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Hey Dakka,

So I am a high school chemistry teacher in a low-income school. My school is currently undergoing a full revitalization involving almost entirely new staff, security, procedures etc etc etc.

In light of all of this, I was thinking about starting a gaming club. I had one in my high school, and we'd do things like Magic, 40k (for those students who had them) and D&D etc for the rest of us.

I was wondering if anyone else has had experience setting up/running a gaming club catering to high-school age children, especially if in a low-income community.

This is all tentative, and depends on how well the year goes.

Ideas so far:
- It is an expensive hobby, so I would seek to get donors to send in miniatures, models, armies, paints, terrain, whatever. I will probably not get funding from the school, as those funds are needed for things like books, calculators, etc etc. Students would then check out the armies and play with them. They would leave a deposit with me (Cell phone) to ensure that I get everything back.
- Students will paint the armies as well (maybe get a local FLGS or GW to have a staffer in to teach basic painting techniques.)
- Because I do want the kids to get some tangible educational benefit from the hobby, holding some statistics work
(something fun, kind of like a case-scenario: IE 'If your opponent is firing 6 bolter shots at BS 4 at your toughness 4 squad with a 3+ save, what is the average number of wounds you would take) Obviously this would have to be made far more fun, but you get the point.

My questions are:
- Is this feasible?
- Will behavioral issues kill my club?
- How should I advertise this? This question is hugely important as students in my school are super-sensitive to anything concerning image, 'rep,' etc
- If you were a local gamer and something like this was going on, would you be willing to come help/support in some way? (My school is classified as a community school, so there is a LOT of interaction with local community members, churches, businesses, etc)
- What other problems do see occurring?

I appreciate you guys and gals helping out!

Well first off I have not started a school club but do belong to one and have a few hints

*Stage it afterschool not during (Im sorry but your club will be made fun of by whatever dicks go to your school and staging it afterschool will stop gatecrashings)
*Dont let the kids run it at all (they are generally less organised)
*if you know any kid at your school who plays tell him about it (chances are he will know the other players in the school giving you free and secure advertisement)

as for statistic work the only feasible way I can see it hapening is if you maybe drop a few questions in while there playing there game
ie: the probability of that bolter killing that ork

Anyway good luck with it

Having run other school clubs, I think it's really important for the kids to be investing in their hobby - lending them free armies doesn't do this. Without that commitment you'll have a high churn rate and the club will fizzle out.

As such, 40K may not be a good choice as it is fairly expensive. I would make a point of looking up some of the cheaper miniatures games (for example, full thrust has free to download rules and there are some extremely cheap space ship miniatures available from other companies. Terrain is also not an issue - you just need some black cloth).

I'm not sure how it is in the US, but in the UK, GW are very supportive of school clubs. They even hold a schools league with the finals at Warhammer world. I would contact the US GW HQ to see if they can pass on any advice they have.

Certainly in the UK there are plenty of school clubs around the place, although my only experience I have of them is what I see in White Dwarf (I left school in '86 - before 40k was even thunk of, although we did play D&D at school... can't remember any staff being involved though...)

I suspect the main issue is getting the kids to respect the stuff and not damage it. Getting them making inexpensive stuff like terrain as well as perhaps the odd unit or 2 of models (not necessarily a whole army, if cost is an issue) might help the psychological "buy in"?

A small entrance fee (which was used to subsidise materials) could be set at a level which was affordable to anyone interested (say $1 a week) but would mean that those simply interested in disruption could be put off from spoiling the fun of those that were interested in participating fruitfully?

Personally I am a father of 3 kids, and I totally see the benefits of wargaming to their development - improved mental arithmetic (adding up dice, calculating probability), reading comprehension (rulebooks can be a challenge!), practical "shop" skills and hand-eye co-ordination from making terrain/modelling. Plus, best of all the absolute sense of satisfaction that comes from seeing a project through from inception to completion that can really build kids up in their confidence. The whole "I did that" thing!

Good luck! I wish you well!

Some good advice already posted, but would also add the following;

The 40k in 40 minutes rules would be the logical place to start. I thought that GW created this specifically with schools in mind. Is this in the 5th edition or was that 4th? I'm sure the intawebz know.

Could I also suggest Necromunda as a starting system? Not necessarily the background fluff, this can be discarded in favour of the established 40k races (although you might have to devise an alterative points system based upon the codices).

Benefits:
The rule set is free (although you might find the school printers clogged if interest is high!)
There are minimal miniature requirements.
Similar enough to 40k (even 5th edition) so that it can be used as an introduction.
The campaign system if used (even simplified or adapted) could generate a regular return audience.
Scenery whilst important can be easily made. Use wooden off-cuts from the tech classes as obstacles and barricades (arrayed like you might find at a paint ball site or indeed post apocalypse arena/underhive!)

