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Author Topic: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?  (Read 2384 times)

Offline bong-67

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Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« on: July 11, 2018, 09:16:44 AM »
I've been a member of several wargames clubs over the years.  All of them allocate table space on a first come first serve basis and at one time or other all of them have become so busy I've sometimes been unable to get a game on because I usually can't get to the club until later than other members.
Are there any wargames clubs which operate a table booking system?  Is such a thing possible or practical or am I just dreaming?  I think first come first serve is fundamentally unfair where clubs have a large membership or are busy. and it's a real hassle to haul stuff to a club only to find you can't game with it.

Offline robh

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2018, 10:17:30 AM »
A club I used to go to when living in UK had a "reservation" approach to the 2 large table tennis tables which we owned but not to the smaller trestle style tables. So if you wanted to arrange a large multiplayer game you could in advance. It was a discussion amongst friends approach not a formal booking system.

Problem with bookings comes if you don't show up. Having an empty table that is not used when people want to game is poor.  Maybe one of the other players in your game could aim to get there for the start and set up.

Offline bong-67

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2018, 11:16:29 AM »
None of us can get to our club any earlier than about an hour after the club starts so sometimes we still have problems getting a table.
I appreciate there could be problems with people booking space and not turning up but that could be solved by allowing any table not claimed after a certain period after the booking time to be used on a first come first serve basis.  Just being able to know in advance how busy a club would be on any given night would be useful sometimes.

Offline LawnRanger

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2018, 04:01:26 PM »
Sounds like you need a bigger hall  :) OR more tables and boards ..

we are very lucky that are hall is big enough for us to have a good 30+ members most meetings  .We did have to invest in more 6x 4 boards which we have around 18 now ..

when you get into booking tables its a hassle people dont turn up ! then its who did you book the table with ect.... then some poor chap has to put up  all the tables,  then take them down IF they dont turn up as well
and if you get a new player coming along  and you say Ah sorry mate these 3  tables are taken so no we dont have space for you its a bit off putting to the new chap..hes there ready to game got all his stuff with him and has to look at a empty table , how frustrating would that be to a wargamer !!or another member of the club.

  first come first served is the best way.. i feel .
Just  tell a mate to put a table up for you and you will sort him out with a beer  :)




 


Offline WillieB

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2018, 09:49:48 PM »
Yes, we do have a booking system of sorts. There are 6 big tables at the clubhouse ( 4 x 1,8m meters) and one really big one at 5,2 x 1,8 meters) These are all join-able but that's another story. Every now and them a member will 'reserve' a specific table (or perhaps 2 joined)  for a bigger game and then we put a 'reserved by...' placard on it. Reservation in person at an earlier club night or by email.
The 9 other tables are smaller ( and lower)   but still big enough for a standard WH40k, Frostgrave, SAGA  or Dux Brittaniarum game and are usually never reserved.
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Offline bong-67

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2018, 01:16:50 PM »
My club has grown to the extent it now fills a really big hall and on a busy night all 33 tables can be in use.  I get that there can be problems with booking systems but you can solve them with some thought.  We have janitors who can set the tables up for us and they also put them away.
On busy nights we can usually get a table if someone can get there early enough to bag one but that doesn't always happen and the real problem is that my playing group get to the club about and hour later than everyone else.
I just think table booking is fairer.  If you play sports in a local sports centre it's never first come first serve, you always book so you always know if you are playing or not.
For me, a better solution would be to game in a commercial games centre where they make money from table bookings but there aren't any of these near Glasgow.  It also avoids the sort of wargames cliques and politics you get in clubs.  Or better still, get a bigger house where i can have my own wargames room - that's the dream!

Offline mcfonz

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2018, 06:28:23 PM »
The club I attend has a booking system - it's more about ensuring people have a game to play and so people can look to see if there is anyone free looking for a game. But it also doubles to ensure that there are enough tables to go around.

The first come first served thing is ok to a point. But if you know you are struggling for space and you and a buddy or two have been planning a game for this week since before the last club day and you turn up to find a couple of chaps who haven't planned ahead/been for a while have got there and taken the last table or whatever.

I understand that some folks may not turn up - but then if you have an online booking system you can also cancel pretty easy, or just message someone else that will be there to say you wont. Seems pretty simple to me.
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Offline LawnRanger

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2018, 03:33:56 PM »
Surely If the club is struggling for tables and space on a regular basis then you need to start looking for a bigger place.
 How is the club going to grow IF you stay in the same place , people will be turned off if they are late and cant get a table thats the last thing you want is members not turning up for a game and then play at home and then you have lost him /them ..
we started are club in the smallest room at are local hall now we have taken the largest room in the building now  :D  ...   

    we need to keep getting new blood into are hobby  most of my members are  45+++  theres nothing better when a chap off the street pops in (FOR A LOOK AROUND) sees all the tables full of painted figures and then joins in on a game  :).

IF YOU HAVE SPACE THEY WILL COME !
happy gaming LR
 

Offline mcfonz

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2018, 06:52:36 PM »
You can do it that way or have club nights more frequently. I believe my local is every Tuesday and the first and third Thursday every month, and will consider more.

It also offers more flexibility to people like me who work shifts and can't make the same day every week.

Offline James Morris

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #9 on: July 19, 2018, 09:06:24 PM »
We book tables, though it’s done on quite an informal basis via our Facebook page.  Ideally we always have a spare table to cope with late decisions, but booking is the best way to make sure people get a game.

