Clubs are and have always been a key part of wargaming. In the modern world of Facebook, blogs and even podcasts, the connection between players has never been greater. With the role of the wargame show changing, and even disappearing for some, the human contact between players is still the usual twenty miles round trip for most to their nearest club or shop. In this context I intend to write a monthly insight into the world of wargaming through the eyes of the Shrewsbury Wargames Society wargames club, based on the Shropshire/Welsh Border. I will share how the modern world of wargaming has effected and continues to evolve in the age of the internet for the betterment of the hobby.
I hope my column will discuss and debate all issues that arise from a club point of view from fees, locations, and stereotypes to other hobbies’ clubs and the rise of board game cafes. You can expect to hear my thoughts on how wargames clubs attend shows and why, the role the local gaming shops how online shopping impacts how we all buy figures, review rules, terrain and even what instant coffee your club should have in your cupboards.
The overhanging point of these articles, is the future of wargames clubs themselves. I hope to reach into why many clubs are either old existing groups or based around a shop rather than the newer smaller clubs that don’t seem to exist past the five years mark. You’ll read my thoughts on how the loss of the “battlebunkers” at Games Workshop has changed the role of clubs and how there is a slight divide between the historical and the fantasy gaming world. We’ll journey through what needs to be done to keep clubs relevant in the 21st century as players organise games outside of the usual club forums and rely on Facebook or e-mails.
Perhaps all of these things are not major concerns at the present, but for the good work that many clubs do it is not too far to say as the first real generation of wargames move on, where the next takes the hobby is just as important. Wargame companies have to deal with Kickstarter in the same way that clubs might have to face up to the realities that recruiting once a year is not enough. There is positive news too, but these are only matched by the effort that clubs are willing to put in.
So in short I hope you enjoy these pieces to follow. Please give leave feedback and comments below. Don’t forget to start the same discussions in your clubs and societies. Get talking to other clubs and start thinking about where clubs futures will be. The Shrewsbury Wargames Society has fifty years of great games and successes in the hobby. But what comes for the next fifty years? If you are around Shrewsbury and want to drop in for a chat or game please feel free too.
For more info and to get in contact please visit the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/SWSPublicPage/
I’m looking forward to more like this.