Carl Sharman, Director of Wargames Workshop in Milton Keynes, talks growth in adult hobby gaming, and how retail is all part of the experience for kidults
Carl Sharman, Director of Wargames Workshop in Milton Keynes, has spent decades building a community space rather than just serving customers.
He (and his dedicated customers) believes experiences and shared passions are just as important to adult hobbyists, TCG players and role-players as the products on the shelves. In the July issue of TnP, Carl shares his insight into the explosive growth of kidult spend, his passionate take on retail, and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for the hobby gaming market.
“Long before the term ‘kidult’, we were serving customers who were spending their leisure time enjoying their passion for gaming, collecting, painting – and the social community it had started to create – from the late 1990s,” he said.
“What we’ve seen in recent years is that these hobbies have become far more mainstream.Adults are increasingly looking for meaningful leisure activities that offer real-world outlets for their creativity, social interaction, and a break from online life. As a result, spending has grown across categories such as trading card games, miniatures, board games and collectibles.”
Read the full interview below:
https://issuu.com/lemapublisihng/docs/toys_n_playthings_july_2026/44
