Cult Of Games XLBS: When Did You First Get Into Tabletop Gaming?
October 16, 2022 by warzan
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Happy Sunday!
Like Gerry I had several starts to wargaming. As a child I’d been obsessed with soldiers and war. My dad would bring me history books with transfers that you would position the combatants which made you feel like you were telling the story. I’m pretty sure I had one for the 100 years War, Zulu Wars and crusades?
There were also ‘project books’ at local news agents that were designed to help kids do school projects. They always had some activity or game at the back of them that I would play to death with my friends at school.
I started playing Dungeons and Dragons in 1982, aged 12 with the original Basic red box. We played every lunchtime for the next 4 years.
In 1985 my Nan went back to the UK for a visit, so I went with her. Whilst I was there I bought the Warhammer 1st edition black box. I was instantly hooked. My D&D miniature collection swelled from a dozen miniatures to hundreds over the following years.
I’m now in my 50’s and still going strong.
Happy sunday,
My 1st time watching the greatest movie ever made was when i was 20. it was life changing. nothing has been the same since.
Fyi, Nice name drop there Gerry
which one?
you know which one, only the greatest comedic duo ever to grace the sliver screen. you know of whom i speak
First miniature painting was in the early 80’s for AD&D. Probably a wizard that I still have… It’s not a good paint job.
The first war-game was Warhammer Fantasy Battles 2nd edition. I still have it and Ravening Hordes and I remember the games taking a very long time to play out.
I remember the 1st time I used a brass knuckle dual taco holder Jesus BP. Oh good times…. good times
When Warren started talking about conspiracy theories the look in John’s face was a picture. I imagine he was thinking, dear god how has my life ended up here listening to this nonsense……for the love of tanks get me out of here…..lol
Conspiracy theories fly in the face of everything I stand for, morally and logically. 🙂
@warzan Why you would use DnD for a Stranger Things RPG as you have the game Hunters Entertainment – KIDS ON BIKES https://www.huntersentertainment.com/ and if you want to go towards Harry Potter with KIDS ON BROOMS. Just did a quick search and found these – https://www.rprod.com/en/games/stranger-things
I’m not saying I got @avernos‘ reference, but “in Valen’s name!” 😉
And my first time? Well I’d been brought Heroquest & Space Crusade and then someone at school showed my a White Dwarf that had extra rules for Space Marine Terminators, Scouts, and missions & quests, which led to a trip to the local GW and my buying the OG Rogue Trader metal Terminator boxset.
First thing to say is that this topic is why I struggle to truck with the GW-bashing culture that seems to be the badge of honour for “serious” hobbyists. Yes I haven’t played a GW game in a while and am enjoying other things but, like most, when I think back to my early days, I light up like everyone else does when I remember the wow factor of discovering that this hobby was even a thing, and like most that was via GW. I want that experience for kids for generations to come. I don’t want them to miss out on the wargaming experience just because their granddad isn’t a gamer, or because they hadn’t accidentally stumbled into Salute while looking for the bogs at the Excel centre.
Maybe an interesting future topic – what would this hobby look like if GW never existed? Was it inevitable that a company would occupy that space in the market, or would all of our lives have been very very different?
I can’t quite pinpoint the exact ‘first time’ moment but early defining moments were sitting clipping space crusade sprues with my brother, trowelling on Humbrol enamels onto metal models, and queueing to get into the local GW Store’s “grand re-opening’ with a book of vouchers.
My first gaming memory was having a panic attack in the GW store whilst being shown how to play Blood Bowl. The “do this, do this, do this, easy right” was just overwhelming. Even today I need to read a rule book before even attempting to play a game, even if someone is showing me how to play. My brain can’t learn without context. Same at work, that’s just me.
The real nostalgia memory is standing in front of a wall of blister packs. Discovering models by browsing those racks was such a joy. The internet is such a spoiler, but that’s the only way these days right? I still get it occasionally at a convention where I discover a new range via a blister display, but the memory is strong.
Cherry still to pop? Playing an RPG. Even though storytelling is one of the big draws for me in gaming, and being a GM appeals to me, I’ve never even tried an RPG. A first time for another day!
