Never mind the date. It is the Year of Our Lord 2021. Autumn.
Once you passed the gates you accepted the fact that all persons in the gaming hall are from every strata of society and touch all aspects of it, wealth, religion, etecetera.
From these gates onward everyone is equal. There are no free passes for old members nor for new comers.
The thematic from these gates onward is the hobby. Not your ideals of life.
Welcome.
The Gatekeeper
The fun in the gaming hall comes from the fact the games being played allow everyone to explore the options commanders had during an engagement and why they selected certain courses of action over others, talk about the game and how bad or good it is, the hobby related arts and crafts and not about what colours to wear on Sundays or if morlocks actually have any mating rituals.
No one ceases to be who they are and actually inside the hobby hall everyone IS their own best hobby gamer and passionate selves, not the everyday socio-political-religious-alphabetical faces.
Everyone has a name, a voice, a way of laughing and games preferences. After a while the other patrons, veterans and newcomers will know what name, what face, who’s laughing, and whom is always up to play a certain game.
There’s a cafe plaza just outside for all talks personal life subjects and struggles. Many hobbyists use it to form personal bonds outside of hobby and is a great way to take a break.
The Gatekeeper
The veterans will take their time, tables, figures, boardgames, and sympathy to setup demo games, explain rules, run a good game, and everyone has a good time. As a newcomer I have to accept the game we playing. I might decide later that it is not for me, but not going to spoil everyone’s fun and start arguing how the game.
“This game would be better played if we just use our jedi powers instead of dice and on top of that it misrepresents the colour of my socks. – I identify with slated blue !!! “
As a veteran – and this is bloody important because respect is the basis of all – if they should see/hear someone being an arse then it is their responsibility to speak out and put them in their place not matter if a veteran or not. A respectable gamer will welcome a call to attention if things are derailing
Respect means what it means. Do not bring stuff that may arise conflict inside the gaming hall. And if we all stick to the hobby activities then respect is always mutual.
Gatekeeping is all about creating a good environment for everyone.
Everyone!
wargamer.coffee.break 