Tabletop gaming: The ‘geeky’ hobby that’s a billion-pound industry and lifeline for those seeking friendship
It would be easy to dismiss tabletop gaming as a “geeky” hobby played by young boys in the basements of their homes.
For those who have never enjoyed the rush of playing a miniature wargame, it may come as a surprise that it is in fact a multi-billion-pound industry loved by people from all walks of life and is continuing to boom across the country.
Tabletop gaming covers quite a lot of different things, including board games, card games, dice games, miniature war games, role-playing games and tile-based games.
In this golden age of video games and comic book movies, experts say tabletop gaming has been “pulled along” into the mainstream and is currently enjoying a “renaissance” in the UK.
Pic: Stephen Whistance
Games Workshop has been transformed into a billion-pound company thanks to the likes of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.
The firm, which was founded in 1975 by three friends, was originally a manufacturer of wooden boards for games including backgammon, mancala, nine men’s morris, and go.
It later became an importer of the US role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, before going on to publish war games and role-playing games in its own right.
The company opened its first shop in Hammersmith, west London, in 1978 in a chain that would later spread across the world.
The now Nottingham-headquartered company was worth about £4.7bn at the beginning of December.
To put that into perspective, at the same time Boohoo was worth around £470m, ASOS £455m, and Card Factory £315m.
Pic: Stephen Whistance
Superman himself, Henry Cavill, is one of Games Workshop’s A-list clients.
The gaming enthusiast has been attempting to bring a Warhammer film and television universe to life via Amazon MGM Studios, and in recent weeks it was confirmed a TV series is moving forward.
The Hollywood star celebrated the news by making a “pilgrimage” to the very first place he bought Warhammer models more than 30 years ago on his home island of Jersey.
Tabletop gaming enjoying a ‘renaissance’ in the UK
Dr Niall Moody and Dr Hailey Austin, from Abertay University’s faculty of design, informatics and business, told Sky News tabletop gaming is enjoying a “resurgence” in the UK.
Dr Moody, a lecturer in game audio and design, said “these days, geek culture is mainstream”.
He believes the box office draw of the likes of The Lord Of The Rings films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) have helped to “pull along things like tabletop gaming”.
Pic: Stephen Whistance
Pic: Stephen Whistance
Dr Moody said part of its popularity also stems from the fact it has been around for a “very long time”.
He explained: “Board games date back to 3000BC at least. We’ve had card games since, like, the 14-15th century.
“Warhammer’s lineage is kind of from war games. The original one of those is Kriegsspiel from the 19th century.
“And the other big part of tabletop gaming today is tabletop role-playing games.”
He added: “Tabletop role-playing games in particular have become massively popular over the past like 10 years. I think part of the reason they’ve become so popular is down to the actual play stuff.”
Actual play – also called live play – is a genre of podcast or web show where people play tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) for an audience.
It often encompasses in-character interactions between players, storytelling from the gamemaster, and out-of-character engagements such as dice rolls and discussion of game mechanics.
Dr Moody, a game designer and artist, said highly polished shows have inspired would-be players to take up the hobby.
Pic: Stephen Whistance
Pic: Stephen Whistance
Colleague Dr Austin, a lecturer in visual media and culture, said there is a “huge culture” around playing games right now in the UK.
She noted: “This culture has been huge in Germany and Sweden for a long time, but it’s having a renaissance here now.
“I think it’s similar to sports. Some people know a lot about sports and teams and trends, and watch other people playing sports. And others play it themselves.
“It’s the same with games and board games. Some people only like to watch, and others like to join in casually, or competitively.
“I think some people don’t know how popular it is because we are in an age of information overload and there’s no way to know about everything, while there’s no excuse not to know anything.”
Dr Austin, whose PhD is in comic books, believes role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons – which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024 – are enjoying a revival in part due to the popularity of the likes of Netflix show Stranger Things, as well as podcasts and well-produced live sessions like Critical Role and Dimension 20.
Pic: Stephen Whistance
Dr Austin, a programme lead for Abertay University’s BA (Hons) game design and production course, noted the hobby is often thought of as being “consumed by predominantly young men” but that isn’t the case.
She said: “Board games, card games, party games and role-playing games are incredibly popular with all kinds of people and have been for a long time.
