Reply To: Why is it that Skirmish Games Dominate the Gaming Scene?

[grabnutzParticipant 994xp 3]

Personal engagement and narrative seem to be increasingly popular amongst modern wargamers.
Back in the day, he said looking back before most of those reading this were born, but without any implied condescension, wargaming was pretty much all historical and full battle based.  Only playing monthly, and spending a year or more collecting and painting an army, were de rigeur. Not an attractive prospect for a newbie.
Cycle the scene forwards to today and many new wargamers are coming from the RPG, video game and board game sectors. Most expect a quick engagement cycle. Set up should be mere minutes, the rules short and intuitive, play space small (dining table) and time investment limited (<2 hours). They are willing to spend money (have you see board game prices?), so that is not really an issue.
This is where skirmish games shine, they simply tick all those boxes.
However, there is another thing. The RPG and Video Game sectors have sold their games by engaging people in an ongoing narrative, and despite the cries of ‘but Charles Grant ran such lovely campaigns’ most traditional wargamers rarely saw or were lucky enough to experience such riches.
So there you are, personal engagement and narrative. This is how I design my games, as do many other skirmish rules writers.