Geeky hobby makes splash in Sudbury (3 photos)

It requires a little imagination, a lot of patience, a fair amount of strategy, and for a small dedicated group of enthusiasts, tabletop wargaming represents the pinnacle of fun.

In late 2011, Orville Andrews and Taylor Holloway launched darkshard.ca a message board for people interested in popular tabletop games like Warhammer, and its futuristic cousin Warhammer 40K, and Infinity.

When they started the website, Andrews and Holloway had already been tabletop hobbyists for nearly two decades. Their friend Matt Jones later joined the group.
Andrews describes tabletop wargames as a mix between the board game Risk and chess.

“You have two armies that face off against each other, and you're the general giving out all the strategic orders to be able to defeat the other person,” he said.

The armies are made up of individual miniatures that represent everything from fantasy creatures like orcs and elves, to futuristic space marines.

The miniatures are made of pewter, plastic or resins – depending on the game – and range anywhere from $5 to $20 a piece.
They are placed strategically on a tabletop – which represents the battlefield.

A game like Warhammer 40K requires anywhere from 40 to 75 miniatures to form an army, while Infinity, made by Spanish game maker Corvus Belli, needs only 10 miniatures on each side for a battle.

“Some people enjoy the strategy aspect of it,” Andrews said. “Other people are really interested in the history behind the actual game itself.”

As with most things in geek culture, each tabletop wargame is built around an intricate fictional history that rivals the detail of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings in some cases.

Players can be a part of that role, and leave their own small mark in its history.

But for Andrews, and many other players, the biggest attraction to tabletop wargaming is the hobby aspect.

Many players paint their individual miniatures themselves to best represent their personalities and tastes – and to create a uniform army.

Andrews' mother owned a ceramic shop, and he grew up painting at a young age.

He paints all his own figures, and along with Holloway, does commission work for other players who may not have the same level of artistic ability.

Andrews said there are around 150 to 200 tabletop wargaming players in Sudbury who visit their forum and attend events.

He and his peers often organize small tournaments at local gaming shops like Great Canadian Games and Hobbies, on Lasalle Boulevard.

Brian Vanclieaf, the owner of Great Canadian Games and Hobbies, said when he opened the store 24 years ago he only sold sports cards.

But now sports cards represent around a quarter of his business, and board games have continued to grow in popularity.

“It's affordable, and it's a social thing,” he said. “You're not sitting in front of your computer playing a video game.”

Vanclieaf said the Internet has helped the board game of his portion of his business grow, thanks to YouTube videos that show many of the games he sells in action.

Actor Wil Wheaton, most well known for playing Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation and himself in the Big Bang Theory, hosts a YouTube channel called TableTop that has more than one million followers.

Vanclieaf said he often sells out of games after they are featured on Wheaton's channel.

While tabletop wargaming differs from traditional board games, Vanclieaf said those games have also increased in popularity, albeit with a smaller but dedicated following.

While the tournaments he hosts at his store can get a little competitive, Vanclieaf said there is a strong sense of community between the players.

“These guys are here to play and have fun,” he said.