The Last Chancers was originally founded by the North Wexford Gamers in 2009 by a small group of gamers sharing a pizza and a passion for Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
It has since evolved into Wicklow’s premier tabletop gaming club, providing a friendly and welcoming environment for gamers of all experience levels in the comfortable confines of De La Salle Community Centre, Wicklow.
History.
In 2009 the website “northwexfordgamers.org” was created to promote local gaming. (specifically centered around Warhammer Fantasy Battle)
Over time, the website and forum became more popular nationwide and finally evolved into the Wargaming Ireland website.
Alongside the website, the gamers continued to look for a venue to host the club without much success.
In 2011, a new gaming shop and venue – “The Hobby Shack” – opened in Wicklow town, and the store owner reached out to the club to ask if the Shack would suit the club as its home. A group of core members from the North Wexford Gamers met with the store owner, and so the NWG home was found.
However, the North Wexford Gamers’ name didn’t really fit with a new club based in Wicklow, so a new name was chosen – The Last Chancers.
In 2014 the shop came under new management and was renamed the War Room.
The second major community to join The Last Chancers was a group of passionate players of the Collectable Card Game Magic: The Gathering, or MTG.
Started in 2013 by one of the original members; it took a while to kick off and a lot of hard work. But many years later, we have a stable showing of a dozen or more skilled players who’ve been to multiple national and international events.
With the Covid-19 pandemic starting in March of 2020, resulting in the closing of the War Room store, the club moved entirely online and hosted a virtual convention in March 2021.
In November of 2022, we reopened our doors with a new Club board, a refreshed sense of organisation, and with a new home in the De La Salle Community Centre in Wicklow Town, where we are currently located.
What’s in a name.
The Last Chancer’s name was chosen for a couple of reasons.
Wicklow was a gaol town, and there was a famous unit in Warhammer 40,000 called “Schaeffer’s Last Chancers,” who were a bunch of prisoner soldiers and general ragamuffins who formed the 13th penal legion in the game. )Which also seemed appropriate for the club’s members.)
The club’s motto is “Alea Iacta Est,” which is a pun on our favorite cubes (dice), meaning “the die is cast” and also “the decision is made”.
Caesar famously uttered the phrase as he crossed the Rubicon at the head of the 13th Legion, and that’s a nice link to Schaeffer’s penal legion too.