"Hobby Sabbatical?" Topic

Have you ever voluntarily taken a break from the miniature wargaming hobby?

I recognise that miniature wargaming is just a hobby. There are often things in my life more important than my hobby, and so my hobby will go on the back burner while I focus on family, job and so forth.

Another facet of this being for me just a hobby, is that if I'm not enjoying it, or otherwise gaining a benefit, then I can walk away from it for a while. Real life has enough stress for me, so I'm not going to let my hobby stress me out. (I've had other hobbies to that for me, though, like when I was a running a pipe band!)

My assumption is that if you are giving up your hobby temporarily for family, job, etc., that it is not "voluntarily" – you have to give it up, it's not much of a choice.

Real life is the hobby, I take a break from it by painting toy soldiers! :p

I have gotten distracted by other things for extended periods, but never explicitly made a decision to "take a break".

My assumption is that if you are giving up your hobby temporarily for family, job, etc., that it is not "voluntarily" – you have to give it up, it's not much of a choice.

My point is that miniature wargaming is JUST a hobby. I take a break from it when it's giving me what I want.

I vacilate between painting miniatures and video games every few months. Keeps each one fresh.

Never

I have one foot in the 28 mm (mainly metal) figure world and the other foot in the vintage 54 mm plastic toy soldier world.

When I grow tired of one, I switch to the other.

I may jump off for a few days, but I don't think that I have ever taken an extended break from it.

It is just a hobby to me. I am happy to spend time on other hobbies and sports. The attraction of wargaming is that it has at least 8 different facets which can be pursued independently and still be part of the hobby. Wargaming has no defined boundaries thus it is very flexible indeed.

Playing games (many types)
Modelling
painting
Researching
Visiting
Rules writing
Arguing (discussion!)
Watching games

Every Christmas, my hobby room becomes a greenhouse from the living room so we can put up the Christmas decorations, so from Dec 20th thru Mid January I'm usually on "sabbatical".

I have walked away from my miniatures from time to time. Sometimes because my interest was lost, sometimes because other things were more important. Once I "gave it up" because war is so awful, but then I came back because war is so interesting. The history has always been most important with the miniatures merely a way to attempt to get closer to the history. Gaming seems a great way to "be a general", but for me, it rarely proves to be.

No. Sometimes I may not be as involved but never given up or sold everything off. It's too ingrained in me.

Never!

Does having the wife come home in a bad mood and giving me the look that means "is THAT all you've done today?" so I quietly put my stuff away and rub her back while suffering through countless episodes of the Bachelor, count as voluntarily or involuntarily?

No.

Then, no, I haven't.

Yes

Never entirely. I may take a break from painting for as long as a week if I'm feeling a lack of interest, but in that space I am researching, reading rules etc. Waiting for inspiration to return.

Voluntarily, only once for about three or four weeks a long time ago. Life does take priority now and then but I have to much to paint and build for myself to stay away to long.

Not sure what taking a break from a hobby means. A hobby is something you or don't get to do when you want to do it. So, by definition, if you don't feel like engaging in your hobby for a period of time, then that is just when you are not doing it.

From hobby forums? Yes

From the hobby? No way

Dan

I once took a sabbatical from my job to spend more time with my miniatures/

Yes

Yes

To my dismay yes. Back in the early Fall of 2016 for about four months.