\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto by Jarrett King<\/p>\n
General manager Ben Shantz said GameKnight Games has been a gathering spot and veritable community centre for role-playing and tabletop gamers for 20 years.<\/p><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n
Some gamers can be introverted, so GameKnight Games serves as a gaming ‘community centre’ where people can gather and enjoy a shared passion. Shantz said he’s seen a resurgence in the popularity of tabletop and role-play gaming coming out of the pandemic, as people use it as a social activity to reconnect with friends and loved ones.<\/p>\n
“The past few years have been trying on a lot of people,” Shantz said. “Tabletop gaming has offered that escape and opportunity to connect with people that were otherwise difficult.”<\/p>\n
The entire tabletop gaming community adjusted well during the shutdown, Shantz explained. Folks shifted to digital board games or played role-playing games on Zoom and Discord. Many also embraced painting miniatures that they use when playing together. War gaming has also taken off.<\/p>\n
GameKnight is a great place to begin for people who are curious about tabletop and role-playing games but don’t know where to start, Shantz added. Staff are knowledgeable and friendly and regular learn-to-play sessions are held. They attract everyone from 12-year-old kids to married couples.<\/p>\n
The daily gaming events and regular learn-to-play nights provide an important social venue for people who find bars, nightclubs and even community centres uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
“It is so wonderful to see people come out of their shells,” Shantz said. “It’s also a welcoming community. Players are so excited to share games with new players.”<\/p>\n
Shantz loves the games and the community. He was a devoted Magic: The Gathering player for many years but has lately been playing a science-fiction version of Warhammer, a miniature war game.<\/p>\n
“There’s never enough time to play all the games,” Shantz admitted.<\/p>\n
For more information, visit gameknight.ca<\/a>, phone 204-487-4263 or email info@gameknight.ca<\/a>. GameKnight is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. on Sundays.<\/p> For 20 years, GameKnight Games has been Winnipeg’s go-to place for tabletop, role-playing and fantasy games. Located at 519 Osborne St., GameKnight Games also offers a wide selection of puzzles, novels, miniatures and hobby supplies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":600006402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_classifai_error":"","_classifai_text_to_speech_error":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"education-subject":[],"media-literacy-topic":[],"post_topic":[],"content_type":[24],"class_list":["post-600006401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-west"],"acf":{"short_title":"","seo_title":"","deck":"","story_tag":"","byline":"Tony Zerucha Special to FP Community Review","updates":null},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/west\/2023\/04\/12\/where-every-gamer-knows-your-name","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Where every gamer knows your name\u2026","url":"http:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/west\/2023\/04\/12\/where-every-gamer-knows-your-name","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/west\/2023\/04\/12\/where-every-gamer-knows-your-name"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/1248973_web1_GameKnight-Ben-Shantz1.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/04\/1248973_web1_GameKnight-Ben-Shantz1.jpg"},"articleSection":"Free Press Community Review: West","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"laurieb"}],"creator":["laurieb"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Our Communities","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2023-04-12T07:00:09Z","datePublished":"2023-04-12T07:00:09Z","dateModified":"2023-04-12T07:00:09Z"},"rendered":"