Reply To: "Golden Age of Wargaming"….perhaps not?

[osbad 4279xp 1]

I understand your point of view and would say that for you, this doesn’t feel like an improvement over the late 70’s if the types of models and games you enjoy are less accessible than they used to be.   Whether this means the nomenclature “Golden Age” is misplaced however, in my opinion.

I would argue that there are objectively speaking, many more people playing what can be termed “wargames” now than there were back in the late 70’s when I started.  Also they are more diverse in age, gender, class and everything else.

My understanding from my experience back then was that wargamers were almost exclusively male, intellectual, middle class and white.  There was a homogeneity of outlook that saw the hobby as a branch of historical study and pretended that the “fun” was incidental and only counted if it was the right kind of fun.

Your experience may differ, but that was mine, then.

Along came D&D and that idea of wargaming as being the only acceptable type was distrupted. And the rest is history.

I would say therefore that perhaps you are right that this not a golden age if your definition of wargaming is of the “re-fight” style of gaming.

But for many people, me included, this is not what wargaming is exclusively anymore, and if it was, I wouldn’t be in the hobby any more as I would have got fed up and quit around 1982.

Now that’s not to say I enjoy every trend – I’m not big into abstract board games and I dislike Kickstarter, but I can say ot is easier for me and most of the people I know to find a game and section of the hobby they enjoy and indulge in it to an extent that was unavailable 40 years ago.  Back then we were converting 1/72 aifix napoleonics to get the troop types we wanted with plastascene and banana oil!

I am sorry ypu aren’t enjoying the current era of gaming as much as you would like, but I feel that is a subjective view not an objective one.