Help select the October date for our next Game Day in 2010!

Is this being planned for the same venue in Bath?

Mike

Hi, Mike.  Yes, the October Game Day will be in Bath.  We will have a small committee examine other options over the summer with a report back to the club on the pros and cons of other venues located between say Freeport and Augusta.  The club can then decide which of those locations is best and we'll look to go under contract with that facility, whichever it happens to be, starting in 2011.  We need to get our date locked in for October soon as spaces are filling, and I dont want us to wait until the committee has done their work only to find that we are too late for the next game day.

Oh, I wasn't questioning whether we should be in Bath again or not. I just couldn't recall if I missed that discussion or not.

Mike

Hey, Mike.

I didnt take it that way.  It just seemed like a good opportunity to bring everyone up to date on where we are with the process.  I'm sure others had the same question.

Speaking of which- we need three or four volunteers to review options for our future game days.  The trick here is to find something that is somewhat central between Auburn, Portland, Bangor, and maybe Belfast.  To me, that sounds like Brunswick, Richmond, Augusta, Bath (on 295 would be nice).  Our cost for the space in Bath is $125 for the entire day.  Areas to look at include:

1. Physical space is pleasant, well lit, comfortable and has tables
2. Access to the space is easy, preferably on one floor, or with an elevator if necessary
3. Cost is in the $125 ballpark
4. Parking
5. Will the space allow us to have vendors?  Can we have food if we want?
6. Exposure to the community- is there any likelihood of walk-ins?
7. Alcohol and smoking- while not a priority for us, some of our members do like the option of having a beer if they wish to, or of having a cigarette outdoors.

What would be great is if the committee could make a few calls to get basic information about available halls, and then visit the ones that are most promising.  After comparing what is available, the committee should prepare the strengths and weaknesses of the top three and then we can vote.  
Timeframe...ideally, the committee could have this done in time for the annual meeting in August.

Who'd like to help?

I'll help!

I am a huge advocate for the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. The facility is top notch! We'd get a kitchen to go w/ the room which easily accommodates six tables, private bathrooms, and drive-up drop- off (the door is literally 10 feet from the street!). There is plenty of parking nearby, restaurants to visit (Brunswick has had a renaissance in restaurants recently), and a supermarket and drug store next door. It is easily accessed by the interstate.

The hidden treasure with this location is the foot traffic and promotion that comes with it. There would be hundreds of people passing through, asking questions and hopefully wanting to get involved- it would help build enrollment! Bowdoin College is also nearby- once we get them in the tent, we've got them for 4 years! Myself and the nephews would be right there to help set up or even run one or a few of these things....

The only downside is the cost- around $200- but I bet I can grind them down on that- the room is named for my cousins (Morrell Room), and I believe my cousin Jane still runs the library....

Add to that the anniversary of the American Civil War in Joshua Chamberlain's backyard, and I'm completely sold on the idea.

Comments?

NIVEN

Hi, Andy.  Great!  Then maybe you can gather updated info on the space at CML. 

Cost
Can vendors be onsite (does this change the price?)
Hours available to us (we normally arrive by 7:15am and leave by 7:00pm)
What is the added cost, if any, to have the kitchen?
Can we have coffee and baked goods if we dont pay to use the kitchen?
Beer and smokes are probably out of the question!

Even if the club decides to go elsewhere for our club game days, we should consider running a free demo/intro at the CML for all the reasons you mention.

Hello.
Weighing in at a distance, this sounds like a great opportunity. If it comes to $200, can we still do that? Brunswick is a great location.

Bob Bailey

It wouldn't be the first CML has hosted this sort of thing and it was certainly instrumental in gaining a whole new crop of young people back in the day . . . Niven and Fuchs were at least two of those recruited at the tender age of 9 or 10. Also - much of the advertisement is built in! Great place to generate a LOT of new gamers.

Andy

As a smoker - I don't think CML would be a problem - just step outside and walk a few feet and you're good to go. Booze might be a problem tho I know some who just swap bottles . . .

Andy

I agree that we should definitely consider a "one off" demo game at CML... in the near future.  Niven, you and I could run a Civil War, or two maybe, different levels.  Your regimental and my Division level.

Sadly Bowdoin does not seem to have an active History or Gaming club.  They don't even seem to have a chapter of the National History Fraternity.  Booo

Anyway we should talk about it.

Tim

I'd like to see us select two or three locations around the state for family-friendly demo games, separate from the Game Days.  These would be in public spaces at no cost to participants, a genuine outreach effort as opposed to a club session.  There could be a game that runs for a four or six hour session, but also a game or two that would allow people walking by to play for an hour and then leave if they need to.

I've been looking into The Norlands (when they run their ACW encampment) and the Pownalborough Courthouse.

Okay...looks like 7 votes for October 16th and only 1 vote for October 23rd.  Any last minute input?

I think the outreach family game days could be great. board games, eurogames, star wars miniatures, medevials, brother against brother civil war... quick interesting games that are great eye candy. 

Jim H

MAke that 9 to 1, good odds in a board game :)

I did not vote because either day if fine for me so let those with real preferences decide.

As far as new locations go I think that we should all be clear as to what the objective of the Game Day is.  Are we looking to make it an outreach occasion?  Or is it a club event where we can gather in a friendly atmosphere to try new things?

If it is a club get together, then I like the Bath location.  If you are trying to recruit new members witha public event then I like the library.

Should these perhaps be two completely separate operations?

Jim F

Any member(s) can have a get-together anytime they like. What the club needs is new blood. 

