Richard Norton is a well-respected English teacher by day, but by night, he is better known as a gaming expert.
“Other than reading, yes, I would say it’s my favorite hobby,” said Norton. However, in the fashion of a true English teacher, he altered that statement a bit by adding that “…reading may not even count, since it’s more of a necessity.”
Norton developed his liking for historical reenactment games at a young age, and his interest in them has only increased with time. “I played the same board games as any other kid when I was younger. In high school, I started to get interested in historical games, where you recreate historical battles,” said Norton.
Historical games have remained Norton’s favorite type of game. They are elaborate board games that recreate famous moments or battles from various points throughout history. The games that Norton plays have very intricate designs, featuring hand-painted game pieces and detailed images on the board itself.
Although Norton has given games like World of Warcraft a try, he has never picked up a real affinity for computer games. “What I really like, which is lacking in computer games, is the face to face aspect of these [historical] games. It’s all about the interaction. Computer games are too isolating. Plus, I’m too old for shooting games. I hate getting cussed at by 11-year-olds on the computer,” said Norton.
As interacting with other people is his favorite part of the gaming experience, Norton has a weekly gaming night where he meets up with friends to play. “In college and for most of my twenties, I just had no time to play. But in my thirties, I had the time and desire to play, and that’s when I started to play with my friends at the local store. We play together at the Clairemont Plaza every Tuesday night. I’ve been playing with the same old dudes for the past 10 years,” said Norton.
One of Norton’s favorite experiences with gaming is his annual trip to Northern California to attend a large-scale gaming convention. “Every year, I go up to KublaCon in San Francisco, where there are just thousands of gamers. It’s for a three-day weekend, and I go up there and run and participate in different games,” said Norton.
Norton hopes to one day apply his gaming expertise to a gaming club at UC High. Norton said, “At the high school that I used to teach at, we had a gaming group. I’ve been wanting to start a gaming group at UC for awhile now. When time opens up, I plan on doing that.” There is no doubt that students will be lining up to join Norton’s club. The better question is if any student would be able to take down this gaming champion.