Battle rages in Wick but it's all a game and nobody gets hurt
The John O'Groat Journal was invited to witness a major conflict in Wick's Francis Street recently but all parties involved survived without a scratch.
Battle commenced at a new fantasy gaming venue based in the shop of a former petrol station at what is now called Caithness Car Valeting run by John Rocks.
"I just call this place 'The Shop' at the moment until I can find an alternative name like 'Wick Warriors' or something like that," said John.
The tabletop game being played on the night is called Warhammer 40,000, a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop and regarded as the most popular miniature wargame in the world. The game is particularly popular in the UK and the first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987 with the ninth and current edition being released in July 2020.
"This is our first night of doing the game. I'm going to be doing it regularly here, twice a month to start off with, and as we build up with more people, we'll do it once a week," said John.
"There's no cost to come along and learn the game, it's totally free. If people want to go further with it there are games, paints, books, models and everything here they can buy. I'm also encouraging people by having a 25 per cent discount off the recommended price. Warhammer can be expensive so I'm trying to take the prices down and this also saves them having to travel all the way down to Inverness to buy the figures and other stuff."
John had cleared some space in his shop to accommodate a table filled with miniature fantasy figures called Space Marines who were pitched against fierce warriors known as Orcs. Surrounding the painted figures were models of buildings and specialist equipment that players can purchase as accessories to enhance the battle landscape.
John was joined by Ray Watt and Adrian Mackay from Northern Knights Gaming and newbie player Tom Sutherland. Northern Knights have been running weekly gaming sessions at Tesco Community Room in Wick on Tuesdays (7pm to 10pm) and at Thurso Sea Cadet Hall on Thursdays (5pm to 10pm).
Ray from Northern Knights said: "We're playing Warhammer 40K tonight which is basically a game about futuristic battles with aliens, monsters, Space Marines, humans and everything in between. You build up armies, you can buy the stuff in here obviously, and it's both a hobby and a game. You build the miniatures, paint them yourselves and you can then have battles with your friends. It's an easy game to get into and you can play small games or ones that fill a hall." Ray added that Northern Knights do games other than Warhammer, such as role-playing games, card games and other board games.
"Myself and Adrian will typically come along to an event like this and help people learn how to play the game. At pub nights, we also provide a lot of the tables, terrain and miniatures to help people get into the game as well."
The newbie on the night, Tom Sutherland, said he used to paint WW2 models when he was younger and was interested in finding out a bit more about Warhammer. "I can see that it's fun and you can even get lost in it as if you are actually in the game," he said.
John Rock's gaming shop also has vintage comics for sale and can be found at the former Richards Garage petrol station on Francis Street in Wick. He can be emailed at: john@ccv.rocks for more info or by calling 07948 139 757.
For more information on Northern Knights Gaming visit its page on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/NKWargames/
Northern Knights also appear at the annual Caithness Model Club shows that are held in April.
