Community Spotlight: Mapping the Way to Victory

When it comes to the tabletop hobby, the only thing better than painting an army is actually getting to play with it. However, finding out where and when tournaments are happening has always been a challenge—until now.

We talked to Jiwan Noah Singh, one of the creators behind a new community-driven tool, to talk about how he and James Obrian built the ultimate solution for event seekers.

Böbben: Jiwan, it’s great to talk to you. You’ve just launched wargametournamentmap.com, a dedicated tournament finder for Games Workshop systems. What was the "lightbulb moment" that started this project?

Jiwan: Honestly, it came from pure frustration. I consider myself a bit of a tournament addict, yet I kept finding out about events near me way too late. I’d see photos of a great weekend of gaming and realize I’d missed the sign-up by days. I figured if someone like me—who is constantly looking—can’t find them, it must be impossible for someone just getting into the scene.

Böbben: So, you decided to build the map you wished existed. How did the collaboration with James Obrian come about?

Jiwan: James and I spent many late nights brainstorming. We obsessed over the user experience—figuring out exactly what it should look like and how to make it "by players, for players." We wanted something that wasn't just a list, but a visual way to see the community growing around you.

Böbben: Building a global map sounds like a massive technical undertaking. How did you actually get the code running?

Jiwan: Believe it or not, a lot of it happened while my infant daughter was napping on me! Since I had to stay still for long stretches, I used that time to research how AI could help me build the framework. I had a whole lot of help from the community on how to source event data and even how to "talk" to the AI to get the results we needed. It was a real team effort from the community before I finally felt ready to send it out into the world.

Böbben: The tool is live now. For those checking it out today, what’s the best way to use it?

Jiwan: If you’re on a desktop, the "search by distance" option is fantastic for finding your local scene. We are still tweaking the mobile experience—getting that much data to be readable on a small screen is a challenge—but the core functionality is there. It’s a wargaming event map by players, for players, to play players.

Böbben: It’s a fantastic gift to the hobby. Jiwan, thanks for taking the time, and thanks to you and James for giving us more places to play!

Here is the link to the website: https://fivenewfriends.com/