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Many of us belong to groups of fellow hobbyists, whether they be wargaming clubs or modeling organizations, with various degrees of formality. Some clubs have dues, regular meeting dates, etc. But HQ the Club has its own facility in River Edge, New Jersey, which is wholly dedicated to the wargaming hobby. I had the chance to talk with Eric Goldstein, the founder of HQ to discover how such a place came to exist.
WitterQuick: First off, a little background about you. Aside from founding a private club for wargamers in New Jersey, what can you tell us about yourself?
Eric Goldstein: Well, I’m the forever adolescent married father of two who certainly owns more toys than do his children. I’m a Retail Professional which suits my personality well as it fuels my hyper active self. I am a 15 time published author as well having penned comics and short stories in several genres. These days I have a bi-monthly article published in an online pipe & tobacco magazine.
I’m an avid pipe collector and smoker (kids don’t try this at home. Hope that covers the legal)…
I became infatuated at a very young age with Fifties sci-fi and horror and then found Hammer Films. My corruption was complete. Harlan Ellison is the closest thing I have to an idol, in fact he is the reason I became a some-time writer.
I am to this day a devout and hopeless fan of sci-fi and horror of all levels holding a special place in my heart for schlock cinema ala ”Zombie Holocaust” and for that matter any Italian splatter gore (I bow my head to Fulci and Bava).
And yes, yes, yes, I’m a LOTR troll. In fact for our twentieth wedding anniversary my wife bought me another set of the books. I’m so ashamed.
Contrary to what many might think I never played much D&D and found the Mini hobby later in life, in fact I was an athlete most of my life. I was shopping in Manhattan (my native home), with the family when we passed a GW shop and my wife, to her unending sorrow, lol, suggested I go in. The rest is, well you know how that goes…
WQ: What inspired you to take on the creation of HQ? What were some of the biggest challenged you faced?
EG: When I first became interested in mini gaming I found that it was a lot easier to find the minis than people with whom to play. There was a local comic and hobby shop near me where I bought my models and I asked about their gaming community. The response was somewhat apathetic, they used to have people come in to play but it dried up and in fact they were going to cut back on the mini business. At that time they carried only GW.
So in a purely selfish effort to find others to play with I spent every available weekend day off at the shop. I would set up a table, I received nothing from the shop but permission to do so, on my own and sit there painting or building till someone would come in looking for a game. I did this to show people there would always be someone for them to play.
Well, something wonderful started happening. People that had left started coming back. People that heretofore only painted would get in games with me and new people started getting interested. I say with no small humility that my passion for the game is what drew a lot of people.
All we had at the store back then, some 7? Years ago were two 8 foot tables in a very cramped area. GW at that point saw the merit in investing a little time into the place as the business started to grow; I will tell you that it was a tug of war with the store constantly. GW held an event there and after meeting the GW staff I was invited to join as an Outrider.
I chose instead to organize and spearhead my own club which I named HQ the club. I wanted to create an atmosphere that held to high standards and so would attract the very best of values in a “gamer”. I met some amazing people including Raul Lima who has become a great friend and one of the founding fathers of HQ as it is today as well as our Treasurer.
WQ: The idea of a private club evokes mental images of everything from gentlemen sitting around drinking brandy to the Little Rascals' clubhouse. What's the HQ like?
EG: It’s probably a bit of both. HQ was put together by Hobbyists for Hobbyists and the only restriction on gaming is that it relates to the miniature hobby in some way, there are of course certain games that dominate but we all indulge in a bit of Zombies and Lunch Money on occasion.
The important part for us was that the place not be some skanked out basement where we would hide away ashamed to be playing with little toy soldiers. Our structure is based somewhat on the structure of a Historical gaming club in Brooklyn, NY; The Metro-Gamers. We have officers, bylaws elections and member guidelines.
The club itself is very much like an old tavern but we have carpeting! Its 1000 s/f with 4 separate rooms the 2 main rooms being our gaming areas, the 3rd being our food and beverage storage and the fourth our work room.
We have a video game area so people can relax between games or just chill on our leather sofa. It is very much a social club in every sense, its just that we play mini games rather than poker say, or just hang and talk.
