Recently I have been thinking about our hobby and what the
future holds for it, I hear a lot about the “golden age” of wargames in the 70’s
and not wanting to upset any of you who agree I have to say I think we are in
the golden age now.
Let me explain why. I cannot think of a time when we had as
many professionally produced wargames rules and if you look carefully for most
periods you can find skirmish rules and full battle rules. I am not saying we
have not had as many rules before but before the 00’s they were club rules and
is some case’s guarded as if a hoard of treasure. Now with the advent of
print-on-demand someone with the passion can produce their own rules and get
them on the market. Add to this the increase of companies that produce and
support their own rules sets and you have a rich and vibrant market of rules to
fit all tastes.
On the figures side the introduction of hard plastic
injection moulded figures has opened up all our options, while before the
investment needed to play one period could be very high now you can build up
big armies for most of the popular periods without remortgaging your house or
selling body parts. Suddenly even a gamer on a modest income can have two or
three periods covered up to fair sized army level. Away from big battles the
increase of micro-companies producing fine figures for some times little
covered conflicts has been a joy to behold we have bloggers who just wanted to
get their own figures for a period that were pestered by followers into selling
figures and fine sculptors who produce their own range and with the internet
can market and sell them all themselves some time from their own house’s or
even garden sheds. This does not end at 28mm either the amount of detail that
you see now a days in 15/18mm is eye watering, I cannot be the only one who
sees the detail in today’s 25/18’s being better than the 25/28’s of my youth.
On top of all this you have the increase in 10mm companies and 6mm companies
and it all adds up to a rich and exciting figure market.
So with the great rules and figures out in the market you
would think our hobby is in a great place? Well not from where I look I think
we are in trouble, we are getting old. All you have to do is look around the
average wargames show and you can not disagree with me, where are the young
ones? We cannot say that the young are not interested in playing “toy soldiers”
have you walked passed a GW store on a Saturday or Sunday they are packed with
young enthusiastic gamers. But why are these young gamers not becoming middle-aged
gamers? I think to some extent we have only ourselves to blame how many time
have you heard someone who loves pushing around his/her ACW/ECW/AWI....etc
figures talk down about Warhammer and those that play it. I have been on the
end of this barb. I was the member of a vibrant RAF Wargames club in fact I ran
the youth club that had several members (a couple of which have recently been
back in touch and still play), we moved our club house and had a huge open day
to showcase our hobby. We had stunning modular-terrain as we had Wynn Rodgers
(of Gripping beast’s terrain fame) as a member and he spent all hours building
terrain for the club, we had gamers who loved all periods from 15mm Zulu
through to jet planes and micro-modern. On the open day I was playing Warhammer
against my gaming buddy and having a blast (as an interesting aside that was the
day I met my wife, she popped her head in the room and asked if I wanted a cup
of tea). Our club chairman was showing the Station Commander around and when he
came to our room he stuck his head in and said “And this is just a bit of fun”.
While I know the lad involved and he was not being mean it
is this very attitude that could be part of the cause of our aging hobby. I
have also been on the other side as a gamer looking for a club, I have talked
before about my shyness so looking for a wargames club was not something I was actively
doing but when invited to my next-doors for a BBQ I happened to meet one of his
friends who it turned out was a wargamer, he informed me that the local
wargames club met at a pub 5 minutes walk from my house. This was too good to
miss so I went along the next club night (at the time I was heavily playing
WAB) on entering the room the club used I was met by a dozen staring eyes that
quickly return to the game they were playing (an ACW game using a laptop to do
all the working out) I think that there was another game or two being played
but I cannot remember, the guy I had met came over and introduced me to the
clubs chairman who asked what I played, after my response of WAB and a bit of
Warhammer his eyes glazed over and he directed me to a corner of the room where
two shy looking young men were playing a small 40K game. That was it I was
dismissed as quickly as that, needless to say I never returned and the club in
no surprise to me later ceased to meet.
