Players Enter Fantasy-Sci-Fi World at New Gaming Store November 7, 2025 — By Jennifer Nejman Bohonak WESTFORD—War of epic proportions is played out on Thursday nights when Space Marines, Orks, fantastical birds and Steampunk-like robots do battle for the fate of the universe—at several different tabletops. Local players of the game Warhammer 40,000 arrive early to set up at 3 Trolls Games in Westford on an evening near the end of October. They march in with hand-painted, futuristic miniature armies in carrying cases, retractable measuring tapes and rulebook apps to ready themselves for war in the 41st millennium. Then, they exchange friendly greetings, admire each other’s militaries and settle in for hours of fun and creative strategy. A Passion for Games The Westford shop, 3 Trolls Games, recently moved from Chelmsford, Mass., to a small business plaza at 288 Littleton Road. Owner Andy Kirschbaum has been running his store since he was a young adult. He got laid off from his technical writer job in the 1990s, and, at the prompting of his father, followed his passion and started a mail-order game store from his family’s basement. Andy Kirschbaum, owner of 3 Trolls Games, in his new Westford store. Photo credit: WestfordCAT Jennifer Nejman Bohonak. He set up shop in Chelmsford, Mass., for many years, but, recently, he needed to find a new place and relocated to Westford in the summer of 2025. In June, when 3 Trolls held its grand re-opening in Westford, they also celebrated his business’s 30th anniversary, he said. Kirschbaum said he created 3 Trolls so patrons can buy a certain type of game—one that is not electronic and doesn’t require batteries. The store has a couch with a nearby table for game-playing, boxes of all types of board games on shelves stacked to the ceiling and glass-covered high-top tables with screens for certain games. Kirschbaum sells what he calls “low-tech” board games such as Catan and Ticket to Ride as well as adventure games like Dungeons and Dragons and the combat game Warhammer. In his new Westford location, Kirschbaum said he has continued to hold events where people can gather in-person to play games. He organizes and runs some events for adults, teens and older kids, while others are volunteer-led. He encourages parents to call to ask about teen events. Colored dice for the game of Warhammer 40,000. People can book a private event, too, Kirschbaum added. In-person events have drop-in fees and there is also a membership available, he said. Warhammer is a popular game that people gather for and so is the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, which draws between 15 and 30 adults on Sundays. On Saturday afternoons, players meet in the store for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. Kirschbaum says he loves all types of games and the gaming community. “Games give people a chance to get together, an excuse, a function, a format,” he said. “It’s a commitment to get out of the house. If you’re not smooth with the conversation, it gives you something to talk about.” He places nonelectronic games into two general categories. There are games like Monopoly and Scrabble that don’t slow down conversation. People can play and chat about other subjects. Then, there are games that become the conversation like Warhammer, Dungeons and Dragons and Axis and Allies. These games are intense and can draw players into other worlds, Kirschbaum explained. He said when people come and play games in person, they can find a community of “like-minded” and “unlike-minded people” who might provide a new perspective. “Everything I do is to support the community. Gotta sell the games to pay the rent. But it’s about giving people a place to meet and to play, a place where they’re not responsible for tidying up after,” he said. A Game of Fantasy and Sci-Fi Jacob Schiller arrived to play Warhammer 40,000 excited and ready to go. The University of Massachusetts Lowell student dropped his adventure hat with the wide brim on the table and began unpacking his game pieces. Small pieces in the game Warhammer. He had heard about the game when he was a leader at a Boy Scout camp. His first impression was: “Everyone sounds evil in this.” He accompanied his friend to a store and bought some Space Marines and bought his first model and painted it. In May, he decided he wanted to play the game and found 3 Trolls. “The ‘Rule of Cool’ is ‘Do what is fun. Do what is cool for you,’” Schiller said. He describes Warhammer 40,000 this way: “It’s fantasy, pretending to be Sci-Fi… combined with arms warfare.” Right now, his army was bought second-hand (the game can be expensive), but it works for Schiller, who said he has come twice to the Thursday night games, but plans to come more frequently. Next to him, a 13-year-old Westford boy takes out a larger model, Magnus The Red, an evil sorcerer like the devil, who he said is “the main guy” in his entire army. There are different strategies to Warhammer and many rules, but a lot of players talked about how they enjoyed the freedom to design armies, paint figures and craft backstories for their warriors. “A big thing about this game is they encourage you to create your own story,” said Zach McKeon of Westford. So, it becomes, “This is ‘my guy.’ This is ‘my character,’” he explained. He shows the Warhammer 40,000 book that he references. Magnus the Red, an evil sorcerer in the Warhammer 40,000 game. (In the photo at the top of this article, (left to right) Nick Tango of Hudson, N.H., and Zach McKeon of Westford prepare for the game). McKeon’s army has World Eaters, which are described by the game Warhammer 40,000 as “one of the Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines.” They charge as fast as possible. The game provides this framework, McKeon explained, but is purposedly vague in other aspects, so he can enjoy filling in the details, if he chooses. On its promotional website, the game has videos adding drama to the tales, with one character saying as he entered a machine or “mech” for battle, “I sheath my form in a second skin… this veil of machine muscle and false nerves.” In the 3 Trolls store, the 12 players divide into groups of two, then they take at least a half hour to set up as they lay out mats, take out their measuring tapes to mark off their figures in specific zones and assemble their armies. War is On, But Players Assist Each Other One interesting aspect of Warhammer is that most players talk throughout the game, advising on rules and making sure armies are set in the right place, even though they are at war and trying to annihilate the other army, said Steve Zukowski, the volunteer organizer for Warhammer 40,000 nights at the store. When he was 10 years old, Zukowski came into 3 Trolls when it was located in Chelmsford, looking for Pokémon cards. He bought Warhammer instead. (He thinks he came back the next day and still got the Pokémon cards he wanted). He played on and off for a few years. Four years ago, as an adult, he began playing Warhammer competitively, meaning he pays to enter tournaments where prizes are at stake. This area has lots of tournaments within a one-hour drive, Zukowski said. He’s playing Charlie Ross of Dracut, Mass., on this night, who also plays Warhammer 40,000 competitively. “I can’t do competitive sports anymore,” Ross said. “I do like the competitive aspects. This is an outlet to do that.” Nick Tango with Jacob Schiller looking over a battle scene of Warhammer 40,000. Ross also works with young athletes. He said, just like sports, he had to put in work to get better. When he started playing Warhammer tournaments, he came in dead-last. More recently, he has had top three finishes, he said. As Ross shares this advice, Zukowski quips, “The expert has failed more times than the newbie has tried.” The two men have different approaches to Warhammer 40,000 and different armies they can use on other nights. On this night, Zukowski had a lot of “low-power” characters, think pawns if you know the game of chess. While Ross had lots of large fantastical birds, think rooks from chess that can make specialized moves, he said. As the players begin their battles, Nick Tango of Hudson, N.H., who started playing Warhammer more than 20 years ago, smiled as he said, “This is my thing. This is my escape, once a week.” Jennifer Nejman Bohonak Source: https://westfordcat.org/2025/11/players-enter-fantasy-sci-fi-world-at-new-gaming-store/