Instead, the wars will be played out on tabletops and the only battles will be going on in the minds of the players as they compete in a range of strategy war games.

The Bendigo and District Gamers Association will host its annual BADGACON at The Bendigo Club, where tournaments will be held in eight different tabletop games including Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Bolt Action, Kings of War, Team Yankee and The Walking Dead.

Players will come from across Australia to take part, with some tournaments counting towards national rankings.

Related: Warhammer workshop at the Bendigo Library

BADGA’s Gus Zepnick said the annual event was building in popularity.

“It’s still a fairly young event but we’re hoping to get between 100 and 200 people here over the weekend,” he said.

“Some people like to play competitively, but for others the competition is more secondary.”

The strategy turn-based games are inspired by historical events and fantasy, and use scale figurines from between 1-50 and 1-100.

While some will be there to win, there will also be demonstrations for newcomers interested in starting their own armies.

Mr Zepnick said there were a number of reasons to take part in tabletop war games.

“A lot of people who play are the same people who might be playing computer games at home, but this allows them to meet other people and interact socially,” he said.

“The figurines are actually really tactile.

“The games themselves really make you think strategically.

“Over the last 20 years they have become more and more popular.”

The growing popularity of Bendigo stores Warhammer, Guf and Good vs Evil have also allowed locals to purchase tabletop games and figurines.

BADGACON will run from 9am to 4.30pm Saturday, 9am to 9pm Sunday, and 9am to 6pm Monday at The Bendigo Club on Park Street, Strathdale.