Armidale’s tabletop gaming community is preparing to roll the dice for their upcoming 2K Warhammer 40K Tournament, 40K On Ice.
Tabletop Gamers United will host 40K On Ice on 28 February at the Armidale Racecourse, and registrations are still open.
Tournament organiser Zac Battersby said the event centred on Warhammer, a strategic tabletop tactics game that has been played worldwide for decades.
“It’s a fairly strategic game,” he said. “Probably a good way to say it would be it’s chess, but with like probably a hundred miniatures on the table instead of your normal number of pieces.”
Each player brings along their own army, made up of miniature figures that they can buy or print with 3-D printers and paint themselves.
The Armidale event will run under a Swiss tournament system, where players are randomly paired in the first round and then matched against opponents with the same number of wins across three rounds until one player is undefeated at the end of the day.
Tournament organisers provide tables that are fully set up, complete with terrain including buildings, craters, and forests, creating battlefields for competitors.
Mr Battersby has been involved in running events for many years with the Tabletop Gamers United group based in Coffs Harbour. Armidale has hosted one two-day event annually, but this year an extra event has been added for New England gamers and those who like to travel to tournaments.
Numbers are increasing for the upcoming tournament, with more than 20 players already registered.
Zac said that the increase was partly due to the event joining a NSW tournament circuit, attracting players from Sydney, Gunnedah, and other centres across the state to the Armidale tournament.
While the closure of Waterfall Way could present logistical challenges for organisers transporting tables and terrain, Mr Battersby said players are generally committed.
“Generally, the players who come to these types of events are willing to make sure they actually get there,” he said. “They’ll go the long way to come and play.”
He said the appeal of Warhammer varied from person to person.
“Some people are super competitive and love the tournament side of the game,” he said. “Other people just love the hobby side and being able to paint whatever they want. And then others have been playing the game so long, they continue to play because it’s still fun.”
Registrations for the 40K On Ice tournament remain open until 21 February. Details and registration information are on the Tabletop Gamers United Facebook page.
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