1. Know who your target audience is. Its not fly-by-nighters. Its those who take their gaming a little more seriously than others. Someone said "This is chess, not checkers". Very apt. Make it clear in game listings, reviews etc that the game is NOT easy but fulfilling in the long run. Don't kid yourself telling others there's a "slight" learning curve. Use descriptions like "challenging".

Below is an excerpt from the last ad we ran. Do you think it fits those criteria?

- We're tough. Not tough as in "It takes 500 hours of mashing the same two kinds of goblins to build a character who is any good at anything." Tough as in our areas and rules encourage fierce competition. Many items exist in finite numbers, and if you want that shiny sword over there, you might just have to rip it out of another player's cold, dead hands. Tough as in the mind-hurting twists and puzzles of Kteng's Laboratory or Nyathl Ikalith, the Silent Tower, some of which have been in for years without any player fully unlocking the innermost secrets. Tough as in you won't be fighting NPCs who are just skill-less tackling dummies outside of the first few newbie areas. Tough as in we show cheaters the door. Tough as in you'll look up from your screen, realize you've been with us for a year, and still be baffled at all the facets of the game you haven't experienced or mastered yet. Tough as in two seconds to think is often one more than you had.

- We welcome new players. We have a specific newbie channel for helping you learn the ropes, and a custom Academy area with dozens of small quests to help teach you the game. 1400+ help files and a staff that knows exactly which one to point you to when you're having trouble. A website with tons of frequently updated information and a forum specifically for helping new players get over the initial hurdles. You'll still die a lot (see "We're tough.", above), and we won't spoon-feed you, but you'll learn a little more each time until you're the one they're running from. If it was easy, it'd be boring, you know.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com