Hardcore players dominate Calgary’s tabletop wargaming scene.
They collect, paint and battle with massive miniature armies on tabletops across the city.
However, the price and complexity of these large hardcore games can leave new players feeling overwhelmed and drive more casual players away from the community.
One Calgary game store is encouraging a friendlier, more approachable kind of gaming.
Kyle Bordage, owner of Imaginary Wars Gaming and Hobbies in southwest Calgary, has always seen wargaming as a stress reliever — something to do with friends to take the edge off.
As he got into the wargaming scene in Calgary, he found that most game stores didn’t cater to people like him.
“Every store is really catering to more competitive guys because their guys are in your store more often,” Bordage said. “People argue otherwise, but all the conversation is ‘best builds,’ this and that.”
Inclusive approach to wargaming
Ever since opening his own store nearly 14 years ago, he’s tried to bring new players into the hobby with that attitude. To avoid the gatekeeping and complexity that come with popular wargames, Bordage runs learn-to-play days for many different popular wargames.
They start people off with more straightforward rules and smaller armies to ease them into the experience and get them used to the way the game feels.
He also has a team of volunteer coaches that share his goal of making his store a fun and inclusive place to play.
“I managed to get some guys who see the value in bringing new people into the game and really promoting a much more casual kind of environment,” Bordage said. “They help out immensely. I couldn’t run this by myself at all.”
One of those coaches, Bill Ramsey, has been working with Bordage since COVID. The social isolation that came with the pandemic is one of the big reasons the two decided to start running these beginner days.
“I saw that the pandemic was going to be really bad for this kind of experience,” Ramsey said. “Kyle and I made an arrangement that I would come in and try and grow a community of a bunch of people wearing masks and rolling dice and playing miniatures games.”
While beginner days are great for bringing new people into the community, keeping them there takes more than just monthly games.
Levelling up with narrative campaigns
For those interested in a deeper dive into the game with the same casual approach, Ramsey runs narrative campaigns telling stories through larger-scale tabletop battles. Players choose teams and compete to complete objectives and progress their faction’s goals.
“You start out with a force of guys who don’t know each other, a bunch of raw recruits, throw them into battle to see who survives. And then after that, they’ll gain experience, and eventually those raw recruits will turn into epic heroes,” said Ramsey.
Narrative games let players get more invested in the games they enjoy without restricting them to ultra-competitive tournament play.
“You’re not necessarily playing a competitive ‘I need to beat you, and you need to beat me’ thing,” Ramsey said. “We’re telling a story together.”
Bordage and his team turned their passion for gaming into an inclusive, supportive environment for their community.
For him, seeing people enjoy the games he’s passionate about makes the whole thing worthwhile.
“When you get people sitting, setting up at a table and playing, and suddenly you can see that their imagination is activated. I think that’s probably what gets me going the most,” said Bordage.
“When you show up with the painted army and there’s painted terrain and your opponent shows up with the painted army, suddenly the whole game transcends everything you thought it was. And that’s when you’re in hook, line and sinker.”