Offline syrinx0

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #10 on: July 20, 2018, 02:11:10 AM »
33 active tables is pretty impressive.  If your experience is common it would seem you need a new larger space.  Maybe you could ask a moderator for the group to save you a table? 
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Offline bong-67

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #11 on: July 20, 2018, 09:09:06 AM »
I think my club could be the largest in Scotland.  It has over a hundred members(although luckily they don't all turn up at the same time).  We occupy a fairly large hall, about the biggest council hall available so moving to bigger premises isn't an option.  The hall is also fairly well used so i don't think we could game on an additional night.
It's actually good that the club is large and successful.  This makes it rich so it can provide lots of terrain goodies which I haven't seen in other clubs (assuming you can get a table to play them on though).  It's also, on the whole, very well run.
The problem with any successful venture is that eventually it becomes a victim of its own success.  No matter what size your club or premises is, if you want it to do well and are successful, eventually this will strain your resources and this could lead to a crash in membership.  Now that it is so busy I find myself less keen to go as I don't want to go to the bother of bringing loads of figures and scenery for a game if I can't get it on.  I always bring my own key scenery as I don't know in advance what club stuff will be in use on any given night.

Offline mcfonz

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #12 on: July 28, 2018, 11:03:03 AM »
Sounds like it needs more structure then.

One of the things is to consider use of space as well. Are people using a 4x4 space when all they need is enough space for a game of shadespire for example.

I would say that booking is the way forwards and then see how that works. Or perhaps say, book 75% of the capacity and leave the rest for ad-hoc on the night. That way you have a bit of both. Then see what the response is. Limit it to booking two weeks in advance as well, you don't want people block booking weeks and weeks into the future just to ensure they have blocked a table.

See how that works out and then go from there. If people abuse it, book a table then don't turn up - if they haven't canceled before the event, and haven't contacted the club to give a good reason (bereavement, serious illness etc) maybe put in a consequence that they can't book again for the next two weeks. That sort of thing.

I know it makes it all very formal but it seems a shame that they could be losing regulars, who are the life blood of clubs membership, are being put off due to the first come first served basis.

Again, the local club I go to gets people to pay in advance as well. I think it's something like £12 a month full time (up to 6 nights), £6 (up to three nights) part time.

Offline Aerendar Valandil

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #13 on: July 28, 2018, 02:02:16 PM »
I play at a club in Amsterdam, we do have a booking system.  Currently we seldom have any problems with space (once in fact, solved by reordering) but yes, formally there is a system that a paying member who has reserved a table has priority.

Offline Wyrmalla

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Re: Wargames clubs with bookable table space?
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2018, 12:25:53 AM »
From what I've experienced, I've been to one club which had a booking system and many which didn't.

The issue which I had with the one that did was that you couldn't just turn up and play a game. Which meant that if you didn't know anyone, you were kind of stuffed. Rather you'd have to show up on an earlier night, get chatty ...then shuffle off after a while as you didn't have any stuff to play with any people want to get on with their games. Where people usually planned out what was happening the next week at the end of the night with their opponents, rather than broadcasting that they were looking for a game on an open forum. People knew each other, and it was difficult to enter the clique. That's besides players then developing monthly games schedules, where "sure I can play you. It'll just have to be in two months when mu schedule's free".

Every other club which I've been to operates on a first come first served basis. That then allows for easier drop in sessions, even with games that are already planned out - as generally gamers aren't planning weeks in advance (and so also there doesn't tend to be as many "grand events" where players aren't inflexible about messing with some game they've been looking forward to and planning meticulously for weeks, and no, don't have space for one more...). In which case that seems far more open to new members or those who aren't able to keep to such a stringent schedule.

Personally, I'm not really one for a lot of governance in how clubs are run. A public schedule which you have to sign up to seems a bit too hands on from what I'm into. Rather I show up to a club, pay my dues and don't make a mess, is about the extent of my involvement each night. A schedule unfortunately also precludes all the planning I mentioned for many wargamers. How many are on Facebook and arrange what's happening there? Instead I feel that most would arrange stuff on the weekly night, instead of doing it throughout the week - which would be more flexible. My club has a Facebook group and a website, but the guys I speak to don't use either and only check their emails every couple of days.

Of course, its been a while since we've had to deal with space problems. Its only every few weeks that we run out of tables, and even then its rare that people are turned away (we just prod the guys taking up more space than they should be, etc). This is coming from what I believe to be the largest wargaming club in the country (at least that's what the committee members say at the AGM...), where we've had over a hundred members show up on some nights (most nights its more in the 30s to 60s).

So whilst having some sort of schedule to sign up to may help with moderating things, I'm not sure if its really necessary. Perhaps in an environment which fully accepts it. Otherwise if you were to introduce one to a club which previously had no rota, and didn't frequently deal with space issues, it'd probably be seen as draconian. For those that don't have the space then as has been said in other posts, that may turn away members. Though the issue of finding more space is probably even larger (perhaps finding a way to fit more tables in would help - for instance two of our tables could fit three boards, but most games only use two. So if you put four tables together you could have three two board games instead of two games across four tables). Solutions are probably far too much effort than anyone's willing to bother with or implement (I know that I've stopped suggesting improvements at our AGMs as the committee expects you alone to do all the work).