As part of my search for a new gaming club in Newcastle, this past weekend I attended Northumbrian Adventurers Guild in Blyth.
The club runs from 12-6 pm every Sunday, with Blyth being a decent 30 minute drive from my flat in Newcastle. I set off from Newcastle in the pouring rain to reach Blyth for 12 pm. When I got to where the sat nav had directed me, I found myself in the middle of a residential area with no church in sight. I wandered around for a bit, then got directions to the church hall. I arrived around 12.30 an eventually found my way up to the club.
The Church hall was nice, light and spacious and there appeared to be a huge storage area packed with terrain, this looked promising. There were 4 people inside, three setting up for 40k and one setting up for what I later found out to be Frostgrave.
I smiled at some of the other gamers and sat down on one of the seats. After about 10 minutes, no one had approached me or even spoken to me. I eventually went up to the 40k crowd and introduced myself, asking if there were any committee members that I could speak with. The guys were very nice and welcoming, but told me the members don't really show up until about 2-3 pm. They said if I hung around, I would be able to get a game of 40k.
I hung around chatting with a few of the players and wandering a bit, but after an hour or so, I was still no closer to getting a game. I decided to give up then, not wanting to waste the rest of my Sunday afternoon on the off chance that I could get a game.
I did ask about how to go about organising a game and was told to check out the facebook page or the club forum on the website. I had checked out the forum before going to the club to try and organise a game. After eventually finding the organise a game section, the last entry for 40k was on 6th October, and the board did not seem to be used all that frequently. There was no mention on the website of a facebook group that I could find. I did find the facebook page easily, but it was one of the ones where only the club can post on the wall, the visitors posts are buried on the side and don't seem to be used all that often, at least not for organising games.
Not the greatest of success for my first time at the club. I decided to cut my losses and head home. I treated myself to a few games of bowling at the bowling alley around the corner from my flat that I had been wanting to try out. Three games on a Sunday for £6 was quite a bargain, I think I will be visiting there fairly frequently. I was a little dismayed that I appeared to be the only one in the whole place not using the bumpers. Kids today............
The club was seemed nice and the guys there were friendly, I just wasn't able to get a game, which is kind of what I am after in a gaming club.
Fortunately, Durham Raiders will be back on next week and I should be able to get a game there.