"The Greying of the hobby - are you grey?" Topic

Pedrobear.

42, few white hairs, but a receding hairline.

10mm FPW, 15mm Ancients, Naps, 20mm WW2, 28mm Fantasy, VSF, sci-fi, starships and VSF fleets

48---Grey---but that is only the few spots that I can still grow hair

Minis--Fantasy, Cthulhu, Pulp, WWII
Other---using my gps to find small hidden items…..

48 with lots of hair but some of it is turning grey.
Still play a lot of periods but the main ones these days are Napoleonics and World War 2

65 years old, full head of brown hair, no grey as yet.

Ancients in three scales, 7Years War, Nappies in 15mm, Colonials in three scales. Presently embarking upon a 2nd Afghan War project.

Enjoy the painting more than the playing.

65
Is bald a color?
WW2 in 20mm
Colonials in Ral Patha
A little bit of 18mm 18th century
Started with Civil War(at the Centennial)but not much now.
Let's Go Mets!!!

52 Mostly gray

WW2, cowboys…

Will be 59 in June. Hair has been snow white since I was a baby. Played just about everything in my life. WWII, cowboys, ACW, ancients.

32
No grey. not even a little bit.

Play/collect- Naps/ECW/WOTR/WW2/WW1/AZW/WSS/dark ages-early medieval/fantasy/Scifi . Often in various scales and formats.

59. Blonde on top, but gray beard.

Started with AH Gettysburg and Bulge. Morphed thru to 1200 scale ships and Seapower II. Heritage 25mm Tolkien. A long dry spell, then 15mm ACW. 1200 scale ACW. Now more periods and scales than I like to admit.

15mm early WWII, ACW, some AWI, Tolkien, 1200 and 2400 naval from ACW to early WWII. 25mm FIW and ACW. Leaning toward Saga. Have a bunch of old board games but they never see the light of day. A select few old school computer games, but nothing online.

Mostly play whatever is the current vogue with my group.

Bobgnar

White top of head and front of face
Only 70, I did not know Ed Mohrmann was older :)

I thought only Dick Bryant, Pat Condray, Phil Barker and the Duke were older (in the hobby that is)
started with shooting cannon at Britains at age 9, then in mid 1960's discovered Column, Line and Square, Then in late 1970 found The Sword and the Flame, that lasted until 1991 when I got addicted to DBA, and also DBR, Now doing a lot of DBA 3 and VBCW, mostly with Flying Lead. Odd ideas spinning around such as Battle of Tippecanoe, Cattle Drive game, and and Resident Evil with Playmobil
See Blog
bobslogofgames.blogspot.com

by the way, my Son, 45 is a gamer, and I have a grandson 4 who loves to play with his plastic army men.

Not all is gray, I have gotten in with a weekly gaming group with a dozen high school students and their fathers.

Legbiter, age 57 dark hair admixed with red on beard and moustache, now liberally-sprinkled with white, but all present except for a slight thinning at temples.
Minis: Cthulhu, Pulp, VSF, VBCW, WW1, WW2, Fantasy [Flintloque, WHFB], Science Fiction [WH40k], Celtos, anything by HLBSC, Copplestone, Murch, Rod Langton, Empress and Artizan. Waterline boats/ships a favourite!
Other: Command and Colours family (especially Battlelore, obviously ignoring the absurd Magic rules), anything with a Cthulhu theme (especially Call of Cthulhu RPG in its d20 incarnation), IHMN, King of Tokyo/New York, Diablo III computer game, Board games with traitor mechanics [eg House on the Hill], formerly an enthusiast for CCGs (especially Jyhad/VTES). My son [26] is also a Gamer, and last Christmas we gave my niece [14] the D&D starter set. She was ENCHANTED!

Dentatus

51

Started with Avalon Hill boardgames, then collected Airfix 1/72 plastics. Visited a toy soldier factory in White Plains NY and got hooked on AWI for several years. Jumped to Ral Partha Fantasy for a while, then took an extended hiatus, sprinkled with occasional PC and board games.

Came back with Space Hulk and Sci Fi skirmish games like Warzone, Necromunda, VOR, later Void and WW2 Disposable Heroes.

