"Do You Ever Hit a Slump?" Topic

In your miniature wargaming, do you ever hit a period when you just don't feel like wargaming/painting/anything-to-do-with-the-hobby for a while?

Yep, every time I get hungry…

Yup. That's why it's good to diversify. :)

Yes. Often.

I usually feel like playing – definitely hit a slump when I don't feel like painting.

Every once in a while.

Not really – right now, I'm finishing a visit to my family in Hawaii and am looking forward to getting back to rainy WA State to start on some Foundry Napoleonics – sick, huh?

I have not touched a paint brush in about 3 years. Still love playing and checking out the news on TMP, but not making progress on ANY projects…yeah, that's a slump. &$#* real life :(

Yes. Stuff sits primed and ready to paint for years on the shelf. I end up reading or playing video games for a while, then I'll get some interest back again. I think if I had more folks to game with I might get more interested. Nothing right now to motivate me.

Many painting projects that I want to have done, but never make time to work on. However for playing I greatly resent if I miss a week playing.

Yes. I'm in one at the moment. I've got a painting project on the go that I look at, shrug my shoulders, and then go and read or browse the internet instead. And I haven't felt like playing a game this year yet.

I was married for 10 years…

I tend to go in bursts. I'll paint and game like crazy for a few months and then stall out for a long time. I'd like to be more steady with it but because of work and family some times of the year it's hard to keep up the energy to paint/make terrain late in the evenings. I'm always thinking about what I want to do but just can't get at it lots of the time.

Multiple times but always come back.

yep – now…

Yep, I'm in it now. Stuff in the works…… 50 different projects and I sit and mess with my iPhone.

Part of the reason I think, is cause I know no gamers in this area.

Yes, expressly with painting. Im a wargamer, not a painter. Painting is mostly a labor. Sometimes I enjoy the process & the outcome, but its easily the largest indifference to getting projects, and therefore gaming done.

Slump no. other priorities yes.

You bet.

That picture says it all!

I feel like jacking the whole hobby in occasionally…especially when I look at all the thousands of figures I planned to paint…

..Then I come to my senses!

Yes – the enthusiasm goes, and the lead pile stays the same height

No – the problem is always time, not motivation …

Painting – sometimes.
Gaming – never, too much fun.

Yes on a regular basis. Seems that I will paint like crazy for a few weeks then nothing for a month or more.

Hasn't happened yet….but then the military deploys me enough to give me ample breaks in the hobby. ;)

Yes but I don't let it worry me.

all the time

Yes, I switch between computer gaming, board gaming, and miniature gaming for weeks/months/years at a time

Yes, I do, and fairly often. It could be said that I have a short attention span. As in a gnat has a longer attention span than me…

Not really, but on occasion issues arise that keep me away from painting and gaming. I wish I could find time to game once a week instead of a couple of times a year. In the case of painting I usually find time for that. In fact, I was painting some FIW figures this AM.

Yes especially with painting. My life is quite stressful and hectic what with work, my own private rental business, and health issues from my wife and friends, but it's the painting I miss.

There was one time I actually left wargames. It was because of a group of highly toxic players I was gaming with. Before I tell you this story I have to note this was 1971, there weren't that many gamers back then so you took what you got. Anyway I had started 9 hears before and was a heavy Napoleonic player. I had an army of about 900 to 1,000 Scruby figures. So we came to this game and I had a 101 fever and a headache. The game began at 9 am. I had been there at 7 am to set up. It was at a nearby school.

Anyway by 1:30, four and a half hours later we had gotten to move 1.01 and the intervening time had been spent in endless sniping and rules looking up, endless confusiona nd acrimonious arguments with people really getting nasty. I was largely silent through this. By that time, 1:30 I had had enough and I got up and said "THAT'S IT! I quit! I'm going home!" They asked if I was giving up in the game. I said "No, I quit the hobby, I'm finished with it." They said "But what about your stuff!" "It's yours YOU keep it!" and I walked out.

