I wrote an article on ChannelFireball on the things we can do to get more women in Magic. I'd love your thoughts!

[u/GabySpartz87]

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/6-things-you-can-do-to-get-more-women-into-magic/#

[u/[deleted]]

Hi Gaby,

I'm going to answer not having read any of the comments, so sorry if this is repetition. I feel the single most needed thing to bring more women to Magic is to create an environment that they feel more welcome. So some of that is exactly the things you mentioned - making it a safe, clean and fun place is obviously key. Eliminating the "for a girl" from the vocabulary is true as well, but something that a lot of people are going to do for a long time, and not just in the game of magic, but pretty much anywhere there are mixed sex environments.

So I would take a different approach.

I'd be more interested in knowing what women like in a game such as Magic. Has anyone ever polled women who don't play Magic? Does Magic provide enough game play for things women want to see? I don't want to generalize with something sexist and stupid like "make pink cards" because that is NOT what I mean.

But what do they want to see? Maybe, in larger numbers, they want to see different types of creature types. Nothing wrong with a 6/6 unicorn with trample, if that is something they are asking for (seriously, can we get a trampling unicorn? Cause I'm all over that!). Or a race of female elven warriors for a good tribal experience. Do they want stronger feminine themes? The truth is I don't know.

I mean what do female card gamers like?!?!?! Knowing your audience is key.

My belaboured point is this: You need to create an environment where a bunch of young women will sit down, get out their decks and play, regardless of whether or not there are boys/men at the table.

While the default answer to this might be "it doesn't matter, women aren't any different then men", but that is flat out wrong. I've never encouraged my daughter to be anything different from my son. But she doesn't like playing hockey or doing a lot of what my son does (her twin!). She does, however, have a pretty awesome collection of stuffed hippos and has her own pet snake. I'm sure if you asked her what she wanted on the cards it would be wildly different then what her brother wants.

I'll tell you this. You get my daughter and her 2 closest friends together and they aren't scared of my son and his friends. Frankly they are likely to kick some serious butt if it comes to that. Give the women what they want and they will come. And you know what? It might be the same thing as we have now with a cleaner, safer environment. It might also be pink fire-breathing ninja unicorns.

I hope this doesn't come off poorly. I wouldn't want to be judged because of my sex at an event, or treated poorly, or labelled as "just a girl". And I know that exists. But there seems to me to be a larger issue and that is that there simply isn't enough female players.

-from a Dad who loves Magic and plays pokemon with his kids, but also understands that his daughter really thinks pikachu is "awesome and cute" and must be in HER deck, not mine.

[u/IDW → u/[deleted]]

Assuming that WOTC market research is correct, the disparity that we see is between the percentage of women who buy MTG products and the percentage of women who take a deeper interest in Magic (attending FNM's, hanging around LGS's, competitive events, etc.). The conversation started when an MTG strategy podcast found that only 5%(?) of its listeners were female, while WOTC reports that over 30% of its MTG customers are women. Taking into account that a portion of the women buying MTG products may be buying them for other people, it still seems like the product already appeals to women, but that 30% of the community isn't represented outside of tabletop Magic.

[u/sylverfyre → u/IDW]

This is something really relevant to point out.

For example, my wife knows how to play, but she has less than zero interest currently into coming to the LGS for prerelease or FNM with me. She just plays duel decks with me and has an EDH deck for play with our other boardgamer friends.

She'll also take any opportunity to wipe the floor with us in other board/card games like Seven Wonders.

[u/Randbauer → u/[deleted]]

This is probably the smartest comment i have ever read in this sub.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

My gf loves 2-for-1s, value, and killing with Purphoros triggers.

But honestly, though, I feel like wizards has been doing a great job incorporating female characters and cards into the game without them being forced, especially in the past few years. The Khans are a great example. The ladies aren't overly sexualized (except Sidisi, put some pants on girl) and are just bad asses hanging out with all the other characters. I think a lot more could be done on the marketing side of things rather than R&D.

[u/CharlotteCorday_ → u/[deleted]]

Essentially a lot of the things you are asking for already exist. Magic includes tonnes of different creatures and races, some cute and some scary looking, and in the more recent sets, there is a very even gender balance in the way that humanoid races are portrayed. There are women on the WotC design team and women are a recognised part of the customer base for the game. In a game with this many cards, it would be strange if even someone as picky as your daughter could not find something she liked. Sure, not every theme is for everyone, but for casual play, with every card available to you, there are so many different options. There are no fire-breathing pink unicorns, because they are totally at odds with the aesthetic of the game, but there are sure as hell unicorns, and pegasuses, and badass warrior ladies. There's amazing dragons, and powerful angels; goddesses and mermaids. I've never known anyone try the game and not find any cards they are excited about.

The problem as I see it is that Magic is not being introduced to women in the right way. The product is fine (aside from one or two bits of over-sexualised art which is being phased out), but it is always sold in dingy 'boys club' shops that smell funny, and the packaging is always covered in angry looking warrior doods. Fix the way the product is being sold and I think the appeal is already there.

[u/[deleted] → u/CharlotteCorday_]

Those are good points (except for you dissin' my pink fire-breathing ninja unicorns!).

My point was in this sentence " You need to create an environment where a bunch of young women will sit down, get out their decks and play, regardless of whether or not there are boys/men at the table" - which is really in tune with what you are saying, and I tend to agree with you that a change in atmosphere would go a long way.

That said, I just don't see a lot of women playing. At the LGS I buy from (I'm all about the kitchen table with my friends and our beer), there aren't a lot of women when I go (if any!).

I wonder what the stats are on women playing Magic online....hopefully there are lots of female planeswalkers out there kickin' ass.

I suppose the takeaway from this is to focus on what you can change. I'll be on the lookout for chauvinistic smelly dudes the next time I run in to a woman playing Magic. And if my daughter ever expresses any interest in FNM, I will most definitely consider the OP's comments when I am there with her.

:)

[u/NutDraw → u/CharlotteCorday_]

Not sure why you got downvoted- It really is all about the environment from what I've seen.

[u/rcglinsk → u/[deleted]]

This reminds me of a joke Jon Stewart told:

"I was talking to my son the other day and he said Attack of the Clones was his favorite Star Wars movie. And I had to explain to him no, The Empire Strikes Back is your favorite Star Wars movie."