Table Top Education

As it is the Christmas Holidays, it's probably a good time to remind people of just what I'm writing this blog for. It might not be hugely obvious, as there hasn't been any club activity since the end of last term.

I am a teacher, and I run the school's war gaming club. Right now that means Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, Blood Bowl, Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, and occasionally X-Wing: Miniatures Game.

I am also the Alpha Nerd of the school, with all the dubious honour that title entails. Many young neophytes tremble at the magnificence of my neck beard!

My poor Chalk Orks about to get it from a Riptide...

Well, actually not really. I trim the neck fuzz regularly to keep the outward appearance of a professional teacher, and fool people into thinking I'm not the kind of person who regularly day dreams about dragons.

I do, however, spend a great deal of time on the club. I mainly spend my time reminding the students to thin their paints, but I'm also the one who has to order in the paints. It's not cheap, and I'm usually out of pocket a few hundred pounds each term because of it.

The thing is, I can't really stop myself from doing it. When I was growing up, I routinely saw the frowns of adults as I showed them my new Ork dreadnoughts. In time I learnt to hide my hobby from others, and cut myself off from a great deal of support and creative expression. It would be years until I happened to walk into a Games Workshop and rekindle my passion for these hobbies.

I won't let that happen to other kids, not whilst I am in a position to help them.

So I put the time in, and the money, and get out... well neophyte gamers. The reason I created this blog a few months ago was to help generate donations and funds for the club. So far, I have got nothing for my trouble, but I think going around cap in hand and begging for cash isn't going to get me a second large base brush for the kids.

Now what then? Stop the blog? Not just yet.

I believe there is a way forward for everyone to get something out of this. I'm still against the idea of advertising on here, as I want it to be a resource for teachers and students. Having dodgy adverts pop up, and thus get blocked by school firewalls, is not going to help that.

I have a Patreon set up, and every Friday I will post on there one mission or scenario to play through. This will be behind a pay wall, and only open to those on my Patreon feed. I'll still keep up my daily post schedule here, and keep the bulk of the guides and news reports open for everyone.

Patrons will also have some chances for extra privileges... check them out! All the links are down below.

Everything I get will go towards upkeep of the club, and making sure students have the paints, tools and models they need to progress in their hobby.

I know that people can't really afford monthly donations but still want to keep newbies in Orks, and to help these generous souls out I have finally had a bit of time to set up a PayPal account. If you want to drop me a tip for the work done here, just drop it there. Every little helps!

First scenario will be going up on Friday. It's one of my favourites, and one I use to help teach new players about any game's mechanics. It's also one I use to test out new models and units after doing some serious number crunching. If you'd like to see, please sign up to the Patreon!

Thanks for reading.

If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please leave a comment. Sharing this with your friends, and following me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ would also be hugely appreciated.

If you really love what I do here, you can make a one off donation at my PayPal, or become a true hero to table top education and make a regular donation to my Patreon. Every Little helps!