Reply To: Midwinter Minis Historical Wargames are not popular because it has Nazi's

[khusrauParticipant 1169xp 2]

Couple of fallacies in here, although I do think there is serious question. I just don’t want to go down the 1980s D’nD path of moral panic.

No 1. Lots of people play table top miniatures games that involve killing your opponents little metal/plastic/resin troops. Regardless of whether those are Space Marines, Stormtroopers,  or Storm Marines or Space Troopers, we represent extreme violence on the tabletop.

2. Playing a particular force doesn’t necessarily mean endorsing their POV. Using WW2 Germans or Confederates doesn’t mean gas ovens and slave ownership are on my agenda.

3. Never mind the Imperium or the Third Reich, how about Mongols, Crusaders, Romans, 17th Century Swedes, Vikings or any number of historical cultures/armies, for whom, rape, slavery, pillage and torture were accepted practices? This not to excuse Nazis who were particularly foul and evil, but there aren’t many armies who compare well to modern humanitarian standards. Anyone want to game My Lai? No, thought not.

4. Taste. I do own SS units. I play WW2 wargames, and Normandy, Arnhem and the Bulge saw them take lead roles. I thought long and hard about buying and painting the figures, but they were there. My regular German Heer units far outnumber them. I would not dream of wearing t-shirts, regalia or any other form of Nazi symbolism. We had an incident at one convention in Australia where I asked one attendee to leave due to the tasteless nature of his t-shirt. I have no wish to see that image of the hobby take root in our wider community.

Finally, any reliance on numbers from the WSS survey is deeply flawed. It’s largely self selecting in the same way any survey promoted by White Dwarf would be.

So sure, play ‘immoral’ forces on the tabletop, because that was what happened and we need (at least) two sides to play. But show me any sign of endorsing or wanting to mimic those guys, and you’ll never play me again.