Totally agree about the GW bashing thing, these days GW is a wargamer version of microsoft windows probably went to the same business school courses on selling them the same thing repeatedly… Anyway 35 years everyone forgets GW was the invovator, FASA, SPI, GDW, TSR were the big fish, optioning movie rights, getting there stuff made into TV series. Although might have been interesting if West End started there Star Wars line just a year earlier…
Presenting a gold standard rulebook Hardcover and full colour throughout, new easy to paint 28mm scale en mass not just for a RPG.
Without GW there’d be no Warlord, Mantic, River House/Horse Alesso’s thing anyway, the Perrys etcetc.
We might have had something like the Ospreys Blue Books, but without GW we’d all be playing Battletech (also one of the handful of was around in the 80s and still played today), and someting Star Wars related I expect with someone hving done a LOTR/Hobbit rule set, again thats been gamed for 40ish years one way or another.
My first time was being given a tabletop sand box by my grandad, where you could sculpt the terrain. He taught me and my brother some very rudimentary rules. We would then use Airfix models and toy solders as our armies. This would mean WW2 Germans could go up against Napoleonic French.
Then in 83 we moved and I met a friend who introduced both myself and brother to Warhammer and D&D. Later we started playing Blood Bowl and Car Wars. So my first actual rule set was Warhammer Fantasy 1st edition, which I still have. I was always drawn to historical but friends and brother only played fantasy. So I always.played armies of men but they would be historical miniatures rather than fantasy humans.
When I joined the army I didn’t play any games for the first two years until I met a couple of officers when I worked in the Officers Mess who introduced me to Napoleonics. I’d sit behind the bar on quiet nights painting British Infantry.
After leaving the military I went to art college where I mainly played Talisman 3Rd edition and a set of wargames by Standard Wargames called Cry Havoc. I eventually returned to miniature war gaming with games like Mordhiem, 40k, Hordes of Things, DBA and Warhammer Historical.
The first RPG I bought that wasn’t D&D was Bushido, set in Samurai Japan. If I remember rightly none of our characters had Japanese names because we couldn’t pronounce them properly.
We were quite fortunate that the local city had two independent gaming stores that sold a wide variety of games and miniatures which meant we were never in the GW bubble as teenagers. We had access to a plethora of different systems and genres. Besides Warhammer we played a good mix of board games by Avalon Hill, several different RPGs that includes Traveller, Twilight 2000, Paranoia, Bushido and Judge Dredd.
During College I had a spell as a commission painter mainly painting historical which would typically be Napoleonic and ECW in 25mm and 15mm.
Just spat me tea out @warzan, Queef? Queef. You need to look that up mate. I certainly hope @brennon doesn’t have one of those on his head ?????
It would be a nice costume for Halloween XD
OK Looked that up – That was not what I was expecting… OOPS!!!!
Another crusty old curmudgeon writes …
I assembled Airfix kits from an early age. Proper glue bombs with wonky paint jobs. In 1983 I started secondary school and joined D&D club. We’d play a range of RPGs: Judge Dredd, MERP, WFRP, probably others as well as D&D. Through RPGs I found miniatures existed. I picked up and painted whatever I fancied that was in the shop, no pile of potential in those days, I just smashed em out.
Alongside RPGs we expanded into other games: Car Wars, Blood Bowl (first edition: standees, there were maybe four metal minis for the collector, I’m sure I had them all). I was accumulating Space Marines and Orks but never really played with them – at this point I was trying to paint better and things rarely got finished. I had more success with Space Hulk and Blood Bowl, fewer figures meant I could finish a project. Also Epic in its various forms, the minis were too small to overthink.
This led to my moving to Nottingham to be a Mail Order troll. After leaving GW I lost the love. I kept up Call of Cthulhu (love the CoC) till I moved city and for a long time … nothing. I binned a lot of my stuff with a move in 2002.
Once in a while I’d think of the old days, browse the wargame internet, ahem possibly while drinking. I was super impressed with Forge World and the 28mm versions of the stuff I loved from Epic, but oh my the prices.
