MOXHAM, Pa. -- Meryl Rutz gets strange looks when he tells people he still plays with toy soldiers. That doesn't stop Rutz, 42, and eight friends from mustering on the battlefield each week.

The "battlefield" is an 8-foot-square, raised platform filled with sand, in the attic of Douglas Kleman's home.

The friends fight battles of every era using miniatures painted with precise historical detail. Their sand easily shifts to resemble hills, roads, hedge rows or rivers, transforming into terrain from ancient wars or more modern skirmishes.

The gamers say their hobby fuses research, a love of history and a social aspect. In that way, they say, it is like model railroading.

“There’s a camaraderie and a realization that this can become more than a hobby. It’s almost a vocation,” said Kleman, whose interest in three-dimensional battles dates to 1974, when he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. “Those were the days when we didn’t have jobs or family obligations, so we had the time to have ongoing battles.”

In their miniature wars, players often simulate a specific battle, using figurines to represent the various units of each opponent's army. Players alternate moves. Each piece may move a maximum distance, in any direction, with limits determined by tape measure.

Combat occurs when a player moves a piece so that it touches an opponent's figurine.

Some players keep battles historically accurate. Others create new strategies to attain different outcomes.