Reflections
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As we start September, I just wanted to take a few moments to reflect on how far we have come.
Roll The Dice started life as a free kids club in January 2024. We focussed on Warhammer (as this was what was asked for) and worked hard with both our local and hobby community to be able to provide the club for free.
Our first session had 6 children attend, and we were thrilled! Matt and I genuinely worried that we would just have 2 hours of chilling out and feeling lonely, but twas not to be!
We continued to evolve the group - adding a library and a 'Tuck Shop' selling cheap, second hand models. We also welcomed our first volunteers to help us out, including members of the Helston and Lizard Wargaming Club, who helped add some variety to our offering.
Fast forward a little to the start of May, and a number of things happened. Firstly, I was to take a break (who knows for how long) from teaching following a less than pleasant experience. Secondly, we hit 42 members in our free children's club! We also had received a number of requests for a friendly adults club for Warhammer 40,000, so Matt and I decided that we would find a venue and open up the fortnightly sessions that a small group of us ran to a wider audience. Finally, we decided to make Roll The Dice a community interest company. Thus, Roll The Dice Cornwall C.I.C. was formed as a non-profit organisation.
By the summer we had gathered nearly 50 children to our membership, and had a high of 32 children in one session (a kitbashing session which was jam packed full of creative chaos!). We had run a few adult sessions and had great feedback and were buoyed up by this. We had also dipped our toes into running after-school and home ed sessions.
With the children's free session, the home ed and after school clubs all taking a break for the holidays, we had a think about what we wanted to do, both to keep our momentum but also providing for the children, young people and adults we had embraced into our community. To this end, we looked at our combined calendars and decided we would put on 3 family game sessions. Each of these built on the success of the last, and we could not be more proud!
Alongside these sessions, we also spent the summer planning for our continued world domination. Before the summer, Matt and I went to the North of Cornwall for a Warhammer 40,000 doubles tournament. It was a lot of fun, as well as being a great way to learn a bit more of this game that we love. We decided that we would dip our toes into the tournament scene and set up our first tournament, embracing our locale and calling it Tides of War. Before the summer we were approached by Martin, the Porthleven Beer Seller, about collaborating on a Beer and Boardgames evening - an event to get people together and enjoying socialising. We also started to organise a local Expo to celebrate the wonderful businesses, groups and individuals that make up our hobby.
Behind the scenes of all of this, we continued to develop our relationship with different distributors to be able to stock the products that our community want. We are now thrilled that we, a C.I.C. that started out as a kids club, are working with some of the biggest international companies in order to bring gaming to our area of Cornwall.
When I look back it is crazy how far we have come in a relatively quick time. Also, how our little kids club has grown into something so much more.
When we reflect on the past, we also look forward though. We love what we have achieved, but we want to do and be more.
In September we make our first foray into being a FLGS by taking on the Committee Room space attached to the Porthleven Public Hall 4 days a week. This will allow us to host more sessions, work with a wider range of people and start to establish ourself as a hobby game shop. The space is not solely ours, and we are limited by what we are able to offer due to that, so we are exploring ways in which we can have a permanent home. This will allow us to offer more: more groups, more stock, more support to different individuals and organisations...
All of this doesn't even touch on the fact that we also want to be the first organisation in Cornwall offering Therapeutically Applied Tabletop Roleplaying Game sessions for schools and organisations. Matt and I have completed the first stage of this training and are keen to use it to make a difference, especially in schools, where it can give as good, if not better, results as traditional play or art therapy, whilst being more cost effective for schools who are operating on an increasingly tight budget.
What a rollercoaster it has been.
January 2024 - free children's gaming club.
September 2024 - registered non-profit C.I.C.; free children's group; adult sessions; family game sessions; home ed support; after school clubs; event hosting; working with other local businesses; Therapeutically Applied Tabletop Roleplaying Game sessions for schools and organisations; opening as a Friendly Local Game Store/Friendly Local Game Space; working with international distributors; and setting our sights on a permanent home.
None of this could have been achieved without the fantastic support we have received from our local community, but also the wider gaming and hobby community who have got behind us. We are so unbelievably appreciative of everyone who has donated, attended a session, wrote a kind comment or bought something from us.
All of this helps us work to use in-person gaming to improve social, emotional and mental health. Long may we continue to do so.