I seem to be rambling on but I do have a point, I love
wargames I love all aspects of the hobby from the buying of new figures to
painting to planning games and playing games. But most of all I love the joy of
sharing this with fellow gamers. I can say this hobby has given me so much as I
said I met my wife in a wargames club; the hobby has given me and my Dad the
best relationship any father-son could wish for because we are best pals too. I
do not want to see the hobby grow old and fade away I want to share what I get
from this hobby so others can gain as much as I have. I think while there are
great clubs out there they are not good at recruiting for our hobby. In today’s
age of multi-media I think that the best tool me have for grabbing these young
gamers that show and interest in wargames is what you are reading now and the
people who are reading this now. Just on my blog alone I have followers who
cover all ways to start in our hobby I have guys who played with airfix figures
as kids I have GW staffers and GW fan boys and I have guys who started in this
hobby to get to know their kids, and those who were just looking for stress relief
or work for idle hands.
We bloggers are already having a get together with Blog-Con
but I would love it we could group together to help our hobby. Why could we not
get together as the biggest wargames club in the world (that can cover the
world), we would have a committee and membership fees and run as a proper club
but we do not need a clubhouse we would provide contacts so you can game with likeminded
gamers in your/their own house. We would have Blog-Con as our annual meet (AGM)
and the bloggers-for-charity idea could become annual too. This vast club and
the funds generated would give us the skills and people to spread our hobby, I
would love to see School clubs or even Summer Wargames Schools, why can we not
grab on to the kids who show and interest in wargames via GW and show them that
they can do so much more in our hobby which for me is the one constant that
runs through my whole life I have made friends lost friends moved house’s changed
jobs but through all this if I needed a bit of peace of to relax I picked up a
brush or some dice and lost myself in the world that is Wargames.
If you have stuck with me through to the end thank you, I
hope you have not been too board, I would love to have some feedback on what
you feel about our hobby and the direction its going, and if you would be
interested in a Blog based wargames club or even if you think it could work. I
am not the only blogger with a passion for growing our hobby so shout out and
lets all do something about it.
Peace James
Think you have some very interesting points here.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very easy to look back and point 'that was the golden age'.. just look at how people idealize certain times in history ..while I'm a big fan of history and find some time periods 'fun', the reality is I'd probably hate to live in most of them, some popular 'golden ages' of history: 1950's? Victorian era? I'd probably tear my hair out of get locked up for mad complaining about the injustices (not that I'm that fond of living in this time period tbh). Point is, easy to gloss over problems in the past when looking back at them. This is a *great* time for miniatures gaming. Never has there been a wider variety of rules and settings, the quality of miniatures has never been better, and while some minis & terrain is very expensive, there are great affordable options too. The internet has been great to create communities and share ideas. Some argue that it stifles creativity because information travels too far too fast: such as 'net lists' of army lists for many game systems. I can see that to a point, but I think it's just a larger scope of what happened before: the 'local meta' for such games had this already, it's just now 'local' is much larger, but people who want to 'net list' are the same types that would have done it before: so not worse, not better. Small issue compared to the benefit of sharing creative ideas across the globe.
I've heard some complaints that the quality and professional look of wargames rules now makes it impossible for the home-published, staple bound, line drawing illustrated type to get noticed. Perhaps. But such rules had small following and limited exposure, and I'd think might have the same interest and chance to be bought at cons as they ever had, maybe more now that they can offer them as pdf rules for low cost.
And all of that isn't even dealing with Kickstarter.
So I think we are in a miniatures game golden age, unless the future is even better.
As for the berlin-wall of gaming, it was the same as far back as I can remember. The great divide between fantasy/sci-fi gaming and historical gaming. The looking down the long nose attitude may always be there, but I think it has gotten better in this issue too. Look at all the cross-over that has happened.. with games like DUST and other Weird WWII games and VSF gaming, it has brough a lot of fantasy & sci-fi fans to looking at historical gaming. The more that gamers' interestes are broadened and mixed the better. there will always be some who think anyone who games with an elf miniature is a simpering child and those who think anyone why plays with a Napoleonic miniature is a tweed-wearing button counter, but the majority of gamers are getting more mixed, and I think that will help the hobby and I think it is happening at a greater rate than it was 30 years ago.