One night with a beer in hand I found this site and watched Andy and Darrel talking Warmchine (get rid of Sorscha, get the Butcher!) and that struck a chord. I looked into it a bit more and eventually found a site to buy this stuff.
I was studying part time for a degree but needed some way to let off steam that didn’t involve getting hammered so ten or so years on, here I am sat in a house, surrounded by sprues. Covid happened so I’ve played a bit of Shadows of Brimstone in the last three years but painting’s still a thing so I get to let off some steam without it involving beer.
I don’t know where this ramble is going, thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Let the lunacy begin.
Release the Demigorgon.
John that Tallgeese looks ace, can’t wait to see what you do with the Zaku, love the mono-eye suits, can I see a 1/60 Kshatriya in your future build list?
Once you have a few kits built you could always have a bash at the Mechatop ruleset for some tabletop gunpla gaming http://www.mechatop.com/#SHOP
Or Gamma Wolves
I have a 1/100 Kshatriya and that was enough lol! The Zaku will maybe make an appearance on a weekender somewhere this side of 2122. 😉
Is that the two guy’s that got the Jack hammer thorough at them on a motorway.@warzan ?
I still have an use my Mecano screwdriver, Lol.
No Mecano has survived.
Dav-John I can’t let you do that John.?
A green light? @warzan
Happy Sunday.
Three really good projects there, congratulations.
A nice Babylon 5 reference there Gerry.
I live near Newcastle and there are plenty of cats in my neighbourhood so it’s all fine here.
My first time was Heroquest. I was already interested in fantasy, loved watching Knightmare on TV and when I heard there was a game out where you could go on adventure I pestered my parents.
I think it was also at that time that I’d read the odd gamebook, starting with a Choose Your Own Adventure I got free with Wheetabix – Outlaws of Sherwood Forest. That was soon followed by a TSR Dungeons and Dragons gamebook called Spell of the Winter Wizard. I remember a few mini sized gamebooks free in boxes of Readybrek that I read.
But it was Heroquest on Christmas of 1991 that opened the floodgates into both roleplaying and miniature wargaming. I bought my first White Dwarf from the Newcastle store of Games Workshop with left over Christmas money, issue 145, which I remember fondly. It had a Heroquest and a Spacecrusade scenario in it. I also got a blue booklet on how to paint citadel miniatures for 50p.
I’ve been into the hobby ever since, although I was ready to chuck it all in about 10 years ago as we only played GW stuff and I was really bored with it. Thankfully I’ve discovered many other companies and games since and I’m in a kind of second renaissance since the start of 2020.
Mega mazerunner.
Botwar v mechs.
Yes the virgin store in Glasgow was a massive money pit stop with CDs/DVDs T,s an games sections in the day.
Happy Sunday!
My first time? Isn’t that a bit of a personal question? It actually happened when I was on guard duty at the Luftwaffe… in the late 90’s. That’s all you filthy lot need to know! 8)
01:30 Bearded stories
02:10 Can’t compute…. what is he talking about?
03:30 Wording… WORDING! @warzan
04:20 Still haven’t watched Stranger Things… and “It’s a blast in season 3” doesn’t really sell it XD
10:00 The monster mash *sings*
13:00 *disappointed grot and ork noises* @brennon
15:15 Not saying it’s aliens… but… aliens XD
16:45 Live shows with loonies? oO And mullets?
17:45 Cat serial killers…. HALP!
23:30 Plunga! Nice work.
30:00 Also MS Paints just did a video about Gundam. Give that a watch, it’s very nice.
38:00 ALL THE URBIES!
40:00 Urbie-Dorbie!
41:45 Hex-Build-Gerry-Can!
44:30 Buttocks!
48:00 The bases are eye watering 8)
54:00 someone mentioned The War? I dozed of… coffee not working.
55:30 The last late Roman? Or is that an early Roman?
1:00:00 Did @avernos ever have a first time? Or did the first miniature game create him?
1:04:00 All the bubbles!
1:22:00 Hobby starting from the brain? Oh oh.
1:25:00 Side question: why is it “popping a cherry”?
1:29:00 Nothing against sticks! Sticks are great fun!
1:32:30 Touching Wood? Popping cherries? OH MY!
Until next time!
