There was a war raging in Waltham last night, but no blood was spilled.
Within a Spruce Street store armies of superhuman space marines battle against endless drones of insect-like tyranids and other alien races.
In this Thursday night world of Warhammer 40,000, age knows no soldier.
Gamers ranging from 8 to 50 years old from all walks of life, gather at Danger Planet hobbies store to shed their identities for a few hours and command massive armies.
"I came into this hobby fairly late," said Fred Dalzell, 45, a writer from Newton. "What I tell my wife is these are the toys I should have had as a child and now they are here so I'm playing with them."
Ming Zhang, 24, a Waltham resident and business consultant, said he swings by the store on his way home from work just to get a quick fix.
"At the very highest level it's the 'bar-effect,"' Zhang said. "Some guys go to a bar after work, we as 'minigamers' will catch a quick game before going home."
Yet, with Warhammer the complicated minibattles can last hours.
Players start by building an army of miniature characters which typically consist of die-cast metal figurines and plastic vehicles. Players usually start off buying a 10-pack of space marines, which run about $35 at the store.
From there it's on to purchasing a variety of specialty characters, playsets and vehicles. A typical army can run between $200 and $500.
The game is dictated by rulers or measuring tapes, the role of dice and a comprehensive rule book. Players take turns rolling the dice to move their characters, determine the length of a weapon's range and to execute hand-to-hand combat, among other things. Games typically last from two to three hours.
According to Dalzell and fellow gamer Dylan Gould, 24, of Newton, the players even have their own language.
To set up a "cheesy" army is to set up a game in your favor that exploits weaknesses in the rule book. "The fluff" refers to the game's narrative and being "beardy" means you are playing to win, not to have fun.
The painting of characters, vehicles and sets of terrain on which to wage battle is also a major aspect of the hobby that some find to be the most appealing.
"I think one of the things I like the most is the creativity and the artistry ... this stuff comes plain in these little bags and you have to create the characters," said Ron Elliot, a Somerville resident who used to live in Newton. "The part I like best is painting the stuff. Frankly I'm not that good at the game itself."
Dan Loayza, 29, of Wayland, is an administrator for www.emperorschildren.net, a Web site devoted to one of the armies in the Warhammer 40,000 world.
Loayza, better known online by his screen name Cenobite, said his Web site is mostly made up of forums in which local players clarify rules and talk about their love for the game. The site has been up and running for close to five years and has 393 registered users on its forums.
"Odds are there's probably a Web site devoted to each army," he said. "I know at least one guy that's in his mid-50s that plays ... I know plenty of kids, too."
When asked if gamers ever receive negative feedback from playing the game, Dalzell said for the most part he does not.
"There's definitely a stereotype of a gamer that they are nerdy," he said. "I don't find that to be the case. I think it attracts highly intelligent people and highly creative people."
As a game, Warhammer has been in existence for close to 20 years, according to Danger Planet employee Daniel Schrager, 23, of Sudbury.
"I guess you would think of it as very similar to historical war gaming," he said. "What makes it popular is people that are interested in experiencing science fiction and fantasy worlds."
Warhammer 40,000 games are usually played in the lower level of Danger Planet on Thursdays after 6 p.m.
For more information visit www.dangerplanetgames.com or call 781-894-6792.
Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
