"Old Games vs. New Games: Why Gamers Tinker with Rules?" Topic

Bob is right, too many people look for a single simple way to resolve too many issues. Many solutions are not the same are as clear cut as gamers may want. Some issues will rely on spcific variables as Bob points out.

For me, tinkering with and writing rules is a fundamental part of my hobby.

You might as well ask why I collect figures, paint them, buy/make terrain etc etc.

My thoughts exactly.

For many wargamers, wargaming is an added dimension of an interest that they have in history; so wargaming is an additional way of exploring that historical interest. By tinkering with rules one is simply exploring different interpretations, permutations and possibilities in a creative way. Trying and testing ones own ideas on the period.

In my club, the ones who tinker with rules the most seem to be the ones who play the least! I guess rules tinkering is a form of gaming interaction that is a substitute for actual game playing interaction….

Geoff

"Vermicious Knids"? That's showing your age, even if the young pups here don't know it…

I tend to play a game as much by the book as I can the first few times, to get a feel for it. sometimes things play better than they read.

Theres almost always some little bit we end up changing or ignoring, though

I agree that tinkering with the rules is one of the pleasures of the hobby. I find that folks tinker with rules they like or play a lot. [Not necessarily the same thing if part of a club.] Gamers don't spend a lot of time on designers they don't enjoy or spend time on. They may borrow a particular game mechanic they like, but seldom have I seen my comrades in lead tinker with designs they never play.

Sometimes tinkering involves adding or subtracting rules as well as changing them. In my experience, when tinkering is done it is invariably justified by or instigated because of particular historical evidence.

Best Regards,

Bill H.