“In fact, by most accounts, women tend to make up around 50% of game players. They just aren’t thought of as the main market.”
She also believes Generation Z’s alcohol habits could also be playing a positive role in the hobby’s popularity.
A YouGov survey released at the beginning of 2024 found that almost half of the UK’s youngest drinkers were turning down booze for low or no-alcohol alternatives.
Dr Austin said: “From what I understand, young people don’t want to go out drinking much anymore. They would rather stay home with friends and play games.
“It’s a nice, lowkey way to be social, meet like-minded people, and a safe space to express themselves.”
An important lifeline to those seeking friendship
(L-R) Chris Mooney, Stephen Bannerman, Curtis Walker and Simon Lewis are on the Crossfire Gaming Club committee
One Scottish club is testament to the popularity of tabletop gaming.
Crossfire Gaming Club was founded by a group of six friends in February 2023.
Club chairman Chris Mooney, 37, told Sky News the men needed a place to game after “getting it in the neck” from their wives and partners for repeatedly playing at each other’s houses.
They hired out Cumbernauld Village Hall in North Lanarkshire and hoped to attract a few other gamers.
It has since grown exponentially with club nights held on both Mondays and Thursdays.
Crossfire Gaming Club has used some of its Lotto funding to purchase high-quality gaming terrain
Mr Mooney said: “We thought if we get eight to 10 people that’ll be a massive success for us. Now we’re averaging 50-odd. It’s no longer a small operation.”
Members play a wide variety of games, from the likes of Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar and Infinity to Blood Bowl, Kill Team and Star Wars: X-Wing.
Starter armies are available to players who don’t have any gaming equipment, and intro games can be arranged for those who have never played before.
There’s even a hobby area where members can sit down and paint their models while chatting to others.
The club has invested in board games, and other groups that need a space for the likes of Dungeons & Dragons are additionally invited to get in touch.
Since its inception, the club has received £25,248 from National Lottery Awards for All Scotland.
The committee has used some of the money to purchase high-quality gaming terrain.
The lotto cash has also been used to fund more tables, buy merchandise like club hoodies, and subsidise expeditions – like group cinema trips and axe-throwing adventures.
Mr Mooney said the funding has helped “massively”.
He said: “It takes the pressure off us as we don’t have to worry about the next council bill that’s coming in for the hall or so.”
The club boasts a hobby area where members can paint their models
Mr Mooney, who was part of a gaming club years ago, agrees with Dr Moody’s sentiment that the popularity of computer games and comic book movies have helped to bolster the perception of tabletop gaming.
He said: “It’s become a lot less taboo over time. It used to be one person in the classroom that collected comic books, but now it’s very accepted because Marvel is mainstream and all sorts.
“Geek culture has become very mainstream, and that’s kind of pulled along things like wargaming with it as well.”
Mr Mooney says some of those within the “gaming, wargaming and geek culture suffer from social anxiety”.
He said that’s why he personally likes the club, explaining: “I like coming out and talking to people.”
Crossfire Gaming Club members during a games night
Dr Moody agrees that its popularity has led to the creation of public events, societies and board game cafes – all deemed to be a “safe space” for those with social anxiety.
Dr Moody said: “With social anxiety in particular, it can be really hard to socialise in more traditional settings like pubs.
“If the sole focus is social interactions, like making small talk, it can be really hard if you struggle with social anxiety, and you can often freeze up in those situations.
“But one of the really good things about games, tabletop games in particular, is that they give you something else to focus on that helps you relax around other people.
“It’s a great way to meet people in a low-stakes setting.”
Jac Harvie
Jac Harvie, 25, is one such member who enjoys the social aspect of the club as most of his friends are not into tabletop gaming. “I’ve got anxiety and can struggle sometimes, but here I feel like I’m among friends,” he said.
“We share a lot of the same likes and talk about things like new books that have come out.”
Jac Harvie and Connor Leitch
Even when he’s losing, Mr Harvie is still having fun.
He explained: “Even the bad nights are good because you enjoy yourself.”
Kevin McMail
Kevin McMail, 39, is another member who believes the club offers an important lifeline to those seeking friendship.
Due to the effects of lockdown, he found himself in front of a screen a lot.
