The Exeter team (from left to right): John Gendle, Gary Harris, Steve Morga
and Andy Kimberly (not pictured).

THE EXETER GAMING CENTRE

Gary Harris

Nick: As soon as you enter the Exeter Gaming Room the first thing you'll get is a real good hobby vibe. "That's what we like to do here; lots of hobby loving and talking to people," says manager Gary Harris.

You can certainly feel the hobby 'love'; a towering Moria board soars up to the ceiling - so high it's like you're in the Dwarf halls themselves - and there are walls ornamented with helmets, halberds and all manner of other paraphernalia.

In order to satisfy the hobby needs of their gaming populous,
Exeter boasts a total of seven 6'x4' tables.
That's a lot of hobby loving!

HOBBY KNOWLEDGE

The ruins of the 41st millennium

It's an experienced team that you'll find in Exeter. Along with Gary, there are three full-timers who have a total of twelve years of Games Workshop experience between them (spread pretty evenly too) and Gary has been around for over five years himself. "My guys are so hobby orientated - there's a lot of hobby love here," says Gary. The team use their combined hobby experience to run lots of tournaments and campaigns for all our core systems and Specialist Games, which have a strong following here. "We recently ran an Inquisitor campaign," Gary tells us, "called 'Mechanicus' which was based on a forge world."

GOING CLUBBING

Clubs are something that Gary is keen to promote through the Exeter Hobby Centre. "We encouraged Kurt in the Dice and Dagger club," he says (you may remember Kurt's club from White Dwarf 314). "We've also just opened a club in Whipton and some of the ex-staff members have started clubs in Torquay and Brixham." Clubs are a very important part of the hobby for Exeter, as Gary explains, "It's something I've always believed, that clubs are the way forward."

The Dwarven halls of Moria

Crusading for clubs is not the only way that Gary releases his righteous fervour - he also collects a huge force of Black Templars that he's currently rebuilding. "I did at one stage have 20,000 points." And amongst that were some eighteen Land Raiders and fifteen Crusader squads - ouch! "My ambition is to collect another 20,000 points," Gary tells us.

LEGENDARY HERO

Gary is a bit of a hero. He likens himself to a company Chaplain and why not, for as well as all the hobby stuff he does in the Gaming Room and for clubs, Gary has also organised three Conflict events and most recently helped organise the Bring and Battle at Games Day 2005! He even came in on his day off to speak to White Dwarf for this very article. "I work for Games Workshop and I want to come in no matter what." Highly commendable and much appreciated, Gary!

Just one of the many gaming tables available to play on in the Exeter Gaming Room.

THE RED LEGION

Full-timer John Gendle is a fan of Chaos and Orcs, so much so that when he made an army for Storm of Chaos he combined the two. "I didn't want to do a Chaos army," says John of his 'Khorne Orcs'. "So I thought, 'What about an Orc army that has wandered into the Chaos Wastes?'" Below are the results of this strange melding – note the red skin on the Warboss and the bizarre Squig Spawn.

Above: When he fields the army in battle, John uses the characteristics for a Chaos army. His Black Orcs are Chaos Warriors, his Warboss a Lord and so on. Right: These are some of Gary's converted Necrons. Click images to see larger versions.

You can find further details of the Exeter Gaming Room including directions and contact telephone numbers on the Store Finder.

GAMES WORKSHOP GAMING ROOMS

Like a regular Hobby Centre, all Gaming Rooms provide the full range of Games Workshop services. They are larger than a normal Hobby Centre and have many tables, making them perfect for meeting fellow hobbyists.

During the week we have to restrict Gaming Room facilities to those over 16, but at weekends they are open to all hobbyists.

GAMING ROOM FEATURES

• Varied scenery and table set-ups for Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, The Lord of The Rings and all the Specialist Games.
• Dedicated painting areas.
• Special events, battles and campaigns.
• Minimum age 16 on weekdays.

Related Links:
Store Finder: Exeter
Sheffield Gaming Centre | More About Gaming Rooms