We are very strict on cleanliness and take turns cleaning and vacuuming. The club is indeed our home away from home. Some days or evenings some members come down just to chill rather than play.
WQ: How would describe the membership of the group? Is it a diverse group of people with different interests, or a bunch of like-minded people?
EG: Well the one thing we all have in common is our passion for miniature wargaming, the building, painting and fielding of miniature warbands and armies. Beyond that we are as diverse at it gets.
We are made up of Electricians, Scientists, Artists, Financial Advisers, Policemen, a Game Shop owner and we even have our own Park Ranger. We range in age from 17 to mid 40’s. We are single, married, fathers and sons. No, we don’t all have interests in sci fi or fantasy but many do and yes, a bunch of us are into watching Sunday football and the Yankees (except Matt who is a Boston fan).
I will tell you that I have never met a more generous bunch of folks in my life. Generous with their time and money. HQ truly is the sum of its members.
WQ: On a more serious note, one of the things I noticed on your site was your impressions of how gamers are treated in hobby stores. There's been a lot of rallying behind "bricks and mortar" stores in the wargaming community as these try to compete with internet retailers. Do you feel that the wargaming community has a responsbility here?
EG: Absolutely! We as hobbyists are completely responsible for perpetuating the future of the hobby. But the first reality facing retail shops is the amount of real estate needed to house gaming tables. A successful mini business takes a lot of time and effort. I know, I managed a gaming shop (the very one wherein HQ was housed) for over a year.
Too many gamers take little interest in their local shop outside of plopping down at a chair and playing their games. In fact they will even use the shops facilities and then buy online. I made it a requirement of my members to patronize the shop to help pay for gaming space. They could buy elsewhere of course but they had to buy product from the shop as well. I also furnished a discount to members.
The problem is that too many shops don’t understand the mini hobby business or what it takes to support the gamers. Its a lot cheaper to sell Magic and Yugioh!. They forget though, that those mini hobbyists are also their comic, toy and card buyers. Very short sighted.
Mini gamers are often looked at as fringe dwellers, assigned to that age old stereotype of the basement D&D player; No money to spend, no hygiene etc… etc… etc… And afforded little respect as such. It is up to us to show them different and use our spending power to demand we be treated as revenue bases. Money talks my friend…
WQ: What are your plans and dreams for the club in the upcoming year?
EG: First and foremost we want to grow membership. We are financially okay but I want to become very solvent in the near future. We also want to start holding annual events that will run every quarter and draw on the gaming community et al.
WQ: So if a person wanted to join HQ, what would they need to do?
EG: Visit HQtheclub.org and check us out. But in a nutshell we advise people to come visit us first and that first visit is free. Any subsequent visits from non-members is on a $10.00/day basis. There is a 3 mos probation period after which the member body votes you in and you get your very own keys. Full membership is $50.00/mo, several of our members pay the full year in advance.
We are unique in this respect; Our full members get their own keys and can come and go as they please.
WQ: Many readers would find New Jersey a little far away. What would your advise people who might like to start their own private club?
EG: If you can do it in an established shop do so. But you must make a serious commitment to the shop and the club members. When I first started at this I used to help customers and sold quite a bit of minis for the store.
Get others involved and be passionate. Hold your standards high, if you allow disrespect towards the shop, the hobby and most importantly towards each other you will lose. Be a teacher and a role model first and a game player second. I often sacrificed my time in order to make sure a newcomer would have someone to play rather than selfishly playing a friend of mine. I can not stress the importance of this.
Then if you’re lucky you will meet people like I have who will invest their time to build a club WITH YOU, nobody can accomplish this themselves…
WQ: What's your favorite game, and how often do you get to play it at the club?
EG: My favorite game would have to be GW’s Warhammer Fantasy but I also love Rackham’s Confrontation. Problem is I play WAY too many games…lol…
WQ: Without making any presumptions about religious preferences, what's on your wish list this holiday season?
EG: That’s an easy one. I already preordered for myself GW’s Ogre Kingdoms boxed set. This army will be my project for the upcoming year. That and several shiny new Sherman Tanks to fill out my Flames of War Desert Dogs army.
For more information, please visit the HQ the Club website.
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