ABOUT The Heroes Guild
Gary Askham, Founder
The idea of opening a gaming bar had always been somewhere in the back of my mind, but for a long time it never felt like a realistic possibility. I had a steady job that I genuinely loved, and opening a venue like this always seemed like the kind of thing that required huge amounts of money, perfect timing, and a bit of luck.
Then things started to change.
In 2024, two of the gaming clubs I regularly attended suddenly found themselves searching for new venues. Around the same time, my work in post-production began winding down, forcing me to think seriously about what came next. It made me realise something: despite how huge tabletop gaming has become, there still aren’t that many dedicated spaces for it in London and maybe I was actually in a good position to do something about that.
I’ve been into tabletop gaming since the late 1980s, when my local model shop started stocking Warhammer and Dungeons & Dragons games alongside the Airfix and Tamiya kits I was a fan of.
I was hooked immediately.
I spent countless hours playing Blood Bowl, Space Hulk, Call of Cthulhu, D&D, and the Star Wars RPG. Around that time I also started collecting Space Orks for Warhammer 40,000 — an addiction that has never gone away.
Like a lot of people, I drifted away from the hobby when I went to college. My friendship groups changed, life moved on, and for the next decade or so I focused mainly on my career, eventually ending up in London working in post-production for TV and film.
But sometime around 2014, I found myself standing in the Games Workshop on Tottenham Court Road holding a box of Space Marines… and that was basically it. I was pulled straight back in.
Since then I’ve become deeply involved in the London tabletop gaming community. I started out playing Warhammer 40,000 at Dark Sphere back when it was still under the railway arches at Waterloo. Later I joined HATE (Hackney Area Tabletop Enthusiasts) Club in Bethnal Green, eventually becoming part of the organising committee. I was also a regular at WART (Walthamstow Area Roleplay & Tabletop) gaming club and became one of the founding members of D17 in Walthamstow.
Over the years I’ve attended events at Warhammer World, organised campaigns, run demo games for Frostgrave and Dungeons & Dragons, and regularly attended conventions like Dragonmeet and Salute.
More than anything, I’ve made friendships and connections through this hobby that have lasted for years. That’s what really convinced me this idea could work — not just because I love tabletop gaming, but because I’ve spent years being part of the community I want to build this space for.