"Kidshammer" is the kids gaming club run by Victory Gamers, a non-profit group created to promote and play tabletop gaming, mostly in the Washington, D.C. / Northern Virginia area. The club offers girls and boys aged 8-15 fun and friendship through tabletop miniature gaming - specifically the Age of Sigmar fantasy game by Games Workshop.
Warhammer is not video gaming, and it's not board gaming. No screen time is involved while playing. The games are played with plastic and metal miniature figures on custom-made battle boards. Figures can travel in any direction and must be physically moved around the board, which is usually covered in fortifications, hills, woods, and ruins. The forces of the two players battle each other with fantasy or science fiction weaponry, often seeking to control objectives or accumulate points towards victory.
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Several things attract people to tabletop games:
- First, they are highly social. Tabletop gaming requires face-to-face interaction with the opponent. Friendships are made during the games and as part of a huge online community of fellow gamers. Players meet at each others homes, in local stores and even at large national tournaments and conventions. Sportsmanship is paramount, and players must learn to win and lose graciously.
- Second, they require imagination and creativity. Warhammer is a hobby, not just a game. The models must be assembled and painted by the gamers themselves, which is a challenge, but also allows for great customization and individuality. No two armies look exactly alike. Players often build the battle boards and terrain themselves, sometimes from re-purposed everyday objects. You need to be a little bit artistic to really play the game well (we can teach techniques though!).
- Third, they require math, tactics, and strategy. The games are dice based, so success hinges on understanding probabilities based on six-sided dice. Movement, target selection, and defensive measures determine victory or defeat.
No kids were harmed in the making of this terrain.
Our team for the NOVA Open 2023.
Steve Duall
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Steve Duall is the father of three, a government lawyer by day, and the husband of a very patient woman. He founded the Kidshammer club in summer of 2015. He headed up the first ever Kidshammer event at a major convention - the 2017 NOVA Open - and was very excited to bring it back every year since (except for the lost pandemic years).
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Andrew Maletz
NOVA Coach |
Andrew Maletz got back into gaming hobbies shortly after the birth of his children, including miniature wargames, RPGs, and board games. Over the last ten years, he has been reliably stockpiling games and minis for when his kids finally started to show an interest in sharing his gaming hobby. Andrew has coached children’s soccer teams and assisted with Kidshammer in 2019. Having a son on the Autism Spectrum, Andrew is especially interested in games that can provide opportunities for neuro atypical children to engage with friends and classmates.
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