HAMILTON — For 18-year-old Trevor Attridge, Saturday mornings are no time for sleeping late or eating breakfast in bed — they're time for epic battles.
His Saturday morning ritual does not involve playing video games or watching blockbuster action movies.
Rather, it occurs at the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library, where a group of teenagers gather weekly to play multidimensional battle games with a club called Battle-Gaming of Massachusetts (BOM), founded by Attridge, a senior at Manchester Essex High School.
Attridge's hobby was sparked in 2002 when he saw a game set modeled on "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." He gathered a few friends in his attic to play the game, and the BOM club was born.
Three years ago, the group moved to the Hamilton-Wenham library for a larger venue.
"I think it's good for kids to play games (like these) and get together in real time instead of online," said Young Adult Librarian Kim Claire, who has helped maintain and promote the club. "It creates a community for them."
At their most basic level, battle games are based on a traditional board game format with a point system where each player takes turns rolling dice to determine his or her next move; however, there is no traditional board.
Instead, these games are played on either purchased or homemade terrain that's spread across large tables. To get a sense of battle gaming, Attridge said, it's like chess combined with Risk, but to the "umpteenth degree."
While battle gaming is not as popular on the North Shore as it is in the United Kingdom, Attridge said BOM's attendance has increased to about 10 members a week due to word-of-mouth and the website he started several years ago.
The club has drawn in regulars like Brian Palazzolo, 15, of Stoneham, who found out about the club online and decided to check it out one week.
"I came here and got to know everybody, and it just became a fun thing to do every week," Palazzolo said.
Community, art grow in fantasy worlds
In addition to gaming, the hobby requires artistry. Each player's pieces come in kits the teenagers order online — unassembled and unpainted.
"The other aspect to the game that I love, as well, is the whole artistic medium," said Attridge, who lives in Essex. "You have to build and paint these models, which I really enjoy. It's so much fun to put the sets together and come out with a finished product."
Most models sit only slightly higher than an inch and have incredibly detailed suits of armor and weaponry. Crafting these soldiers, vehicles and terrain can be as much a part of battle gaming as combating one's opponents.
Attridge has even started assembling and painting models on commission and works out of a studio space above his parents' garage.
The most common army set to buy for the game Warhammer 40K consists of 10 models, costs $40 on average, and can take up to two weeks to finish crafting. A single model of a tank or other vehicle can cost up to $50, Attridge said.
Two of the most popular types of battle games are Warhammer 40K and Warhammer Fantasy, each of which has expansive subcultures, according to Attridge. Games Workshop, the UK manufacturer of these games, has created what it calls the Black Library, a collection of novels written about the armies and characters of these fantasy worlds.
There are also numerous user manuals, strategy guides and fan websites, which are the most appealing feature of the games to teens like BOM member Ryan Buchanan, who says he enjoys the unending, epic narrative that he gets to be a part of.
"I like the strategy of the game," said Buchanan, 15, of Hamilton. "I'm very into the story lines and imagining them in my head."
Buchanan has read several of the books from the Black Library, which the Hamilton-Wenham Library has in circulation.
Claire, the young adult librarian, and the club participants all agree it's the community aspect of battle gaming that's most rewarding, particularly in a virtual age when real social interaction seems to be steadily declining.
"Something that's sad about modern entertainment is that you can't see who you you're playing with or communicate beyond keystrokes," Attridge said, referring to games where the players are connected over the Internet, like Xbox Live.
"Instead of looking at a screen, you're looking across the table at another person," Attridge said. "It's about community instead of just the game."
Want to play?
Battle-gaming of Massachusetts for teens (BOM) meets most Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library, 14 Union St., Hamilton. Teenagers can play and learn a variety of tabletop strategy battle games. Anyone is welcome; membership is free. For more information, visit the club website at www.freewebs.com/massbattles.