These days it's any figs I like slotted into Home Brew rules.
Blog: stalker7.wordpress.com

My current gaming group consists guys younger than me.

67 grey beard, ash blonde (alright, it's grey). Any historical up to WW2, but favourites are 1640 to 1865 eras.

Mark age 58 playing since I could remember…and yes turning grey.

American rev war
Crimean war
Wings of war ww1

Robbin 56 years young:)

Science-Fiction,Fantasy, and Pulp are my favorites, but I'll play anything on the table.
Played almost everything; board (AH,SPI-Etc.)D&D and various other RPGs, Magic and other collectables. Mostly strategy computer games now.

Started balding when I was 16; so I'm grateful for what grey (and white)hairs I've got.

Mid 50s, bald since my 30s and I shave my head but there are certainly greys in there.

Minis: historical, from ancient to ultra modern, scales 2mm to 54mm. Dabble in a bit of sci fi, sold all my fantasy stuff.

Others: still play the odd boardgame, old and new, have a huge collection from the 70s and 80s. Console games: RPGs, shoot em ups, currently enjoying Alien Isolation. I also do re-enactment and milsim airsoft.

67 -grey rapidly going white

ACW, Napoleonic/War of 1812. DBA DBM.WW2 and interwar ,Dark Age Britain, Ancients

58, gray but looks good, in the process of losing weight for health reasons. ancients, renaissance, napoleonic, ACW, colonial, WWII. not interested in fantasy or sci-fi, some interest in boardgames (that have miniatures). Favorite rule sets, clash(ancients) Verlorene Haufe(renaissance), Age of Eagles( napoleonic), Fire and Fury (ACW), The Sword and the Flame(colonial), Rapid Fire (WWII).

51. Going grey.
ECW, WSS, SYW, Napoleonics and ACW. FPW next cab off the rank.

61. I game Napoleonics, ACW, Ancients, Medieval, WWI, WWII and Colonial. I have greying hair, but I am thankful that I still have my hair.

31. Starting to discover white hairs at the temples, but still couldn't grow a beard if I wanted to. Not balding yet.

Some historicals (ancients and medievals) but mainly "fantasticals" (fantasy and sci-fi of numerous flavours, and also VSF and pulp). I still often feel intimidated by the inaccessibility of non-skirmish historicals. I have the (possibly mistaken) impression that most diehard historicals gamers started out as military history enthusiasts and slotted into miniatures gaming from there. I'm coming at it from the opposite direction and find there to be a lack of beginner-friendliness in the whole military history aspect of the hobby.

Some board and non-collectible card games, mainly because they're held in higher favour than miniatures games with most of my mates. Occasionally I'll still play a computer/video game (typically turn-based strategy, RPG or non-action adventure) but not often. I like to read pen-and-paper RPG sourcebooks for inspiration but have hardly ever played RPGs as such.

59. Grey turning white on what's left.

Started very young playing AH board games.

Mini's – about 3,000 15mm Napoleonic and 1,500 20mm WWII

Favorite games – Disposable Heroes, Age of Eagles, Sword and Flame. Best new game – Battlegroup Kursk. Likes historical.

57 years old, with a full head of hair that is just starting to get grey. See, immaturity is starting to pay off.

Game everything from Ancients to WW2. Prefer 28mm figures for their table presence, but will play any game in any scale. While I'm a history buff, the company I'm playing with is the most important thing.

54 and quite grey .

Playing since the early 70's . Like all the most popular periods of historical gaming. But have always been intrested in the obscure ie King Phillips War, Paraguyan War, Russo-Jap , Opium Wars, Span-Am , Russo-Polish, Chaco War et.. just a little nutty I guess .

67 this year. mostly grey, little bald spot on the back of my head. beard if i dont shave for a day or two is totally white.

almost exclusively FPW for my games, but enjoy TSATF, WW1 and WW2. some ACW. never got into ancients. collected board games, but never really played them other than TACTIC II.

Ed, didn't think you were that much older than I am! :-)
I thought you were 70.

The age profile of the respondents is more interesting than the hair colour. An age survey would be beneficial for manufacturers out there.

