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Hi im thinking of opening a small gaming club in and around my area (Auckland, NZ) for games like Fantasy and 40k.
i was just wondering if anyone has any advice on what i need or should charge for member ship

What i think I will need =
Two 6x4s
Gaming terrain
Dice and measuring tape
Rule books

And a good painting table.

Im thinking of charging $6 a month (with membership) $10 to get in and no other fees

Anyone with any suggestions? Thanks Conor

Space, tables, games, people.

Try it once, gauge how popular it is and if there is a market for it. If it works charge just enough to keep it running. If you go into this trying to score a big profit out of it, it will eventually wither and die.

Agreed with the above

Shop with in door play area or just a gaming club?

Either way expand into more things than just wargaming, become a konami and wizards TO so you can do yugioh and magic tournaments which can bring in more people, therefore more money. Sell food, if people are coming down for a while you can sell them a meal or two. Also before you start make sure you have a strong customer base.

everything necro said...

Do you have a space to use already that you own or are you planning to rent?

Are peope who pay to join going to have their own key and 24 hour access?

Two tables for gaming seems like it won't cut it. I have four tables (two 8'x4', two 6'x4') in my own humble basement game room and once I got my own private game club humming it wasn't enough to satisfy demand on game nights...

Agreed, when I was 16ish I was part of a local group that had 2 large tables in his basement, so we could of ran 4 small (1k or under) at a time, and on game nights that wasnt enough at all, then they wanted to do tournies in the group as well, it just wasnt enough. Youll need alot of tables/space to pull anything more then 4 members off

I can get up to six 4x4 is that enough

First look how many people in your area play.

I've only ever seen gaming groups grow out of a group of guys who basically want a space to play and a way to meet lots of new people to play against. If that's what you've got, then you should already have a clear idea on how much you need to charge (take the cost of hiring your venue and divide by how many people are going to show up each week). Scenery would be what people have been using on their own.

But if you're looking to start a new group, I'd really, really advise against looking to do it for profit. Looking for a profit means the space you can rent becomes much more expensive (you can rent a community hall out for almost nothing if you're a not-for-profit community group, but the rate goes up massively if you're looking to make a profit). Second up, gamers are a cheap and miserly lot, and while they might accept paying a monthly fee to cover the cost of renting the hall, I really doubt they'd tolerate paying you for the profit you'd like to make. I've seen a previously strong club disintegrate over the suggestion that the President should be able to recoup petrol money for all the running around he did.

Warboss Conor wrote:I can get up to six 4x4 is that enough

These sorts of questions are ones that you can only answer yourself.

If you expect 12 members or less, then yes this will be fine. IF you end up with 20-30 guys showing up, then no...

I was getting 12-15 guys showing up to my home-based game nights and my four tables did not cover demand. When I owned a store I often had 40-50 people show up at my Friday game nights and it was standing room only as I only had space for 10 tables in my store...


Again it all depends on what you think the demand is going to be, how many tables you can fit or afford, the amount of space you have or can afford to rent, etc.

You need to do some market research and networking and get a feel for what realistic local demand and interest is, and compare this to your budget and the amount of effort you want to expend...

I'm curious guys, If I wanted to set up a tabletop meetup group, would the cheapest place be at a community center? Not looking for profit at all. I was thinking of a church activity center or whatever, but I'm not sure if they would charge a lot, or require that I attend their church.

I can tell you alot of Church centers require membership, I found that out when the wife and I were looking for a Priest to wed us. Im a religious type, but I certainly am not a church goer thats for sure.


But Id say you might be onto something, you should look into those, as you might just find a good spot to get together and play. Sometimes those centers are city owned, so all you have to do is request the time for the space.

See if you can contact the Wellington Warlords.

Yes, I know they are in a different city.
They have been running their club for decades - and might just be able to offer some advice.

My first small club started off as 5-6 mates in a backyard with two tables.

My current is a dozen or so regulars - we hire the boardroom of a local sports club one day a week. We have 19 6x4, 4 4x4s (custom) and a bunch of blood bowl boards and terrain for them. We also run 2-3 tournaments a year. Getting local support is the important thing.

We shamelessly pillage folk from ALL of the neighbouring areas - because just relying on those in our town is doomed to fail.

Concerning the tables.. I think 4x4 is too small. A board that small favors assaulty armies and cripples shooty armies. It also does very strange things to Spearhead deployment.

Well like I said before, a 4x4 is fine for small games, but anything over 1k (and even that is pushing it sometimes, I can cram ALOT of Orks into 1k) is just to small a table.

KingCracker wrote:I can tell you alot of Church centers require membership, I found that out when the wife and I were looking for a Priest to wed us. Im a religious type, but I certainly am not a church goer thats for sure.


But Id say you might be onto something, you should look into those, as you might just find a good spot to get together and play. Sometimes those centers are city owned, so all you have to do is request the time for the space.

Try a public school. I know that where I live you can usually rent out space inside a public school, like a gym or auditorium, for a very small fee, as long as they approve whatever you're using it for.

Necroshea wrote:I'm curious guys, If I wanted to set up a tabletop meetup group, would the cheapest place be at a community center? Not looking for profit at all. I was thinking of a church activity center or whatever, but I'm not sure if they would charge a lot, or require that I attend their church.

Most local government will have their list of fees an charges on line, possibly stuck in the middle of the budget document. Either that or give them a call, and make sure you specify it's a not for profit community club. The charge should be pretty minimal, especially if you're just booking a smaller room.

I don't know about churches, probably just give them a call.

rubiksnoob wrote:

KingCracker wrote:I can tell you alot of Church centers require membership, I found that out when the wife and I were looking for a Priest to wed us. Im a religious type, but I certainly am not a church goer thats for sure.


But Id say you might be onto something, you should look into those, as you might just find a good spot to get together and play. Sometimes those centers are city owned, so all you have to do is request the time for the space.

Try a public school. I know that where I live you can usually rent out space inside a public school, like a gym or auditorium, for a very small fee, as long as they approve whatever you're using it for.

Now theres an idea. I bet that would be cheap to boot