Reply To: Reign of the Neckbeards (or why do historical re-fights).

[piersParticipant 25489xp 2]

Ah…. the old greying of the hobby thing.

Been hearing that since 1984. I think it’s just that older people perhaps have the time to devote to such things… but I dont see it in my group or our player base.

We have plenty of ‘young’ (20 – 30 years) players and they come in all forms from the gamer to the historical purist in the same manner as older ones. I dont think there is any issue with the vitality of historicals on the whole.

I think it’s just alot of historical gamers have a different mindset, and a different venue to play in. If playing in a shop, against an unknown opponent, the points based pick up game is king. If playing in a club or home setting the social group has time to plan and postulate. The two forms of social contact work in different ways and suit game styles in different ways. I have a group of gamers that play in our homes, aged from 24 to 50. We all have a similar outlook and a passion for gaming and history. We dont use unpainted figures, we have buildings that reflect different countries, we spend a small fortune on books! 🙂

I dont honestly think about finding new players, or worry about it, as for as long as I have been gaming historicals (30+ years), I’ve been told it’s a dying hobby. It’s a long death. Either that… or the historical hobby just tends to gain people later in life, so seems to maintain this greyness… though I see plenty of young gamers at historical shows we attend. I think the historical hobby is quite healthy these days.

But I only have my blinkered viewpoint to go by, and can only base my assumptions on my perceptions, which could of course be utterly skewed!