"What makes Miniature Wargaming so Much fun?" Topic

"If you're relatively new to boardgames, it may seem like every other game has incredible miniatures in the box: as if they're as common as cardboard tokens and meeples. In fact, it's only been a recent trend for these highly characterful and detailed components to be considered commonplace in the realm of boxed board games. Before that, miniatures lived in the realm of miniature wargaming: a niche of tabletop gaming where collecting, building and painting the components of your army is as much a part of the experience as actually playing the games…."
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Amicalement
Armand

You get to play with your toys, instead of just assembling and painting them, and then setting them on a dust-ridden shelf to be forgotten.

I stupidly followed that link and…ugh!

For me personally, building and painting my army is not part of the wargaming experience, but a necessary – and tedious! – prerequisite, that nowadays I pay someone else to do.

I can also enjoy a wargame with Lego blocks as troop counters, unpainted Risk figures, or other people's figures; what matters to me is the quality of the game rules, the scenario and the atmosphere of being with my friends; the pleasure I derive from the game is not in proportion to the detail of the figures and/or skill of the painting.

I appreciate that others really enjoy the painting and modelling, and have great respect for their skills therein. But isn't that military modelling, rather than wargaming?

To the best of my knowledge H.G. Wells bought his toy soldiers ready painted, but would anyone deny he was a wargamer?

Some people combine the two hobbies of military modelling and wargaming; some – like me – do not, and should not feel somehow 'excluded' from wargaming because of it.

Researching the history is also part of the hobby.
I agree that wargaming is a broad topic and not all the wargamers are involved in all aspects of the hobby. Just because you don't like one aspect of the hobby does not bother me, you can game with me anytime. All I require is that the figures must be painted!

@arthur1815. I see the triad: aesthetics, competition/rules, authenticity/story telling in miniature wargaming. You are right, that every miniature gamer has a different attitude, how important each aspect is for him. But if one aspect is at zero, you wouldnt be a miniature gamer. (zero interest in aesthetics play counter wargames, zero interest in competition build dioramas, zero interest in authenticity play chess)

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

You see some people playing, it looks fun, ALL those nicely painted colorful little miniatures) so you buy thousands of dollars worth of them, spend thousands of hours painting them, and then the big day arrives, you get to actually play a game with them. After all that time and investment, It BETTER DAMN WELL BE FUN, and even if it isn't fun, you sure are NOT going to let anyone get whiff of that!!!!

I second Albus on his commentary.
As a bit of an aside, I never considered painting and gaming to be separate. Some aspects may get a little tedious granted but then that just the fun bits…more FUN!!