AFTER a period of fractious peace and covert armament, Nicosians and Paphites are finally on the eve of war.

Tomorrow, an army of around 1,000 vampires, elves and orcs will march on Paphos to battle two armies, comprising of lizardmen, dwarves and "Crusaders of Chaos" to decide the greatest war strategist in Cyprus.

For local residents, the hostilities should not cause too much disruption, as the average height of combatants is around one inch and battles take place on six by four feet tabletops: This is Warhammer.

Nicosian team leader and owner of Ant Comics, Antonis Aristidou, said yesterday "This is the first tournament of its kind. We've been organising it for months."

The tournament reflects a growing interest in tabletop fantasy games, and will bring together around twenty people from throughout the island and abroad.

It has a diverse fan base of around 400 players, including lawyers, accountants, maths teachers and even British soldiers stationed in the SBAs. The star player, and ringer for the Paphos team, is just thirteen years old. "I don't remember his name, but I'm sure it's a really annoying one." says Aristidou.

In spite of his age, the young Paphite has already cast fear into the robotic hearts of Aristidou's Necrons ("Think of hovering terminators" Aristidou says) and has prompted some strong fighting talk on the websites.

The tournaments are scheduled to take place monthly, and the community is also looking to hold a convention in the future. They are also hoping to get more British players involved.

The game's concept lies somewhere between chess and battleships, but fought out by hand painted miniatures from various fantasy worlds. Taking the role of commanders, each player throws dice to determine position and strength of attack, with the victor being the one with the most remaining figures after a certain number of rounds.

Caleb, who commands a slow but mighty horde of Orcs for the Nicosia team, said "It’s about knowing your enemy's weakness. For example, orcs a very fearful and keep running away. Especially from the undead."

Warhammer first appeared in 1983, and its rule book is now in its 7th edition. Each year, the game's inventor, Games Workshop, hosts an international convention, where the painter of the best figurines wins a replica sword.