Gaming community helps local teen

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A local teen interested in tabletop gaming had a heartwarming surprise when a local gaming group banded together to help get him into the hobby.

It all started at HOB’s Hobbies, a Strathmore store specializing in gaming, including card games, board games and Warhammer, a miniature-based tabletop strategy game.

“Warhammer is a tabletop wargame in which you need to actually build the armies that you are using from these extremely elaborate model kids,” explained John Hilton-O’Brien, co-owner of the store. “They are quite high quality.”

The game comes in two “flavours”: a science-fiction version (called Warhammer 40,000 — think aliens shooting each other in a dark and scary future) and a fantasy version (called Age of Sigmar, which is a bit like Lord of The Rings). 

Within Strathmore, there is a local gaming community comprised of about 18 members that meet at the store to play one of the two genres of the game, said Hilton-O’Brien. There is a group dedicated to each game type.

“We actually have some tables specially built for it,” he said. The tables are the game’s battlefield, which include painted and constructed terrain, he explained.

There are different factions of armies, each with their own unique unit types. Enthusiasts assemble an army by building and painting the model kits, then can play a game (“battle”) against an opposing army.

“It’s like chess on steroids, mixed with Dungeons and Dragons,” said Nic Fort, Strathmore resident and coordinator of the Age of Sigmar group. “But instead of having one character, you have a huge army.”

The game teaches strategy skills and is a chance to socialize, said Fort. 

“A few guys get together, put their plastic toys on the table, roll some dice and have a good time for a few hours,” he said. “It can be very easy or very competitive.”

But it is not cheap.

Each model in an army has a point value assigned to it, and armies are matched for a bout based on their total point value, he explained. Players often compete with and against 2,000-point armies, which can cost between $600 and $700.

Hilton-O’Brien told Fort about a local teenager who was interested in the game but could not afford to take a plunge into the hobby. 

“He kept talking about this kid who didn’t have much, but liked Stormcast Eternal, which is one of the factions you can pick,” he said.

So, Fort decided to step up, alongside other players. He put out a notice on an online hub called The Black Market Calgary, where miniatures and painting supplies are sold. “I just put a message on it saying if anyone had extra Stormcast or could sell them cheap, there’s a kid who wants some models but doesn’t have a big budget.”

Six or seven people responded and sold him about $800 or $900 of models for $200. Then, the local community helped cover the cost. “Everybody just sort of chipped in.”

The help was unexpected, said Fort. “He was quite surprised – it came out of nowhere.”

The Warhammer group is not just about gaming, he added. 

“It is a community,” he said. “It’s nerds and geeks and people who don’t like things like motorbiking and hunting that get together and have something to do.

“We’re always trying to help each other out – in this hobby, and in life too.”