"Twilight of Wargaming" Topic

I watched a video report on Salute. The exhibits seemed to be mainly science fiction and fantasy. And I saw an ad for another show that stated "We'll have a nice mix of tabletop wargames with staples such as Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, and new, popular games such as Infinity, Warmahordes, Malifaux, Dystopian Wars, etc". Staples such as Warhammer ?????
To paraphrase Don McLean, 2013 might go down in history as the year "the music died".

Dear The Hawk

Take a page from your despised American Cousins across the pond. If Salute doesn't answer your needs- then start a new convention devoted only to Historical Minis.

Which report was it you watched, Hawk?

Another "Death of the Hobby" debate?

If historical wargaming becomes extinct, so be it. You can't force people to pick a specific hobby. Hobbies only exist because people like to pursue them, not the other way around.

Errrr… I was at Salute. The OP is incorrect. There were plenty of historical games and products on show. Take a look at Joe Dever's walkthrough: TMP link

Henry

Fantasy and Sci-Fi have been vastly larger than historical gaming for decades. This is hardly news.

One point

Phil Dutre is right. But one thing I want to point out. I've been hearing this "graying of the hobby- the Goths are at the gates- After me the Deluge" stuff since 1962 when I first got into the hobby. People have been "banging up shop" on the hobby since the day after HG wells first made his game. I heard people in Board Games and D&D saying that "in 5 years there won't be any miniature games any more"

Lo how the mighty have fallen, and Historical Minis seem to be alive and well regardless of challenges from other hobbies and club and group politics.

The reason is quite simple. It's the same thing that prevents us from ever being big-time and played by everyone. The craft/modelling element is the strongest virtue of the hobby and players who get into it have to committ a large amount of time and effort to painting their collections, buildign their terrain and drafting their games and scenarios. This is far different from the "shake-and-bake" boardgamers who all they have to do is dump out the box and the Role Players who really don't even need miniatures.

The simple fact is that most mini-games love and crave this crafty/handywork part of the hobby and wouldn't abandon it for anything. They love the sense of accomplishment that comes with being able to say "You like it, I made it myself." As opposed to a Board Gamer who can only say "You like it- I bought it myself."

This is not to denigrate board gamers. They too have had a hard time of it and often get into these grey funks about "the end of the hobby as we know it."

But I doubt either will shrivel up and blow away. A few years ago everyone was wailing and moaning that kids were only intersted in computer games and the computer games would be the death of miniatures.

Look at the Model Railroaders. There's all sorts of softwar to run virtual model railroads on computer alone, but everyone who's anyone in the hobby wants his own model railroad even if it's a 4 x 8 with a simple circle of track and a few odd buildings set around the oval.

Don't worry, miniature wargames will be here for a long, Long LONG time.

I

To paraphrase Don McLean, 2013 might go down in history as the year "the music died".

I'd rather 2013 go down in history as the year "the Perry's did 28mm Peninsula British."

I've been doing historicals for years (since the late 1960s). It is easily better now than it's ever been. The amount and variety of product out there for historicals is mind-boggling – it's an embarrassment of riches. It isn't a matter of "can I get a figure of X," now it's "can I get a figure of X march attack/firing/charging/picking his nose by Perry/Front Rank/Brigade Games/Calpe/insert-your-favorite-company-here." Figures from England aren't foreign artifacts to be wondered over due to their scarcity, they arrive in my mailbox a week after I order them.

The popularity of fantasy and SciFi don't detract from historicals. If anything, it creates a pool of potential historical players. Using a video report from Salute as evidence strikes me as suspicious, as it will contain only what the video maker wants to show and/or what he thinks people will want to see. Given people's comments about Salute here on TMP, I think it's safe to say that historical miniature gaming was well-represented there.

</Old Guy Rant>