Rebecca Chockley started going to role-playing game nights at local comic book stores with her boyfriend and now she's claimed it for her own.
Sitting in front of a table full of Warhammer figures to be painted, the chemistry senior indicated playing was just half of her interest in Warhammer.
"I paint a lot of these miniatures, and I sell them on the Internet," Chockley said. "I do have my own army."
Warhammer miniatures come in pieces and must be assembled, painted and decorated by the player.
Despite meeting friends more than once a week at East Lansing's 21st Century Comics and Games, 515 E. Grand River Ave., Chockley said she doesn't read comics often but mostly attends the meetings for the social atmosphere.
"A lot of our friends hang here," Chockley said, adding that most might not realize role-playing games promote a social interaction - winning the game often hinges on group skills.
Chockley's boyfriend, Alex Cainzori, 22, who only occasionally reads domestic comic books, enjoys both role-playing games and Japanese anime and manga - one of the store's other areas of focus.
Anime is Japanese animation - manga are the Japanese comics books that anime movies and television shows are usually based upon.
"My brother used to play all the (role-playing) board games," Cainzori said. "So I started when I was 10 and kept going from there."
Most role-playing games such as Warhammer, Magic: The Gathering cards and HeroClix, are based off traditional gaming staples Dungeons & Dragons and Risk. The games - often placed in a medieval fantasy setting - are played using a wide spectrum of media, including cards, board games, books and figurines.
Two East Lansing comic book shops, 21st Century and Fortress Comics and Games Inc., focus on both gaming and comics.
Fortress, 425 Albert Ave., focuses less on foreign comics, such as anime and manga, and more on American comics and gaming, owner Eric Treanor said.
"The first thing that they're going to see is that we have a lot of the newer comics," Treanor said about new customers.
Although both stores have scheduled times for their gaming activities, many gamers come to play on the open tables during store hours, representatives of both stores said.
"People are here pretty much every day," Treanor said.
At 21st Century, sitting on a recent summer day at the same small table with Chockley and Cainzori was Damon Williams, 21st Century's event coordinator and customer service representative. Williams, an MSU alumnus, was also busy painting Warhammer figures.
"I actually used to play a lot of board games - I still do," he said. Williams said his combined interest in comics and games drew him to work at the store.
For those who are just starting to develop an interest in comics or games, 21st Century manager Lon Braidwood recommended not hesitating to come to the store.
"We try and answer any questions that they have," Braidwood said.
Besides gaming nights, Wednesdays - the day new comic books come in - bring in a lot of people, Williams said.
