"Could scifi/fantasy and historicals learn from each other?" Topic

Are there lessons you wish historical games would learn from scifi/fantasy or vice versa?

If so, what are they?

Naaaaah.
All three have been around since the last century. There's no real difference between the rules anyway.

Cross pollination between the two has been constant and ongoing at least since Chainmail morphed into D&D.

I'd argue that historicals learned successful marketing and sustainability from fantasy and SF, if the example of Flames of War is considered.

Admittedly, that's not a direct aspect of the genres, but of the approaches taken by a fantasy/SF leaning company (Games Workshop) being applied to WW2 15mm (Battlefront). Things such as emphasising the visual appeal over accuracy or believability, refreshing the game engine regularly with new editions and army guides, and pushing the game into a competitive, tournament format as a selling tool.

I do sometimes think thathad FoW existed when I first started gaming, I would have been drawn to the game by the visual appeal. As it was, 40K and other (but not all) fantasy and SF systems drew me in with better production values, and consistent ranges of miniatures. Historical rules back then were typed and photocopied, or, if they were flash, printed with a handful of black and white pictures.

Also, I recall being massively frustrated by the fact that the historical players at my local club would flit, butterfly-like, from one system or period to another. Trying to keep up with them left me with half-finished units for never completed armies, while I was always able to find opponents for my 40K armies, regardless of what was the 'in thing' in historicals.

Not really a 'lesson' that one genre can pass to another, but perhaps an indication of the problem of too many rules and scales across too many periods? Or are historical players just fickle victims of gaming fashion? ;)

> Also, I recall being massively frustrated by the fact that the historical players at my local club would flit, butterfly-like, from one system or period to another.

That is what the scifi/fantasy players do at my club. So not an historicals problem by any stretch. In the local clubs instance it has been a fantasy game I can't remember (had attack pigs and a banjo guy) to that mars game to the Antares game and there was another one in there as well but I missed it.

I agree with Winston. We've been stealing from each other from the earliest times.

But the original poster asked if thee were any lessons we could learn from each other.

About the only thing left to be learned is to be nicer to each other.

While I can't say that fantasy/scifi started point systems I do think that they have helped historical games develope more systems that augment the ability to do pick up games. I guess as a scifi turned historic gamer I wish and hope more historic gamers adapt these systems because A. it tries to make a more even match(I know most battles weren't) and B. structure really helps new gamers getting into the hobby ex. to play ww2 Germans I need X number of Ys. etc. I think its why Warlord's Bolt Action took off so well here because to me its like a half step into historical gaming while the system still feels a bit like some of the fantasy/scifi stuff around.
Just my 2 bits

I'd hope that the sci-fi/fantasy crowd could learn from the Napoleonics crowd how to get along.