"Chance meeting?" Topic

Have you ever met a fellow miniatures war gamer in a non wargaming situation, like a job or at a party? In my 53 years I have only met one other person who was into gaming, a work colleague. We both worked at a Sheriff's office back in the late eighties and shared a lot of the same gaming interests. That has never happened to me again.

He passed away several years ago, but glad I got a chance to know him.

though i offer to teach people. Never had a fellow colleague interested in gaming. They think , for the most part childish. I do not care what other's think. I enjoy the hobby.But it is not as popular as over seas in England and other countries. Hard to part with instant gratification on video gaming.

Yes. I was reading war games Illustrated while at my daughter's karate class. The sensei asked me about the magazine afterwards and I gave the usual "paint military figures and recreate battles" answer. He said "oh like warhammer?"

Turns out he was more of an RPGer, but had played some wargames.

I was stationed in England for 2 years from 1978 to 1980. I was on a train down to London, and ran into a guy my brother used to boardgame with from Joplin, Mo. He was in the Army over in Germany and was taking leave in England.

Yup – 15 years ago started a new job and one of the guys there was a gamer. Can't think of any other generic situations where I ran into gamers, but then, it's not a subject that comes up that much in conversation is it?

I met one of my best friends in college because we struck up a conversation about painting miniatures for roleplaying games. Turns out we shopped for Ral Partha and Grenadier stuff at the same Hobbytown. In fact, we probably unknowingly competed for the same miniatures.

I know this, because he recently decided he needed the space more than he needed his collection…and man, did he give me a lot of stuff. Some I have already, lot I didn't.

I am a History Professor at a small liberal arts university and I currently have four colleagues at work who play miniature games: my department head (who is from Texas), an Indian Studies Professor (who is from Oklahoma), a Deaf-Education Professor (from Utah), and a female Bio-Chemistry Instructor (from Colorado). The five of us host game nights for our students and colleagues at the university twice each semester. Since we have started hosting these game nights, we have won a couple of other colleagues over to gaming (not to mention a number of students). In addition, in the past I ran for political office. On the campaign trail, I encountered other people running for office who also painted miniatures as a hobby.

Yes, lots. Several at work, a couple socially, and several in my other hobbies (admittedly re-enactment has something of a military theme to it, so hardly surprising).

But this is Britain, we are all wargamers over here:)

I also know a several professional wargamers who get paid to do this stuff.

Yes, several. 1 co-worker (although I have since corrupted 5 or 6 of them into the hobby as well) and several strangers, including an historical author and a federal agent.

Rarely, and when I do it's almost always just someone who plays or has-played something from GW or Privateer Press.

I've found all my wargaming buddies via the interwebs or other gaming friends.

While on vaca at Hadrian's Wall (Scotland) I ran into a guy who quit wargaming a couple years previously from Raleigh, NC (USA).
Common interests!

At our local craft brewery, I met a chap who plays an online war game. He plays board games well.

I met most of my wargaming buddies at places other than wargaming situations. Work. School. Sports. And then there's that one I met at the altar …

Since college, only one: the chiropractor I saw after a rear-end car accident was a Warhammer player.

Wargamers once in a great while, roleplayers all the friggen time.

The last place I worked at employed a lot of young people and hired entry-level so we had a lot of nerds

Mostly RPG players. I found a couple of young engineers at work who liked video games and got 6 to come over to play ACW . We played for about 3 months, then work and moves interfered.

An assistant manager once, and a teacher I worked with. So at least 2.

Quite a few, actually. But since education and career were military-related, that presumably increased the odds.

Many years ago I discovered that a work colleague played warhammer. I tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to try historicals, but he was '… happy with my warhammer'.

Last year, while on a seafront Sunday morning walk with a group, I got chatting to a visitor from the old country whom I'd already encountered once or twice on previous walks. To be honest, when I met him, and even before I discovered through the subsequent conversation that he had a strong interest in history, I immediately thought 'I wouldn't be surprised if he's a wargamer', and… so it turned out to be (perhaps we conform to a standard psychological profile, or maybe some of us have some sort of organic 'playdar'). Unusually, he was quite brazen about his involvement in the hobby. When I asked the source of his interest in history he replied, loudly enough for others to hear, 'I play wargames with toy soldiers'. I feigned ignorance for the moment, waiting until we were out of earshot of other walkers to dig more deeply.

To cap it all off, unbeknownst to the visitor the endpoint of the walk where the group was to have brunch was within walking distance of the club rooms of one of the few wargames clubs in this state(!), which conveniently was due to open for the afternoon shortly after our brunch session wound up. He's since made another trip here and deliberately repeated the walk in question so as to complete the day with a visit to the club.

Yes almost 17 years ago I was talking to my boss who knew I was in the Army and asked if I had done wargaming. I was then invited to join a group that he gamed with JRIII. We are now peers and still friends but the gaming group is now too far to fit in to the crowded schedule.

We still are friends and talk at work.

Yes, all the time. I work in higher educashun so there's a high turnover in staff and students – always bound to meet another gamer/former gamer…

Recently I purchased a copy of Wargames Illustrated at B&N and the young lady asked if the magazine was like the one she used to buy when she played Warhammer 40K. Nice surprise.

Lots.