Besides, fantasy & Scifi gaming is newer than historical. When this all became more common in the 70's there was already an established historical gaming movement- as they got older they kept gaming historical. Young new gamers were drawn to fantasy & scifi, probably bc of Tolkien & Star Wars, so the older gamers looked at it as 'for kids' ... but as those kids grew older, many of them became more interested in historical but didn't lose interest in the fictional genres, so the more time that passes, the more integration there will be, since eventually (not to be cruel) the generation that came before fantasy & scifi gaming won't be alive anymore, but historical gaming still will as those younger pick it up in addition to the fantasy games- just look at how many of the founders of GW are into Historical and you can see what I mean.
Sorry for the lengthy reply, I don't know how to be brief, or shut up ;) Wish I wasn't on this side of the planet and could go to the BlogCon you guys are having.. hope you have fun!
great reply, no need to be brief and some great points
DeletePeace James
yes I think the idea has legs, you suffering from insomnia again mate?
ReplyDeletetake them one at a time solve one problem move on to the next. Works for me (when I remember)
ReplyDeleteJames: Great write up on the state of affairs; Laughing Ferret and Andrew also have great responses. I have to empathize a bit with your club experience. Many of the older guys here are very into historicals, but also venture into Scifi - including VSF. That said, most of the older guys don't want to have anything to do with WAB, WHFB or 40K. As you may know from my blog postings, I've recently only ventured into Fantasy - and now 40K! LOL! I think the options are always open - and the game you never thought you'd play may be the one giving you the most enjoyment - at least for the time being. Warm Regards, Dean
ReplyDeleteVery thought provoking. I certainly agree that we're in a much better position now than we ever were thanks to the rise in plastics and better quality resin castings, but Kickstarter is also helping some get started as well. We've had home casters being able to get a larger batch of their figured made; we've also had boutique companies like http://kingdomdeath.com/ (NSFW!) going from selling very tiny runs of figures through to them taking over 2 million dollars for their rpg/board game (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/poots/kingdom-death-monster).
ReplyDeleteThe rise of lots of interesting, low introduction cost skirmish systems is also helping (me at least) look at other time periods and settings as I don't have to worry about the massive buy-in for a decent 40k or WFB force.
The idea of a global gaming group is a nice one. My local group is basically 40k/WFB only, so I gave up attending as I'd become bored of the Win At All Costs mentality most of them seemed to portray... I really need to investigate some of the other groups to see what is happening in the area.
Great post! I think you pretty much banged the nail on the head. There needs to be more clubs certainly perhaps a facebook page for arranging meet ups or something its certainly more accessible than blogging perhaps
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post and replies. I can just imagine that first visit to the unfriendly wargames club! I belong to Guildford Wargames Club and we have no chairman, no committee, no elections, no AGM and no rules! We just have one person who collects the annual fees and pays the hall rental. We regularly have 15 or so players every week playing everything from Star Wars to ECW, to WW1 aviation, to boardgames. I personally believe old style club thinking, with its committees, chairmen, AGMs, motions, seconding etc are a curse that puts off many people (especially young people) from many types of clubs, especially in the UK. It's a hangover from Victorian times and tends to (was designed to?) create social divides.
ReplyDeleteI certainly believe that we are in a golden age as regards figures and rules. I travel to Colombia a lot and am amazed that a firm in the Czech Republic is now making figures for the Latin American Wars of independence and I can order them over the internet and they can be with me in a a few days.
It is this technology that is stopping younger members wargame though. My son is 16 and plays Call of Duty, Rome: Total War, The Battle for Middle Earth and Pirates of the Caribbean online. He is wargaming but not with figures! Youngsters don't seem to want to sit in solitary seclusion painting figures for months ready for a game in the future. They want to play now, online, with their friends. Painting ability is irrelevant. They play and chat to each other through their headsets at the same time. Games Workshop recognise this social aspect which is why at the weekend their shops are full of people gaming and painting (no seclusion called for). If they ever drop their shops and just sell online I predict "The Hobby" will take a crash dive. I wouldn't have played games with my Airfix Romans as a boy if I could have conjured up virtual legions at the click of a mouse.
