"The Lore is the Lure" Topic

Editor Bill on the American Civil War Board asked "What is the big problem facing American Civil War Gaming today?" I replied rather facetiously, "zombies." What I was actually saying that for any period the challenge is not the rules or miniatures or gamers or the age thereof, but the lore. That is, if you are not interested in the Civil War (or any period) enough to read about it for its own sake, you simply won't get interested enough in it to game in it. Hence, you have to be interested in the story first. Thus

The lore is the lure.

I'm interested in the 18th Century AND the American Civil War. I would be interested in them even if I knew nothing at all about gaming and didn't game. As I DO game, I am interested in them, and as I am not at all interested in European Colonial Wars, I do not game in them. I will PLAY in them when my friends put them on, but for me they have as much personal involvement as-- well-- zombies. These guys shoot those guys down and vice versa and that's it.

Agreed

I'm interested in reading about the American Civil War but other than the Battle of Plum Point Bend and Memphis I'm not interested in gaming it.

I'm interested in gaming Vikings but prefer movies to history books. No real interest in the history, I just like the look.

Unless lore can include "Hollywood."

Then I agree.

To each his own. These days I mostly play fantasy and sci-fi. For me, the lure is creating the lore as I go.

I agree with Otto. I tend to have an interest in the period outside of gaming. The Lore can include Hollywood IMHO.

I'll also agree with Otto. If the period interests me, the interest makes me want to game it. Dark Age vikings, WW1, ACW, ECW do not, so I do not amass armies, buy paint guides etc.

The lore, no matter where it comes from, is the lure.

Inclined to agree. The historical periods I game are ones I was interested in beforehand.

I think this is true to an extent, and may be true in particular as to ACW, perhaps because of the nearly mon-chrome, somewhat un-inspiring uniforms.

But its clearly not true all the time. You can't tell all FOW players were already interested in WWII before they got into FOW. There have to be quite a few who were vaguely aware of WWII, had seen a few movies, but weren't really reading books or interested in it. But then there's this fantastically packaged, 40K-like WWII game offered, and people become interested.

I wasn't really into Dark Ages until SAGA came out…

And who was interested in Darkest Africa before seeing the Foundry figures?

I agree with Otto as far as my own motivation, although there are periods and places that interest me as an historian, but which I do not consider well suited to wargaming. For example, the various European colonial wars do interest me intellectually, but I see no value to gaming situations where a handful of "modern" troops machine gun hundreds or thousands of traditional native warriors.

Also, there clearly are people out there for whom the game is the thing, and the research. I guess that's alright, if it satisfies them--but I would not personally care much to game with them.

Lore is not only a lure, but a spur. When I start getting into a period, I experience a burst of research urgings that drag me into the library, numerous websites, films, and online book vendors (you know who you are, Amazon!). I seek to find out as much as I can before the glow fades, or another "Oooh, shiny" moment eclipses the first.

Medieval interest from childhood. The gaming arrived long after that. Segue to similar or related stuff, e.g. fantasy and RPG.

Same with WW1 airplanes. Long before gaming I was reading and watching movies. Airplanes other than WW1 are interesting enough to game with, but are pale by comparison.

I can't get interested in modeling any period or subject at all that doesn't have a prior "lore" interest.