About Us

Corio Bay Freebooters

The Corio Bay Freebooters are the brain child of Paris Conte, an exceptionally passionate gamer and member of the wider community. Paris created the Freebooters to gather the Geelong Warmachine Community under a single banner and foster a well connected and potential competive play scene to participate in tournaments during the Mk2 and early Mk3 editions of Warmachine.

Paris previously organised and run a couple of large charity team tournaments in Geelong, utilising the FoodMachine system, to raise funds for a local Food Charity for the needy, the Clockwork Dragon events.

Now Gerrard attempts to revive some of that community with the Corio Bay Challenge events.

Geelong Gamers Guild

The Geelong Gamers Guild has supported the Geelong gaming community for almost 30 years, being a venue for tabletop gamers to gather and meet on a regular basis. It has been at its current location, The Geelong Guides Hall, for much of the time since 2001.

Previously a venue and community that supported large numbers of tabletop wargamers, it has morphed to a primarily RPG focused community. Much of this change an organic evolution as players aged and priorities changed, families, University, and increased social play options away from the Geelong Gamers Guild.

The Geelong Gamers Guild welcomes all members of the tabletop gaming community in Geelong and surrounding areas, and hopes to see tabletop wargames return to its weekly Monday night meetings.

Gerrard Unmack

The organiser for these events, Gerrard has been an avid tabletop gamer since the age of 10, some 35 years ago. With a strong background in tabletop RPG's, including Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Ed. including various settings, Legend of the Five Rings, and scattered other systems, he has a strong emphasis on story during his play.

This transferred to tabletop wargames, with his Chapter Australis Space Marines and Legion of the Damned for Warhammer 40,000, as well as Necromunda, N95 being his first wargame. The focus on narrative, and a creative steak, resulted in Gerrard producing large amounts of terrain for the various games. In fact he believes that he may have thrown away or lost more terrain than some games stores own.

Gerrard has played Warmachine since the 1st Edition with the Black and White Prime rulebook. He has a significant collection of Cryx, Circle Tharn/ Devourers Host, and Legion of Everblight Blighted Ogrun models.

Gerrard has previously worked at Mind Games in Geelong, where he facilitated my purchases for customers between 2001 and 2014, and also held the positions of Treasurer and President of the Geelong Gamers Guild during much of that time as well. In that role Gerrard also hosted numerous tabletop wargame tournaments, primarily for Warhammer 40,000, and Weekend long RPG conventions at the Geelong Guides Hall for the Geelong Gamers Guild.

Contact Corio Bay Challenge

Address: Geelong Guides Hall 33 Myers Street, Geelong. Victoria, Australia.

Email: freebooters@unmack.net.au
Events held on the 5th Saturday of the Month (April - November)
Dates in 2024 are 29th June, 31st August, and 30th November.
Dates in 2025 are 31st May, 30th August, and 29th November.