CRUSADE is the annual show organised by the Penarth and District Wargames Society and is the biggest wargaming show staged in Wales.

This year it will again be held at Cogan Leisure Centre on Saturday, January 26. It brings together enthusiasts from far afield. On the day there will be:

* A whole range of games being run, with beautifully painted miniatures and well-modelled scenery.

* Plenty of traders selling figures, models and everything else wanted by gamers of all types.

* Displays by re-enactment and living history societies, showing off their carefully reconstructed and historically accurate costumes and equipment, weapons, uniforms and armour.

* Lectures by experts in military history. This year Dr Adrian Goldsworthy will be talking about Greek and Roman history and Dr Rob Jones will be speaking on Medieval History. Both have written a number of books and regularly appear in documentaries on television.

* At the end of the day a raffle in aid of BLESMA is held.

Wargaming is a well established hobby with roots ranging from the training in military academies to the famous authors H G Wells and Jerome K Jerome playing games with model soldiers on their living room floor.

These days most games involve either miniature figures on modelled terrain or counters and markers on a printed map board and can be set in any period of history. Other gamers prefer not to be limited by history and choose settings from fantasy or science fiction, inspired perhaps by books, movies, television, or just their own imaginations. Rules regulate such things as movements and shooting, and usually have a built-in element of luck to add a little unpredictability. It's not about pretending to be Caesar, Napoleon or even Luke Skywalker, but providing a setting for a game where each of the players makes decisions and tries to outwit opponents in a way that is plausible for the setting.

The Penarth and District Wargames Society is one of the oldest and probably the most active wargaming society in Wales and includes gamers interested in many different types of figure games, periods, and styles of wargaming that include Ancients, Medieval, Renaissance, Napoleonic Wars, American Civil War, World War I, World War II, Modern and Ultra Modern, through to Fantasy and Sci-fi; using figures from 2mm to 40mm. There are plenty of different role-play systems such as Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, Call of Cathulhu, Traveller and many more. There is also a vast amount of board games played such as Carcassonne, Settlers, Risk plus the occasional card game whether it be Babylon 5 CCG, Lord of the Rings LCG or Magic The Gathering to name a few.

Penarth and District Wargames is a friendly club, full of enthusiasm and always happy to welcome experienced of novice gamers. The club itself meets twice weekly, every Tuesday at the Glyndwr Hall, Glyndwr Road, Penarth, from 7.15pm and every Thursday at the Village Hall, Taffs Well from 6.30pm. In addition a Saturday game is held once a month at both venues, from 9.30am at Glyndwr Hall and from 10am at Taffs Well.

Why not come along to Crusade 2013 and see for yourself what this enjoyable hobby is all about!