CAMAGÜEY- Arnold Paradela Prieto is a strange guy, or at least that's how he defines himself and those who know him. He likes rock, video games, fantasy and science fiction movies, and literature, especially the dystopian and cyberpunk genres. He confesses to being a fan of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Jim Carrey's performances, but his biggest passion is miniatures games.
Every Saturday, Arnold and a group of friends as "weird" as he is, travel to cyberspace, to distant planets, to the Middle Ages, to apocalyptic lands, explore dungeons, search for treasures, fight against armies of monsters or even defeat evil wizards.
Adelante.cu spoke with them, the members of the Wargames Cuba club, about this community, the only one of its kind in the country, which proposes teamwork, instills values and encourages entertainment through boards, dice, and small figures.
During their weekly meetings, they usually focus on three genres: wargames (with miniatures), dungeons (includes maps), and role-playing (more open to the imagination).
The greatest attraction lies in Warhammer 400,000 (WH40K), a strategy game that mixes elements of science fiction and heroic fantasy, created by the British multinational company Games Workshop, a producer of board games, and which specializes in publishing wargames.
Arnold got into this hobby through the video game Dawn of War. “I liked it for its content and researched its extensive background. From then on I became interested in board games, I got miniatures and decided to create a club in order to share all these themes”, says the leader and founder of the project.
The idea materialized in July 2019, after being invited to the ArteCómic conference, where he exhibited figures, videos, and books about WH40K, and taught how to play. “There I held a tournament that was very well received, several of the participants joined the club, and they remain”.
Warhammer 40000 Miniatures Exhibition
In that group was Christian Periú Rodríguez (Raiso, in the community), without any experience in the matter. “I was attracted to miniatures, I had heard of those types of games before, but I didn't know exactly how they worked. I learned and I was the winner of the tournament”, he recalls.
"I had never seen anything like it. It caught my attention because I am a lover of fantasy and board games”, says Christian Pena Rojas (Nurgle), another of those who joined that event.
As a result of the popularity generated by the tournament, the boys coordinated a place in the República 289 Gallery, to hold clubs every Saturday. Space that was maintained until the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We did not stop, and we took the initiative to use the Vassal platform, which emulates board games, to connect and play online. We created a WhatsApp group to discuss and organize games, and when the health situation improved, we moved the meetings to my house, where we began to get involved in other role-playing and dungeon-crawling games such as Dungeons and Dragons, HeroQuest, or Call of Cthulhu, " Paradela says.
UNLOCK KNOWLEDGE
Although the new members of the club felt a great attraction for miniatures and boards, their forays into board games were limited to parcheesi, chess, or dominoes. That is why Arnold, who was a teacher and has the desire to teach and transmit knowledge, dedicated himself to teaching English classes (most materials appear in this language), explaining the rules exactly, and acting as a judge during the games.
"The level of content was a lot, impossible to learn in one day, so I watched tutorials on YouTube, and I practiced at home using cardboard," says Eddy González Hernández.
Liusbel Afon Gonález (Dante) confesses that it was quite difficult for him to master everything: "The others memorized quickly and I had to read two or three more times, I even spent the night reading to be able to learn the rules."
Precisely, one of Arnold's objectives was to use games as a means of teaching to instill values, develop manual and linguistic skills, and induce reading.
Arnold teaching a class during a gathering.
“These games are very meticulous and with them, you learn a lot of things: advanced rules, mathematical calculations for measuring distances, statistics, even language. I find it entertaining and instructive,” says Nurgle.
"They develop the mind because you have to think of strategies, count possibilities with dice rolls, investigate, counteract the opponent's tactics," emphasizes Eddy, who also appreciates the possibility of participating in the creation process: "Designing the miniature that you want it gives a bit of your soul to the character, as you decide his background or the weapon he will use, and it brings you closer to the game.
"Paint it, it is not complicated, anyone who dedicates some time to it can learn it”, he explains. "It's fun and creates a special bond with the hobby because if you make the character to your liking, with its own story, and also paint it, you end up loving the miniature as if it were part of your body," he says.
Eddy painting a miniature
“The freedom to create your characters and include them in RPGs and tabletop games is a really cool feature because it pushes you to be creative,” says Nurgle.
Arnold agrees that “The painter tries to give him his personal touch that identifies him. Many miniatures designed here have been 3D printed. We also add rocks, constructions, and ruins to the scenery, to provide an atmosphere on the map.
