Peterborough gaming community ‘connected’

Video games on a screen aren’t the only type of game that is hot in the city.

There is also a strong tabletop and trading card game scene as well.

Dueling Grounds is a relatively new store owned and operated by Wayne Mittelstaedt, who originally was based in Toronto.

Moving for reasons unrelated to his business, Mittelstaedt was very unfamiliar with Peterborough's gaming landscape .

Coming from a bigger market he was used to the gaming community being more “factionbased,” where people would tend to stick to on specific store and game.

But, in coming to Peterborough he found the gaming community was more connected with one another and also had a lot more crossover in interests like video games.

“Peterborough has a very progressive and inclusive gaming community.” Mittelstaedt said.

After one person had a particularly unpleasant experience at a local convention, Duelling Grounds came up with something called the X-card - a simple piece of paper with an X on it and an explanation.

The card is there for anyone to use when they are feeling uncomfortable or for any reason doesn't feel right with the situation they are in or the way the storyline of a role-playing game is going.

The game will then stop and the person will be asked what is wrong and an attempt to rectify the problem and keep all parties happy will be made.

“That's how caring and inclusive the community is here.” Mittelstaedt explains.

Since the store at 304 George St. N opened it has had as many as 30 people show up for role-playing nights, with large turnouts to card game tournaments as well.