S133arcanite Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I'm hoping to start a gaming club (based in Oxfordshire, if you are interested), but I wanted to check what the prefered style was. Campaigns? Narrative? Beautiful scenery? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronWilson Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 I mean I think the most important thing is the community you have, I'd come back if the people around me were worth coming back for above and beyond anything. Scenery, etc etc can all be bought and built up over time, I don't think it's fair to expect a new club to have WHW level tables. Slow grow / escalation leagues are great to get new players / build a player base for a new system. Narrative campaigns work beautifully to bond a community of players and allows them to divulge in the story of said games. Leagues are good for more competitive groups, you get banter thrown about about who will win etc and it keeps regular games. A good example is locally we have a narrative Horus Heresy campaign going on and a yearly Bloodbowl league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroccoliBoy Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Personally I'm a fan of competitive play so a community of like minded gamers would be a big thing for me. Out of curiosity where about in Oxfordshire? I'm High Wycombe based and its been a bit of a struggle to find a club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuneBrush Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Personal opinion - scenery, tables & drinks*. A gaming club is about facilitating games rather than organising them - although you'll likely need to arrange a few initially. The local club I play at literally provides a hall, a load of folding tables, some 6x4 sheets of chipboard (a green one if you're there early enough) and a really random selection of scenery for various game scales. The people coming tend to organise what games we want to play on the club Facebook page and on here through messenger. If a few people have got a tournament coming up then we might arrange a 2k matched play game, if we're just wanting to have a laugh it might be a series of linked skirmish games with custom battleplan. This generally ensures that if somebody wants a game of a particular type, then they can find one. * toilets are also pretty mandatory * chocolate bars are also quite nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalesOfSigmar Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Pretty much what the guys are saying above. If you want more details on starting a club we covered it in one of our episodes recently talking about how I started Newcastle Warlords. https://www.talesofsigmar.co.uk/2018/03/episode-25-how-to-start-gaming-club.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrZakalwe Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Proximity and players- aside from that all is dust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperHappyTime Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Proximity is number one, especially if there isn’t any other options. It probably affects what game you play too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick in York Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 In my local area, I just want one where some people play AoS. Or at least are not openly hostile to it. Went along to a local Wargames Club recently to check it out. Was given a fantastically warm welcome by several of the members and was invited to join in with a modern warfare game. They even asked around to see if anyone there would be interested in playing AoS in future. One guy said he played AoS and then spent about 20 mins lecturing me on how bad it is and that I should play Warmachine as that is much better. I've not been back since as I left feeling that it wasn't the place for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanger Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 In order of importance: - community - staff - available tables & enough scenery - focus Let me elaborate. 1# Community: if there are no people I can play with, then why go to that place? Also I like to interact with others, talk about the hobby, interests, both in the club and outside. Form friendships. 2# Staff: the staff should be friendly, presentable and know their stuff. I went to a couple of places where the staff was less than welcoming or were just occupied with the regulars. In my subjective experience, where the staff wasn't very open/friendly, the regulars tended to be closed and now welcome any newbies either. What do I mean by presentable? Personal hygiene. As mentioned before, the staff should be a role model to the regulars. Also it's good if they know their stuff. 3# I think this is obvious. It should be clear how tables are reserved, if there are any events and the place is closed, etc. Also there should be enough scenery for the game types played. 4# I don't like clubs that try to have too host too many game types. It usually means that the players get diluted and you can't find people for any given game or you play the same people everytime. In my experience 2 major game systems are manageable, with maybe thematic nights for other systems. +1 Better have an idea how you want to solve drinks and food. First and foremost a club should provide a place for gaming and help in getting people of the same interest together. I think most people can decide for themselves what type of games they want to play. If you really want to get into organizing, then remember: you cannot make everyone happy. Know your regulars, what most of them want and host events to them. Don't be afraid, to come up with limitations. Be clear in your communication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthKnightSteg Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 What I like in a gaming club: Access: several evenings open (not pinned to that 1 night some people just can't come) / a place that is easily to come by by public transportation or bike or even an easy place to park your car. Events: hosts some events like local tournaments Community is important but not really a factor you can control easily, but will need some guidelines on behaviour. Food / Drink availability if not in the club itself then nearby facilities. Enough play room for setting up tables / boards. and walking around it with some seats. As an event you could also host a Make scenery for the club thing so you get people directly involved in the growth of the club/community (they then also tend to stick around as they feel it's also a bit part of them) Open communication, make sure everything that is needed around the club is communicated to all the members. Get a Facebook Page / whatsapp group or any other means needed. (and mandatory email list) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Veyne Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Players. We are still in a pretty niche hobby so bodies are a bonus. Once you got those, ask what everyone is into a prefers and then go from there. Maybe be a bit more flexible in what you play to encourage others to participate. Most people understand that our player base is limited and sometime they might not get to play their preferred format of game but do it anyway because it means they might get games in return. I always thing a game is better than no game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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