| Tango01 | 07 Jun 2016 10:24 p.m. PST |
Interesting list here… (smile) link Amicalement
Armand |
| Ottoathome | 08 Jun 2016 6:09 a.m. PST |
Sort of. All of the reasons given are "reasons of duress" that is, coming from outside the player except the player gravitating to a new hobby. Still that new hobby would have to be pretty self consuming to do that. As a person who gave it up because of toxic players, many years ago, I can speak with some experience here. I soon got back into it, just would never game with them again. Historical miniature gaming is a clean different thing than even its close coulsins of board gaming and role playing. I suspect that the real essence of the draw is the collecting and painting of miniatures and that the hobby is far closer to model railroading than it is to either board games or Role playing, which were spawned by miniature war gaming. This draw, the "craft" and "handwork" part of the hobby I suspect is the symptom of deep psychological and physiological causes, none of which really interest us. This is the reason the hobby seems to either take hold of a person and become almost an obsession or leave him unfazed. there seems to be no middle ground. I also suspect this is the reason for historical miniature gaming always being a "niche" hobby and now an even smaller "niche" hobby when compared with board games and Role Playing Games. I've played board games a lot and done a lot of role-playing games. In the end there's no comparison for me. Those two are nice but. |
 etotheipi  | 08 Jun 2016 6:58 a.m. PST |
board games or Role playing, which were spawned by miniature war gaming Board games date back to the 3rd-4th Century BC. Those were abstract strategy games of the type that are still being made today, not simplified surrogate wargames. The "tafl" games and chess predecessors that came about in the 4th-5th century are still clearly abstract strategy games, even though they wear the clothes of a military conflict. That really gives weight to the idea that board games spawned wargames. |
| Ottoathome | 08 Jun 2016 8:19 a.m. PST |
Don't be tiresome You know I meant games like Avalon Hill and SPI games. |
| Howler | 08 Jun 2016 10:58 a.m. PST |
3rd choice in reverse. Being the one who is no longer invited |
| KSmyth | 08 Jun 2016 11:02 a.m. PST |
I thought the list was a reasonable collection of "exits" from the hobby. People change and demands on their resources change. Children, professional demands, commute times all such up the most important resource-time. And I've had some financial struggles too, but I'd stocked up the lead pile well (which may have complicated that financial stress.) Twice I've become involved in other activities outside the hobby and that reduced time and money for wargaming. Never gave it up entirely, but certainly it weakened the commitment I once had. |
| Ben Avery | 09 Jun 2016 1:44 a.m. PST |
Kriegsspiel is more boardgame than miniatures game, but did provide inspiration for H G Wells. I think the list does omit people who get jaded, whether it's by similar experiences or a lack of satisfaction in what you get out of games. I popped into the club the other day and saw people waiting two hours to put their units on the board, in a fast-play ruleset. Other times it can be that you want to get a deeper understanding of history than figures tend to allow. I wouldn't say that the figures are the main draw in miniatures gaming for me. Increasingly I tend to see them as pieces and have an aversion to painting until I can't put it off any longer. Over hex and chit and other boardgames though, they tend to be more flexible, in terms of rules, numbers of players; as well as visualising situations, particularly in skirmish games. I can see this flexibility is one of the factors in the success of games like Memoir '44 and Commands and Colors. |
| etotheipi | 09 Jun 2016 6:14 a.m. PST |
Don't be tiresome You know I meant games like Avalon Hill and SPI games. I apologize that my psychic powers did not suss out what you were thinking when you didn't write it. |
| HangarFlying | 09 Jun 2016 8:04 a.m. PST |
Being a miniature wargamer myself, I think it's easy to forget that the hobby is actually many different hobbies rolled up into one. You have the hobby of painting miniatures, the hobby of crafting terrain, and the hobby of playing the actual game—which itself is really nothing more than a glorified large scale boardgame that requires an investment of a bigger table. As far as the points in the blog, I personally think that most people never really quit miniature wargaming, but rather just take breaks for various amounts of time. Even the commented who mentioned that he is selling off his miniatures and switched to board games would gladly play a miniature game if he was invited to one. As far as myself and my gaming friends, we have taken breaks that have lasted years, but never once was there any consideration of quitting the hobby. There would be ebbs and flows, and pauses as real life intervenes. We might play one rule set furiously then take a break and switch to something else. And while we certainly don't play nearly as frequently as we would all like, we are always thinking about that next game. |
 Bobgnar  | 09 Jun 2016 6:56 p.m. PST |
I tend to doubt that whoever in Avalon hill first invented tactics and tactics 2 And even Gettysburg in the 1950s knew enough about the primitive miniature war games that were going on at the time such as those from Jack scruby your captain Sachs or even Wells. What wargames even into the 60s and 70s were boardgames Based on? |
| Weasel | 10 Jun 2016 5:53 a.m. PST |
From my experience, people tend to drift in and out of gaming over time, but I don't know if I've ever met someone who used to and gave it up completely. A lot can be social circles of course. Some areas, its easier to find RPG campaigns, board games aren't niche anymore and cards are always popular |