I know I was completely hooked on Necro when I was at school; my mates and I would always be looking to play more games to increase our experience and upgrade our gangs (although I could see this having unfortunate connotations in certain inner-city areas?).

Whatever you choose I wish you good luck in this endeavour.

I considered suggesting necromunda as well, but the gang connations may well be un-welcome and the requirements to constantly change the miniatures is difficult for people without a supply of bitz (doubly so now that the bitz ordering service is so reduced).

I agree 100% though that low-model count games are the way to get started.

Damm double post, my apologies.

WYSIWYG shouldn't be important in this context, just playing the game should be the driving factor when introducing newbies.

We used to paint names on the front of bases to deliniate models (especially if you have duplicate models in the same force).

Once they have bought (mentally) into gaming then WYSIWYG can be introduce for competitions/campaigns as their experience and modelling skills grow.

Also there are good introductory rules (including using small forces) for Flames of War if they are of a historical bent. I'm sure there would be good teaching opportunites in this area as well.

Never been a part of High school gaming club, but I have ran my share of Demos and intro games.

* First Clear it with the Superintendent and the Principal of the School, make sure to get both. If you live in a bible belt area you may have trouble with parents and/or Churches with some of game themes. This way you know your bosses have your back. Don't forget to talk to School Security too if you have it.
* Talk to your bosses about how they want to handle behavioral issues, This is a volunteer club, no one is forced to be there, just ask them the leave.
* Start off with just a single game night - after school program actually, I would advise a one shot meeting, if that goes well, try once a month, then build up to once a week.
* Have the kids to bring in any games they want to try including board games. (No hand held Video games please) Its about socialization and Fun.
* Have a few items of everything you got so they have choice, I mean everything from a old copy of Monopoly to D&D to 40k.
* Talk to the other teachers about the idea, You can have them mention it at the end of their classes and may pick up a few other chaperons in the process.
* Most Schools have a bulletin board or some where general information is posted, Place signs there and though out the school if the Principal clears it.
* Once its up and running solid you can shoe horn in your games workshop stuff. I would suggest starting with Space Hulk, it makes a nice presentation and is easy to learn. Then you can start them down the dark path of Games Workshop.
* Work with the local game shop for some type of discount for your school members; but I would list this as a future goal and not to start off with it, you don't want to have your club dissolve in a few months and have a kid still trying to get a discount from the game shop years later.
* Talk to your local Salvation Army about this and see if they would donate any games they receive to the school.


Keep in mind if you are planing to teach games to them, with many small components, First off they are kids and some may break, loose and steal your stuff. This will not always happen but just keep in mind that going in and when it happens your not mad that you just lost a Golden Demon painted figure.

Sounds good I run my club at school, at lunch.

Lots of good advice being given

My girlfriend is a high school teacher and has had some experience with setting up extra-ciricular clubs

1. Make sure that not only are the school management informed, but the parents of the kids involved have a letter sent home too. This will ensure that you dont get any angry parents wanting to know where their kids are and what they are up to. Also be prepared to explain what the club is about as there will be those who don't approve of their kids taking part in a hobby which glorifies violence.

2. Hold it after shool, this will ensure only the really interested attend. also, those who do come will not be getting grief from the school idiots during their lunch breaks

3. Have a regular venue (classroom) and set a time and day of the week, then stick to it, as with any regular event consistency is key. Providing a secure place for the kids to store their models during the day would also be a good move as this lowers the risk of them getting stolen or damaged.

4. Provide terrain and boards yourself, nothing too fancy you could even make this a DT project for the kids, many of the materials will be on hand in a school anyway (sheets of ply from the DT dept. and glue and paint from the Art dept.)

5. Advertise it around the school with posters, and let people know that they can speak to you about it before they come along, that way the guys who know what it's about will just turn up and those who may be interested can find out what it is before disrupting those who do.

6. Start small, games like Mordhiem and Necromunda are a great way to start, the rules are easier to pick up then full blown 40k and you need less minatures, so if the kids dont have huge amounts of money, their initial investment wont be huge.

7. Provide an area to paint and put together models, I agree that you shouldn't provide miniatures as this does incourage kids not to get their own and become disinterested very quickly. A place for the kids to swap ideas and help each other with techniques is always good.

8. Keep things fun, rather than just providing a space, organise tournaments and even prizes, have regular terrain building nights where they can keep some of what they make

9. Dont be affraid to lay down the law, if someone is acting like an idiot kick them out.

Good luck with the venture, i think it's great to see teachers getting involved in something which doesn't have to revolve around the ciriculum

Don't play 40K.
Sorry.
Your students won't have the financial ability to keep up with it and, as a teacher, you barely have the ability to keep up with the game for YOURSELF. ; )

If you want to play GW games, then use the suggestions above: Spulk, Mordheim and N-Munda.
Also... Bloodbowl.
Remember D&D has their collectable miniatures game. Spares can be bought cheap and, sometimes, gotten free (PM me for details).
If you back track to 3.0 and 3.5, you can probably find some DANG good deals on D&D books, too.

