Commanders Roll Dice In Miniature Wars 500 Expected To Take Chances At Sfcc Game Faire

Six men gathered around a felt-covered table directing soldiers in a re-enactment of the Civil War’s Battle of the Palouse.

Dozens of miniature Civil War soldiers converged at the base of a hill on the east side. To the west, Ryan Haskell, 27, readied Union troops on top of a hill for a frontal assault on a Confederate brigade.

The battlefield was sprawled across three tables in the cafeteria of the Spokane Falls Community College student union building.

It was just one of the more than 75 games that were being played Saturday at the 17th annual Game Faire put on by Merlyn’s Science-Fiction Fantasy Store, a Spokane specialty game store.

Dice, tape measures and paper rulers were the Civil War commanders’ weapons of choice. Players rolled the dice to determine distances they could move and damage done to their opponents.

“It’s horrible right at the moment,” said Mark Rounds, the Civil War Miniatures game master, just as John Krauss lost two of his Union soldier units in a volley.

Across the student union lobby, 24-year-old Mike Isaacs watched four people match wits in Wildstorms, a fantasy game in which players use cards marked with superheroes to do battle.

Isaacs has been coming to Game Faire periodically for the past 10 years to sample various games.

“I try to play one new game a year,” he said.

Board strategy games, collectible card games, role playing games and video games were among those he had to choose from.

Last year, the Game Faire raised about $800, but organizer Dave Smith expected to double that total this year. Attendance for the three-day event could reach 500 people, Smith said.

Proceeds from Game Faire, which ends today, benefit Habitat For Humanity. Doors open at 9 a.m.

Three game companies also are among this year’s booths, marking the first time even one company has attended the Game Faire, Smith said. Representatives from Mayfair Games traveled from the company’s Illinois headquarters to attend.

“When this first started off it was a smaller thing,” Smith said. “It was just a small group of people getting together to play games. It just grew and grew and grew.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo