TOPIC: Golden Ticket Suggestion

I don't know what happens behind the screen at True Adventures when they insert the Golden Tickets but they have always said every pack has a chance to win a GT, and condensed orders have the same chance as single packs. I believe this to be true because while many 8K orders do get them some do not. Also, every year you hear about some that come from a lucky pull from some random pack. If every pack has a chance then buying more packs gives you more chance to pull one. But it is certainly not a guarantee.

Generally, I like to see new ideas. I still do. In this case, I just don't feel like the process is broken. Would newer players like to win a GT. Sure. I'd like to win the lottery too, but I guess I need to buy a lottery ticket first.

Perhaps rather than changing systems (that people seem very passionate about), add something else in.
I am just gonna take what Dave mentioned very literally, perhaps TPTB can just create a new player lottery. Add in a GT or two, URs, Rares and give players a raffle ticket. Don't know what denotes a new player, but just add a lottery ticket in the standard TD ticket purchase as a new player bonus.

Please remember that the majority of TD players are not on the forums and don't participate in the auctions. For them, they see the store on the web site and look at what they can afford to buy. It feels like nobody does $250 order since forumites tend to opt for auction buys instead but they are still pretty common. I've never heard stats on the 10 pack orders from the site but I know they do a brisk business of them at conventions where those are sold.

This year is a special case where the number of GT's was increased from the 60 (for the past several years then 80 to include GHC this year) to 100. With more GT's available, it is a great opportunity to try and put some in the hands of newer players. Doing so for the extra 40 tickets in no way makes things worse than they were last year for everyone else (excluding the platinum GHC) and for the past several years.

It used to be possible to pull a GT from a 10 pack. I'm not certain that is possible anymore. I know the GT's are segregated from certain packs. I recall them being available in regular 10 packs and being pulled at GenCon many years ago - unfortunately meaning they couldn't use the ticket since the event had already happened. It would have made sense to pull those from 10 packs that would be distributed at GenCon.

I have two suggestions.
1. For the extra 40 tickets being made available - make them available to a much broader audience. Possibly distribute them differently. This could be by over-seeding 250 orders or putting them in 10 packs or other mechanisms. Maybe it is something like a lottery or part of some other promotion. Vets could get them as well but by having the audience being being larger than just forum users and 8k buyers, it makes it more likely we'd see some new faces.
2. The current trend in the auction economy is moving towards a small number of people accounting for most 8K orders (a much higher centralization of the orders than in the past.) The number of auctions has increased pretty dramatically. This is a pretty radical change from when the GT run concept was initially created. I don't have a firm solution to keeping the GT's diversified, though. Increasingly they are becoming a $1K commodity sold by a handful of people and bought by those able to drop a grand for an event (maybe less than 1K this year with more tickets available.)

Keep in mind, I'm suggesting this as someone who put in 8K orders myself this year already and can afford to buy a ticket if I don't draw them in my orders. I'm definitely in the minority on that front, though. I think this year presents opportunities with the extra tickets. I'd like to see them in the hands of newer people rather than just be an expensive commodity to buy.

Looking through the participants from last year (including those who sold their tickets), I saw 3 of the 80 slots that weren't forum regulars (I believe 5-7 were unclaimed as well.) At least one of those newer players/non forum regulars bought their ticket from someone running auctions for the GHC runs. If you assume 2 more gave their tickets to someone else, that would give us 4-5 total newer people out of 80. There is an opportunity this year for more than 5%-6% of the GT slots to go to a broader audience of players without harming anyone else in the process.

Fred

Fred K wrote: Please remember that the majority of TD players are not on the forums and don't participate in the auctions. For them, they see the store on the web site and look at what they can afford to buy. It feels like nobody does $250 order since forumites tend to opt for auction buys instead but they are still pretty common. I've never heard stats on the 10 pack orders from the site but I know they do a brisk business of them at conventions where those are sold.

This year is a special case where the number of GT's was increased from the 60 (for the past several years then 80 to include GHC this year) to 100. With more GT's available, it is a great opportunity to try and put some in the hands of newer players. Doing so for the extra 40 tickets in no way makes things worse than they were last year for everyone else (excluding the platinum GHC) and for the past several years.

It used to be possible to pull a GT from a 10 pack. I'm not certain that is possible anymore. I know the GT's are segregated from certain packs. I recall them being available in regular 10 packs and being pulled at GenCon many years ago - unfortunately meaning they couldn't use the ticket since the event had already happened. It would have made sense to pull those from 10 packs that would be distributed at GenCon.

I have two suggestions.
1. For the extra 40 tickets being made available - make them available to a much broader audience. Possibly distribute them differently. This could be by over-seeding 250 orders or putting them in 10 packs or other mechanisms. Maybe it is something like a lottery or part of some other promotion. Vets could get them as well but by having the audience being being larger than just forum users and 8k buyers, it makes it more likely we'd see some new faces.
2. The current trend in the auction economy is moving towards a small number of people accounting for most 8K orders (a much higher centralization of the orders than in the past.) The number of auctions has increased pretty dramatically. This is a pretty radical change from when the GT run concept was initially created. I don't have a firm solution to keeping the GT's diversified, though. Increasingly they are becoming a $1K commodity sold by a handful of people and bought by those able to drop a grand for an event (maybe less than 1K this year with more tickets available.)

