Carbondale’s Main Street became a battlefield Saturday. Tactics were drawn up, decisions were made and soldiers battled to the death.

All of this occurred in the back of Castle Perilous, as local gamers pitted themselves against each other in a Warhammer 40K Tournament.

The game is a labor of love of sorts for its players, as each player creates an army of miniature figures, which costs a good deal of time and money.

Saturday’s event was the first of a three-tier national tournament that will culminate in a final battle, which is set to be held in Houston.

Tournament administrator James Cox, of Carbondale, said players must assemble, paint and care for their armies.

Unlike Magic cards or other card games, a Warhammer army can be used for years Cox said.

“Yes, they are expensive,” Cox said. “But they are going to last you a lot longer.”

The game is set 41,000 years into the future after mankind has conquered the universe and everything has fallen apart. Players guide their armies through battles, attempting to gain control over the universe.

In the game, armies can come from eight or nine different factions, Cox said.

While Cox has been playing for nine years, Carbondale resident and tournament participant Aron Waldrop began playing three to four months ago. He had been playing other miniature games such as MechWarriors, and was drawn to Warhammer 40K because of the tactical aspects of the two games. It was strategy and realism that brought him to the game, Waldrop said.

“I pretty much started with one model and just sort of fell into it,” Waldrop said.

The game runs under a time limit, and when that time is up, the person with the most victory points is declared the winner. Each round has a different set of victory conditions.

However, there is only one winner and around 10 p.m. Eric McCormack took home this year’s crown.

“Sometimes the game can go so far against you, you just want to bang your head against the wall,” Cox said.

Brandon Chapple contributed to this report.

Luke McCormick can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or [email protected].