From the bottom of mine and Matt's hearts, thank you.
Dave
Roll The Dice started life as a free kids club in January 2024. We focussed on Warhammer (as this was what was asked for) and worked hard with both our local and hobby community to be able to provide the club for free.
Our first session had 6 children attend, and we were thrilled! Matt and I genuinely worried that we would just have 2 hours of chilling out and feeling lonely, but twas not to be!
We continued to evolve the group - adding a library and a 'Tuck Shop' selling cheap, second hand models. We also welcomed our first volunteers to help us out, including members of the Helston and Lizard Wargaming Club, who helped add some variety to our offering.
Fast forward a little to the start of May, and a number of things happened. Firstly, I was to take a break (who knows for how long) from teaching following a less than pleasant experience. Secondly, we hit 42 members in our free children's club! We also had received a number of requests for a friendly adults club for Warhammer 40,000, so Matt and I decided that we would find a venue and open up the fortnightly sessions that a small group of us ran to a wider audience. Finally, we decided to make Roll The Dice a community interest company. Thus, Roll The Dice Cornwall C.I.C. was formed as a non-profit organisation.
By the summer we had gathered nearly 50 children to our membership, and had a high of 32 children in one session (a kitbashing session which was jam packed full of creative chaos!). We had run a few adult sessions and had great feedback and were buoyed up by this. We had also dipped our toes into running after-school and home ed sessions.
With the children's free session, the home ed and after school clubs all taking a break for the holidays, we had a think about what we wanted to do, both to keep our momentum but also providing for the children, young people and adults we had embraced into our community. To this end, we looked at our combined calendars and decided we would put on 3 family game sessions. Each of these built on the success of the last, and we could not be more proud!
Alongside these sessions, we also spent the summer planning for our continued world domination. Before the summer, Matt and I went to the North of Cornwall for a Warhammer 40,000 doubles tournament. It was a lot of fun, as well as being a great way to learn a bit more of this game that we love. We decided that we would dip our toes into the tournament scene and set up our first tournament, embracing our locale and calling it Tides of War. Before the summer we were approached by Martin, the Porthleven Beer Seller, about collaborating on a Beer and Boardgames evening - an event to get people together and enjoying socialising. We also started to organise a local Expo to celebrate the wonderful businesses, groups and individuals that make up our hobby.
Behind the scenes of all of this, we continued to develop our relationship with different distributors to be able to stock the products that our community want. We are now thrilled that we, a C.I.C. that started out as a kids club, are working with some of the biggest international companies in order to bring gaming to our area of Cornwall.
When I look back it is crazy how far we have come in a relatively quick time. Also, how our little kids club has grown into something so much more.
When we reflect on the past, we also look forward though. We love what we have achieved, but we want to do and be more.
In September we make our first foray into being a FLGS by taking on the Committee Room space attached to the Porthleven Public Hall 4 days a week. This will allow us to host more sessions, work with a wider range of people and start to establish ourself as a hobby game shop. The space is not solely ours, and we are limited by what we are able to offer due to that, so we are exploring ways in which we can have a permanent home. This will allow us to offer more: more groups, more stock, more support to different individuals and organisations...
All of this doesn't even touch on the fact that we also want to be the first organisation in Cornwall offering Therapeutically Applied Tabletop Roleplaying Game sessions for schools and organisations. Matt and I have completed the first stage of this training and are keen to use it to make a difference, especially in schools, where it can give as good, if not better, results as traditional play or art therapy, whilst being more cost effective for schools who are operating on an increasingly tight budget.
What a rollercoaster it has been.
January 2024 - free children's gaming club.
September 2024 - registered non-profit C.I.C.; free children's group; adult sessions; family game sessions; home ed support; after school clubs; event hosting; working with other local businesses; Therapeutically Applied Tabletop Roleplaying Game sessions for schools and organisations; opening as a Friendly Local Game Store/Friendly Local Game Space; working with international distributors; and setting our sights on a permanent home.
None of this could have been achieved without the fantastic support we have received from our local community, but also the wider gaming and hobby community who have got behind us. We are so unbelievably appreciative of everyone who has donated, attended a session, wrote a kind comment or bought something from us.
All of this helps us work to use in-person gaming to improve social, emotional and mental health. Long may we continue to do so.
From the bottom of mine and Matt's hearts, thank you.
Dave