the giants lair

[Daniel36]

Man oh man... If you guys had built this store near where I live... I would never be anywhere else!! Amazing!!
So, are you guys going to stock Dropzone Commander? The new kid in town, but it looks like they've struck gold in terms of models and the feel of the game!!

[HereBeDragons]

Wow.... that terrain set is fantastic, and the battlefleet gothic board is literally out of this world! I clearly need to move to the SW of England....

[nagged]

Yo Daniel!, we've tried contacting Hawk Wargames with regards to stocking Dropzone Commander but I think they've been overwhelmed and we haven't heard back from them, shame as we have started an "Epic " area 3 6x4 tables set up for epic but it would suit Dropzone as well.
Sedition Wars is another thats going to fly out of the blocks and we have some plans for that as well. What's ironic though is no-one is hyping the Hobbit as I had started to plan space for that, nevermind.

HereBeDragons, you'd be more than welcome but be careful it's known as the graveyard of ambition!! (the South West not the Giant's Lair)

[shelfunit.]

Yo Daniel!, we've tried contacting Hawk Wargames with regards to stocking Dropzone Commander but I think they've been overwhelmed and we haven't heard back from them, shame as we have started an "Epic " area 3 6x4 tables set up for epic but it would suit Dropzone as well.
Sedition Wars is another thats going to fly out of the blocks and we have some plans for that as well. What's ironic though is no-one is hyping the Hobbit as I had started to plan space for that, nevermind.

HereBeDragons, you'd be more than welcome but be careful it's known as the graveyard of ambition!! (the South West not the Giant's Lair)

I really am depressed I don't live anywhere near your place - sadly it's a 1.5hr flight and 2hr drive/train were I ever to "pop over". Have you got pics of the Epic tables? I'm in the process (expecting to finish in the next 5-10 years) of painting my Epic collection and would love to steal your ideas.... I mean have a look and gain inspiration from your terrain...

[nagged]

Well we've been open just over a year and we're still open, still trading and in profit.....(just!)
So I'd thought I'd post some thoughts on an eventful year.

There's three partners involved in The Giant's Lair and without the other two I doubt whether we'd have got this far. Not from any faults in the buisness plan or the lame there's a credit crunch and people aren't spending excuse. But from the outset we wanted a wargaming venue a place to hold tournaments and events. Our biggest downfall is location right in the **** end of the country. Andy Avery (one of the "Giant's) is an avid tournament player and spends many a weekend faced with a 5-7 hour drive, not great on a sunday with a 6 pm finish. ( I know those in the States Canada and Australia are thinking so what). but for us it has 2 factors. Many gamers won't attend as now they face the 5-7 hour drive and secondly many of our locals don't attend tournaments.

It would have extremely draining going into this alone. There wouldn't have been enough of a wage to warrant giving up an established job, and so our work hours have been on top of our daytime work, each of us have needed a break and just have time away. we've also needed to keep each other enthusiastic and motivate something which would have been impossible on ones own. Some of this is down to the size of the unit. In one unit by the time the shop, office and refreshment/ bar area had been set up, we would only have had space for 14 tables.
About the same size of the pub function room the club used to meet in and in fairness probably just right as a couple of games could be played in bar. By taking on the second unit next door and knocking down the dividing wall upstairs we now have room for 43 tables, filling that many tables is the challenge.

When we opened we thought the weekends would be busy taking advantage of the time and space to play apocolypse/ legendary battles, but that hasn't been the case we get a few but not many. The club that meets here has moved from a suburb 7 miles out to a 1/2 hour walk from the city centre has gone from strength to strength with a regular attendance of 50-60. This is the dilema to many for one unit not enough for two!!

Our club meets on two nights Thurs the main night, a Monday which sees about 20. It's quite difficult keeping club night full and active, constantly having leagues and competitions and judging when to have just a club night and friendly games. But a busy and active club is essential. It's where we send any new visitors so they can meet other gamers and arrange other games, but it's also where we draw our tournament support from. Our First year the members had 15% store discount and access to some members only events, but this year discount is 10% but free gaming at weekends and discounted tournament tickets.

we're closed on Tuesday.

Wednesday is an difficult one it's painting night with about 10 people (but we try and offer what gw can't). we have monthly competitions with generic themes but just can't increase the numbers, the painting is free and the guys who come along are really supportive and always buy food and drinks, and cash in the till always helps to pay the bills.

Friday is the magic the gathering, and although numbers are low (students don't like walking!) The Guys who run the scene are keen to run events and luckily once a month hold an event with attendance around the 40 mark. When we openend magic wasn't on our radar, as we've expanded (slowly) the tables we built upstairs are 2ft x 6ft. Costing us more in timber but 2 pushed together for warhammer and then split for magic. Our upstairs room could hold 96 for magic with another 12 on an adjacent landing.

Saturdays are an enigma sometimes hectic and busy sometimes it's like the Marie Celeste. This is the challenge to get the weekends more consistant.

Sundays again an odd day to figure out but with most people having a family day on Sunday we knew this would be the quiet, however we have a few roleplayers meeting up from late afternoons onwards. Scion, Iron Kingdoms, Rogue Trader, Munchkin and Vampire the Masquerade all being played regulary. And our magic tables can be pushed together to make any size table which helps with a 12 player game.

How we move forward,
we've held a few tournaments so far and touch wood so far they've been well recieved. As more savvy players come down so the bigger the challenge of creating an enviroment where players new or not so experienced in tournament play can feel like they have a chance. we're going to start "boot camps". held over weekends with stronger players mentoring others with tactics and helping get into a tournament mindset, mastering movement and army selection and so on. So far these have been well recieved and is crucial to our tournament support. we need our local guys who won't enter if they feel they have no chance of competing, and people won't travel if we're not well supported.
Likewise "roadtrips". In order to keep things fresh and active our Giant's Lair team will be visiting tournaments, we realise we can't expect people to come to us without returning the favour!

We have also been lucky with our "celebrities" as well as mr Avery whos as i mentioned is active on the tournament scene, we also are in the same city as "Joeyberry" who always joins in (just ask anyone who saw her as Rasputina at the halloween doubles). And of course there's Mr Dee silver demon winner but more famous for his tea drinking ability who makes the pilgramage once a month and holds all day painting sessions (thoroughly bloody nice bloke always ready with time and advice) up close his stuff is amazing the nurgle giant had spit with flies in!!

Stay tuned for more updates from the Lair, the learning curve has been steep but the journey has been fun.The aim now is not sit back on our laurels but to workas hard in the 2nd year as we did in the 1st, Worth it i'm sure when i look back it will be.

[Daniel36]

Sounds like you guys are doing all the right things. Unfortunately, the right things usually make the least amount of money, so it is more than commendable that you are still doing them. I hope your customers understand that and are willing to spend some money where they might not usually do so (such as for beverages) to at least keep you afloat. Good luck on the next year. I hope you will still be there to give us an update in a year's time.

[Kisanis]

I am just in awe of this place. Next time I'm in the UK (even though its the north) I'd love to trek my way down there. Never been down south, now I have another excuse to come visit. Mini's or not, I'll join for a quick coffee/sandwich (Its how I can trick my gf into going )

Keep at it. Remember, atmosphere is everything - and in this hobby there is not such thing as too high a profile. So long as you keep delivering CONSISTENCY and reinvest where possible into the quality of the store, you will succeed. Don't let it become too stayed, a slap of paint here and there goes a long way to keep that fresh and comfortable feeling.

[nagged]

Great minds think alike Kisanis, hofully will have some pretty bits up on the walls after this weekend