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

[phaidknott 7023xp 1]

“Most people have a type of game they enjoy”, yup that’s the crux. But the issue (for me) is that the type of gaming I enjoy has either just faded away or ignored (ie I’m using rules written 25 years ago, and there’s nothing “new” that’s appeared to replace them with anything better).

It’s the dominance of certain types of gaming that also stops any new blood appearing for doing things like refights of battles (at least discovering this type of gaming within their peer group). A suppose the amateur aspect of the hobby (black and white rules with cardboard covers faded away), and everything has become a lot more slick and has actual professional marketing.

But is it this very professionalism I rail against, or do I feel that the manufacturers are telling me the type of gaming I should be enjoying (eg 28mm skirmish)?

Because it seem there’s no other source of gaming news that covers they type of gaming we used to do, I can’t remember the last time I saw a magazine article that published a rules agnostic scenario allowing players to refight a battle in any period (but then again most wargames magazines are dependant of the submitted articles by the readers, so these articles aren’t coming from the readership….that means me…..so perhaps I should do less moaning and more writing 😀 ). The articles that are published featuring a scenario are usually rules specific.

Yet bring a newer wargamer into a game where you refighting a battle, featuring those rank and file armies (usually in 15mm) and they seem to enjoy the game far more than what they’ve been used to. They usually start a 15mm army based on the experience, but have to be pointed as to  where to find things. And it’s that pointing aspect that causes me to grimace. Why is anything not 28mm Skirmish gaming such a dark art needing it’s “cultists” to show the way?

It’s the slick marketing, and the sheer volume of it that seems to swamp out anything else. We’re of the mindset if we game just an evening a week we HAVE to play a skirmish game (yet we used to run games over multiple nights at our club, we just used to do a sketch map of the battle at the end of the meeting with unit positions and status on. Yet this kind of idea doesn’t even come into our minds these days).

But I rabbit on and disgress and disprove my own points like a champion. But “something” feels missing, the hobby doesn’t seem to be in a grand Golden Age (it feels more restrictive in many ways….at least to me).