Sunday, March 3, 2013

Giant Hobby ジャイアントホビー

日本語版が無くて申し訳御座いません!近いうちに日本語版を記載させていただきます。

Back on  Feb 9th I went to Giant Hobby to play a 500 point game of Warhammer with one of our members.

Tucked away in the back streets of Koenji, Giant Hobby is a true gem of a game store.

#1: They have Dr. Pepper!

Seriously, Dr. Pepper, at least for me, is a must have part of the gaming experience. To see a Japanese game store with Dr. Pepper really blew my mind. I asked the store owner about it and low and behold, it was indeed the most popular drink. Gamers everywhere are alike.



They deal in Games Workshop, Dystopian Wars and their own miniature board game called Cyclops.

You can check more about Cyclops here: Description, YouTube video

They have 2 floors, the second of which has playing tables, take a look inside here: Shop Guide and Directions

They even have a locker where you can store your figures! ¥300 for 2 weeks (with size restrictions)

There is a painting table with room for about 6 people where you can bring a figure, use their tools, and paints, and paint!

It is a really good atmosphere, with a lot of other people there to ask questions and talk to.

They operate on a space/table rental system, so you basically pay ¥500 to get in and paint, watch, play Cyclops, and then an additional fee to rent a table. You can see more here: Space Rental Fee.

I am not sure about English accessibility but when I was there some people spoke English, so I don't think it would be a big problem. If you want to play games, paint, or buy something language is no boundary. 

Did I mention they had Dr. Pepper?

Anyway here are some pictures. First up are some pics from my Cyclops tutorial. There are many different figures in the game, but each figure is either Good, Neutral, or Evil. These mushrooms are Neutral and can be played with either Good or Evil.

 
Mushrooms!

My Dwarves here, seen with some victory points

A view of some points being saved up on the bottom right




Of course, I also have some pictures from my Warhammer game:




Being at a game store like this brings back a lot of memories from my childhood playing at my old neighborhood game store. I didn't know such a place existed in Japan and I hope some of you who are in Japan will try and visit. 

Perhaps we can even have a small club gathering here someday, maybe a large Warhammer game 2 VS 2 :-)

***


I will try and send out a mass email (for those not already confirmed) for our next games day on the tenth. We are looking a little slim that day so please come if you can!!!

Also please note that you can find more conversation and updates on our Google plus community page or on Mixi!

Thanks for reading!

3 comments:

  1. Hi! is it possible to rent a table at Giant Hobby for any kind of wargames or is it limited to WH, dystopian wars and cyclops?

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  2. Most Excellent!

    It was great seeing Giant Hobby there at Welcome to Wargaming on Atsugi Naval Air Station yesterday!

    Also -- West Tokyo Wargamers -- you guys are awesome! Thanks!

    We'll be gaming again soon! Be well ~James

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  3. David: Giant hobby only rents their tables out for the games that they deal in. (GW dystopian wars etc)

    ReplyDelete