"Gaming in Nova Scotia (Halifax area)?" Topic

Ahoy! The wife and I are contemplating not only visiting Nova Scotia ASAP, but looking into the possibility of acquiring a part-time home in the Halifax area. One of the things I'd want to investigate is the prospect of maintaining my gaming hobby. Can anyone tell me what the scene is like in NS? Are there good stores, active clubs, informal gaming circles, conventions, etc.? What could I expect to find there? Thanks!

IMHO… tiny isolated pockets of gamers.
In Halifax; no clubs that I'm aware of.
Other than a GW shop, you would be hard pressed to buy a metal wargaming miniature in the city i think ? (although i do have to shout out the Gametronics games store in New Minas, its got lots – but its over an hour away from the city)
There is a strong warhammer/40k scene I believe, and RPGs do well – but not much on the proper wargaming front in terms of infra-structure. There have been stores & clubs, but they have faded.
there are gamers here however, but finding them can be a task.

Hmmm. Not a good beginning. Anything more going on in the nearby parts of New Brunswick?

huge army base (Gagetown) outside Fredericton, should still be wargamers up there. maybe some in Moncton, but I don't know.
Halifax is a navy town, so sadly, the guys that would be interested in gaming are put to sea. Huge student population(~7 universities here), however they lack the $$ and the long term commitment.
I'm sure you would find a few fellow gamers, but no there isn't a large community to join.
the annapolis valley, has an airforce base, and there are gamers up there as well.
There is also:
link
80 members but its been pretty quiet the last 2 yrs…
try posting there… i don't know if many locals go on TMP.

Piper. Failte!

ET has pretty much summed it up. Its not the active public scene that it was in the 80's when we had clubs, shops and small conventions. Mostly small groups and individuals doing their own things in their basements plus at least 1 GW store hosting game days. (not my thing but see fireymonkey blog below)

There are at least 2 groups,

The Atlantic Simulation Society has been around since the early 80's but long quiet but still alive. "find us on facebook"…
link

There is an even more informal group in the valley that runs public games in Kentville or Greenwood as well as games in people's homes. Much of the communication is by private email but there is an open fbook group

link

The closest convention is Huzzah in Portland Me but its an excellent one and Maine has a great wargaming community.

Lastly, a couple of blogs by NS wargamers as possible points of contact:

right in the Halifax/Dartmouth area

themonkeythatwalks.blogspot.ca

Jeff, down in the valley
armchaircommander.blogspot.ca

and me, (About an hour from Halifax):
gameofmonth.blogspot.ca

Ross

This is a decent beginning, plenty more to explore. Thanks! I'll keep exploring and sending out feelers. I KNOW there's piping and Celtic activities. Slainte!

I live in Halifax and am slooowly getting back into gaming. Once I get a tonne of figs painted.

When we are living there, in a few years, at least half the year, I shall need to remember to spell "tonne" properly, Nova Scotian style!

I still find it weird spelling it that way. Darn metric system.

Pete

Not gaming related, but the Lower Deck pub at Privateer's Wharf when a local band is playing is one of my favourite places on Earth.

I think it might have been gentrified a bit since my heyday there but I'd still make it my first stop on any visit.