Strathmore gaming shop jam packed with activity for youth

Just coming out of the pandemic there are limited activities for young adults and youth to enjoy and socialize in town. This month Hob’s Hobbies in downtown Strathmore is packed with events for the game-loving community to enjoy.

John Hilton-O’Brien co-owner of Hob’s Hobbies spoke about the atmosphere for the business.

“Hob’s Hobbies is basically a cafe that specializes in games,” he said. “So you can come. You can get a cup of some sort of espresso drink like a latte or something, and a little food, and you can sit and play a game.”

The hobby shop has a fun and bullying-free community atmosphere.

“It's very much part of the community, so there's always someone here to teach you how to play a game if you don't know how to do it or how to build a model or something,” said Hilton- O’Brien.

“It's overseen by someone who has a background in social work so we're generally free of bullying and have a positive atmosphere,” he said.

This month gamers can look forward to events geared around Pokemon, the card game, drop-in Dungeons and Dragons, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Warhammer.

“Pokémon is hosted by one of our local firefighters Curtis Reed. What happens with it is kids can come, and they'll pick up a pack of Pokémon cards and they'll learn to play the game together,” said Hilton-O’Brien. He revealed that the store has planned to host Pokémon tournaments in the near future.

“It's a wonderful thing for a young person to do on a Friday night,” he said.

Drop-in Dungeons and Dragons is held on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons.

“This is sort of like doing improvisational theater together. For people who are not familiar with role-playing games in the context of something like the Lord of the Rings,” he said.

“It’s the role-playing game, Not quite a board game but it's pen and paper and imagination mostly.”

Hob’s Hobbies hosts Yu-Gi-Oh! on Thursday nights and also their very popular Warhammer leagues.

“In Warhammer, you first have to build the models that make up the army. It comes in science fiction and fantasy versions, and with a sense of humor. The models are very high quality. We have both a science fiction league and a fantasy league going on,” said Hilton-O’Brien.

It’s anticipated that they will host a Warhammer tournament for the community in April.