The War Room

Oct. 9, 2015

A Gaming Destination in Traverse City

Onaway, Mich., native Wayne Berry moved to Traverse City in 1999 to open TC Paintball, a center for the faux-combat game where participants use air guns to shoot capsules of paint at each other, usually at complex outdoor terrain fields that help enhance the illusion of an actual battle.

TC Paintball is a success. The business will celebrate its sixth anniversary this December, but by opening a second component of the business called The War Room, Berry has also become a major regional supporter of another form of gaming: RPG, or roleplaying games, where all the action takes place indoors, with cards and dice.

RPG HQ

TC Paintball’s first location, Berry explained, had a gaming store next door.

“That store did not succeed,” he said. “Those kind of places open because people love games, but often they unfortunately don’t know business. So when I saw that they were failing, I thought I would try to continue it on, so that there was a place to RPG locally.”

The 3,200-square-foot War Room has “a ton” of gaming inventory, so gamers can stop by and get playing right away.

“It’s true that you can get anything online now,” Berry said, “but I feel like if you’re in the store and you see it, chances are you’ll buy it. Plus, at a lot of game stores you have to special-order things, but we have so much already here.”

ALLIES AND BATTLES

In his youth, Berry was heavily involved in the card game Magic and he often played Axis and Allies, the World War II strategy board game.

“And I’m old enough where I wasn’t allowed to play D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) because of the controversy surrounding it,” he said.

Berry also favored the game BattleTech, the military/sci-fi tabletop wargame that required map sheets made of hexagonal terrain tiles.

“When I opened up the paintball store, it looked so empty that I brought my BattleTech tables in,” Berry said. “I spent thousands of dollars on those tables, so I was hoping someone would walk in and start playing. I still like it when people come in and use them!”

TRY IT, BUY IT

Open from 10am to 10pm, the use of gaming tables and terrain at is free in order to encourage people to gather their friends, try new games and maybe buy something while they’re there.

“We have all the D&D Attack Wing games, Dice Masters, Star Trek, Wings of Glory, Magic the Gathering, Warmachine, Warhammer 40K — all the popular games and starter sets if you want to try a new game,” he said. “We also carry paints, glues, tools, flocking and airbrushing supplies for those who really like miniatures.”

There’s no pressure in The War Room. Berry is confident that the games can sell themselves. He even encourages people to try before they buy — literally.

“People are welcome to pull a game off of a shelf and sit and play for a while to see if you like it first. And, no, you don’t need to purchase anything to play,” he confirmed. “We do have soda machines and light snacks, but you can also order pizza in if you want outside food. Just clean up after yourself,” he laughed.

LEAGUE OF GAMERS

Berry hosts a series of gaming leagues right at the store, with a different game featured each weekday. His biggest game right now is also the subject of a much-anticipated winter movie.

“Star Wars X-Wing is huge,” he said. “So much so that we’ve had to expand our sessions to two nights a week. I think that game will get even bigger once the new movie is out.”

Berry’s own favorite game is Warhammer and he still thinks Magic is one of RPG’s greatest hits.

“I don’t play it much anymore, but it’s just such a great, enduring game,” he said.

He also points out that with many of the games, such as Dice Masters, you can get started for as little as $15.

SAVING GAMING

“The Internet has really helped draw attention to this kind of gaming,” Berry pointed out. “Plus, paintball is seasonal, but RPG is not seasonal.”

Gaming still has a long way to go for him as far as sales are concerned, but he’s willing to stick with it.

“We’re succeeding so far because we have a wide range of things to welcome people and bring up our store’s income,” he said, “but I just had to add the RPG section, purely because I didn’t want to see gaming in TC die.”

The War Room is located at 1825 M-37 South in Traverse City. Find them on Facebook (TC War Room) to keep track of their new games, special events, and to see photos of past events.

WEEKLY WAR ROOM RPG SCHEDULE:

Mondays: Magic, Modern Format
Tuesdays: Warhammer 40K
Wednesday: Warhammer Fantasy
Thursday: Star Wars X-Wing
Friday: Magic, Standard Format
Saturday: Open Gaming
Sunday: Star Wars X-Wing and D&D 5th Edition