Wargames, Why do I do it?

So I guess this is another reflective post from me, looking back through my blog it seems that you either get a, this is what I have painted post or an I’m sharing my soul post. Maybe it has something to do with being a nightshift supervisor where other that checking orders and correcting pick locations my night is spent waiting for something to go wrong. This of course is not a bad thing as it has brought you BforC and Blog-Con and the Community Currency.

 

Any way to the question at hand Wargames why do I do it? I first got into wargames as I loved the game the moving of figures and rolling of dice. I was not that fussed about the history of the battles or the armies taking part for me as a shy teenager the wargames club was where I felt at home not for me the youth disco or local meeting place, no I wanted to order my British line to fire and retire in the face of the Zulu hordes or for my Dwarves to rain a storm of crossbow bolts down on the greenskins. Alongside this I started painting and while I am the first to admit the gaming slowed to a snail’s pace and stopped for many years the painting has stuck with me (mostly), I am a firm believer that in each of us is a skill we excel in if you are lucky it is a sport that you can be paid thousands to play or you may be lucky to have a skill that fits in with a job role. For me despite me being down on my painting sometimes I know I have a talent for  painting toy soldiers and having found this fact I get great personal satisfaction from producing units of fine wargames figures.

But back to the question at hand while I got into wargames because I loved the game, I stayed because of the people I met and the friends I made, some come and go while others I can’t shake off. My one lifelong gaming buddy as I have said before is my Dad and wargames has given us such a great relationship that I know is the envy of many fathers and sons.

Dad after I gave him his retirement Present two 28mm SYW armies

 

 I am now starting to reconnect with guys from ages ago and its odd that while the years between may be vast the common hobby lets you pick up as if it was only last week you last met. In the last 4-5 years (what I guess is my wargames mid-life) I have found that the history of battles and armies has taken more of my interest; I guess driven by all the uniform research I do for commissions. As I stated in an earlier post in the next few years my gaming will increase and this blog will start to carry BATREP’s but even this has been driven by the great friendships that wargaming in general and the blogosphere has brought me. The last weekend that Loki and Kev went up to my Dads to play we spent hours sitting in the garden and conservatory just talking about all things wargames and blog. In no other area of my life would I feel so comfortable with guys I only met in May. This is what wargames gives me, it gives me a common ground with guys who take the time to get to know me, this blog and the hundreds I follow have become a large part of my life (not as sad as it sounds) but I know it’s not just me, how many of you have had a supportive message from a fellow blogger about not just hobby subjects. I am sure that this support network happens in many good wargames clubs but by their nature they are regional. The internet in general and the blogs specifically make you “”Club”” worldwide, let’s face it most of us are blokes and we are not built to talk about feelings and problems but maybe within the support of our “”Club”” we can break this mould. Every ones log has the options to contact the blogger and this is done in private, for example Loki and I have two IM (instant message) threads about the BforC and our Community Currency trade which now run to hundreds of messages. What I am getting at is that if you read a post and feel you can offer advice be if hobby or life do not hold back because you do not want to comment publically send a message privately I know the blogger will appreciate any advice you can give him.

message with Blogger

message with Google+

So I guess I should conclude my post before you all call the padded white van on me, why do I wargame? I wargame because of the people I meet and know, for me the gamer is more important than the game.