For youngsters too, going to a club consisting of "old people" is quite intimidating. At school I thought that boys even in the year above were old and not in my peer group. The only adults I spoke to were relatives or teachers. All were distant, authority figures. Also, how many wargames clubs meet at the weekend? Most seem to meet weekday evenings when children have homework. Even if they could get to a club this would be a problem. For a wargames club to replicate Games Workshop appeal and conditions it would have to replicate that social centre approach - something adults with families can't do at the weekend.
I think too (it certainly was in my case)that the historical v fantasy debate is partly about justifying what to most looks like a childish hobby, through being to able to plead a large historical research element. Interestingly, though, when we did a Wars of the Roses presentation game for the public at our wargames club venue most people knew what Warhammer was but they hadn't realised that their was a historical equivalent!
I have no solutions but it is always worthwhile to have the debate. Personally, I do think that GW have dropped the ball on The Hobbit by failing to support it as a wargame (not one article in White Dwarf since the launch last year). This was a great opportunity, as the Lord of the Rings films was over a decade ago, to bring more youngsters (including quite a few girls into wargaming. But they have now lost a generation here.
I'm not quite sure how a world wide gaming group would work. Are there really that many people interested in wargaming who don't belong to a club already? Do you really want to invite strangers into your house? Why do you need a committee and fees?
Connecting gamers is a good idea but isn't some sort of online bulletin board enough? Certainly a proper database of existing clubs and what they play would be useful.
Anyway, as I said, excellent piece and interesting thoughts form others!
I can't help but think that GW have dropped the ball completely over the last decade with their constant price hikes, lack of anything approaching actual content in their magazine and the insistence in making larger and larger armies necessary to play with.
DeleteSome of the alternatives (Warmachine/Hordes and Dust) had been on the radar thanks to a Dakkadakka.com, but I'd never really considered historicals, or even been aware of the range of options, until I got fed up of GW and picked up a copy of Wargames Illustrated just to see what the alternatives were.
A more impassioned post you couldn't wish to read and from a gentlemen whose only concern is to share his own joy with many more. I wonder however, if your foretelling of a demise in this great hobby is a tad premature. Already you have had some wonderful replies alerting us to the good health of the hobby using such indicators as kickstarter. For me, a relatively newcomer, it would appear that the hobby is changing rather than declining. The world is changing as are the expectations of the younger generation. Gone are the days when leaving school led to a job for life and a mortgage. Now everything is more transient for our young people, moving between jobs, apartments everything documented on one form of social media or another. This would make the collection of vast armies laid out in the spare room often problematic, but has clearly led to a rise in bespoke skirmish rules often using exquisitely crafted miniatures.
ReplyDeleteIt just appears to me that so much is going on, the only problem is deciding which mast to pin your colours to, but then again why should you have to choose? Our cosy corner of the blog-o-sphere highlights the importance of the internet in this resurgence of the hobby, many of us share ideas, pass on good wishes and in the case of the Salute and Blog-Con actually meet up in person. I now count many of the followers of '28mm Victorian Warfare' as friends, a case in point would be Mike Reynolds, the Dark Templar visiting this weekend to play a couple of games or Dave Docherty, One man and his brushes sticking a few random bits of lead in a bag because he thought I might like them. I may not be a member of wargames club per se, but I like to think that due to blogging I have stumbled through the doors of potentially the largest club in the world, something you allude to in your post.
For me, now is not the time to worry, but to enjoy what we are doing. Try to do it as well as you can, embrace new ideas, re-imagine old and traditional methods and the hobby will continue to flourish in a myriad of forms for many years to come.
I concur with your overall opinion that the hobby is in a good news / bad news situation. The good news is that technology is making it easier for vendors to both produce and reach their target markets. It's now feasible for a small entity to reach a global market overnight rather than just sell to players who live close by. Anyone with some basic presentation skills can make a top notch looking ruleset and delivery it instantly with a PDF. That's the good news
ReplyDeleteThe bad news is that we are graying as a hobby which ultimately means the market will shrink and this "golden age" will end as there will be fewer people to sell to. One of the reasons this is happening is the same factors that are allowing the good news above is killing off the local independent retailer which was a prime recruiting ground for young gamers.
I think we can use social networking to improve the accessibility of gaming to younger people but our definition of a game will evolve and will need to integrate apps in the playing off and tracking results. Events like blog-con can be a huge help and I look forward to helping push those concepts forward.
