Common games, not so common names

We're created a way to standard the game names users enter so that we're not calling the same game by different names.  Think MTG vs. Magic vs. Magic: The Gathering, all 3 very different names for the same game.

I play all kinds of games.  Someone asked me what was my favorite game, and my answer was: "The one I don't mind losing". No on really WANTS to lose, but sometimes it just happens.

But the core of Game Rustlers, isn't about playing games, we assume you do that, but more about getting gamers together to play.  But to play what?

One of my favorite games is Settlers of Catan, I know it's pretty popular amongst our readers too.  But you might not be aware that they just changed the name, to simply "Settlers".  So what do we call it when making a reservation?

Settlers?
Settlers of Catan?
That Settlers game
Sets (No, that's a very different game)

Or lets take another example, Star Wars.

Are you playing the RPG?  One of the many fine miniature games from FantasyFlight Games? Be more specific!

Actually, you really don't have to be any more. Just start typing the name and if it's in our database, the name will come up for you.  Just like that, now it's even easier to find gamers at 2am that want to play your favorite game of... whatever the name is.

On the account page, click the "SCHEDULE GAME" button and you'll see what I'm talking about.

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Email reservation list

New Feature!

Email the list of players who have reservations for your game to any email address, even those who aren't members of Game Rustlers.

As I'm sure you know, we use Twitter to verify and validate our users.  They handle all of the passwords and such, so we don't have to but also so you know all your information is held securely. We hear about data breaches almost weekly, so no need to add another place where bad people can grab our data.

But that makes a problem.  If you're on your phone, managing your seat reservations, what if you want someone else to help you out?  Or if you're running games on multiple tables?

Now you send the list by email to anyone who is helping you.  This is great for two man demos as well as large game publishers with multiple tables.

All you have to do is click on "Edit Games" and you will be presented with a list of games that are associated with your Game Rustlers account, click on "Details", which shows all of the information you entered when you created this game listing.

The last button in the Detail section is the email button.  Fill out the field next to the button with a valid email address, and then click "Email Guest List".

Just like that, you've sent the complete guest list, which includes those with reservations as well as those on the waiting list.  This is really handy when you need to find a player when someone who has a reservation misses the start of the game.

The email includes, the name of the game, date and time, in subject line.  That makes it easy to distinguish one email from another.   The body of the email includes the location of the game, and both the reservation and waiting lists.

We hope you enjoy this new feature and make use of it often.

-Mac

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What Find My Game does for you

I will admit it, I get lost easy.  I long since removed that gene in the male mind that is scared, or to egotistical, to ask for directions.  I'd rather some stranger think I'm nuts, than arrive late or miss an event because of ego.

But I know that's just me.

I've been to GenCon several times and what I found frustrating, was asking people where Purple 540 was, and told be the expert guides, two different directions.  We arrived late to the game, and as a consequence, we were allotted the poor end of the Mechs for the game of MechWarrior minutes we'd signed up for.

I maintain that had we gotten the cooler Mechs we might have enjoyed the game more.  Showing up late, even a tiny 5 minutes, changed the gaming experience for us.

There had to be a better way.

Along came Game Rustlers and while the original motivation behind it was to secure seats to game demos, and to find players for games at 2AM, it didn't even occur to me that it could be used to solve an even more common issue.  My issue with arriving late.

So I added the feature to the backlog. Now all you have to do is sign in to the site, reserve a seat and poof, you'll be able to find the game.  The cool wrinkle is that even if you don't reserve a seat, you can add it to your game list so you can find it.

Some conventions sell tickets to games, like GenCon, so they don't need the reservation system that game Rustlers offers, but you still need to find the game!  By adding a game to your watch list, you can get the GPS location from where you're standing, directly to the table where the game is being played.

Now lucky for you, the GPS display is NOT like the unit here.  As much as it uses the same data, the display is a lot more user friendly.

We tap into Google Maps, and assuming that you're walking.  It's not dynamic, so it will take a snapshot of where you are currently standing.  It will not update as you move.

Ask me nice and maybe I'll add that feature.

Right now I'm assuming that if you are walking, you can find it with just the one map.  But, if you get lost, you can ALWAYS ask for an updated map.

See what I did there, asked for directions again.

I hope you enjoy this feature and use it often.  If you show up for one of MY games late, that's the first question I'll ask you... "Didn't you use Find My Game?"

And if you see me walking around, feel free to share your MechWarrior stories.  I don't get to play and sometimes, I am very jealous of those that do.

You can sign up for Game Rustlers and find your games!

Check out the huge list of games we're backing in our Kickstarter Round Up, we do Previews, Reviews and we're starting video play-throughs soon.

See ya there!

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Find Your Game

All great problems start with a pain point.  They're expressed different ways: "I can't stand it when...", "It's a problem every time...", "It stops me from XXXX, every time".  One of my pain points has always been, finding my game at a convention.

It could be GenCon with 610,00 people.

Or

It could be a smaller local convention, 300 people.

No matter the size of the convention, it's just not always easy to find where the game you signed up for is being played. And since you know you have a small window of time to get there, getting lost isn't an option.

Boy have I been there!

That's why we added "Find My Game" to Game Rustlers.  On your phone, go to the site, scroll down to your list of games where you have reservations, press FIND MY GAME, and voila, a Google Maps window appears showing the exact path from where you're standing to the location of the table.

This is also handy when you're going to a publishers game demo table.  Sometimes it's at their booth, and sometimes it's in the open gaming... or someplace else.  No matter which room it's in, if the host of the game has set the location, Game Rustlers can help you find it.

Here's a sample map:


 If you click the blue destination marker, not now, you'll get the day and time stamp you see here.  Also, when the map is created, it adds the name of the game to the title.

I have to tell you, that looks like a long walk.

This great new feature is available right now.  I kid you not, I mean it's live and working.

If you get lost along the way, you can always press that FIND MY GAME button again and it will make a new map.


Not that you have any problem asking for directions...

You can find this feature on our main page. Or head over there right now! 

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