[mib5150]

I am member of a gaming club in my home town in western Sweden. It's quite a big club with lots of activities: we cover Role playing, LARP, war games, card games and board games among other stuff. We have more than 50 members I guess.

Every wednesday we have an Open Game Evening starting from 6 PM. Various people come (even non-members - it's their opportunity to try out if they want to join!) and we suggest, recommend and play various games. At these evenings we are from.... like six to 20 members there.

A few times a year we also invite to an entire day of gaming, from 10 AM to 11 PM! At these occasions we manage to play a lot of games and at some times some of us have also played just one or two massive games!

This is very positive, now the negative parts of being in a club:

Since we are a lot of different personalities who enjoy different kinds of games we sometimes can't agree on a game to play.

I play most games, but we have members who just can't stand some genres.

For instance, we have one member who despise all games which aren't "German games". If a game consists dice he often won't play it at all. "Too much chance! Not ok!"

(Once I suggested the Railway game 1830 which has no chance at all! "Pfft. It's TOO pretentious!" - I don't know how to make him less narrow minded!) ;-)

From time to time I also suggest to play two-player games at the Open Game Evenings, but some other (narrow-minded) people won't play them since we are in a gaming club, so two-player games should only be played at home. They have decided that at the club we MUST play games for 3 or more people.

As a former MIB I still enjoy teaching and playing SJG games, but I have a tough crowd to satisfy... but since I'm there not only for them but also for me I get to play the games I enjoy too, so it isn't all bad. And I know who enjoys which games: If the stars are right I get to play my favourites as well.

In this way some games are played a lot (since most of us enjoy them) but some games are rarely played. It totally depends on which members that show up.

Another problem with being in a gaming club are those Knows-it-all's that sometimes show up. At more than one occasion we've been playing a game and suddenly a spectator (who's been silently watching the game for a few minutes) speaks up and try to interfere. Some of them try to correct how we play (and at most times they're wrong, and have missed a FAQ, an expansion or the use of house rules) and at some times they come with advices to players how they should play.

I have learned to tell them to shut up and leave us alone, but not all members know how to do that.

Oh, I almost forgot one of the worst: One Know-it-all member (who luckily doesn't show up too often nowadays) who believes that he is THE Games Guru, since he has played a lot of games (and been to Essen a few times) thinks that his opinions are the undisputable truth. When he is there it is almost guaranteed that he will try to talk us out of playing the games we plan to play - even if he isn't there to play with us! The standard phrase he uses when he comments is "That ****** game? It's a waste of time!" ...and some members who has already has chosen their color (or in any other way has started to play) get hesitant. At those times I have a lot of work trying to convince my players that he is wrong and we are right!

Apart from all this I always turn up at our happenings, since I love games. And I also meet some players to play outside the club as well!