On the other hand, Dante owes the club a passion for books: “I wanted to know the stories of each character and I started reading them. From there I developed a taste for reading, and now I read everything”, he acknowledges.
FAMILY CAMPAIGN
Raiso always looked for a place to fit in, and in the different "normal" groups where he tried, he never felt the affinity that he has today with the boys in the club. "It has changed my life. Here I found some excellent friends, with whom I can share about the rarities that I am passionate about, ”says the young man.
He also fondly remembers how he celebrated his 15th birthday: “I didn't want to cause unnecessary financial expense to my parents with a party, because our family is humble, so I preferred to hang out with my friends. We played Warhammer for several hours and listened to music. It was a truly special day."
“One good thing about wargames is that no matter how many resources you have, you will always need someone else to play, hence the importance of creating a group that meets systematically. Our Saturday meetings are sacred, one way or another we manage to make the most of it,” he adds.
The boys in one of their usual Saturday meetings, playing HeroQuest.
These boys have managed to form a strong bond through their similarities, and the bond that unites them seems to grow stronger.
Nurgle affirms that he feels like a family: “We all get along very well, the camaraderie is supreme and we share what we have. It's the best thing that's happened to me in recent years. I really like belonging to the club and participating in the activities, they are my closest friends and the first group in which I have felt included”, he confesses.
“We never limit ourselves if we lack material. We adapted our own game system in which things flow with greater meaning and coherence. We always try to find a balance so that nobody gets frustrated, we learn and have fun together”, says Arnold.
For Dante, it means a way of socializing: “Before I used to spend weekends bored at home, this helps me go out and entertain myself”.
While Eddy is nostalgic for the arrival of new members to the group. “Those of us who have been here for a while have a lot of fun when someone comes in who wants to learn and play, they spread that joy and remind us of our beginnings. They quickly become part of the family because this is the place to be for anyone who likes this kind of entertainment,” he says.
BOARD EXPANSION
Although the existence of this community is practically unknown throughout the island, the guys from Wargames Cuba are loved and respected in various parts of the world.
“When I started in the hobby, I had to join different Facebook groups on the subject, to learn more about the background of WH40K. There I sought advice from people with a greater command of the game, and they were all amazed to learn that I was Cuban since we are not a country with a culture of this,” says Arnold. "I made friends from other nations and an excellent relationship arose with different clubs from Mexico, Spain, and Venezuela, which we have faced in friendly online games, they helped us a lot from the beginning with tutorials and sending miniatures," he adds.
They are also related to groups from the United States, Singapore, Chile, and England.
“On our YouTube channel, we started uploading videos of what we did here, to make our community known. The club caught the attention of many international YouTubers who interviewed us, interested in how the hobby is experienced from Cuba”, he explains.
“Foreigners are shocked when they see our papier-mâché or cardboard creations, because while they worry that the new updated box of miniatures has gone up in price, or that the purchases they made online arrived late at home, here we take advantage of anything in order to play, we even invent them”, Raiso points out.
Demonstration of combat using scenery made by the boys of the club.
Dante maintains that wargames are very strange here. “Many see it as a game for children and they tend to reject it”, he alludes.
"This is a culture in any part of the planet, but in Cuba, it is quite rare, and practicing it is complex because it takes a lot of work and an expense of resources that sometimes we do not have," says Arnold.
The Cuban community is concentrated in Camagüey, but the boys are aware of the interest in the hobby in other territories. “When the project began to gain strength and we obtained material to move and take the game to other provinces, the pandemic arrived and stopped us. Now we want to return to that idea, we have invitations in Santiago, Holguín, and Havana”, explains the leader from Camagüey.
Getting a fixed place to hold the gatherings is the immediate task that they have set themselves, so that the meetings enjoy greater organization, as it would allow more people to know what they do.
For now, weirdo Arnold, along with his unique hobby brothers, will continue their exciting adventures in different universes, while having fun, learning, and strengthening the feeling of unity that defines them.
“Whoever wants to join is welcome, but he will know in advance that he does not come to a normal place. I know many groups with exotic tastes, and I dare to say that we are rare among the rare”, says Arnold.
Miniatures painted by the members of Wargames Cuba.
Miniatures painted by the members of Wargames Cuba.
Miniatures painted by the members of Wargames Cuba.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez