"Starting a High School Gaming Club" Topic

I've been a teacher for the last ten years, I've always worked hobby into my classes. Some classes more than other. Displaying troop types in some classes to refighting Marathon with others.

This is my first year at high school and my former students still bring it up (the less cool ones obviously!)

So I am going to try and start a club.

Wrestling with lots of factors
1. Getting kids to commit (we'll see next Thursday)
2. Time (limited amount 2.5 hours max)
3. Activities (painting? what game? enough toys for everyone to play)

My initial outset is having three stations going.

One dealing with armor rules for Disposable Heroes (2-4 kids)

One dealing with infantry rules for DH (2-6 kids)

One dealing with painting figures. I'll have paint, brushes, color charts, and some 15mm Americans & Germans that I have lying around.

That will be the introduction. hopefully kids can finish the actual games in like 30-45 minutes (a tank or 2-3 sections of men per kid) and then people can rotate through.

Input Welcome.

Matt

and the kids could cycle through them and I will try Kids will get their feet wet in the basics of the hobby and get a general understanding of the turn structure.

I addressed Gordon in the salutation because I was interested in picking up some FoW stuff for the club. I emailed you earlier, but never heard back.

I had a gaming club for many years, first board games and then minis. I lived on campus (boarding school) and we gamed almost entirely on weekends. Kids will always come to play with YOUR toys.

Which they will break. I'd find out what sort of dues other clubs charge, and match that. I kept a lending library of board games (and got the game from the library's sub to STRATEGY AND TACTICS). But I also used dues to compensate myself for wear and tear.

I had some join mainly to be able to list another activity in college applications and the yearbook. That's fine, but they had to pay for the privilege.

Ask Syr Hobbs (aka Duane Fleck). He's run a game club at his school and the club now runs two weekend-long conventions every year.
recruits.mtswebsites.com

I believe Heavy Phyzzx (or however you spell it) is also a teacher that runs a school game club.

You may consider games such as Memoir 44, Commands & Colors Ancients and Napoleonics, and Battlecry as well.

Like it or not, these young people would probably respond better to a fantasy game. They're exposed to WoW, LotR and other properties all the time, so the learning curve would doubtless be lower.

Plus there are fantastic rulesets out there, such as Song of Blades & Heroes, that encourage players to paint and model to their heart's content.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. You didn't mention that the club was billed as a historicals-only venture.

I wish you the best. Games are great motivators.

I have been running a HS chess and wargames club for about 10 years now. I started out with the original Supersystem. Only need a few figures, rules are easy, games are quick, and its fun. I'd be happy to share info.

Something I've always wondered. Clubs have to be sponsored by a teacher, but can they be initiated by a parent?

Our high school is in dire need of a Gaming Club of some kind and I know a teacher who plays/played D&D at least. :)

You need this site:
juniorgeneral.org

Which they will break.

Use paper minis!

I will also chime in that they may want to paint but the time/focus needed means that the painting will be a poor cousin to the rest of their efforts.

I used HaT plastics with a Middle School group; they were destructive with most everything they used.

Junior general was my impetus to start using toy soldiers on a grander scale.

I did use paper soldiers and I am afraid of breakage, but this is not a general classroom, it is a club with a pretty decent group of kids. And miniatures are much more impressive and attention-grabbing.

I haven't ruled out fantasy, I might do some zombie games because a lot of the kids are watching "The Walking Dead"

Memoir '44 is also an option as an overflow game. I don't have enough sets to run an overlord scenario yet.

I was thinking about a diplomacy game as an off-site continuation of club activities.

Thanks for your help all.

I had a thriving High School wargaming group at my shop. They were resistant to Historical gaming at first, but did their fantasy computer gaming anyway and came to the shop for Historical. The favorite was micro armor. The club morphed into a college club and now almost all the boys are in the military. Ironic?

A bit of money up front for which they get a few figures is a good way of ensuring commitment. When I ran a club at my sons school $10 USDnz got them a sprue of eM-4 plastic figures and the excess covered a copy of the Combat Zone rules which was given to the school library so that the kids could get it out anytime they wanted.

Robert

Sounds like fun.

Don't forget the pirates and Star Wars minis for games.

Lots of colorful action with those, on a budget.

They can make their own pirate sloops, or ships out of cardboard, balsa or basswood, white glue, and dowels or BBQ skewers.

2.5 hours max ! That's a long time for a school club. Gives you more options than most.

Personally I'd avoid zombies – parental reaction might not be favourable.

I'd recommend SoBH. They can each easily build a warband with a few cheap LOTR or D&D figures from ebay and get playing very quickly.

I was thinking about a diplomacy game as an off-site continuation of club activities.

I've been running a diplomacy game at school this year. Turns take place weekly. The players (all from my sixth form maths class) e-mail me their orders each week and we process them one lunchtime. It's working very well so far.