How TableTop Games provide a safe space in Dalby

This games night draws in dozens of people and provides a safe place for lovers of Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer 40k, Pokemon, and more to come together and have fun with like-minded people.

Held monthly, this games night draws in dozens of people and provides a safe place for lovers of Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer 40k, Pokemon, and more to come together and have fun with like-minded people. Photo: Richard Gosling

Spells are cast, monsters clash on the battlefield and brave knights fight fire-breathing dragons and all of this is within a small building in Dalby.

In the past few years, the Dalby tabletop games community has flourished with games of Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, Pokemon, Warhammer 40K and board games being played regularly around town.

Once stigmatised as “nerdy” or worse still “satanic” the popular games are now played by people of all ages and from all walks of life.

Games Master JP Delofski said a chance conversation with a stranger on the street spurred on by their Firefly shirt had led to a discussion about Dungeons and Dragons and the eventual creation of the Dalby Tabletop Games group.

“In the late 20 teens, we got together with the council library and there was a proposal for the games to occur. It started out with some Dungeons and Dragons and it was really popular, we’d have 40 to 50 people at the events every month,” he said.

“Then Covid hit and put a stop to it, we started it up again and with the help of the library we expanded it outside of D and D. We now have Magic: The Gathering, WarHammer 40k, board games and card games like Pokémon.”

“It was quiet for a while but we have been working with a games shop in Kingaroy who have been helping us to develop it.

“We have expanded it since last year, we used to start at six and run through to 10 but we found there a lot of young people looking to get involved, so we now have another event which starts at 2pm and ends at 5pm for over eights to under 18s.

Mr Delofski said the game nights provided a safe place for those looking for something different to do with their evenings.

“It is a safe space for those kids to be able to come along and play with adult supervision, we find the younger crowd is starting to get bigger and bigger,” he said.

“It gives them something different to do, you hear around town that there is nothing to do, especially for those who are nerdy.

“Some of them find social gathering a bit difficult but once they come along it is good for their mental health.

“It facilitates friendships with people that don’t normally know each other and what happens is people develop groups outside of the event and play at home. I personally play every Friday night and there were several other groups born from this event.

Mr Delofski said while tabletop games were once considered a fringe activity the stigma was beginning to change.

“Once upon a time it was very much stigmatised if you look back to the 80s there was a satanic panic surrounding Dungeons and Dragons,” he said.

“The big change for the community came with television shows like The Big Bang Theory where they’d play these games and use them as story vehicles.

“It’s just a hobby, just like someone who likes their footy or hunting or gardening. It’s not weird or strange or something to be ashamed of and that stigma has gone away as more people get involved and enjoy it.

“At my table, we have a fella who drives trucks and is a mechanic, all the way through to someone who works for the department of transport there are all sorts of different backgrounds coming along to these things.”

Mr Delofski said the games provided something different for everyone.

“I love the storytelling element, I am a procurement officer and it is very much contracts and numbers so there Is not much room for creativity and as a Games Master I find storytelling is my creative outlet.

“I really enjoy interacting with the players and seeing what they do next is a lot of fun that I don’t get in my day-to-day.

“A lot of other people love it because games like Magic: The Gathering and Warhammer are maths games, and they love the elements of seeing how numbers and chance work.

“There is so much on offer, some people just love the collaboration element and being around other people.”

Mr Delofski encouraged more people to try their hand at something new and get involved.

“The more people we have the better the games are, we are always open to anyone who wants to come along as long as they’re respectful, it is a very inclusive environment,” he said.

“It is often hard to find like-minded people, but when we put these events on people know they are out there.”

The game nights are held on the first Saturday of every month at the MYCMC.

Originally published as How TableTop Games provide a safe space in Dalby