I agree with Broglie, most of the respondents are in their 50's and 60's with a few 70's sprinkled in.
There are also some 30 and 40's.

It is interesting to see so many TMP'rs of these ages.

I agree with Broglie, most of the respondents are in their 50's and 60's with a few 70's sprinkled in.
There are also some 30 and 40's.

It is interesting to see so many TMP'rs of these ages.
I wonder if this is because the older generation are consistent painters?
Younger gamers don't have much time for painting, work, children, etc. whereas the olders guys are settled in vocation or retired and children have left home, giving them more time to paint.
I've seen comments by a number of us saying I like looking at other's paintwork. It inspires me and improves my painting. This is one of the main reasons I come to TMP.
JMHO

54, still have dome coverage, salt and pepper at this point, more pepper than salt.

I guess there's no stress in selling little toy soldiers.

I've got 20mm Napoleonics, ACW and WWII.

That's it, no other scales, no other periods.

64 years old and very gray.

Interested in the Carthaginian Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, anything naval from 1898 to the present.

If you look at organized activities in general, the decline in participation isn't just limited to miniature gaming. Knife collector shows, coin shows, stamp shows, car shows and board-gaming conventions are all down in attendance. The people of all these pursuits appear to be older, just like the gamers. Apparently many young people are more interested in computer gaming and the internet.

But in our last few conventions we have seen a lot of new young people, so there is still hope for the hobby.

61, still full head of hair with salt and pepper (though the trend is more salt than pepper, dammit!).

ACW, naval (all periods), some WWII.

58, just a bit of grey at the temples, and a little on the top, and some in the back. Aw hell, I'm going grey.

G

Tad. Hair is more like silver.

I tend to favor sci-fi skirmish like Dark Age, Rezolution, X-Wing, Silent Death; apocalyptic type games; GW skirmish games like Lord of the Rings, Necromunda, Mordheim, Blood Bowl, Space Hulk; Historical skirmish games like Brother vs Brother, Bolt Action, Chain of Command and Civil War games like Fire and Fury.

47. Mid brown with grey here and there.

I'll play absolutely anything and with any age group. It's easier to list what I don't like playing rather than what I do: Napoleon's Battles, 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons and Rapid Fire. Other than those, I'll game it.

60

I play or research for articles almost all areas.

40, been turning grey since I was 20.

25mm Colonials, Great War, Sci-Fi, and Kids games of all shapes and sizes (It is required being the father of two young girls). And Gnomes.

The standard gamut of RPGs and board games.

63 and what's left is grey or gray depending on where you're from. I'll play anything once.

Dear List

66 going on 17. My hair is no longer grey- I dye it, and I don't wear a beard soooo.. Still have all my hair, my teeth, and all my parts. Good heredity.

Ancients The armies I have painted in these are (Imagi-Nations only- The Empire of Pharonica Veronica, The Ososerian Emire, the Kingdoms of Schlockem and Glockamora, the Seadudes, and the Amazons. 15mm about 800 minis.

Ancients Armies (Greek City States, Alexandrine Successors)(about 1,000 minis.)

15th Century Renaissance – Armies I have :Wars in Italy Swiss, Landsknects, Turks, Burgundians, Condottieri (all disguised as Imaginations. Swish, Swinnland, Empire of Ikea, etc. About 2000 minis.

17th Century 30 Years War. Armies I have (Again Imaginations, The Calvinist International versus the Catholic Confederacy. About 800 minis.

18th Century Armies I have, All Imaginations, The Princessipate of Saxe Burlap und Schleswig Beerstein, Bad Zu Wurst, Gulagia, The Empire of Ikea, the Kingdom of Flounce, and the Grand Duchy of the Grand Duke of Gorgonzola. About 4,000 minis.

American Civil War. Both armies, formed from Windcatcher Graphics wooden figures, about 800.

Late WWI, between the Wars to Mid WWII, All under my "The Shattered Century system, have six of the twelve armies made. Fahrvergnuggen or the 7 3/4 Reich, WWWF The Workers Winter Wonderland of Freeland, The Empire of Terramasu (Samurai Night Fever), The Kingdom of Fanabla, The others to be built are Hungland or the Brutish Empire, The 443 (and counting) Republic of Flounce, The Empire of Ikea, Tropicana, The Newnited States, The Party State of Bandrika, (ONE PARTY, EACH DAY, EVERY DAY,ALL DAY LONG no cover charge, no minimum, we validate parking, The Empire of Fu-Manchu and chain of Chinese Restaurants. There's more.

