Game club
Encyclopedia
A game club is an organization devoted to bringing game
player
s together. Schools and universities are common venues for game clubs. Other game clubs meet in members' homes. Many game clubs are often organized around a gaming store; a hobby store
-type of business
which sell non-computer games. These can be role-playing game
s, board game
s, German-style board game
s, card games and collectible card game
s. These relatively small stores are usually privately owned and run by people who are gamers themselves.
A gaming club will provide space (rooms, tables, some gaming equipment) and thus create a place where gamers can interact, learn and play games, meet, and relax.
The motivations for joining such clubs vary. Some games (e.g., Axis and Allies
) are, by their nature, so complex and time-consuming that finding an optimal number of opponents may be difficult in some areas without an organization to bring players together. Some games, such as chess
, have such a disparity of skill between beginners and experts that a ranking system may be helpful in matching up players of comparable skill. In addition, members may share books and other paraphernalia related to their games. Game clubs may also organize tournament
s. These events typically involve complex rules and procedures for ensuring fairness.
Some game stores even become centers of a community. People that are into gaming sometimes have trouble finding people to associate with, and game stores and clubs provide a place for them to find such people.
There are about 5,000 non-chain game hobby stores in the US (Fullerton, Hoffman, Swain, 2005).
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
player
Player (game)
A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
s together. Schools and universities are common venues for game clubs. Other game clubs meet in members' homes. Many game clubs are often organized around a gaming store; a hobby store
Hobby store
A hobby store sells recreational modelling and craft supplies and specialty magazines for model airplanes , train models, ship models, house and building models. Some hobby shops may also sell dolls, and collectible coins and stamps. A subtype of hobby store is a game store, which sells board...
-type of business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
which sell non-computer games. These can be role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s, board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s, German-style board game
German-style board game
German-style board games, frequently referred to in gaming circles as Euro Games or Euro-style, are a broad class of tabletop games that generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction and abstract physical components...
s, card games and collectible card game
Collectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
s. These relatively small stores are usually privately owned and run by people who are gamers themselves.
A gaming club will provide space (rooms, tables, some gaming equipment) and thus create a place where gamers can interact, learn and play games, meet, and relax.
The motivations for joining such clubs vary. Some games (e.g., Axis and Allies
Axis and Allies
Axis & Allies is a popular series of World War II strategy board games, with nearly two million copies printed. Originally designed by Larry Harris and published by Nova Game Designs in 1981, the game was republished by the Milton Bradley Company in 1984 as part of the Gamemaster Series of board...
) are, by their nature, so complex and time-consuming that finding an optimal number of opponents may be difficult in some areas without an organization to bring players together. Some games, such as chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, have such a disparity of skill between beginners and experts that a ranking system may be helpful in matching up players of comparable skill. In addition, members may share books and other paraphernalia related to their games. Game clubs may also organize tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
s. These events typically involve complex rules and procedures for ensuring fairness.
Some game stores even become centers of a community. People that are into gaming sometimes have trouble finding people to associate with, and game stores and clubs provide a place for them to find such people.
There are about 5,000 non-chain game hobby stores in the US (Fullerton, Hoffman, Swain, 2005).
See also
- BoardGameGeekBoardGameGeekBoardGameGeek is a website that was founded in January 2000 by Scott Alden and Derk Solko as a resource for the board gaming hobby. The database holds reviews, articles, and session reports for over 45,000 different games, expansions, and designers. BoardGameGeek includes German-style board games,...
- GeekGeekThe word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
- {Barracuda} Online Intellectual Games Club