First a comment: I've found that if you only meet once a month, the group is likely to have sporadic attendance. For some reason, remembering a once-a-month venue is tough. It might be OK to start that way, but I'd recommend gravitating to a more frequent time-table, such as every-other week or even weekly. We've never charged one, but we meet at my home, so there is no room rental fee! I ask everyone to bring a bag of snacks and/or a soda each week. Of course, some folks rarely do this, but for the most part, we are kept fully stocked with snacks. Since I'm a gaming fanatic, I purchase most of the games our group plays. I once toyed with the idea of charging a fee to help supplement these purchases, but the logistics were too problematic. So, no fee. Now, if you meet in a venue wherein you have to pay a meeting rental fee, then a club dues or fee system would be necessary. What are meetings like? Open gaming is what I suggest. Let folks decide what they want to play. If most of the group is brand new to gaming, then as the "experienced" gamer, you should make suggestions and lead them through games. Start simple, but not too simple so as to turn them away. Games such as Settlers, Carcassonne and the like are excellent games with which to introduce folks to our hobby. Once your group gets going, then you might want to schedule a certain game every now and then. We tend to do this if the game is longer, or if it is one that appeals to a specific crowd. Examples include Advanced Civilization, Age of Renaissance, Diplomacy, etc. Will Stores Provide Store Copies of Games for Play? One way to find out: ask. Tell them that you are forming a gaming group and are interested in exposing them to new games. Ask the store owner if he would provide a copy for your use, to be returned the following week. You could also give everyone flyers advertising his store and remind folks that they can purchase these games at his shop. Of course, if the store has space, you could ask to meet there, too. That should trigger some on-the-spot sales for him. How do you attract members? Aside from advertising at the game store, I'd also place flyers at the local library and perhaps area colleges or universities. If you have a small local newspaper, get in touch with one of the reporters and tell him about what you are doing. Small town papers often run local interest stories and they might be willing to write an article on gaming and your group. If not, a small advertisement might help. Just be sure to specify in the article and/or ad if there are certain types of games (RPGs, CCGs, etc.) that you will not be playing. But the best form of advertising is evangelism. Spread the word. Talk about your hobby to folks you meet. If you attend a local church, talk to your fellow church members. Offer to host a game night at one of the fellowships. Invite a few of them over and play a game or two. You'll be surprised how popular games can be when introduced in a small, social gathering. If you have children in school, make it a point to meet their friends' parents. Strike up a conversation. Get together with some of them for dinner and a game or two afterwards. You'll make new friends and often find new game mates. How long are meetings? Depends upon the night (or day) of the week and the composition of your group. If you are playing on a weeknight and have folks who have children in school, then you probably will need to begin after dinner and end at a reasonable time. 6:30PM - 10:00PM would probably work in this situation. If, however, you develop your group as a primarily adult group, then you extend the time later. Our Westbank Gamers group meets from 6:30 - midnight (sometimes later) each Wednesday night. Some folks begin arriving as early as 5:30PM. If you are playing on a weekend (let's say a Saturday), you could meet from 1:00PM - 5:00PM. That way, you don't have to worry about lunch. Gauge the situation and the interest of your group. If everyone is enthused, then you can extend the time more and more. Another tip ... make it fun. Don't put the emphasis on winning. Try to discourage folks from being too aggressive or competitive. Make it fun and folks will want to come back. Also, promote the group. Send out e-mails afterwards recapping the session. Use folks names in the reports, as most folks love reading about themselves. Put up a webpage to pass along these reports, meeting news, game news, etc. These things give folks a sense of "belonging" and cohesiveness. Back to Table of Contents -- Game! # 6 To Game! List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by George Phillies. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com