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JohnHwangDD wrote:If I pay retail for minis, table time should be included - that's where the margin goes.

Hardly. You really don't know what overhead costs do you?

There are several game stores in town here, although only one of the two nearby offers a useful gaming space (the other is more of an old-school military model shop that also has a good selection of gaming stuff).

The gaming space at the better store has multiple tables (say a dozen or so?) and is a moderate sized pile of terrain for war games. We spend money on over priced drinks while we're there and buy other things regularly enough, but if they were charging us to play I doubt any of my buddies would game there, as I have a 4x8 table and two travel chests filled with terrain at my house.

Jack

NecronLord3 wrote:

JohnHwangDD wrote:If I pay retail for minis, table time should be included - that's where the margin goes.

Hardly. You really don't know what overhead costs do you?

Oh, I know. And table time is part of overhead.

Or, more succinctly, when I played in FLGS, I was OK paying retail.

But the idea that I'm going to pay retail for minis, and then pay extra for table time, that's nonsense.

the only time I buy miniatures is when i'm out playing.. if my LGS didn't have free table time, i'd play elsewhere (school club, ect) and buy my miniatures online.

That would just be lame and I would not support a store like that.

I've been in shops where you could sign up for table time, usually like C$5 for an hour ($2/hr if you joined the store club), and I rather liked the way it kept the neighborhood children and their bare plastic away from the lovely terrain that was provided. Anything to promote a comfortable gaming environment for adults is a good thing.

Nurglitch wrote:I've been in shops where you could sign up for table time, usually like C$5 for an hour ($2/hr if you joined the store club), and I rather liked the way it kept the neighborhood children and their bare plastic away from the lovely terrain that was provided. Anything to promote a comfortable gaming environment for adults is a good thing.

Exactly!

If a game club provided a comparable environment to the sort of pool halls I like (and served cocktails and beer) I'd not mind an hourly rate.

There's a pub in Seattle (the owl and thistle) that I hear has a wargame night, but I've not made the road trip to check it out.

Jack

I once had the idea to start a pub with some wargaming tables instead of pool tables. I got as far as thinking that it could be called the War Room, and have a list of acceptable behaviour posted with "No Fighting" featuring at #1.

None of the stores I play at charge to play, but I dump down a chunk of change on product whenever I go, anyway. I usually play at a friends house.

Lst night was the first night I've been to the store with the new "pay-to-play" policy in effect. Our group, (IFL 40K players) was there at full strength, about 20 of us. But it's amazing how un-crowded the card players tables were. Only 6 people over there instead of the 30+. Course, I'll admit that school getting ready to start back up might have something to do with it, given that the card players are mostly younger and our group is pretty much all adult.