Inkerbell

Watching the @DisneyLorcana livestream yesterday, I was blown away by the community outcry for a Judge Program. I couldn't believe how many people were so passionate about it. I think some people are missing why this community reaction is happening. First, without such a program, it will be impossible for there to be a larger official tournament schedule that allows significantly more attendees. You need a steady supply of new, trained staff. Second, people are looking for community leaders that aren't employees of the publisher. @RavensburgerNA (RB) did a great job with this production. The new announcement structure and commitment to frequent communication was really encouraging, as was the quality of the show. But the biggest thing that stood out to me was the complete lack of accountability. They should have apologized for their complete failure to hire adequately and plan appropriately, which resulted in the community being locked out of the first-ever World Championship. Instead, they blamed the community for reacting too positively, too quickly. How hard is it to say: "We messed up. We're sorry. Here's how we're going to avoid this in the future."? I feel bad that the news leaked early, and I feel terrible for the RB staff that worked on the announcement and had this happen to them. But maybe the fact that an internal collaborator was willing to leak something like this, for the first time ever, points to a growing sense of dissatisfaction with leadership and loss of confidence in their direction. Earlier this year, at the exact same time RB was making a website post committing to transparency in organized play, they were simultaneously signing Worlds-qualified players to non-disclosure agreements so that the public wouldn't find out that the event would be invite-only. Similarly, they must have known set rotation was coming for months, if not a year or more. It was obviously inevitable. They chose to conceal this from consumers buying any of the past 8 sets so they wouldn't hold back their spending. And of course, a Judge Program was announced to be forthcoming even before the game and its rules were released. People threw themselves into studying the game rules and educating players on a daily basis. Almost 2 years later, not only has nothing been released, but now they refuse to even say the word 'Judge' publicly. Yesterday they censored the Twitch chat when fans wouldn't drop the subject. It's a shame that the publisher of Disney Lorcana will not even acknowledge the Judges and event staff that helped make the first year of the game successful. A lot of focus is on players and content creators, and they are important. But the total abandonment of Judges has left a hole in the community-- one that RB created by inducing people to commit themselves to this role. On a personal level, I feel guilty for my part in encouraging people to devote their time and talent to becoming Judges. I am sorry that I trusted RB so thoroughly and took them at their word. They won't say it, so I will: Judges, you matter. For all those who worked on the events, you made a huge difference in the success of the first year of the game. Thank you. Virtually everyone in the community agrees. Look, I know that people are tired of the subject. I get it. We all want to move on to happier times and more positive subjects. But there has been a justifiable, major loss of public trust in the team running the game. And they need to earn it back. It's great that Ravensburger has committed to better communication about Disney Lorcana. But if this game is going to succeed, those words will need to be followed by actions. The honeymoon phase of the game is over. It's time for the next chapter to begin.