Gaming Clubs

[RaFon]

Does anyone out there belong to a gaming club?

How does it work? What do you do? Do you have meetings? By-laws? Been kicking around the idea of starting one and curious about others? Let me know...what you know.

Thanks!

[Madclaw]

I was in one in college. Ironically enough we were the largest group on campus, not counting greek life since technically they're were all treated as one group by student senate. We had by-laws and rules and weekly meetings every Friday at 6:18. We also had regular events through out the year. Was a lot of fun. Best part was that alumni living in the area were also still active in the club. I wish I was still living in the area so I could be one of these awesome alums but still, made college great.

[Mandisa]

As far as what to actually do at meetings, the anime club I run has spun-off a monthly gaming meetup where we run a pickup D&D game in parallel with whatever people bring that month. The D&D game has an ongoing storyline with a framing concept of a guildhall, and the DM brings pre-gens for the new folks who drop in. The non-D&D offerings run the gamut from European games like Settlers of Catan, to classic board games like Checkers or Monopoly, to card games like Munchkin or Uno. Since we're anime fans, some folks have brought anime-themed games, and we've run some Asian games like go and mahjong.

You just have to make sure there's someone who can teach the game, and maybe a selection of different 'sizes' of games - games for 2, 4, or 6 players - since you'll have a varying number of people looking to play. We like to always have the Uno or Munchkin deck handy since they scale well and are easy to learn. Kind of the same approach applies to RPGs as well, since you have to have one or more DMs who can teach newcomers and accommodate tables of varying numbers & skill/familiarity levels.

There are a few different approaches to setting up a group depending on the kind of area you live in, and the target group demographic.

If you're looking at school-age folks (young, high school, or college), then your best bet would be to try to organize through a school. Preferably one that you're affiliated with (student, parent, staff/faculty, or an alum), and that's both accessible to nearby residents and that allows you to reserve space on campus (for free, or out of dues). If you're doing a club at a school, there are usually set rules for things like officers, by-laws, and available meeting times/frequency. Post flyers, participate in club fairs, get the word out, maybe group together with other 'geek interest' clubs for social events to gain awareness.

If you're looking at adults, then things get a bit more difficult. You've got to find a place to play that is accessible (this may mean free/cheap parking), has the basic amenities (food, bathrooms, tables/chairs), and is free/cheap to play in. Some gaming/comics stores have this, although the ones with space often use up the prime times (evenings & weekends) for big-draw events. Libraries, colleges, and some restaurants are all potential locales, but it requires some legwork and a fair bit of forwardness.

Marketing for adults also gets a bit loopy, since there's often no central place where potential gamers might congregate - you'll have to be creative, and think of some stores or events where you can post flyers. Try to think beyond the FLGS - bookstores, some hobby shops, video game stores, maybe the local kiddie league games, if you're a parent. You really can't tell who might be interested by just looking/guessing. Good luck!

[MendedWall12]

This is a topic very near and dear to my heart. It is, in fact, how I got back into gaming after a long hiatus. As Mandisa said, it helps to be affiliated with some organization that facilitates other clubs. Thankfully, as a teacher in a high school, that was easy. However, one of the blessings/curses that I have is that the club is not "officially sanctioned" by the school. In order to be "official" we would have to present a synopsis and plan to the board, and we've never really had enough participation (which actually I'm thankful for) to warrant the work involved with that. So really our "club" is nothing more than a loose group of kids who love gaming, and myself as a volunteer adviser (<---read: the GM). This makes it easy to run because we don't have by-laws, we don't have officers, and we can schedule meetings when it works for the majority of the participants. Of course, this also means that we cannot fund-raise, or charge membership fees--which would be nice in order to supply things we need, as it is I've been emptying my pocketbook at the FLGS and on various RPG shopping sites (Paizo included of course).

Now for the recommendation: Do it! If you even have an inkling that there would be enough interest and you can support the interest with your enthusiasm, and or perhaps-pocketbook, I highly recommend it. I started our club over four years ago, and I have had a great deal of fun every year since.

Also, one sidenote: we only play Pathfinder. :)

[Mandisa]

MendedWall12 wrote:

However, one of the blessings/curses that I have is that the club is not "officially sanctioned" by the school. In order to be "official" we would have to present a synopsis and plan to the board, and we've never really had enough participation (which actually I'm thankful for) to warrant the work involved with that. So really our "club" is nothing more than a loose group of kids who love gaming, and myself as a volunteer adviser (<---read: the GM). This makes it easy to run because we don't have by-laws, we don't have officers, and we can schedule meetings when it works for the majority of the participants. Of course, this also means that we cannot fund-raise, or charge membership fees--which would be nice in order to supply things we need, as it is I've been emptying my pocketbook at the FLGS and on various RPG shopping sites (Paizo included of course).

A good friend of mine is a H.S. math teacher and he started an anime club for students, and from what he's said over the years, it might be worthwhile to go ahead and do the paperwork. The usefulness of fundraising is definitely not to be underestimated, even if it just provides a 'kitty' for incidentals like materials or niceties like refreshments. I'm not sure what my friend's relationship is like with the parents & school admins (we're in NYC, and I was once a HS teacher - we don't get to have much tête-à-tête with parents, and the less said about NYC school administration the better). But if you're in a friendlier district, you might be able to get a fair amount of local support for things like game days or day trips to local conventions.

I remember a few years back here on the Paizo forums there was a guy doing a drive for used & donated materials (books & dice, mainly) for school gaming clubs, IIRC it was very successful. Even if you just do a local drive for book money, having that stamp of officialness is handy.

That's actually one of the drawbacks of running an unaffiliated club for adults - everything comes out of pocket, although at least everyone can contribute a little. We've been able to support our own video equipment needs and host regular social events just on group contributions. But that's still backed by regular marketing efforts and really working at building/maintaining a community spirit among old & new members - sweat equity.