The people who stepped up for HUZZAH! this year will eventually want to give the thing away to a new, energetic generation so it can grow, and so they can enjoy the fruits of their labors (i.e. play games at these events). If the club goes to the same volunteer well, that well will run dry. As most of these organizations go, if we are not growing, we're dying...... just ask the Lions.

Growth must be a cornerstone of our mission- at least until we have more volunteers than we know what to do with (limited chance of that). For that, we must reach out to our communities and populations with an interest in military history. People who read books enjoy history for the most part, making libraries and schools our target audience. 

We don't have a budget for advertising, so outreach is the affordable option. TMP helps, but that is singing to the choir. Any TMP enthusiast would love to go to any convention, yet only 19% of respondents to our survey said that was where they had heard of us. With the positive press following HUZZAH! 2010, local growth will be automatic for the next year or few years. But eventually inertia takes over. 

I propose starting in Brunswick- very fertile ground. Did you know Brunswick has a public school ACW encampment every year? That coupled with Bowdoin College, and a history and pride tied to the Civil War, we should make out like bandits. Then, at the right time, we move the show to another area and start there- Portland would be my next target. Augusta, Bangor, and Lewiston would round out the top five. (Game Days only- we'd be fools to run HUZZAH! anywhere but Portland!)

I feel once we have 150 members (a totally realistic figure by my estimates) the synergy created will carry the club well into the coming decades.

I hope to be more involved with the club once I'm out of school, and will make growth my mission.

Thus endeth the sermon- Comments?

NIVEN

The Game Days have been a way to bring together the wargamers in Maine.  That was our goal when we started the first one back in February 2008, and its still the goal.  Our purpose is to bring together historical wargamers, to visit with friends, make new ones, and to promote the hobby.   We have some great friends and neighbors in NH and MA who have joined us for Game Days, and its awesome to have them, but we havent moved the event South because we try to be equidistant from southern Maine to Bangor.  Augusta would probably be the most fair in terms of location.

All of that said we are always looking for ways to bring new people into the hobby.  

I tend to think that there is room for both types of events.  We can schedule some promotional games at public locations, get new gamers into contact with local clubs that meet regularly (that is what a new gamer would really need anyway, something more than two Saturdays a year, plus Huzzah!), and then run the game days too.  

My comment would be that we should gather the data, come back with recommendations, and let the membership decide which location is best.  All the enthusiasm and good ideas in the world wont matter if we cant get a location for ten to twelve hours at $125!  We've done surveys about what folks want at Game Days and they've given us their feedback, its reflected in the list I provided at the start of the thread.

So- if anyone has a place they think would be spectacular, make the contact and get the details so that we can look at the information in an organized manner. Then we can decide which community is best, which location and why.  If you'd like to work on the committee let me know.  At the moment, I've heard from one person!

Outreach is something deserving of a full effort.  Game Days alone will not bring people into the hobby, and certainly not new young wargamers.  Bringing kids into the hobby would require attractive, reasonably simple, fast games that dont require a four hour commitment.  Walk-ins will not "walk in" conveniently at the proper start times.  I think we should tailor events to offer demonstrations so that we can bring in the new person for a turn or two an hour or two.  The next step is to have an organized club nearby where they can play regularly.  Two game days per year, and Huzzah! will not create an army of new wargamers.  We need student organizations in high schools, and regular local clubs with an active and public schedule.   I think that this approach of demo games to introduce them, regular meetings to encourage and develop their interest, AND game days and conventions is a winning combination.

All good comments.

In Maine I was a closet gamer transplanted out of the semi fertile gaming and club areas of western Massachusetts. For a few years after moving to Maine I occasionally visited Peter's shop on my days off from work to pick up paint, a brush, or a pack of minis if something caught my eye. The store was always empty in the middle of a weekday, so I had some good conversations with Peter. After a few visits, I was asked to come on in during one of the weekend games. That was hard to do as being in the food service business, I worked most weekend days. Eventually I did make it when a mech game or napoleonics game was going to be run. However the group did not welcome me as easily as Peter did and somehow all the game slots were prefilled ahead of time and no effort was made to open one up for the new guy who popped in. I retreated back to the closet for many years, eventually attending HAVOC at Devens, and then meeting Dean and Fab at the first run at Maironis Park.

My point is that the Game Days as they have been run have been great for established gamers from across the state to gather for a one day event to get face time. The event is good to try something new once in a while and reinforce the stretched Maine bonds. I think the Game Day should continue as is, and if one of us has a newbie or a young gamer in tow, every effort should be made to accomodate the new ones and quickly work them into the established groups. Cliques are a disaster and that's what drove me away the first time, being unable to penetrate it and certainly was not made to feel welcome. I consider myself lucky to run into Dean and Fab that March day in Shrewsbury.

The second point is that Niven's comments are incredibly important too. Recruitment and effort is certainly needed to expand and grow our group. In a nice venue with proper lead up marketing at targeted groups is the way to do it. Niven is spot on. A stunning eye candy game with easy rules and a scenario set up where people can arrive at any time be given "reinforcements" to move onto the field and play as long as they are willing. We all know how important it is for new players to be successful in their first few games. If a newbie gets routed, hand them another force of reinforcements, and go at it again. Play balance be damned. Let the newbies move troops, roll dice, and have fun. The visuals and the excitement will stay as positive memories, and we invite them back to Game Days and to Huzzah! Give them a discount coupon to come to their first one. Maybe even a free pass. Embrace the newbies.

As our group is settling in and looking to the future, I think we have the brains and passion to do both types of events knowing full well the importance of each. We can do it.

Mike