So of the respondents that gave an actual age, the average of those 70 is almost 54 years old – 53.8.

I'd imagine the number of this group of respondents skews over 55 on average, considering the number of people that can remember the Ark and the discovery of fire. :D

There does seem to be a loose correlation between age and interest – with the people under the demarcation point more likely to have multiple gaming interests besides historicals. But there are certainly exceptions there.

Thanks very much for responding!

25 (long thick flowing locks), Historical – Dark Age, Medieval, Fantasy. Skirmish and mass battle.

Annie

25 (long thick flowing locks), Historical – Dark Age, Medieval, Fantasy. Skirmish and mass battle.

Who makes some of the NICEST dice bags! All the UK guys keep bragging about them on Twitter!! Too bad there isn't a US distributor for them :-(

Hooray thanks!

They are only available direct but… postage to the states is only £4.00 GBP (just an extra pound up from Uk postage). There's tonnes already in the USA… Australia….Europe…. Canada… :D The custom orders are currently on hold though as I keep damaging my hands, but after Salute I'll have a load of the stock bags put onto the site. And then hopefully my hands will get better!

Annniiiie
thedicebaglady.net

Ooooohhh… flickery explosion thingies… :D

51, just a little grey. Medieval, ECW Napoleonics, AWI, some Ancients

35, play WW2, cold war, imaginary modern conflicts and scifi.

My hair is a brown'ish blonde and metal as ****

47, but I starting bald at 16 and gray at 24.

Scales: 6mm, 15mm and 28mm
Genres, Sci-fi, post-apoc and Modern.

60 this week, Hair – yep had some once! :-) What';s left definitely grey

Ancients (Egypt, Assyria, Macedon ,Rome, Carthage, Sassanid, Palmyran, Byzantine)
Late Medieval (HYW, Teutonic Knights, Hussite)
Pike and Shot (Great Italian Wars, ECW)
Napoleonic (You name it, I probably have it)
Naval (15mm Renaissance Galleys,. 1:1200 Napoleonic, Galactic Knights Sci Fi)

Play some computer games, occasional board games. RPG's in the past. some Fantasy.

The historical gaming part of the hobby is graying. I would like to see a survey of the age of gamers who play primarily sci-fi, fantasty and rpg separately. I think you will find that they are much younger than us. I have seen some of the younger ones enticed to the light side after seeing or playing an historical game. Those games tend to be more on the skirmish side, with fewer figures for a player to manage and where they can use the tactical skills developed in the other genres, where the number of figures used is small. TSATF does bring younger people in with its small battles.

I'm sure scifi and fantasy are much younger on average though I see "kids" getting into Flames of War.

The difference, I think, is that scifi games aren't afraid to have a starter set that explains how you get started.

I skirted around the historical side for quite a long time feeling too intimidated to join in. Offputting elements were feeling like I needed to know every aspect of that historical era, worried about painting something the wrong colour and being shunned, and the general attitude of some historical gamers… [see image below]

Which is why SAGA got me to finally make the leap, and I imagine loads of other younger people, because it feels especially welcoming. Then people can choose to just dip their toes in or use it as an "entry drug" to heavier historical. The latter happened to me, I'm now far more into historical gaming than fantasy (my only genre prior).

The "insecurity" has stopped since finding a good group of people to play with, and if anybody is going to be patronising or just mean, I won't play em. The people I play with are generally older and have tonnes more knowledge than myself, but are very helpful and keen to inform (nicely!) if I ask.

So from my point of view, younger people just need to be encouraged, and allowed to make mistakes, and not to feel stupid, and more will flock. It's a concern of mine, and should be of all judging by the ages in this thread, we don't want historical wargaming to die out! I've found sometimes participation games at trade shows to be very dismissive, and if they say anything, it's presuming I have no interest or knowledge ( a la image below!) without actually asking first..

Cheers
Annie
thedicebaglady.net