For hobbyists who enjoy the Warhammer franchise — a sci-fi tabletop military strategy game featuring customizable plastic scale model pieces — finding fellow enthusiasts to play against can sometimes be a challenge, let alone finding a place to play.

That’s why Warhammer hobbyist Barret Daniels of Rochester, a U.S. Air Force special operations veteran and Centralia Middle School special education teacher, has partnered with his friends, Derrick Stenson, of Olympia, and Kyle Dyer, of Centralia, to open Battle Lounge.

The Chronicle visited the new business on Saturday, Jan. 25, during its grand opening celebration Warhammer tournament and spoke with both Daniels and Stenson about the new hobby and gaming lounge.

At Battle Lounge, members get access to custom-made gaming tables featuring a variety of different battlefield options along with access to many lounge amenities, depending on membership level.

The business also has spaces for modeling where members can sit down, put their sets together, paint them and host gaming tournaments of multiple types.

Along with Warhammer, Battle Lounge welcomes Dungeons & Dragons role-players along with players and collectors of trading card games such as Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and more.

The business sells Warhammer model sets, hobby paints, brushes and tools, and selected trading card game box sets. Currently, there is a 3D printer on site with another larger one on the way.

Basic memberships with access to gaming and hobby tables start at $30 for 30 days and include a discount on selected retail items.

For $100 a month, members get access to the “Emperor's Lounge” area, which includes more comfortable seating, 3D foam gaming tables, a couch and TV area, drinks and food. Emperor's Lounge members also enjoy a discount on all retail items at Battle Lounge. 

Daniels hatched the idea to open Battle Lounge following the COVID-19 pandemic, where long periods of non-contact destroyed many Warhammer groups that had previously met up to play.

“The Warhammer store in Tumwater just became an after-work stop off for so many people. It was like our Cheers. Everybody knew you. It was just a nice place to be,” Daniels said.

Tumwater’s former Games Workshop, the British manufacturer which owns the Warhammer franchise, was also where Stenson worked as a manager and where he met Daniels.

Unfortunately, the Games Workshop was forced to close permanently during the pandemic due to rising rent costs, leaving many local Warhammer hobbyists without a place to socialize.

“We all felt it,” Daniels said. “And I tried to go other places and paint, because I don’t even play, I just paint, but it just wasn’t the same.”    

Being a veteran, painting and customizing his models is one of his forms of therapy.

“It’s super cathartic,” Daniels said.

So after coming up with the idea for Battle Lounge, he decided to model it after Danger Room Comics, an Olympia comic book store whose owners Daniels knows personally.

“I love what they do. They curate everything they do. They have relationships with all of their customers, and they were really the template for this place,” Daniels said. “Just the relationships they have with their customers is something that I cherish.”

On top of wanting to build relationships with Battle Lounge members, Daniels wanted to ensure his new business actually made its members feel comfortable.

“I wanted some place that’s nice, that’s comfortable, that you don’t mind going there for eight hours. Kind of the 90s coffee shop feel. It is your third space,” Daniels said.

He first contacted his friend Dyer about the idea, but the two admittedly “really didn’t know anything about Warhammer,” which is where former Games Workshop manager Stenson came in to help.

“We got together over a coffee and came up with the idea. It was his idea. We refined it and now we’re turning it into a reality,” Stenson said.

While Daniels handles the business and sales side of Battle Lounge, Stenson organizes hobby build nights and tournaments for players.

“My wife works at (Providence) St. Peter’s. She does the important job with the big salary, while I walk around talking nerd-speak and selling plastic models,” Stenson added.

Though Daniels is thankful for the space he currently has at 201 S. Pearl St., the location does have some drawbacks and won’t be Battle Lounge’s permanent home.

The drawbacks include a lack of space to grow and a lack of Amercians with Disabilities Act-compliant access, as the suite Battle Lounge occupies is in the building’s basement.

He’s still using the space, though, to help get the business concept off the ground and establish it. He anticipates being there for at least two to three years.

“Phase two is a 20,000-square-foot building across the street from the Great Wolf Lodge, where we are literally the epicenter for the West Coast,” Daniels said. “Like we are on the international circuit for Warhammer, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, everything. That place gets more traffic than anywhere, even Seattle. It easily gets as many people per day as Pike Place Market. It’s insane the amount of people that go through (Great Wolf Lodge).”

The additional space would also have special rooms for classrooms, streaming and a restaurant, but for now, Battle Lounge will continue establishing itself in Centralia. Along with hosting local tournaments at Battle Lounge, Daniels hopes to organize the first Hub City Nerd Fest in the near future.

Currently, Battle Lounge is open on Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. for painting and modeling workshops, Friday from noon to 2 a.m., Saturday from noon to midnight and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.

Hours may fluctuate due to tournaments and future business hour adjustments.

Battle Lounge is located underneath the Berry Fields Cafe at 201 S. Pearl St., suite 100, in downtown Centralia.

For more information, visit Battle Lounge’s website at https://www.battleloungehobby.com/,  follow it on its Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BattleLoungeHobby or join the business’ Discord server at https://tinyurl.com/3ckdcvtn.