CROWDS of board game and comic book fanatics descended on Newport this weekend for the one-day Dragondaze convention.

More than 1,000 people visited the event at Newport Centre, which was taken over by trading stalls, demonstrations and colourful characters.

Stormtroopers and Transformers could be seen walking alongside Daleks and Ghostbusters as they perused the various offerings on show.

Aside from playing impromptu games with customers, traders were selling everything from games, to comic books, toys, clothes and other collectable merchandise.

Visitors could also find a board games cafe filled with more than 200 games, and an upper floor filled with role-playing game demonstrations.

This year’s event was the fourth since its relaunch in 2013, having originally started among a small group of friends in the Newport gaming scene in 1984.

Mark Lewis and his replica Dalek had travelled down from Shropshire for the show, which was the first of two he would be attending on Saturday.

He was attending the show in support of the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young, which ironically counts Doctor Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman among its patrons. He added: “It's the first time I've been here.

I'm really impressed and I've had a lot of interest in the Dalek from people I've met today.” The middle of the sports hall was taken up by 12 demonstrations of board games supplied by Esdevium Games.

One of the company's employees, Chris Reed, said: “To a lot of people, board games are the new Saturday night.

“There are games to fit everybody's interests, ages and playstyles and it's a really inclusive community.”

Fellow Esdevium Games rep Sarah Gosset, who has attended every Dragongaze since 2013, also remarked at how much the event had grown since her first visit.

Matthew Betts, of Maindee, said that board games was experiencing a “resurgence” in popular culture.

All of the funds raised on the day will go directly to Barnardo's, the Sparkle Appeal and Ieuan the Lion Memorial Fund.

Event co-ordinator Simon Powell said that a minimum of 700 people had walks through the doors of the centre within two hours of it opening.

“Our biggest advantage is that we're not just a board game convention, there's plenty of room for cosplayers, collectors and anyone else,” he said.

“It's been a fantastic day, it's been great to see families bringing their kids along for the fun, but for us it means we've had a hand in helping our chosen charities.”