Thanks for the golden button. My first gaming experience must be Fighting Fantasy but when I think back to the 80s playing crossbows and catapults using elastic band powered weapons to knock down little men was an early wargame for me. The first GW game I played was the Warlock of Firetop mountain board game because I knew the rules from the solo books. When I first went into a GW store I purchased the Judge Dredd companion and the long haired metal head who worked there at the time warned me it wasn’t a complete game but I didn’t care I just wanted it because I knew who Dredd was. I still have it but it took 25 years for me to get the RPG that went with it.I won a £5 voucher off Dark future but I was too young to understand the rules. I then got second edition Bloodbowl second hand from someone from school and that was the first game i properly played. I had Rogue Trader but I didnt understand it. The first boxed versions of warhammer fantasy and 40k were the first times I managed to get a game of those in. After a break of many years of being poor I used my younger brother as an excuse to get back into warhammer. This all ended when I discovered the internet and the Perry miniatures website. I got a small Sudan british and mahdist force and used warhammer rules to play my first historical gam and never looked back.
Fab XLBS Guy’s.
I got into table top gaming through computer game’s like battle isle an C&C an GW from Space hulk & Heroquest, to 40K.
@avernos as one of the 2 who gets the ref, best sifi show, with the Sinclair story I always thought of ‘The future points to itself’, which would also seem apt in context as you mention how adults encouraged you to play or you yourselves as adults encoraging the next Gen of wargammers I think pretty much 4 out of 4 with that one.
Also why this whole greying hobby is nonsense, as a/ your only a gaming kid for about 5 years. And the I had a break for life is a very, very, common story. Which second part of that being an old, grey haird crusty gamer can be for about 20 or 30 years! Also as a young gamer I can’t recall filling in a survey, now I do it a few times a year, gutted missed WSS this year. So there’s another cherry when did you do your first wargame survey!
BTW for Battletech Hex’s check out Heroscape.
@johnlyons you might want to check out Blackjacklegacys friend MSPaints on youtube who this week did a Gundam special.
Being an early 80s teen grew up on Star Wars and was peeking past those kinds of toys when Transformers and HeMan launched. Bizarely the first example of Shrinkflation as new Star Wars line was essentially the answer from game makers of how can we do an Action Man but pocket money friendly.
So kinda popped my gaming cherry on D&D and didn’t realise it at the time was FASA Star Trek III starship game. Started at a gaming club and just asked to join the adults table rather than rpg group with my friends one week.
Mid 80s wargaming rules though were a bit dire….. so anyway got onto Rogue Trader, then left for uni and work happened. But got back into things about 6 years ago as started going to FLGS initially for FFG star wars related action, before being introduced to Pikemans Lament and presently looking into ACW Epic Battles using the Perry Firepower rules.
Thanks for the golden button guys! Glad you liked my painting style on the afrika korps. Although it’s a quick and easy way to paint it’s really made me get back into the hobby in a big way. Being able to get stuff finished in just a couple of hours of hobby a week is super motivating and rewarding!
Really lovely show guys, great discussion. Perfect resonance for a slow Sunday afternoon.
It was interesting to hear how each person’s first time seems to have influenced how they interact with the hobby even now.
My first first time was in high school (late 90’s). A friend had a single painted space marine in their room They never got into it but it introduced me to 40k and I collected space marines all the way through to me going to college. In college my gaming friends went to other places so I stopped gaming.
When I went to university in 2003 many of my course mates were in to Warhammer Fantasy, so I started collecting and playing Vampire Counts. I remember one week the guys on the table next to me at the club were playing Warmachine. I recall seeing how it used stat cards and thinking how crazy it was to use different mechanics. Surely it would never catch on.
Once I left uni and got a job I joined a gaming group near where I lived. For the first year I stuck to Warhammer Fantasy. Then Age of Sigmar came out. A few weeks later I’d branched out in to Bolt Action, and after that I was far more willing to give other games a try.
SLightly disappointed that the new Bulge British book etc doesn’t do much for the allies such as the Canadians; who only get an imaginary Ram Company (Rams were only used in Canada for training).
