Mordheim campaign day: The Clubhouse

Link to Clubhouse website: Tabletop Games | Clubhouse | Newcastle Upon Tyne

I was recently fortunate enough to attend an all-day Mordheim campaign event down at The Clubhouse in Newcastle upon Tyne. The purpose of the event was to kick-start a three month Mordheim campaign that will be taking place at the club. Both veterans and complete novices were invited to attend. I wanted to write a little piece about my experience as it was honestly the best wargames event I have ever been to, and I felt it was worth reflecting on.

My warband at the end of the campaign day

For background, The Clubhouse is a volunteer-run organisation down on the Quayside in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is open four nights a week for various games. They have a vast library of board games as well as wargames terrain. You can either pay £15 a month for membership or £5 per visit. Drinks and snacks are available at the bar.

The Mordheim event was organised by several Mordheim afficionados. Ticket price was £30 (or £25 for club members), which included lunch. Terrain was provided by the club and several attendees. In total about 20 people attended. Prior to the event an event pack was issued which set expectations, laid out some house rules and what would actually happen on the day. People with significant experience of Mordheim were asked to volunteer to be “veterans”. Veterans were given a lanyard that flagged them as veterans so that anyone who wanted to query rules and so-on knew who to approach. Everyone was also given a nametag, which I thought was brilliant.

After a short briefing at the start of the day (mostly to explain how the map campaign system worked) we broke off to find someone to play against. Unlike atypical tournament it was very much a free-for-all, simply going up to someone if they were free to find someone to play against, or waiting for someone in particular if you preferred. Mordheim, especially when played in a campaign setting, can result in games of quite varied length, some finishing quickly if one player doesn’t want to risk their warband, while others can turn into fights to the death. I found that this informal approach to getting games worked well.

 It was great to mingle and chat with people as we got our games organised, and this pattern continued throughout the day. This produced a very relaxed atmosphere as there was no pressure to finish your games or play for longer than you wanted. Equally however, if you wanted to cram in a bunch of games that was fine as well. I managed to get four played, while one of my mates got three played. Being a very causal event there was plenty of chit-chat and sharing of knowledge, which was great for newcomers and the more experienced alike.  

At the end of the event various prizes were awarded for silly achievements. For example, a prize was awarded for the player with the animal who caused the most casualties (dog bites man), and another one for the player with the most animal kills (man bites dog?) We also got a little goody bag which included a few pieces of 3d printed scatter terrain, sweets and a handy Mordheim measuring rules. This was a lovely touch.

I left the event feeling tired, but excited. It had been a long day, but unlike a day at a tournament I did not leave feeling mentally drained. Instead I left feeling energised and looking forward to continuing the campaign on club nights. While in part this is because Mordheim is a comparatively simple set of rules, this was mostly because of the casual, fun atmosphere the organisers had worked so hard to generate.

To summarise what I felt was done well, in no particular order:

1. Keeping it informal and allowing people to organise games at their own place.

2. Giving everyone a nametag

3. Encouraging the community spirit.

4. Great venue (having a bar for drinks both soft and alcoholic is handy).

5. Enthusiastic organisers and engaged participants.

   
   

Once again, thank you to the organisers and to The Clubhouse for hosting the event. It was a fantastic day, and I look forward to the next one (which I believe is planned for January). If you can make it I would highly recommend it.