"State of Historical Gaming in 2016?" Topic

How is the historical miniature wargaming hobby doing? Up? Down? About the same? Profoundly different?

Poll last run in 2006: TMP link

California

There is a young group now comings up ,but great Britain nees to curb down it's postage rate ..yikes..for US customers .

Doing just fine but International shipping rates are impeding our fine hobbies progress.

I think that collecting and painting figures, building terrain, and studying histories are doing just fine.

I'm not sure just how many actually game.

Not sure how to measure this effectively. But at Enfilade in the Pacific Northwest, the number of attendees continue to climb. Our convention is Memorial Day weekend, the number of games scheduled, the number of hotel rooms rented are all way up. We are a historical wargaming convention and things couldn't be better in this, our 25th year.

Doing just fine

EXCELLENT here it Texas – the Lone Star Historical Miniatures (LSHM) society has seen big growth the past 2 years. We have large Bolt Action, FOW, SAGA and other sub groups. We are gearing up for our 19th straight convention in November: MillenniumCon19 in Austin Texas.

Lots of younger players along with us old timers!!

Great, I've got more people and young people who want to game with us then I can fit in my game room, and I can fit 15. I have a core of people, but I must rotate all the others for games. and we only game Historical games.

Pennsylvania.

Or Pennsyltucky if you include Luzerne and Perry County… \

Sorry Winston.

Just saying.

Eric

It's great in the Philippines.

Going strong in Vancouver B.C..
Our group will be attending Enfilade at the end of the month.

I'm saying up because a lot of people locally are playing Bolt Action when they usually play fantasy or sci-fi.

UK perspective.

The high street still supports three dedicated wargame magazines, despite the stiff competition from digital and the pressure on the magazine market in general.

Some new wargame stores are opening up, against a background of high street shops closing and town centres dying due to the very high rate of out of town and Internet shopping that we have in the UK.

Wargame shows seem to be ever so slightly dipping back in some cases, though Salute this year apparently did very well. Since the same people attend multiple shows around the country, it is difficult to know whether they are just cutting back on the shows they visit, but overall spending the same (or even more money) … I have.

28mm plastics seem to be making strong sales,

10 years ago I would have said the hobby was greying and the new breed are in Games Worshop playing fantasy. Now, we are still greying, but there is a bigger new generation of gamers coming through and they are playing crossover board / miniature games such as Command Horizon, Batman, Malfaux (spelling ?) and Commands and Colors systems as well as Flames of War and Bolt Action.

Standards have substantially risen with games not only having nicer figures, but also nicer terrain, with a wider selection of commercially available terrain.

people seem less inclined to build huge armies.

The blog scene is huge, growing and looking ever more professional, driving up standards in presentation and research.

Overall, I would say that the historical hobby has been strengthened by systems such as 1 hour and 2 hour wargames and rules designed for small tables, increasing the chances of people actually playing, but trend wise, I would say that the generation who heavily played historicals are getting older and that sector is shrinking, but that there is a renewed vibrancy at the younger end, and they are just gaming in general and quite happy for their gaming menu to also cross over into historicals.

Even if the patient is not fully healthy, it seems to be in. Better shape than I would have forecast 10 – 15 years ago,

Personally I am in the part of the cycle where Fantasy is increasing, S F steady and historical declining. Because this cycle is the normal for me (come back in two years and all three will be different) I don't obsess over what is up or down. I view the hobby only from my own POV and have no idea or interest in where "the hobby" is going overall.

It appears that attendance at Little Wars was up despite the move. The general wisdom in the hobby is that moving a convention will cost you a ten to twenty per cent drop in attendance the first year.

Dire.

It is inherent that the selling of historical miniatures (and board games), the seller must have some knowledge of history. Retail stores tend to stick to what is the easier sale- products in colorful packages that fit on the shelves/racks in an attractive way. It's easier to let the narriative of the packaging sell the product than the person behind the counter!

Also, there is a lot of product that must be stocked to make sales. Tying up operating capital that stays on the shelf for longer periods of time (relates to 'turnover rates"). Historicals do not bring in as much money as fantasy/sci-fi and newer gendres (like zombie and pre-painted movie themed sets) so fewer local B&M retailers carry historicals.

The trend seems to be to order direct from manufacturers as not only can they offer more items, if they run out, they simply cast more! It costs a LOT of money to carry complete lines and have to wait a year before the 2 bags of Zouaves sell, but if you do and your competition does not, you will get first crack at the gamer who is looking for that historical pack. The others will just stock more self selling items.

Hisortricals seem to be growing worldwide, but since most sales are direct, it's off the radar. Just because you cannot find them locally does not bode well for the volume of new releases hitting the market to support the idea that historicals are declining in any way!

If you can't find historicals locally, then gamers will simply buy what is available as they can take it home now and get started with the impulse buy rather than e-mail ordering.

In such areas, it's understandable why it may seem interest in historicals is low. Why put on a game in a local store if they do not have products hanging on the wall where the newly entheused gamer can take some figures home to start their own army with? It just adds to the frustration and makes more sales of pretty packaged 'stuff".

If I have learned anything as a producer of historical minis is that we (historical minis guys) need to get into more stores, in pretty packages (that practically sell themselves) and make a profit on the packaging (so the consumer can throw it away). Afterall, it's the same working capital that we must use to make profit on from the metal, why not seek a return on the investment it costs to make the packaging? That is what the big GW and other "big box" companies have been doing for over a decade! Many will complain about the high price of Brand X minis, but they seem to always come back for more!

Like it or not, sales records show that this is what customers want by voting with their money! But historicals remain alive and well, thank you!

(Sorry for the rant, but it is another perspective not seen very often, here on TMP.)

v/r
Tom

It's great! Up! Historical gaming available several times a week. Really big games on Saturdays. Could not be better.

I find the historical gamer is looking for a particular product. Whether it be a figure, building, terrain part etc.
If they can't find locally which is the caser most of the time, then they will jump on the computer. In my case I will not settle for what is in stock at my local store.

Well, 15 mm is in a lot of trouble! I've almost finished collecting and when I'm done what are they going to do? Oh, wait, I'm not the only one.

I think, for some of us, its become much more about the models than the games. I've been turned off big time by the excessive numbers of rules (though some think that is the greatest thing ever). But I still get a big kick out of painting figures and setting up a table.

And I do still game, just not nearly as often as in years past.

So, I have no real idea where its going other than to online ordering as the normal channel of acquisition.

As to the postage rates, yeah, they are a challenge but even at the rates they have risen to, consider what it would cost without the national postal services out there. Trust me, more, a lot, LOT more.