Well obviously I weakened and got back into the hobby and in a big way (about 4,000 painted, 6,000 unpainted minis) but I resolved that I would never again paint one Napoleonic figure or play one Napoleonic game. Too many arguments about what the 443d Chasseur/ Grenadier/ Voltiguer/ Mousketeer Old, Young Middle between hither and yon Guard Mess-Kit Repair Battalion would have ALWAYS done, or NEVER would have done. Life's been pretty good since then and gotten even better since I got into imagi-nations and now I've got a bunch of those. I do paint Nappy's occasionally but never with Shako's. Everything else is fair game for the units in my imagi-nation armies. So I've even painted French Carabiniers (with suitable modifications to clothing and helmets to "retro" them back to the 18th century as the Cheavlier Guard of Russia (and part of my imagination of Gulagia. (And what is the capitol of Gulagia you might ask--- obvious isn't it. Gullagin's Island.

So while other short, fat, obnoxious gamers dream of being Napoleon, I can fantasize about being The Prince of Zweibak und the Reichsfreiherr of Riseundshine, Genaralissimo of the army of Princes Trixie of Saxe Burlap und Schleswig Beerstein. My brother is The Grand Admiral of the Fleet- Prince Louis von Battenhatch.

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Yes, but it's usually due to other obligations, so it's not that I'm apathetic – just busy. And when my mind is on other things, the hobby falls off the radar screen.

This year marks 40 years in the hobby. There have been times I have hit a slump due to work, deployments, life etc where I have taken a break from miniatures but not Military History. TMP over the past ten years (well ten this fall) has always been a source for new ideas and gaming plans. I have a four drawer file full of documents, papers and downloads from websites off links posted on TMP. Painting has been at times a pain due to injury and forced loss of gaming materials but I have slowly gotten back into the swing over time.
VR
James Mattes

I never really hit a slump, mostly due to that fact that I only paint two hours a week and play about two weekends a year. That should all change soon as I'm going to be involved in the hobby from the business side.

Though I do get tired of painting a particular period, but I have about four different to switch between. My enthusiasm wains every few months, and I switch to a different period or genre. I made a major switch from 6m, after four years, to 28mm and that has helped quite a bit.

Yes, especially in the summer time. Yardwork, vacation and other obligations can divert my attention. Than I just don't feel like gaming or painting.

Every once in a while. Mostly on the gaming side, very rarely on the painting side and never on the history/fluff/etc.

Eh… Stuff happens.

Yes

I AM the shlump. I'm used to the feeling by now. I believe the French refer to it as ennui….

I am in a slump now. I am in Kuwait and my paints and figs are in the States. Missing it pretty bad about now!

Since 2005…

Pretty much in the painting department and mostly when I have to paint horses. I don't mind painting infantry, but when it comes to painting horses, I have a hard time getting motivated. Right now I have 56 25mm Cavalry and 34 15mm Cav on my painting table. I am going to paint them in groups of 9 with an infantry unit between as my reward for finishing the cav.

Yes, particularly in the gaming department. I love to paint, have wonderful friends I really enjoy in this hobby, but making time to play and enjoy what I create seems hard to come by. And there's always a "good" reason. Lately it's affected my blogging too. I have always been a regular, at least weekly poster, and I'm lucky to manage once or twice a month.

NO! Just work on a different Period or Project.

Oh! The Places You'll Go!
by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look'em over with care. About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there." With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you'll want to go down. In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town. It's opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You'll Go!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so but, sadly, it's true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying. You'll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you'll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't. Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win ‘cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you'll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

Dr Suess wrote this for wargamers.

In my approximately 38 years of gaming I have taken breaks from playing when life intruded, but always kept up with the history, limited collecting and some painting. Lately I have problems motivating to paint/work on projects, but never researching or playing.

I've never hit a period when I did not like to do anything with wargaming, but I have had periods lasting years where I have prioritising wargaming to not be as important as other things. But I always have it on my mind, whether it be reading about it, reading rules or researching; even if not actually playing, and playing is what I most enjoy.

Occasionally. Sometimes for several minutes.

Anymore, I really only paint when I am under stress. August-December last year was pretty rough, and I did over 400 figures.