Thursday Query - Club, Home, or Other

One of the things that sets wargaming apart from most other hobbies is the absolute requirement to have at least one other socially agreeable person to fight a game against. Granted, if you are hard up enough for a game, you could run any wargame solo, but really none of us build forces to fight against ourselves. We build forces to pit against our friends and enemies.


What this means in the end is that there is a certain level of public socializing you are going to need to do to have the contacts to play. I am thankful that my major opponent just also happens to be my wife, so always have someone who might be up for a game. Other folks might not be as lucky and might need to look towards their local stores or gaming clubs to get some action in.


I did a bit of gaming at Knightfall Games when it was up and running, but for the most part my wife and I were the only Heavy Gear Blitz players they had. In the end we played there for the chance to show off a new game to those who hadn't ever seen anything other then Warhammer, 40K, or WarmaHordes and for the space allowed. At the end of the day we could have just as easily played our games at home on our own table.

I never have joined a gaming club in all my years of being in the hobby, mostly because I don't know of any where I wouldn't be just right back into the same situation my wife and I were already in. The space, terrain, tables, and opponents provided by a club would be nice, as long as the members of that club are at least willing to try something outside the norm, and that can be amazingly hard for people who are still blinded by larger companies.


Both the club and the store option though would be great and something I would gladly be willing to jump on if given the chance. Now however, the local stores aren't really up my alley, and as I said before, haven't really found any clubs that would offer anything better either. That means for me, my gaming takes place almost always in my house. Thanks to the Zuzzy mat, I can go to the park and play, but in the end, that isn't very frequent.


So this weeks Thursday Query Question: Where do you usually find yourself playing your games? Do you find that your garage is suitable for everything you need, or do you have a dedicated group of friend that form a small club?