Mage Knight was a decent game and those minis can be bought for pennies a pound. lol

There's also Heroclix & Mech clis and cthulhu clix and...

All of these can be bought relatively inexpensively.

I agree re: no handheld video games.

Eric

Don't play 40K.
Sorry.
Your students won't have the financial ability to keep up with it

I can keep up and I go to high school

i'm starting a club no magic though....

Kragura wrote:

Don't play 40K.
Sorry.
Your students won't have the financial ability to keep up with it

I can keep up and I go to high school

Do you go to the school where the OP teaches?

unclehomefries wrote:I am a high school chemistry teacher in a low-income school.

(emphasis mine)

Low income schools tend to be in low income neighborhoods/areas.

Eric

I am an Art and Technology teacher who also likes to play since my son (now 17) got me back into the hobby having done FRP games back in the 80's. I have run a 40K and WHF club for several years in a "low income area" high school. I found it was difficult to get kids to build proper army lists so I tried making small 40K in 40 minute armies "in a box" that had all the relevant rules from Army Builder in the box with the minis. I then let pupils "hire" an army for a game. This helps raise funds and can ensure they are treated with respect (e.g £1 a game plus £1 returnable deposit). Clearly you cannot be too precious about the models, sometimes they came back a bit broken, and I made sure I knew who had what by making vacuum formed trays for each box that had a space for each model. Models were numbered to match spaces so I could check none were going missing. If you get a newsletter out to parents and staff you will probably get given a lot of old models from kids who have "outgrown" the game, I know I did. If you can make up armies from these then ignore WYSIWYG and call each model whatever you need it to be (within reason) to make up legal 400 points. Terrain is great fun, they love doing it, get some polystyrene packing, pva glue, sand and paint. I got an old artificial christmas tree cut up for bushes and trees. As a DT teacher I have access to some cool school kit like a laser cutter that is brilliant for making buildings. I just dropped the PDF files from GW site (ruined buildings) onto some ex notice board covers (acrylic sheet) and off you go. I did get some funding from my school (£50 a year) so I could buy some paints, tapes, dice etc. I used old codex's and rule books I had at home or was given, rather than buy new ones (free!). I also registered the club with GW. They sent me a box of stuff like scenery, paint and dice to get me started and still send a newsletter every month. Beth Hawkby runs it here in the UK. We have had a few other games played as well, notably Yu-Gi-Oh and if I let them they are also up for video games, altough I personally prefer them to interact with each other rather than a screen, some of the little hand held consoles allow for group games. I called it a "Table top gaming club" and got given chess boards, scrabble etc. The upside is it teaches social skills as well as maths, modelling etc. The downside is I give up about 2 hours a week to have up to 20 kids in my workshops and sometimes it gets a bit hectic. School gives me a free lunch for my trouble. I once had some of the school "chavs" come and try and spoil it for the "grungers" (UK youth cultures like the old mods and rockers) when I wasn't there, but to be honest we get them sometimes in my FLGS, fairly easily dealt with, just politely but firmly ask them to go away. I recenrly managed to get the assault on black reach and skull pass sets which I painted (only way to get a coherent result) which I also hire out as above. All in all it is a great thing to do, just get the support of the school to start with. The Library were brilliant helping me get going as they really saw the value in getting young people, especially boys, reading for pleasure. How about donating some old white dwarf and black library stuff to them and putting up a poster or two to go with them? Best of luck!

Have you considered Dungeons and Dragons?

This is were you find the highest concentration of noobs.

One other thing you need to think about, A lot of kids eat something right after school and you might consider "No Food" rule during the game session. You don't want to have to scrape off Doritos or Cheetos dust off your game pieces even if it is donated games and Soda is a bane of games around the world.

I tried running a after-school club when I was in highschool... and I agree that you will have trouble maintaining any sort of regular player base. I admire the idea, but the reality is pretty hard.

That aside, you have received some very good advice above. I think that General Mayhem had some very good points, like having rent-able armies (taking kids cell phones sounds like you are asking for problems with the parents who probably pay for the phones). I also think 40k in 40 minutes should be the standard format, but if certain kids show more commitment and investment then they could have larger games if they provide the models. A cheap way to get models and rules for this would be to pick up a few AoBR sets... it would also give you lots of other neccessary stuff like sets of templates, the dice, and even measuring sticks. The models themselves are somewhat durable too, especially the marine ones. You can pick up those sets around 50 bucks online, if you know where to look *coughebaycough*.