Results // Community Survey 002
About a month ago we sent out Community Survey 002. This survey was all about looking ahead and charting a course for the club’s future. We asked members to provide feedback how things went in our first month, which regular events they’d like to see, and what community endeavors Waystone should be supporting both in and out of the club’s walls.
It’s easy to get a game in at Waystone
Over 90% of respondents said they were confident that they could find folks to play with at Waystone. This is a big deal—meeting people and finding games is the essential experience at the core of our club. There’s always room for improvement, though, and folks identified our booking system as something we could refine as we move forward.
Alex and James recently brought their biggest baddies in for an Apocalypse game.
Club Events
There was a strong demand for regular hobbying opportunities, as well as events for beginners to learn Warhammer 40k and Kill Team. In response, we’ve already begun to set aside a table every Sunday morning for folks to come together and hobby, and we’re dreaming up how we can create the best learning experience possible for folks who are new to Warhammer. 40k is astonishingly dense, but if there’s any place that can lower the barrier to entry, we want to be it.
Club Improvements + Studio Table
Here’s what members said they’d like to see us reinvesting club funds into:
Members wanted to see increased capacity for games at the space, and we responded right away by installing some taller legs on our temporary studio table. We’ve also officially begun the design process with Understory Woodworking to create the studio table of our dreams:
Studio table design by Understory Woodworking.
If you’ve seen our current tables, the design language of this one should be familiar. At the same time, it doesn’t have the luxuriously wide bezels of the tables on our main floor—this table emphasizes the game taking place over providing a space for cards, books, and drinks. (Don’t worry, we’ll still have a place for you to put your drinks when the studio room is completed).
In addition to improvements in the studio room, we’re in the process of looking for upgraded seating (hobbyists rejoice!), and we’ve already begun to add additional club reference materials, including recent copies of White Dwarf and the new Kill Team: Nachmund book. It’s a radical idea, accessing the new rules and lore behind Corsairs and Chaos Space Marines without dropping $200 on a box set! And we'’ll be looking into more ways for members to use the club as an access point for reference materials—imagine coming in to grab a cocktail and watching the latest episode of The Exodite on our cozy couch!
Supporting Community
Waystone is a better club when it’s more accessible to folks from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, and when we use our resources to support the things that matter to us. In our last blog post, we outlined how every Community Amplifier membership allows us to sustain our reduced-cost membership policy and other good work in the community.
A significant majority of us indicated they’d like to see Waystone support the Ballard Food Bank and racial justice and equity work. Even though our club is still growing, it’s essential to us that we set a precedent for being more than just an insular group of gamers—we’ll provide more details on our plan to follow through with supporting these causes soon.
There’s more that I could share about competitive meetups, club jerseys, our new drinks, and tons of other exciting stuff that’s been percolating, but I suppose where I’ll leave it at is this: It’s my firm belief that Waystone may already be the greatest community for wargamers in the world—not because of our beautiful space or intensely gorgeous collections of plastic, but because we care about each other and the world outside of our walls.
Keep it up.
Cheers,
Dustin
