A NEW community group of trading card enthusiasts is searching for a permanent home in Ballina as its Magic: The Gathering sessions continue to attract new players.<\/p>\n
The group currently meets at Ballina Fair Shopping Centre every Tuesday night and has built a following of more than 70 people online.<\/p>\n
The group hopes to find a larger and more visible venue to support its growth.<\/p>\n
Created in 1993, Magic: The Gathering became a global phenomenon and is marketed as the world’s most popular trading card game.<\/p>\n
The game involves players building decks of cards featuring creatures, spells and magical abilities before battling opponents in strategic contests.<\/p>\n
“It started off with a discussion with one of the managers at EB Games who sells the cards, and the fact that there’s no place in Ballina to actually play and get a group together,” group founder Stephen McQueen said.<\/p>\n
“I thought I’d talk to the centre and put it out to see if there was an interest and it’s just gone from there.”<\/p>\n
McQueen said he was grateful to Ballina Fair Shopping Centre management for providing a venue.<\/p>\n
However, the group’s current location is no longer ideal as attendance continues to increase and organisers look to attract more players.<\/p>\n
“I have to thank Louisa and the staff there, we wouldn’t have got it off the ground without them,” McQueen said.<\/p>\n
“The space that I had it in has now got a pop-up shop, so they’ve given me their conference room for a Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
“It’s great that they’re providing me a space to do it, but it’s not quite in the face of people walking past. We need that walk-by traffic to get noticed.”<\/p>\n
The game appeals to a broad range of people and shares similarities with fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.<\/p>\n
Its popularity shows no signs of slowing, with major events attracting huge crowds around the world.<\/p>\n
“They just had a MagicCon in America, and 120,000 people went through the doors over one weekend,” McQueen said.<\/p>\n
“I was introduced to it at Comic-Con when I took my son there quite a few years ago and they had a table set up to introduce the game.<\/p>\n
“I’ve played it on and off since then and I’m quite excited to get back into it and learn a bit more about the game with the group.”<\/p>\n
Anyone interested in learning the game is encouraged to attend a session, with organisers welcoming both beginners and experienced players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A NEW community group of trading card enthusiasts is searching for a permanent home in Ballina as its Magic: The Gathering sessions continue to attract new players. The group currently meets at Ballina Fair Shopping Centre every Tuesday night and has built a following of more than 70 people online. The group hopes to find […]<\/p>\n