The Riverina Games Association this year celebrates its 30^th birthday, and Karl Baumer has been there from the beginning.

"We had our first meeting in 1989 back at Sturt School, there were a couple of kids around town who'd play games and we all got together and decided to make it an actual club," he said.

With a strong lead, the RGA had a starting head count of around 20 people according to Karl who said numbers have waxed and waned over the years.

"When we branched out to the public beyond just school we'd have up to 40 people some day," he said.

The group was formed with the intention of creating an avenue for those less interested in sports to get involved with their community and feed into their hobbies.

"It's something to get the mind moving I guess," Karl said.

RGA member Ashley Veigel has been with the club for 10 years, and said the evolution of the people and games was constantly in motion.

"Our biggest turn out is for War Machine at the moment which is a tabletop war simulation type game, and also Guild War which is like fantasy football," he said.

"Magic the Gathering is always a hit too, you cant go anywhere without that cropping up.

"Dungeons and Dragons used to have a great scene which doesn't tend to be around too much anymore, but that was one of the big reasons I joined the club in the first place."

Karl said a big part in his love for the group was the sense of community and friendships made along the way.

"It's nice to have a solid group with people from all different walks of life coming together, I've been to other groups like one in Canberra and it is never quite the same as ours," he said.

"I've created so many memories here, and made so many friends."

Abraham McLeod is another regular member of RGA and said the friendships made through the club played a big role in his passion for games.

"I came to Wagga about 12 years ago and joined the club, and basically all of my friends now are from being involved with RGA so it really is about friendship and community," he said.

"It's a really great club, people are always bringing new games to try and there is always someone willing to play with you if you have a new board game or something."

It hasn't always been smooth sailing for the passionate gamers.

"We did go through a bit of financial hardship a couple of years back and if it wasn't for Karl the club wouldn't be here anymore," Ashley said.

"There's a good output of about 15 consecutive players now, sometimes it can dip down to say ten, but they're your core players who have been here a long time.

"Initially we saw a major influx when Logical Choice used to be the major gaming store because they didn't have enough space to facilitate us all in his store, so he'd hire out magic cards and play sets to us, that sort of thing, which kept us both in motion but yeah, funding is always a bit touch and go."

Karl said he was "surprised it has lasted this long".

"It is because we've dug our heels in and really worked hard to keep it alive," he said.

The club welcomes all ages.

"The youngest player we ever had was 8 years old," Ashley said.

"She absolutely slayed everyone, you'd think it would be an easy match against a kid but she was amazing and slaughtered us all."

RGA meet twice a month from 11am to anywhere as late as midnight, and have no plans of slowing down according to Ashley.

"Our doors are always open to new members, come on in and see if you like it, make some friends and see what we have to offer," he said.