“I realised I was probably spending more time at home with the dog than out and about the way I had before. I was like, ‘I’ve got to get away from this’.”
Mr Mooney and Mr McMail
Mr McMail said unlike basic video gaming, there are “extra elements” to the hobby as participants can express their artistic side through the painting of their battle figurines.
He added: “I think a lot of people are attached to screens a lot, but you don’t feel the same level of social experience when you’re playing online games with people.
“That level of social connection, I think it’s important for a lot of people. And that’s what you get here – just an unbelievably supportive community.”
Pressure is growing to renegotiate or leave an international convention blamed for slowing building projects and increasing costs after a judge warned campaigners they are in danger of “the misuse of judicial review”.
Under the Aarhus Convention, campaigners who challenge projects on environmental grounds but then lose in court against housing and big infrastructure have their costs above £10,000 capped and the rest met by the taxpayer.
Government figures say this situation is “mad” but ministers have not acted, despite promising to do so for months.
The Tories are today leading the call for change with a demand to reform or leave the convention.
In March, Sky News revealed how a computer scientist from Norfolk had challenged a carbon capture and storage project attached to a gas-fired power station on multiple occasions.
Andrew Boswell took his challenge all the way the appeal court, causing delays of months at a cost of over £100m to the developers.
In May, the verdict handed down by the Court of Appeal was scathing about Dr Boswell’s case.
“Dr Boswell’s approach is, we think, a classic example of the misuse of judicial review in order to continue a campaign against a development… once a party has lost the argument on the planning merits,” wrote the judges.
They added: “Such an approach is inimical to the scheme enacted by parliament for the taking of decisions in the public interest,” adding his case “betrays a serious misunderstanding of the decision of the Supreme Court” and “the appeal must therefore be rejected”.
Another case – against a housing development in a series of fields in Cranbrook, Kent – was thrown out by judges in recent weeks.
The case was brought by CPRE Kent, the countryside challenge, to preserve a set of fields between two housing developments alongside an area of outstanding natural beauty.
John Wotton, from CPRE Kent, suggested it would have been hard to bring the challenge without the costs being capped.
“We would’ve had to think very carefully about whether we could impose that financial risk on the charity,” he told Sky News.
After his case was dismissed, Berkeley Homes said the situation was “clearly absurd and highlights how incredibly slow and uncertain our regulatory system has become”.
They added: “We welcome the government’s commitment to tackle the blockages which stop businesses from investing and frustrate the delivery of much needed homes, jobs and growth.
“We need to make the current system work properly so that homes can actually get built instead of being tied-up in bureaucracy by any individual or organisation who wants to stop them against the will of the government.”
‘Reform could breach international law’
Around 80 cases a year are brought under the Aarhus Convention, Sky News has learned.
The way Britain interprets Aarhus is unique as a result of the UK’s distinctive legal system and the loser pays principle.
Barrister Nick Grant, a planning and environment expert who has represented government and campaigns, said the convention means more legally adventurous claims.
“What you might end up doing is bringing a claim on more adventurous grounds, additional grounds, running points – feeling comfortable running points – that you might not have otherwise run.
“So it’s both people bringing claims, but also how they bring the claims, and what points they run. This cap facilitates it basically.”
However, Mr Grant said that it would be difficult to reform: “Fundamentally, the convention is doing what it was designed to do, which is to facilitate access to justice.
“And it then becomes a question for the policymakers as to what effect is this having and do we want to maintain that? It will be difficult for us to reform it internally without being in breach of our international law obligations”
In March, Sky News was told Number 10 is actively looking at the convention.
Multiple figures in government have said the situation with Britain’s participation in the Aarhus Convention is “mad” but Sky News understands nothing of significance is coming on this subject.
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‘The country faces a choice,’ says Robert Jenrick
The Tories, however, want action.
Robert Jenrick, shadow justice secretary and former housing minister, said the Tories would reform or leave the convention.
He told Sky News: “I think the country faces a choice. Do we want to get the economy firing on all cylinders or not?
“We’ve got to reform the planning system and we’ve got to ensure that judicial review… is not used to gum up the system and this convention is clearly one of the issues that has to be addressed.
