"History, Period, or Genre, why you game what you do?" Topic

I'll dabble in historical gaming, but really if its got an MG42 some bocage and some green GI's I'm happy to give a go. It doesn't need to be dawn June 13, 1944 at Carentan for me.

How about you? Do you need to re-enact battles, are you happy blitzing across a generic steppe, or are you lost in the Grimdark?

We almost never do specific battles, but we'll do a bit of flair.

Put a bunch of ruins on the table, if the date of the campaign happens to match Monte Cassino, that sort of thing.

Been meaning to do something like that for a while, as a supplement.

I have no idea. Actually I have yet to encounter a period I don't like.

I am interested in military history so study and play all the periods from the beginnings of history to periods so recent that the facts have not been digested yet – so, say, the Ancient Egyptians through to, say, the 60s and maybe just a little beyond.

I try to be as true to the actual battles as possible.

Poll answer: It's about the History.

Phil

I am the same as that Phil…

No single dominating reason.

What Phil said, 'Bringing history to life' as AHGC used to say.

More specifically, I wargame because I was a kid in the 1960s and along with Blue Steel armed Vulcan bombers flying low over the house, all my family ever talked about was the war. Most exciting thing which ever happened to them.

There is only one war. WW2.

If you've ever read 'Achtung Schweinhund' by Harry Pearson, that is me that is.

I also like sticking plastic kits together, because that is what I did when I was a kid. The modern resurgence of hard plastic is a joy.

Neither history, period, or genre. I game conflicts. I game the specific conflicts that I game because they have interesting decisions spaces (for me). Usually, this means that there are a number of different factors that significantly influence the outcome, and their interrelationships are not known to the players at the outset of the game.

This is why I have no problem playing La Batalla de Puebla with VSF figures.

It's about the Story for me. Which is why I'm primarily a SF/F gamer who is not wedded to any particular game-verse.

+1 to Dentatus. If the story is good I'll do it. Much of my interest in historical periods, or sci-fi and fantasy events has to do with the story behind things. I want a tale to tell, or to at least frame the nature of the battle.

Is there actually a poll somewhere with buttons to push? I'll have to explore a bit.

I mostly play science fiction games, mostly in the Traveller universe. I guess it's because I like the setting and am very familiar with it.

That being said, I can enjoy just about any setting. I've played games in probably every historical era. There was even a microgame set in prehistoric times that I played back in the early 1980s.

Very few historical periods I would not try. I like big battles so I tend to gravitate to large conflicts. I also like conflicts which demonstrate a transitional change in technology and as a result a change in tactics.