Dylan Burns is part of the growing Centretown Warhammer gaming community.
Through the doors of Centretown’s Fandom II Games, down the stairs and past the poster of Gandalf the Wizard, lies a basement filled with battlefields.
Field commanders estimate distance – eyes darting between troop positions – fumble with measuring tape and contemplate their next moves.
These are the members of the Centretown Warhammer Club who have gathered to compete in the club’s “40k” tournament.
Warhammer 40k is a tabletop war game set in a futuristic fantasy world in the year 40,000. The game incorporates model design, tactics and collecting into a multiplayer strategy game.
The Centretown club aims to promote the play of Warhammer in the community and hopes to attract new members at the CanGames Convention at The Rideau Curling Club next month.
Warhammer has developed a dedicated following and meets every Sunday at Fandom II, the games shop at 162 Laurier Ave.
Bryan Orendorf, co-founder and current vice-president, started the Centretown club with some friends.
Ben Guthrie started playing Warhammer in 2007 and became a member of the group shortly after.
“There’s an in-built community right off the bat. You introduce yourself to people. You get a few names and once you have a big enough force up you can start playing,” says Guthrie.
The club operates on a four-week schedule.
On the first Sunday of every month, the group paints and builds models. For the rest of the month, the group plays different versions of the game.
Club president Jason Kebic says the group started with just three members when Orendorf started it. Today, the group has grown to more than 40 members.