Tabletop gamers level up struggling high street

With Warhammer creator Games Workshop riding high on the success of videogame Space Marine II and recently ing the FTSE 100, Josh Gorroño Chapman visits the tabletop gaming club thriving on a struggling high street in Hull.

Sandwiched between Boyes and a vape shop, you could easily miss the small shopfront with "Hull's Angels" above the door.

Taking the staircase leading up from it, the hum of voices turns into a cacophony and I find myself in a large room packed with people.

"You've got the Hell's Angels motorbikers in America. We're not quite that," laughs Adam Stephenson, chair of the tabletop gaming club on Whitefriargate.

Dozens of players are locked in battle across 18 tables, each populated with terrain from the shelves that line the room.

Adam explains the space had been empty for nine years and was not always the well-equipped gaming hub it has become.

"It used to be a William Hill betting site, so it took a lot of effort and time from our volunteers trying to make this our new home.

"They showed up, scrubbed the floors, scrubbed the walls and got painting," explains the 32-year-old. "It was a a great experience and we turned it around within a month."

Mr Stephenson says the idea for a club first came about when they realised nowhere else in the city had the capacity for Warhammer games on this scale.

Millions play the Games Workshop wargame, with the worldwide tabletop sector worth about £8.6bn in 2023, according to consumer data firm Statista.

Created in 1983, players simulate battles between armies using painted plastic miniatures.

"You may have a 100 model army," explains Adam, "all the way down to a five model. It's available for all sizes and budgets."

Hull's Angels have set up their own leagues, matching players who want to get involved.

"It's great for growing that community and getting people together."

Connor O'Neill says he first got into the hobby during Covid-19, "to keep [his] sanity", but has since found it is a great alternative to boozy nights out.

"As I got older I stopped going out partying and drinking and it was just a way for me to socialise," explains the 30-year-old.

"A lot of the friends and people I associate with now are from this place."

Asked what has driven the recent surge in interest he cites ex-superman actor Henry Cavill being a "poster boy" for the hobby as well as the videogames and media surrounding the game.

Chris Taylor, 32, thinks games like Warhammer offer a "very different sort of experience" to online games. "It's very social," he adds.

Paul Atkin agrees. "I get bored after about 20 minutes," he says. "The computer's doing it all, whereas here I'm physically moving the pieces."

The 70-year-old started playing in the early 1980s and says, while the scene in the city has "massively increased", having a place like Hull's Angels has really helped.

"I had my garage kitted out, but it's much easier to come to a central hub."

Amy Snuggs is sitting with her partner Tim Davis learning a new tabletop game.

"It's changed my life," says the 32-year-old.

"Before I met him, I had no idea about miniature painting or war gaming."

Finding she loved the painting side, she has now turned it into a job, becoming a professional miniature painter for tabletop gaming company Modiphius.

In 2020, Hull City Council received a £1.75m grant from Historic England to regenerate and "breathe new life" into Whitefriargate.

The council said the street had been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Stephenson says centres like Hull's Angels could help revitalise Britain's high streets.

"We see it in the news all the time. Our high streets are struggling and shops are struggling to stay open."

"Places like this really seem to thrive and succeed, and it's maybe time for the high street to change."

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