A gaming club in Wiltshire is going from strength to strength having increased its membership by 38 per cent.
Before July, the Trowbridge Gaming Club was attracting around 18 members on average to its Friday night meetings.
Now the club is regularly getting 25 members to its meetings at the Bethesda Baptist Church Hall on the Gloucester Road in Trowbridge.
Mark Reynolds, 49, who founded the club in February, said: “Members bring their own games to play and we provide the space.
“There are always more people with their own games than players, so you are never short of a game to play.
“We are actively recruiting more members and have the capacity to double our nightly membership.
“We could take up to 50 people at each session, and we are trying to promote gaming in the area.
“We are just getting like-minded people together and giving them a space in which to operate.”
Some members pay as they go to play, while others pay a monthly subscription towards the club’s running costs.
The age range of those playing is from 10 to the late 60s, with members coming from Trowbridge and the surrounding area, including Bradford on Avon, Frome, Melksham and Westbury.
The club meets every Friday from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm, and members play a wide range of games, depending on their interests.
Mr Reynolds said: “We have three pillars: war games, board games and collectable card games (also known as trading cards).
“These include war games such as Warhammer, Age of Sigmar, Lord of the Rings, and Blood Bowl; traditional board games such as Settlers of Catan, Pandemic, Lords of Winter Deep, Root, and Dungeons and Dragons; and collectable card games such as Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, Lorcana and Netrunner.
Mr Reynolds, who lives on the Broadmead estate, is a former retail manager who hails from Kingston upon Thames near London.
His own interest in games began at the age of 13, saying: “I used to walk past a shop with small painted Daleks and other fantasy figures in the window display.
“One day, I purchased some and have never looked back. It is a good hobby and relatively harmless.”
Gaming clubs are becoming more popular and there are several in the Wiltshire and Somerset area, including Bath, Bradford on Avon, Frome and Warminster.
Anyone wishing to join the Trowbridge Gaming Club should contact Mark Reynolds through the club’s Facebook page.
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