"Wargaming buzzwords" Topic

I've noticed over the past few years the emergence of the use of more and more buzzwords…overused words that really hold no sway over the decision as to whether to buy a product or not.

Innovative, Elegant: Both highly subjective words that have no real meaning unless the author is going to explain "why". Curiously, the "why" is often missing.

Simple: Yeah. I said it. I've read through many games that claimed to be "simple" and the only thing that was going through my mind was that they forgot the "Not that" at the beginning.

Got any others?

For rules, "fast play" seems to the rage. Letting a coin flip decide an outcome is "fast play" too but is it a satisfying outcome? Perhaps in some games, it is!

Faction.

--
Martin Stephenson
The Waving Flag | Twitter | eBay

Crowdfunding
Stretch Goals
FAQ
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Delay
Gaming Celebrity's Name Tacked On
Pledge Levels

Universal
Realistic
Easy to play
Eye candy
Freaking awesome

+1 Vexillia!

Simulation

Simulation

But I thought ALL wargames were simulations of war?

Not maybe so new trend, but term "army" tends to be quite liberally used to describe pretty much any arbitrary group of models, regardless of what that actually represents on the tabletop.

Granted, if you are playing early medieval Saxons, you might be able to call your warband of 40 models an army and still be historically correct.

However, in WWII context that would not be anywhere close to an army, unless each of those models represented a regiment or brigade. But if each of those models represented an individual combatant, you would be actually fielding a platoon.

I wrote a whole article on this for the Courier back in the 90's of what the au-courant "buzz words" were back then. Not much has changed.

The whole thing "Old School" is the buzzwordiest of them all and while once it meant playing the rules by Featherstone or Grant, it gradually came to mean "any rules I like." People were even calling Battleballpeen "Old School." Now I guess if you got into the hobby yesterday-- it is.

The long and the short of it is that war game rules come in all sizes and shapes No one says "My rules SUCK!" and everyone piles on the superlatives to describe their own set of rules.

I think the next superlatives I'm going to use for my rules is "Good rules to drink with your friends by while you play the game."

IIRC
IMHO
EIR

It really es me off. Totally pointless IMHO!

IIRC
IMHO
EIR

It really Bleeped textes me off. Totally pointless IMHO!

But they're not specifically related to wargaming.

LMFAO!!!

I remember when paradigm was a useful word. All those words are variations of "I like this, and I can find no original way to explain why"

Zombies
Survivors
and soon, Martians

Stunning.

+2 faction. Despise its use.

Dip method
Dallimore method
Plastics
Easy assembly or fast assembly
Pro painted, just check some on E-Bay. Yeah Right.
IGOUGO
Card Driven

Ooh! I'm another one who dislikes "faction" to describe opposing groups.

I also dislike "squad", "gang", "posse", etc. when used out of context. Not every group of warriors is a "squad" or a "gang". When I see "squad of Apaches" or "7th Cavalry gang" or "Chinese Tong posse", it makes me question the ability of the rules to actually represent warfare for that period, or if it is just a disguised Jets vs. Sharks choreographed rumble.

OTOH they make msgs shorter to read, FWIW. However, YMMV.

Ah, you Army guys. Read a Naval message. We have efficientized the English language by removing the vowels. :)

Pre-order
Pre-painted

Nope. You're simply ordering it prior to the release date, or the darn thing comes painted.

Henry

The free use of the words such as "army, faction or race" to describe any grouping of miniatures regardless of it being WWII, Ancient Rome or Omicron Persei Eight …

Pre-painted. There simply isn't enough pain in the universe to aptly punish that level of inane corporate-speak.

"Epic" as in the "epic new game" or the "epic new range of miniatures".

Pre-painted

You mean it's primed right?

Characterful.

I have a strong dislike for that word.

If ebay sales count, then "Rare" and "OOP".

Also "mint condition".

"What about the Belgian Ferocity rule?"

Oh no, that is justified. One of the greatest injustices of 20th century history is the painting out of the mighty Belgium Warmachine that reached the borders of Moscow before Stalin sued for peace.

Seriously though: PRE most things.

Pre painted. You mean painted.
Pre Order – you've ordered pre-release.
Pre-used – So, that would be "new" then?

"Command-and-control" for anything that deviates from the classic igo-ugo sequence.

One that ticks me off: "nice bell curve" for anything that's not a D6.

Panzer something or other.

At the risk of voicing a differing opinion to several others, I would like to point out in some cases "faction" might be a good term to describe one of the sides taking part in a conflict, especially in some historical civil war, SF and fantasy settings where the sides involved do not represent actual countries.

Also, "panzer" is usually at least slightly descriptive, suggesting that the game in question is set in WWII and that there might be vehicle rules included.

Bound! – i type with gritted teeth – It's a turn! No one's tied up with a rope are they? I hated that the first time I read it and every time I've read it since. Go figure. Call it a turn – and part of a turn is a phase.

Grief – it's more the whole subset of gamers that goes with it. Germans are always better at everything, Panzers are perfectly engineered death machines that never break down etc.

There is something to be said for a game where you can tell from the title what it's going to be about though

It's not just the term 'Faction' though.

(In itself it's a perfectly innocuous word, useful, and in some specific cases particularly applicable.)

It's the gaming baggage that goes along with it!

The term 'Faction' is all too often shorthand for: only for use with our miniatures. Our specific, individual character miniatures with, names and backstory. And concept art. Which is available to buy.

"What difference does that make?"

"Twenty quid, mate. Hah! Geddit? Twenty quid? Ooh, I'm a card, eh? Seriously though… it is twenty quid."

It's often shorthand for: we don't care if, historically, there was a massive difference in quality/training/experience/armament/doctrine between two forces… when we made them 'factions', we balanced that out!

Grief – it's more the whole subset of gamers that goes with it. Germans are always better at everything, Panzers are perfectly engineered death machines that never break down etc.

Isn't this a bit like Napoleonic rules with a fancy French name that give the French all sorts of bonuses for being French?

Granted, they may have more diversity in names rather than using endless variations of "panzer", but if you see a set of rules named "General de Bricole" then you probably know what to expect.

Yeah, I'm sure Napoleonics get the same thing.

I've seen ACW games give special rules to confederates but not to union troops as well.

Writer – Bound is a term that comes from early games; I believe it is used in professional rules from 60s and 70s. I used it in my Battle of Britain rules to avoid confusion with the act of turning the aircraft. See also 'Level' in D&D, much to the confusion of players.

link

In the introduction of rules, writers should stop telling how each stand can be "A beautiful diorama" (I'm looking at you Arty Conliffe). I've got 1000 figures to paint, and I hate painting.

On the flip side, I always liked rules which say "throw" instead of "roll" the dice.

The word "sculpts" used as a noun.

Lisa (the baroness of this estate) says" but I need shoes to go with this blouse". I've heard that more times than "roll anything but a 1or a 2". And my personal pet peave, rifled muskets with the range and accuracy of a TOW missile…….if the rules for CW are to be literally believed, the male population of this state, country, would have erased itself. I don't need to relight "leips-burg" I'd rather do Kernstown. So stop telling me, now YOU can recreate the titanic struggles of Antietam-loo.