Lets talk about the BIG PINK 3000 lb. gorilla bouncing about the room flinging fireballs.
As everyone is WELL aware COVID-19 (or the Wuhan Coronavirus) is causing major disruptions throughout the world. Every sector of society is being affected and we are NO different.
Recent announcements by Wizards of the Coast and Konami cancelling all of their events for the foreseeable future, sent many of us reeling although we weren’t really shocked by the news.
I, for one, am happy that they are taking this seriously and thinking about the player base and their safety. NO ONE wants to catch this nasty little bug especially for nothing more than playing a game. Sadly there are drawbacks for many of us though.
The gaming community has always been a very social group, reveling in gathering together and pitting our deck building skills against one another from an LGS (local game store) level all the way up to a world championship level. It brings us together in common interest and friendship no matter what your particular game of choice may be.
For a good portion of us the gaming community is more like a family rather than a smattering of random people gathering together. We tend to be a bit awkward and introverted and these gathering spaces at our LGS’s provide us that safe social interaction many of us need and crave.
This new “Social Distancing” is really hurting our community as our LGS’s are being forced to cancel tournaments and close play areas to limit the spread of this exceptionally contagious virus. This not only takes away our social interaction with one another but also threatens the existence of our LGS’s.
Without the income from players buying product, card singles, paying tournament fees, buying snacks, ect… these stores will be taking a MAJOR hit, and some may be forced to close their doors for good meaning a PERMANANT loss for our community.
Lets hope this crisis abates quickly for EVERYONE’s sake. We will endure. We will survive.
Keep up your theory crafting & brewing and Stay Safe Everyone!