A very interesting post and a good crop of replies (God, what a patronising sod!). I agree with pretty much all of what's been said, so you'll all have to forgive me if I boil the same cabbages and don't cross refer.
ReplyDeleteThis 'Golden Age' issue is certainly exercising many people, but I think it's a bit of a red herring. Every few years this debate resurfaces as does the concern that the hobby is on the wane because we're all getting older, but we're still here and there must be younger people entering the hobby or our average age would be about 103. I didn't notice any bath chairs at Partizan or the Triples, but I did notice a large number of chaps in the 30 to 50 (ish) age group and also some women. (WHAT?!?) This majority age group has been pretty constant for years. Assuming the majority of gamers start in the mid-late teens, I think there's commonly a natural lull in a person's gaming life as families begin to appear on the scene and it's pretty common for many gamers to take a breather for a few years once children and/or work begin the drain on time and resources. So, no, I don't think we're on the way out - far from it.
Over the years the wargames market has found its own level whether because of advances in, say, skills and technology or recessions (we've had them before). Nevertheless, the overall trend has been improved wargaming material and facilities (including software & online wargaming) and higher numbers. Attendance at shows isn't a reliable measure because that can be subject to many variables, including bad weather, but overall I'll bet there are more gamers now (all genres) than there has ever been just as there are more purveyors of wargames related goods. It's not all figures manufactures these days, but a plethora of ancillary goods and services. It's also more of an overtly international hobby; look at the companies trading from Poland, Spain, Germany, Russia, Italy etc. Yes, wargames related companies have failed, but they do so for a variety of reasons and not simply a downturn in the market. So, yes, we're in a 'Golden Age' as we have been every few years when somebody bothered to take stock and this will continue until the next time someone declares we're in a 'Golden Age'.
The historicals/"Others" debate has been going on for years and I don't think it'll ever be resolved, but there is more crossover now and it's a generally more tolerant atmosphere. I don't think it's the 'button counting' image of, say Napoleonic gamers that's the issue so much as they way history is taught in schools (in the UK anyway). It's essentially a disjointed approach nowadays with nobody trying to pull the threads together and it's a subject that's often as dull as dishwater and will remain to until we get more real teachers back into the profession (Discuss). Compare that with the GW approach over the years where whole worlds have been created (often nicked) and well (though expensively) supported with literature of all sorts, figures, a gaming press and so on. No contest really for any youngster. This asymmetrical approach is made worse (or better) by the cinema and TV which can produce hours and hours of fantasy and sci-fi output with no need to worry about accuracy of any sort (stand fast the Tolkein fans) and it's relatively easy. Add to this the lure of PC's and game consoles and the poor old Napoleonic bloke is beginning to look awfully lonely.
Me? I believe the internet may well be the method of organising these people (or those who wish to be) into a viable way forward. I've said much of this before on my blog and in various replies to others' posts, but I think James' suggestion of a blog based wargames club is a runner and would suit many gamers. It's been done before, after a fashion, and there's absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be successful.
Ayethangyou!
Great read especially the comments, I agree it's the golden age now but I remeber starting with GW and Prince August and still made the transition to historical but still love my fantasy and sci-fi, I believe most of those little horrors in GW on Saturday mornings will cross over even after they discover girls....it will just take longer for some!
ReplyDeleteGreat post and a great read.
ReplyDeleteI agree James, I really do think we are in the golden age of the hobby right now. Never before has there been so much choice and variation in the hobby, whether you are a fantasy or historical gamer. However I do agree that we are all getting older and every year only enough to keep the hobby ticking over are joining.
I think the dominance of GW has now finaly ended, and that alone has opened the doors for the fantasy market.
WAB has also gone although replaced by Warlord to certain degree, but one I welcome.
Most of us started in this when we were very young. Can the same happen to youngsters nowadays.
We did'nt have ps3's etc, we had airfix.
I afraid only time will tell.
But lets hope the hobby does live long and prosper.
