finding/starting gaming group in UK - Nottingham

F:atties, I've been trying for a while now to find other people local to Nottingham to play boardgames with. TOS has a kinda Nottingham group but it's going nowhere fast and there's been no activity of that front for a while now. It seems silly to have to travel to another city just to play games and, as has been pointed out to me, I am a slacker and lazy. Any of y'all know of any Nottingham area groups, or do in fact any of you live in Nottingham (if so, my commiserations)?

(as the person pointing out he is indeed lazy)

Joe would also like suggestions on how to start organize a group without having an apartment big enough to host. How do brits approach bars or cafes to camp for hours being nerdy in public?

/joe's nagging friend

Is there a game store or a local university?

Mad Dog wrote:

Is there a game store or a local university?

I think that's part of the problem, there isn't in fact a specific game store in Nottingham, the closest being a forbidden planet with a single small shelf given over to board and RP games. May have something to do with having Games workshop HQ here (which, by the way, is a pretty good place to visit anyway. lifesize Space Marine statues, large dedicated and and theme decorated gaming area with 40+ tables, onsite shop and even a bar serving a local brew ale called Bugmans XXXX )

There are a couple of Uni's in Nottingham, which I could check. Not sure how though, as my Uni days are long behind me.

A lot of pubs and bars will be happy for the business monday to thursday. Best to find one that has a function room. Just go and ask if you could come and play boardgames on a weekly basis for free.

I ran a group in Glasgow. I'd say half of members came from seeing it advertised on BoardGameGeek and half came from word of mouth. That site is great for being a place where if you are interested in board games and start doing internet searches you would struggle to miss it.

Word of mouth is a very powerful way to get a group started. I know a friend got a bit disheartened by how Eurocentric the Glasgow group could be and just gathered some friends together and started an AT focussed group. I was amazed how quickly he got a fully functional group together. I think some of them were people he knew through comics and a fantasy and SF book group.

The university gaming society was a great suggestion. They aren't that likely to play much in the way of board games but you'll definitely get some regular gaming.

I am in Manchester now. I am guessing that would be a bit far for regular gaming. You should look out for StabCon in Stockport though. Two decent sized cons a year with plenty of AT.

Isn't the guy who does all the Gaslight diorama's on BGG in Nottingham or is that yourself?

Best I can offer is a miniatures gaming club based in Mansfield:
www.dragon-slayers.org.uk/news/news.php?subsection=news_latest
I know a couple of them from my Warhammer days, and they're good lads. How open they'd be to board games is another question entirely.

Alternatively you can come and game with me on a Monday night in Bath - should only be 2-3 hours each way for you, depending on traffic.

Joe_Richter wrote:

There are a couple of Uni's in Nottingham, which I could check. Not sure how though, as my Uni days are long behind me.

If they have a games club I'd talk to them about space to play in at least. I don't know how stuff works in the UK, but here such a club would have a registered president and most likely have an ad on a bulletin board somewhere. You could also ask someone there about starting a game night for students if there isn't already one. Some friends and I used to play CCGs at a university even though we were never students there. They were happy to have more opponents for whatever game.

Leicester has a war gaming club. I had a job interview in Leicester. www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/289355

MattDP wrote:

Best I can offer is a miniatures gaming club based in Mansfield:
www.dragon-slayers.org.uk/news/news.php?subsection=news_latest
I know a couple of them from my Warhammer days, and they're good lads. How open they'd be to board games is another question entirely.

Alternatively you can come and game with me on a Monday night in Bath - should only be 2-3 hours each way for you, depending on traffic.

Thanks for the offer, and I may take you up on it some other time if I may, but I can't do this monday (easter stuffs).