War gaming is enthralling a generation of boys - and some girls, too, writesElizabeth Field

It's nearly impossible to drag four 12-year-old boys away from the Warhammer action at Games Workshop in central Dublin. Gavin Murphy manoeuvres his army of miniature Marauder Horsemen against an opponent's Knights of Chaos on one of three mock battlefields as his cousin Mark O'Callaghan looks on. David Zimmerman cruises the store's model- and book-lined walls, the apocalyptic illustrations on the Warhammer sets suggesting Hieronymus Bosch. Jack O'Beirne admires the beautifully painted Screamers of Tzeentch in a display case. About 30 other 12- to 17-year-old boys play, watch, browse or paint their two-inch-tall warriors to loud rock music.

In the arcane world of tabletop fantasy war games, the combatants are collectable armies from each of Games Workshop's three games systems. Warhammer, which is set in medieval times, features 16 armies. The futuristic Warhammer 40,000 has 22 armies. Lord of the Rings, based on the films, has dozens of goodies and baddies.

Warriors are assigned points values according to their powers. Using strategy and throwing dice, players move their men to accomplish missions detailed in the thick rule book. The average game in Warrior 40,000 is for 2,000 points and takes two hours. But there's more to the hobby than combat. Collectors must assemble and paint the metal or plastic models before warring them. A throwback to toy soldiers? "Absolutely," says store manager Graham Bailey, an avid hobbyist himself.

Gavin Murphy, a pupil at St Andrew's College in Booterstown, Co Dublin, spends about six hours a week painting his models. "It's a lot of work but very rewarding," he says. Nine-year-old Isaac Punch says: "I save up and hope people will give them to me as presents."

Warhammer is expensive - a starter set costs €60 - but seems to have lasting value. "The games are brilliant," says Isaac's mother, Orla Punch. "The detail work is good for their dexterity and demands a lot of concentration." Gavin's mother, Yvonne Chapman, a language teacher, says: "They develop the imagination. They're far better than PlayStation or sitting in front of a computer screen."

As for encouraging aggressive behaviour, Dr Carol Matthews, head of psychology at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, believes that taking control of armies makes boys feel as strong and powerful in a fantasy world as they are not in the real world. "We still place a lot of expectations on boys to be strong," she says.

But it is no longer just boys who are fans. "I never thought I'd want to play a war game," says 11-year-old Christina Hillary, another St Andrew's pupil. "But I saw my brother playing Warhammer 40,000 a few months ago and I joined in. It was really fun. I like the shooting." Her favourite miniatures are "the guys with green guns" - Necron Warriors and Necron Scarabs.

Her classmate Kate O'Rourke also started playing Lord of the Rings last year on the heels of her elder brothers. She likes painting the models and thinks the Orcs from The Lord of the Rings are really cool.

Warhammer games are very popular among older primary-school girls in the US but are targeted at boys here. "Maybe if they changed their ads, more girls would want to play," says Christina.

In the meantime, my guides at Games Workshop are in danger of being home late. I overhear them discussing which is better on a Saturday afternoon, playing Warhammer or going to Lansdowne Road to watch a rugby match. The rugby wins - by a hair.

Games Workshop has two stores in Dublin and also sells its products through some toyshops. See www.games-workshop.com for details