Have to do what I did for Normandy and research the Canadian’s actual forces and adapt the British ones, including the Paratroopers.
When was my first time? Over 50 years ago playing with my elder brothers and our AirFix models – Ancients/Romans, Napoleonic and WW2. Can’t recall the rulesets.
Happy Sunday, well my first time was with Elsie..oh sorry thinking of the wrong thing..no like all, i started my wargaming with Airfix back in the early 70’s just me and i mate in my back garden playing war games with Airfix unpainted soldiers and marbles….yep marbles, moved the soldiers, rolled the marbles at them and they were dead quite simple really but bloody good fun!!
I’ve been obsessed with toy soldiers since pre school. My first actual proper wargame was in 1969 by which time I had loads of Airfix box sets. I was 12 and bought a book (I still have it) Discovering Wargames by John Tunstill a simple introduction rule set, with a couple of like minded friends we started with ACW as at that time Airfix covered most of the bases with troop types. From there I found that JT had published a more in depth rule set for ACW he also had a shop in Lambeth which was like some kind of mecca for me. Just looking through the cabinets of figures and dreaming of armies.
Ben touched on learning about other games from GW games, One of the joys of my time in the hobby is introducing peeps to the Greater hobby outside of the confines of the GW world.
Thanks for the GB. Lovely surprise as I’ve been off colour after getting Covid again this weekend. @brennon I’m so pleased you found inspriation from one of my pieces – I look forward to seeing your Arthurians when they get here. “I’ve ordered something from Footsore” is the once and future phrase – you’ll be back there again for sure.
As to beginnings, like many grognards I first played a proper wargame at the school wargames club with a hoplie clash using a mate’s 15mm minis and the confusing WRG Ancients 5th edition. We soon moved on the Warhammer Fantasy and had a fine old time with that whilst I cast Prince August Napoleonics and tried to figure out the WRG rules for them. Thank heavens for easy to play rules and videos on the YouTubes to show us what to do.
Oh Gerry, you have the Victory Battlefleet set?
I’ve been waiting months for mine. but I think the one ship carrying every copy for Australia sank, or was captured by pirates, otherwise my Crown Fleet is almost as big as my old version.
Oh Gerry, you have the Victory Battlefleet set?
I’ve been waiting months for mine. but I think the one ship carrying every copy for Australia sank, or was captured by pirates, otherwise my Crown Fleet is almost as big as my old version.
EDIT:
Oh the first time; Mum bought me a copy of the Classic BattleMasters game by Milton Bradley for Christmas. She assumed that thanks to my love of Fantasy I might enjoy it. No I never painted any of it, just put it together and play with it.
Much later, I was wandering down the street one day, and outside the local Mr Toys Toyworld were a couple of guys playing a demo game of Warhammer 40000, I actually knew one of the guys from work, and later he suggested I get into, with a new Starter set coming out soon. We ordered one each, and he game me the Dark Angels while I gave him the Chaos Space Marines. We also each bought a copy of the incredible Flames of War starter set Open Fire. So I really have to thank Chris for getting me into wargaming. I did also get a couple of copies of the WHFB starter set and make a High Elf army, which got me into finding my gaming group, which got me into so many games. Like I bought a Bolt Action army off one of the guys in the club, which he’d started, but I eventually finished.
Oh and again thanks for this, I got my Modern Aussies finally based thanks to this episode.
CMON did some stranger things characters for Black Plague/Green Horde. hard to find though
My first intro to tabletop games came through RPGs, at school in the late seventies/early eighties someone had a hand typed sheet of D&D rules and from that we started to play (we didn’t know there were books). That led to trips to Games Workshop in hammersmith when citadel made the miniatures and GW was just the shop.
I remember getting some very nice traveller stuff in there and being an annoying teenager trying to get them to sell me a promotional poster of the traveller universe they had the on the wall, they refused.
From there it was a short trip into Warhammer Fantasy, strangely via company commander, and then 40k once it came out.
Scooby Doo you say?
Check out last month’s VaultZ Patreon! Should be available on MyMiniFactory now….
https://www.patreon.com/posts/daphne-velma-and-72029284
Ooh Scooby doo is a robo-dog.?