“We either reform it, if that’s possible. I’m very sceptical because accords like this are very challenging and it takes many many years to reform them.
“If that isn’t possible, then we absolutely should think about leaving because what we’ve got to do is put the interest of the British public first.”
Mr Jenrick also attacked the lawyers who work on Aarhus cases on behalf of clients.
“A cottage industry has grown. In fact, it’s bigger than a cottage industry,” he said.
“There are activist lawyers with campaign groups who are now, frankly, profiteering from this convention. And it is costing the British taxpayer a vast amount of money. These lawyers are getting richer. The country is getting poorer.”
UK
Colombian man found guilty of double murder after leaving couple’s bodies in suitcases on Bristol bridge
A Colombian man has been found guilty of two murders after taking his victims’ bodies in suitcases to Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge last year.
Yostin Mosquera was convicted of the murders of Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso, who were killed in London on 8 July 2024.
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of murders.
(L-R) Yostin Mosquera murdered Albert Alfonso and Paul Longworth
Mosquera’s victims were 62-year-old Albert Alfonso and his civil partner, 71-year-old Paul Longworth. It is believed that Mosquera, a 35-year-old who worked in the adult film industry, first met Mr Alfonso online.
Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso walk with Mosquera from their house. Pic: Met Police
The three men struck up a friendship, the couple visited Mosquera in Colombia, and they repeatedly flew Mosquera to the UK to stay with them at their flat in London.
While the men would take day-trips to tourist attractions, like Madame Tussauds, Mr Alfonso and Mosquera would engage in extreme sex together.
But in the weeks leading up to their murders, Mosquera was clearly planning his attacks.
He looked online for a freezer and, on the day of the killings, searched for: “Where on the head is a knock fatal?”
The prosecution argued he was financially motivated.
Mosquera has been convicted of two murders. Pic: Met Police
Mosquera repeatedly tried to find the price of the couple’s property in Scotts Road, Shepherd’s Bush, and stole money from Mr Alfonso after murdering him.
On 8 July 2024, Mosquera killed Mr Longworth by hitting him with a hammer, shattering his skull, before hiding his body in a divan bed.
That evening, during sex with Mr Alfonso, Mosquera stabbed him with a knife. A postmortem revealed 22 stab wounds.
Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso. Pic: Met Police
All of this was recorded on cameras, which had been placed in the room by Mr Alfonso.
Mosquera then decapitated the bodies, the heads stored in a freezer which he had delivered on 9 July.
A handyman hired by Mosquera loads the victims’ bodies into a van in suitcases. Pic: Met Police
The other remains were put in suitcases and on 10 July, Mosquera hired a van with a driver to transport him and the bags to Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The prosecution argued Mosquera went to Bristol with the intention of throwing the bags off the bridge.
But, struggling with their weight, Mosquera caught the attention of passers-by, telling them the cases contained car parts.
But people noticed liquid leaking from the bags – blood.
Yostin Mosquera ran off after passers-by noticed the suitcases were leaking blood. Pic: Met Police
Mosquera was later arrested just after 2am on 13 July. Pic: Met Police
Mosquera ran off and was later arrested at Bristol Temple Meads station on 13 July 2024 and charged with both murders.
When the case came to trial, initially at the Old Bailey and then at Woolwich Crown Court, the gruesome footage of Mr Alfonso’s murder was repeatedly played to the jury.
Miranda Jollie, Senior Crown Prosecutor at the CPS, said she found the video “horrific”, but maintained that it was necessary to show the video because of Mosquera’s claims.
Mosquera denied the murders, but admitted killing Mr Alfonso – his defence team argued it was manslaughter by loss of control.
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However, the video evidence contradicts this claim.
It shows Mosquera had hidden the knife before sex, showing the attack was premeditated.
He was also calm as he attacked Mr Alfonso, who was taken off guard, and went to Mr Alfonso’s computer to try and steal from him as he lay dying.
In court, Mosquera argued, through a Spanish interpreter, that Mr Alfonso had repeatedly “raped him” and that Mr Longworth had been killed by Mr Alfonso.
But the prosecution argued there was no evidence to support these claims, while the couple’s relationship was unconventional, it was also “loving”, and Mr Alfonso would never have killed Mr Longworth.
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