industry as a whole. As such, you should act in professional and responsible manner at all times during events. Here are some tips for running a professional event: 1) Get plenty of sleep the night before you run a demo. Demonstrating a game is significantly more taxing than simply playing it. 2) Dress neatly and practice good hygiene. Don t wear ripped or stained clothing, or clothes with pictures or words that might be considered obscene. 3) Be outgoing and pleasant. Players want to feel welcome at a demo, and an excellent way to accomplish that is to extend courtesy and kindness. 4) Do not bring alcohol, drug or tobacco products to the gaming table. All of these things distract from the real purpose of the event to teach games to new players. 5) Be enthusiastic! Your energy will spill over to the players. 6) Have a thorough knowledge of the game you are demonstrating. Players will quickly lose interest if the demonstrater is fumbling for rules and unable to answer questions. (Asking questions in the Hack Pack discussion forums is a good way to resolve your concerns about a rule before the demo, of course.) Don t forget to record each new player on the Sign In List form, and provide an After Event Evaluation form to the staff of the retail store or convention where you ran your event. The top of the form should be filled out by you. If possible, have the store return the form to Kenzer and Company themselves (very easy if they have a fax machine), so that their feedback will be as accurate as possible. Also let them know that someone from Kenzer and Company will be contacting them to verify the event. BENEFIT: HACK PACK CREDITS Even though playing Kenzer and Company games is a reward in itself, we recognize the critical importance of each and every member of the Hack Pack. Of course, gratitude doesn t get you cool stuff, so we offer you a credit package as well. 1) You earn Hack Pack credits for every demo you run. These credits may be used to purchase Kenzer and Company game products. The credits are good for the price of the product only (you need to pay for any shipping and handling costs, either with your Hack Pack credits or by the usual method of check or credit card). Credits are determined with the following formula: length of demo (in hours) x the number of new players = $. For example, a 3-hour-long HackMaster demo with 4 new players brings you $12.00 in credit. This way, the more players you introduce to the game,
the more credits you earn. Hack Packers continue to earn $1 credit per hour ($2 credit per hour for sessions of four or more consecutive hours) when manning a demo table in between sessions, waiting on players to arrive, etc. (Kenzer and Company may revoke this absentee benefit at any time, and especially if it appears that a Hack Packer is abusing it.). Kenzer and Company will also keep a database recording how many credits you have accumulated, although you should keep track of your own credits as well. 2) For events where multiple Hack Pack members work together to introduce new players to a Kenzer & Company game, credits are divided equally among the demo team members (unless all of the members agree to some other division). For example, if Member A organizes a 4-hour-long Learn To Hack session for six players and Member B helps him run it, they may decide that Member A should get $16 in credits and Member B should get $8 in credits. 3) Note that Kenzer and Company rewards outside of the HackPack do not stack with Hack Pack credits, but are rewarded according to any pre-existing standards for those specific events. For example, Kenzer and Company-sponsored Learn to Hack sessions at large gaming conventions are typically rewarded at a rate of a certain amount of product credit per hour a volunteer works. However, a non- Kenzer and Company-sponsored event would use the standard Hack Pack credit reward system. 4) Furthermore, any new product less than three months (90 days) old, Knights of the Dinner Table subscriptions, or subscriptions to any other Kenzer and Company print (not PDF) periodical, may be ordered using Hack Pack credits, but the value of your credits will be halved. The cost and overhead on subscriptions and mailing is so great that it is impossible to offer subscriptions any other way. For example, if you want to order a 6-month bulk mail KoDT subscription that normally costs $24.00, you will have to spend $48.00 in Hack Pack credits. Kenzer and Company may exclude products from use with Hack Pack credits as they desire (though this usually only occurs with when items are in short supply). BENEFIT: EXPERIENCE POINTS Just like a fantasy knight slaying a dragon or a cleric converting a wayward soul, Hack Pack members earn Experience Points (EPs) for running demo games for new players. Each new player earns you 15 EPs. You earn these EPs only for the first time that the new player plays the game. For example, a new player playing two Tech Support games in a row provides only 15 EPs, not 30 EPs. As with credits (above), the more players you introduce to a Kenzer and Company game, the more EPs you earn. For events where multiple Hack Pack members work together to introduce new players to a Kenzer & Company game, EP are divided equally among the demo team members (unless all of the members agree to some other division). For example, if Member A organizes a Learn To Hack session for six players and Member B helps him run it, they may decide that Member A should get 60 EP and Member B should get 30 EP. Members of the Hack Pack can also earn bonus EPs (40 EP/hour) by working at the Kenzer and Company booth at the annual Origins or GenCon gaming conventions.
As you earn EPs, you advance in level, as shown on Table HP1: Hack Pack Level Advancement. Furthermore, you receive an additional discount to any product you buy with HackPack credits. Table HP1: Hack Pack Level Advancement Title EPs Required Discount Wayward Warrior 0 0% Knight of Drifting 500 10% Rogue Knight 2,000 15% Rogue Knight Master 4,000 15% Knight Errant 10,000 20% True Knight 25,000 25% BENEFIT: DEMO TEAM T-SHIRTS After you become a Knight of Drifting (you have earned at least 500 experience points), you can request Kenzer and Company to send you an official Hack Pack Demo Team t-shirt. This initial t-shirt is FREE your credits will not be deducted for the shirt. (There is also no shipping charge except in the case of foreign or overseas orders.) Be sure to request a specific size of shirt. (Note that Kenzer and Company does not guarantee to have your exact size of t-shirt in stock. If your size is not in stock, Kenzer and Company will send you the closest available size larger if possible, smaller if no larger size is available). However, if you find you need another shirt later (thanks to a blundering coffee stain, for example), you may purchase an additional Hack Pack Demo Team t-shirt for $15.00 in credit (not including shipping and handling cost). Note that our supplies are limited, so please order extra shirts only as needed. BENEFIT (HMA ONLY): UPS POINTS In addition, if you are a member of Kenzer and Company s HackMaster Association (HMA) you also receive UPS points for running HackMaster-specific events. These UPS points have no cash value, but allow you to advance further in the HMA. You must contact the HMA (hma@kenzerco.com) to have your UPS points added to your HMA membership. As with credits (see above), UPS points may not stack with certain KenzerCo-sponsored events. SPENDING YOUR CREDITS When you are ready to place an order using your Hack Pack credits (plus your discount, if any), email hackpack@kenzerco.com with your name, desired shipping address, and a listing of the products you wish to purchase. Once your order is verified, it will be forwarded to Kenzer and Company s customer service. If your current credits do not cover shipping cost, someone will contact you to tell you how much shipping will be and to ask for payment. Do not send any credit card information without being asked, and only to Kenzer and Company customer service staff. Your order will be shipped within approximately 1-2 business weeks.