Wargaming (events) in Finland or close by?

[YPU]

Hello gents,

From next week on and until the end of November I will be staying in Lahti Finland to attend a few months of Goldsmithing education there. (I thought it would make a nice change from the Netherlands)
Anyhow, I am not particularly familiar with the wargaming community up north nor the events that might be in that region during this period. So I was wondering if you fine fellows could point me in the direction of anything that shouldn’t be missed. I am willing to travel quite a reasonable distance since public transport is also a nice way to take in the scenery in a foreign country and I don’t imagine being the area again very soon again.
Besides events and clubs I would also be interested in personal meetups with fellow forumites if any were to be interested of course.

Cheers,
Tim

[pocoloco]

Hi YPU,

first of all, congratulations on choosing Finland   I hope you will have a pleasant stay, both studies and free time wise.

I don't know personally hobby scene in Lahti but here's a link to your new FLGS in Lahti, it's called Puolenkuun Pelit (Half Moon Games):

http://www.puolenkuunpelit.com/tieto/webcam09.html  (in Finnish)

Helsinki is just one hour or so away by train or bus, connections are plenty and cheap (remember to get your Finnish student card from your school in Lahti and ask them to help you to get the discount card as well) so you can quite easily visit Helsinki many times.

In Helsinki you have Fantasiapelit (Fantasygames, the oldest and biggest chain of FLGSs in Finland):

http://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php

And then there's Lautapelit (Boardgames):

http://www.lautapelit.fi/Etusivu

And also Poromagia (Reindeer Magic):

http://poromagia.com

A Finnish hobby forum is called Sotavasara (Warhammer), unfortunately mostly in Finnish but I'm sure English is no problem. And despite its name, the site is not solely for GW products but other genres and manufacturers as well:

https://www.sotavasara.net/keskustelu/

The Sotavasara site has info on different tournaments etc under the heading 'Turnaukset ja pelikaverit'

If you need info on different sites in Helsinki and elsewhere, just ask

[YPU]

Thanks Pocoloco, those links help a lot!

[YPU]

I went on a trip to Helsinki this weekend and managed to pick up the re-print of classic OGRE from Fantasiapelit for 3 euro's. Very nice and no hassle getting this to fit in my luggage on the flight back.

I hadn't gotten around to looking for Puolenkuun Pelit yet but walked by it on my way back from the station, turns out its very close to my apartment. 

[Nysse]

Lahti has a relatively active Flames of War scene at least so if you are into that finding games should be easy.

In Helsinki there are a few clubs of varying sizes with Nopat & Taktiikka (http://www.nopat.fi/) being the biggest. Club nights everyday of the week except Friday. Different games on different days, but you can of course just play what you want if you get an opponent from somewhere. If you ever want to come play just shout out there and you'll find people Otherwise the Sotavasara forum is a really good place to find people.

Most of the wargaming events are just tournaments with only one convention in the year. Ropecon is organized next year in May. In the first weekend of February there will be a large tournament organized by the N&T club with Warhammer, Infinity and Flames of War being played.

[maxxon]

If you don't feel like lugging your kit around, we're running "eccentric games" at Nopat & Taktiikka pretty much every Wednesday.

In addition to concentrating on the less played games, the idea behind these is to take in new players: The game organizer provides everything, you do not need to bring anything to be able to play.

Tomorrow there will be a Force on Force Vietnam game, forthcoming schedule is a bit open. Drop me a PM if you feel like dropping by.

[YPU]

Ah, thats good info!

Maxxom, I would love to but my day is pretty packed already. 

I'm not lugging my kit anywhere, it stayed safely at home. Chances are I will have a few thing to take back with me by the end of the 3 months. Its only week 2 and I caught myself sculpting Mecha in putty we use for goldsmithing. 

[YPU]

I'm hoping on dropping by Nopat & Taktiikka today however I am not entirely sure I have the right adress. Could somebody confirm that for me. Also, assuming I find it, I'm there today so you could come say hi to another LAF member I suppose. 

[Nysse]

Well it's a bit late, but then again if you are coming later (as at least I didn't spot any foreign guys last wednesday ) it might help. The address is Nahkahousuntie 5. You can get in by calling 044 988 2085. Generally somebody is there after 1700 on Wednesdays. The website has the other club days listed as well