MOOSE JAW — Brock Nancarrow has been participating in the Moose Jaw Gamers Association’s annual gaming expo (GAX) for many years and has watched the event expand from a church basement to an entire building.
“It’s (GAX) pretty exciting. I started going because my stepdad let me know about it. And I started attending back when we were at St. Joseph’s Church in the basement when it was mostly just the LAN (a collection of computers) side of things,” the association president said.
“And then it’s been fun watching it grow into what it is now, where we have more of the board games and all of that as well.”
The association (MJGA) last held GAX in St. Joe’s basement around 2018 before moving to the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre — now the Centre for Arts and Culture — and taking over the building’s three floors.
Nancarrow thought it was a “neat experience” to watch the event evolve from just computer gaming to other electronic and non-electronic gaming and to grow in location size — GAX started in one person’s basement with a few friends — and participant numbers. He noted that the association has come to understand better what the community wants, which has shaped what it offers for activities.
For example, when GAX — one of the longest-running events in Saskatchewan — returned in 2022 after a pandemic-forced hiatus, the executive realized that while people had been playing games online, what they really wanted was to sit with people and play games, have fun and interact, he continued.
“And that quickly became our staple now. But we have noticed we’re starting to get a little more of the LAN-side back,” Nancarrow added.
Nancarrow, who has been MJGA president for three years and on the executive for almost five years, said Moose Jaw’s gaming community is great, while he enjoys knowing that the expo’s proceeds go to a worthy charity.
Meanwhile, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) has become his favourite game to play at GAX — he’s played it personally for eight years — because of the creativity involved with crafting characters and storylines.
Nancarrow enjoys helping organize GAX since it’s fun to watch everything come together like a puzzle. With a chuckle, he added that the challenges include acquiring sponsors and finding people who can be dungeon masters (DMs) to lead the D&D games.
This year’s GAX occurs from Friday, Feb. 7 to Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Centre for Arts and Culture at 217 Main Street North. The doors open Friday at 5 p.m. and close at midnight, open at 9 a.m. on Saturday and run until midnight and open at 9 a.m. on Sunday and run until 5 p.m.
The ever-popular pizza party occurs on Saturday around suppertime, with participants’ admission fees granting them access to the mouth-watering meal.
Furthermore, there will be LAN (computer-connected) games, board games, console games, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), Flames of War, Pokemon, Battletech, Magic the Gathering, Super Smash Bros., and more.
This year, for the first time since 2019, the gaming expo will host a Settlers of Catan national qualifier. The tournament runs on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the winner participating in the Catan Canadian National Championship.
Another new feature is that GAX is introducing a family rate of $50, while a single admission is $25. People can pre-register online at or pay at the door.
Every year, the association makes a large donation to a community organization. Last year, the group donated to the Moose Jaw Health Foundation, but this year, as of press time, the executive had not yet announced which charity or non-profit it was supporting.