James, that's a fine post. I hear what you're saying about the greying of the hobby. I also agree with you that we're entering a remarkable new age for our hobby. If anything, to me it seems that the barriers are breaking down all the time. There are more rules than ever, more figures, more blogs, more ideas - and the boundaries of miniature wargames seems less distinct than 10 years ago. We see what RPG players are doing from their blogs, podcasts and Google Hangouts. We see what's hot in sci-if or fantasy gaming at a touch of a tablet or a mouse. And for historical gamers, skirmish games and large scale corpus level actions (and games in between) are embraced equally.
ReplyDeleteThis is remarkable enough. But to me, it seems that the technology with which we view and participate in the hobby is also bringing gamers, worldwide and locally, closer together. In this world, the sort of closer community, or a more connected community, you have written about may well be achievable. One step at a time - but I can't see the hobby's journey finishing any time soon.
Hi, Great post:-) I think kids today (I Have two) are still interested in wargaming in its many and various forms, but know the hobby has got to compete with computer gaming which gives them fully painted armies and terrain at the click of a button. This is where the younger generation lack get up and go. they will and do play the games but they cant be arsed painting the armies I've seen loads of them playing the latest GW game or WarMachine etc but they all tend to use unpainted armies. As for the golden age Id say for miniatures its now and for many years to come, but for rules I think the scene will implode, too many sets I think is watering the hobby down. Some time back I posted this on the WAB Forum: "Whilst pondering my various up and coming wargames projects I came to thinking...Has the wargaming scene been watered down by the amount of so many good rules sets? Has too much choice weakened the hobby? (Puts on rose coloured gasses)In the good old days the main historical sets where WAB 28mm and DBx 15mm for historical or WFB 28mm for fantasy, and you fell in one camp or the other.I know there were others available but these appeared to be the main three.
ReplyDeleteSo a new project was.. pick your period, pick your army, and have a good gander at the various lovely figs available. Get on to a Forum like this one and ask for advise, and get lots of replies regarding the army and the rules set etc. You could go to your local club and everybody (in the main)playing the same system so you could always get a game.
But now with all the new rules sets its still..pick you period,pick your scale and have at look at even more lovely figs available. But that that's where it ends.Everybody is playing something different so forums showing fewer replies etc. Clubs now have small groups of people playing their own thing so there are now clubs within clubs.
I guess what I'm trying to say is "Was it better when every body sang from the same hymn book?"
Here's the link some interesting replies:-
http://wabforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=11671
Jason.
A fine post. I do agree about a golden age of figure/terrain/rules etc. Not so sure on the overall enjoyment part sometimes. If figures are so super detailed it takes an age to paint, you never things finished to enjoy that game!
ReplyDeleteCertainly I agree about our virtual club, all the bloggers I have met and communicated would form a fine club. I am happy to travel and help organise events etc.
I know what you mean about walking into a club. Been to a few where it was plain there was no welcome for the newbie, some members of our hobby can be very blinkered, but I also think it can be a hobby for quiet people as well who don't mix so well. I think the fact those of us who run blogs do so , means we are a bit more gregarious so will get along well.
At the risk of repeating what others have already said....what a great post and a great series of interesting replies. I'll be 'permalinking' this!
ReplyDeleteMy personal opinion is that I think the hobby generally is experiencing a renaissance at the moment with a huge range of games and products available and most at a very high standard. I don't think this is unsustainable despite the high mortality rate of games companies (this has been the case for decades and the industry is bigger than ever) and therefore I think ‘our’ hobby has a bright future...it just might not be what we expect.
There are a lot of gray haired overweight old blokes in this hobby (myself included) but I am always happy to see so many younglings at the game shows I attend. There probably could be more but I guess many are put off by the demographic of these events. Despite this I feel confident that there is a new generation waiting in the wings to keep the hobby alive, we just don’t see them at the sort of events we attend. Like so many generational things I think we can expect that they will do it differently to us, and we will most probably hate it! I'm sure there are a few ancient grognards out there that look at our generation and roll their eyes when we feature armies of plastic rather than lead figures and then blog about the minute of our day to day hobby activities. I think that our generation have to accept that the hobby will change during our lifetime and that we won’t like all the changes we see. But change is vital to keeping the industry fresh and alive and it will continue to bring in new player who will shape the hobby their way.