Keep in mind, I'm suggesting this as someone who put in 8K orders myself this year already and can afford to buy a ticket if I don't draw them in my orders. I'm definitely in the minority on that front, though. I think this year presents opportunities with the extra tickets. I'd like to see them in the hands of newer people rather than just be an expensive commodity to buy.

Looking through the participants from last year (including those who sold their tickets), I saw 3 of the 80 slots that weren't forum regulars (I believe 5-7 were unclaimed as well.) At least one of those newer players/non forum regulars bought their ticket from someone running auctions for the GHC runs. If you assume 2 more gave their tickets to someone else, that would give us 4-5 total newer people out of 80. There is an opportunity this year for more than 5%-6% of the GT slots to go to a broader audience of players without harming anyone else in the process.

Fred

How do you distinguish someone being a new player and being a forum regular? Where do I fall? I started in August of this year but I'm pretty active. I think if you want them to have a higher chance to get in the hands of new players you'd put a percent into the 10 packs that are bought with VTD ticket sales.

I know for a fact that's how at least one person got his for GHC. I believe they also sold it afterwards however. It might be that the people who are getting the GTs and are new players are seeing how much they can sell them for and taking that option instead as well.

You could always make GTs Soulforged and track them when they get sent out.....

I'm new. Played once in '18 and died on normal. Covid, divorce, kids...now 2022. I jumped in feet first at Gencon this year and was lucky to get to run each of 3 adventures. I'm currently running the VTD b series on normal to feel it out. Anyways, as a single father who doesn't make a lot (overtime pays for this game), I can only afford the $250 option once a month or so. I happened to pull a GHC GT but couldn't afford to attend and sold it , giving 10% to charity (the rest covered Gencon). I was surprised to get one. Someday I may be able to actually attend one. I apologise for rambling...not sure if I even had a point but at work typing this

Fred K wrote: There is an opportunity this year for more than 5%-6% of the GT slots to go to a broader audience of players without harming anyone else in the process.

Except that people have already made purchasing decisions based on how things have already been advertised.

If you wanted to suggest an alternative distribution method of GTs for a future year, you might get at least a little less pushback. But the time to push for a change is BEFORE token preorders start for the year. At this point it seems likely a couple hundred thousand $ has been spent based on how the GTs have been advertised. Do you actually expect people to support changing it for this year?

Fiddy wrote:

Fred K wrote: There is an opportunity this year for more than 5%-6% of the GT slots to go to a broader audience of players without harming anyone else in the process.

Except that people have already made purchasing decisions based on how things have already been advertised.

If you wanted to suggest an alternative distribution method of GTs for a future year, you might get at least a little less pushback. But the time to push for a change is BEFORE token preorders start for the year. At this point it seems likely a couple hundred thousand $ has been spent based on how the GTs have been advertised. Do you actually expect people to support changing it for this year?

Fiddy - that wouldn't apply to the addition 40 GT's because those were announced after pre-sales were set. The extra 40 tickets have never been promised to be part of the regular distribution.

10 packs might make more sense than $250 orders. I do worry on a 10 pack that the ticket might be discarded, though.

Fred

Fred K wrote:

Fiddy wrote:

Fred K wrote: There is an opportunity this year for more than 5%-6% of the GT slots to go to a broader audience of players without harming anyone else in the process.

Except that people have already made purchasing decisions based on how things have already been advertised.

If you wanted to suggest an alternative distribution method of GTs for a future year, you might get at least a little less pushback. But the time to push for a change is BEFORE token preorders start for the year. At this point it seems likely a couple hundred thousand $ has been spent based on how the GTs have been advertised. Do you actually expect people to support changing it for this year?

Fiddy - that wouldn't apply to the addition 40 GT's because those were announced after pre-sales were set. The extra 40 tickets have never been promised to be part of the regular distribution.

10 packs might make more sense than $250 orders. I do worry on a 10 pack that the ticket might be discarded, though.

Fred

You definitely read things differently than I do then.

From the 2023 tokens page ( truedungeon.com/2023-tokens ):

We randomly inserted 100 special Golden Ticket tokens into the 2023 token collection.

These definitely sound like the extras have already been promised to be in the regular distribution.

Fred K wrote:
Fiddy - that wouldn't apply to the addition 40 GT's because those were announced after pre-sales were set. The extra 40 tickets have never been promised to be part of the regular distribution.

10 packs might make more sense than $250 orders. I do worry on a 10 pack that the ticket might be discarded, though.

Fred

There were 4-5 that went unclaimed at GHC for run 1 that I could tell. Who's to say that the new players who got them had no idea about them and they are still sitting in a box?

If a 10 pack has a 1/10000 chance of hitting a GT. Then a 8k order should have an equal chance based on the amount of 10 packs that are included in an 8k or 800/10000. If they are seeded in 10 packs couldn't I just get an uncondensed 8k at that point as well for higher GT chances?

This thread should have never been started. From the TD Token page underneath both the 1K and 8K order options is this note:

*Golden Ticket: The chance to get a Golden Ticket is the exact same chance you would have with a regular token purchase.

And Fred you mention in your first post the vast majority of GT's are pulled from 8K orders. This is just your assumption but your probably correct. If you buy 8K worth of Tokens you are going to have a better chance of winning one then if you just buy a 10 pack.

And by the way, I pulled a GT from a 10 pack this year.

I think the assumption that 8k orders have more than the normal distribution is false. I would say they have there fair share.