Is there a patient table for you at OCE Guild?
I moderate OCE Guild, a free community in Mandurah for adults who enjoy role-playing and strategy games, at the table and on the screen. We meet in a quiet room on Tuckey Street, where long campaigns are played from week to week, new game masters are taught their craft, and ranks are earned by helping newcomers rather than by winning. Participation costs nothing: there are no fees, no tickets and no prizes beyond a good story well told. The guild is open to adults, 18 years and over.
What is the first rule of the house?
The first rule of this house is brief, and I repeat it to every newcomer: nobody is left standing at the edge of a table. Everything else in OCE Guild, from the way a campaign is seated to the way our ranks are awarded, grows from that single sentence.
The house itself is a plain, high-ceilinged room at 19 Tuckey Street, a short drive from the Mandurah foreshore. The street is quiet in the evening. There is an accountant's office on one side and a printer on the other, and a church hall across the road keeps its lights on for choir practice. On Tuesday evenings the accountant lends us her car park, which I regard as the foundation of our good standing in the neighbourhood.
Mandurah provides an unusual mixture of people. Some members work rosters on mine sites and are away for a fortnight at a time; some retired here for the estuary and the mild winters; others are students and tradespeople who simply wanted a table and a story. Long campaigns suit all of them, provided the table is patient with absences, and ours is.
We play role-playing campaigns that continue for many weeks, strategy games that take an entire evening to finish, and computer strategy and role-playing games enjoyed together on a shared screen or across the network. The common thread is that each rewards patience, and that a story is better told by several people than by one.
Taking part costs nothing. There are no fees and no tickets, and nothing is sold in the house. The guild is open to adults, 18 years and over. Our four ranks are awarded for helping newcomers find their feet and never for winning, as the ladder further down this page explains.
- A seat
- Every newcomer is seated within minutes of arriving, whatever the evening.
- A Guide
- One experienced member stays beside you until you feel at home.
- A story
- Campaigns that pause for rosters and resume without anyone being left behind.
- A cup of tea
- Offered at the door, refilled at the break and never charged for.
Who sits at these tables?
Where can the guild be found?
- The house
- 19 Tuckey Street, Mandurah WA 6210
- Telephone and email
- +61 8 9581 4736 · hello@oceguild.com
- Evenings
- Tuesday to Saturday, 17:30 – 21:30
How is a member expected to behave?
- Nobody is left standing at the edge of a table; offer a seat and a short explanation to anyone who arrives.
- Rank is earned by helping others and never by winning, so a Guide is measured by the tables they have steadied.
- Speak with courtesy at the table and in the chat, and assume good faith before assuming offence.
- Respect the game master and the host; disagreements about rules are settled after the session, not during it.
- Leave the room as you found it, with boxes repacked, cups washed, chairs returned and cables coiled.
What should a first-time visitor know?
What should I bring on a first visit?
Nothing but yourself. Dice, pencils, character sheets and rulebooks are provided at every table, and there is tea and coffee in the corner. Visitors who prefer their own dice or a notebook are very welcome to bring them.
How do I reserve a place for an evening?
Complete the join form once, and thereafter simply arrive during opening hours. Returning members may also request a seat at a particular campaign through the chat server or by telephoning the house.
Whom do I speak to on arrival?
Please ask for the Warden on duty, who wears a green lanyard and will introduce you to a Guide. On most evenings I am at the door myself from half past five, and I would be glad to meet you.
Must I know the games beforehand?
No. Every first session begins with a short demonstration, and each newcomer is seated beside a Guide who explains the rules as they arise. Questions are expected, and nobody is hurried.
What if I can attend only occasionally?
Many members work rosters and are absent for weeks at a time. Campaigns are designed to pause and resume, and a missed evening is explained to you on your return, never held against you.
What does the guild play?
The heart of the guild is the tabletop role-playing campaign: a group of four to six players, a game master who prepares the world, and a story that continues from week to week. Campaigns may run for a season or for several, and each has its own pace, from careful investigation to open exploration.
Alongside these we keep tables for long strategy games, board and miniature, and a pair of screens for computer strategy and role-playing games played together. A monthly workshop teaches those who wish to lead a table how to prepare, pace and close a session without exhausting themselves.
- Role-playing campaigns
- Weekly stories led by a game master
- Strategy tables
- Long board games and miniature battles
- Screen sessions
- Computer strategy played together
- Game master school
- Monthly workshops for new narrators
How does an evening proceed?
How is each rank reached?
Each step is reached by helping others and never by winning. Here is what the guild asks for at every level, from the lowest step to the highest.
Rank follows kindness, never victory.
Will you take a seat?
Complete the short join form and a Warden will write to you with the chat server invitation and the evenings that suit a first visit. A seat will be found for you.