"Wargames clubs with bookable table space?" Topic

I've been a member of several wargames clubs over the years. All of them allocate table space on a first come first serve basis and at one time or other all of them have become so busy I've sometimes been unable to get a game on because I usually can't get to the club until later than other members.
Are there any wargames clubs which operate a table booking system? Is such a thing possible or practical or am I just dreaming? I think first come first serve is fundamentally unfair where clubs have a large membership or are busy. and it's a real hassle to haul stuff to a club only to find you can't game with it.

The trick is to prearrange your game with the guy who gets there early enough to bag a table, set it up and have a beer while he waits for you to get there.

Ive never seen a club where you could prebook a table, but I am fortunate enough that my local club has a big enough venue that running out of tables is barely even a theoretical possibility…

We book them the week before so that people know how many players they are getting and what size table. It seems only sensible to do that rather than allow someone to prepare a game only to be told that all of the tables are taken. In fact the several clubs I have attended all use the same system.

I know of a club that books due to a lack of space.

The problem for me and my gaming buddies is that we all tend to get to our club around the same time, which is about an hour after it starts. Usually we can get a table OK but lately we've been struggling and getting the scrapings left in the cupboard.
In my experience, popular clubs expand to the limit of their space yet none of the ones I've been in seem to think a booking system is workable (or they can't be bothered running one).
It's nice to know from the responses so far that some clubs do run booking systems and that some people agree with me that this is fairer.

Depends on club size in relation to table availability.
If things are tight then booking is an excellent idea so that players can see what games are coming and whom to contact.
It is a good idea for club supremos to ensure there is a game that drop in players can join in on as well?
Our local club has a small membership and loads of tables, so anyone can come along and set up. All game types are welcome too.

Amazing, a club with enough members to run more than one game at a time. Does this happen in the US much or is it mostly a UK thing. In the US, all the clubs I know have games at someone's basement. One table – one game. Once, for a couple of years there was a local club in an office building basement, with two tables. Those were allocated on a rotating basis to various members.

If this is an issue at your local club, raise it with the club committee. They may (or may not) do something about it, but that is the nature of hobby clubs.

I can't say we've ever actually run out of space, but it has got a bit tight on occasions, usually when people are running some sort of tournament.

Thanks for all the contributions folks. From what I've read here my club seems to be unusually busy. We have 33 tables and on Tuesday they were all in use. We had to beg the use of a couple of tables which two members were using to sell stuff rather than play a game. This wasn't a problem as we have a stage and people usually use the front of it for selling things.
I did raise the matter of table space with the club secretary and told him I thought tables shouldn't be used for selling if the stage was available as it wasn't a fair use of resources (the people selling things were already each using two tables to game on).
Other than operating a booking system, which I know the club won't do as it has been raised before, there isn't much the club can do. It often goes through periods of extreme busyness but then quietens down again so all I can hope for is that that happens again. it is worrying that this current period of busyness is during the summer though as it is usually a quiet time.
The other Glasgow clubs I know of are small and as a consequence use quite small premises only just big enough for their membership.
There are a couple of commercial operators where you can book table space but neither are in Glasgow. They might be useful for the odd weekend game and to be honest paying for a definite time slot would now be my preferred option.

CLubs in London tend to use a website / booking system to book a slot, then its first come first served for terrain.