"Too Expensive to Wargame?" Topic

"Is wargaming getting too expensive? Are rising miniature prices and constant rulebook changes making it harder to stay in the hobby? In this video, we dive into the costs of tabletop wargaming, looking at the impact of Games Workshop price hikes, the affordability of historical wargaming, and alternative ways to enjoy miniature wargaming without breaking the bank.

As a longtime wargamer, I share my personal journey of moving away from expensive mainstream games like Warhammer 40K and Age of Sigmar in favor of historical wargames, where miniatures are cheaper, and rulesets stay stable for years. If you're looking for affordable wargaming options, budget-friendly miniatures, or a way to enjoy wargaming without constant financial strain, this video is for you!…"

BigLee's 'Miniature Adventures'

link

Armand

"When I started out™️" 25mm Minifigs were $.25 USD each.
Now I don't blink at some figures "because I need them". 🤷

But Kids Today™️ don't have my long history. They aren't about to build huge Republican Roman armies either. And if they were going to, they'd be 3D printing them anyway.

So, it's all a matter of perspective.
Today's rules favor smaller armies anyway, if you even play historicals.
They're either printing or gaming on line. My heirs will not inherit anything worthwhile.

If you are on a budget and can't 3D print, small scales or 1/72 plastics are the way to go.

The shipping (+ tariffs) are getting to me. Can I afford it? Yes. Do I want to pay it? Have to think hard about it now.

Back when Minifigs were $.25 USD, a hamburger cost about $1. USDoo. Just sayin' …

When Ral Partha 25mm miniatures were $1 USD to $3 USD each, the minimum wage was $2.90 USD, and I was on top of the world when I got a summer job that paid $4 USD per hour (work inside, no heavy lifting!).

So hell yeah I bought miniatures that summer.

Now I probably don't need to buy another miniature to run any game that I would want to run. I have a moderate lead and plastic mountain waiting to be painted and organized into units (or assigned to be PCs or NPCs for rpgs).

Craigslist's "free" section provided quite a few items over the years. I bought discontinued items at great prices at game shop sales, many in the 1990s and 2000s at 1970s-80s prices. Convention flea markets have provided some good scores.

Nearly all of my science fiction vehicles and buildings were free or cheap in terms of cash outlay, but required time to kitbash/trashbash. I've never paid retail for terrain, except for some grassy flock.

I mostly use rules from the 1980s and 1990s. After this much time, I am extremely familiar with them, and can run a game and teach the rules easily. As you might expect, I am less interested in new-fangled complex rules systems.

I buy hobby paints in bottles, and artist's brushes, at retail as needed. I never skimp on paint or brushes. Spray paint cans I try to buy on sale, and I have found a few interesting things at yard sales, but I often pay retail for them as well.

No. Look at other options for hobbies. Golf in my neighborhood is $580 USD a month for full membership and 20 cart fee per round and no outside beverages. Sporting clays, 80 cents a target plus ammo and a 2000 gun, minimum. Hunting costs me $1,950 USD for the lease plus all the assorted accessories. Africa cost me 22K for 10 days, including taxidermy. Wargaming is CHEAP, compared to many other hobbies. When you're ready to plop down 75K on a maverick bass boat and another 75K on a truck to haul it while adding on another 10-15K in equipment, I'll call it expensive. Wargamers, in my opinion are the cheapskates.

Having most armies , already , makes it cheeper ? Most plastics aren't that expensive for additions ? It also helps when you have a friend that 3D prints :)
Trap runs me about $ 9.50 a round and a box of shells $ 10.00 :)

I recall buying a single space marine somewhere around 1990. I bought ONE just to paint one, I refused to pay $1.90 USD each for figures. I bought loads of other figures for a buck or less.

I figure that is why true skirmish games are booming. An "army" with under a dozen figures..YEAH!! For under $40 USD you can play Frostgrave with all the options for a regular force.

Check out what the model railroad guys pay for their hobby! $143.95 USD for *one* building on a quick glance at one of my favorite suppliers. That is for a kit you still have to assemble and paint.

Wargaming is cheap if you get outside of the bespoke miniatures and endless new editions of certain big gaming companies.

I don't want to think about what my brother in law spends on his hobby of stock car racing…

John, given a cumulative inflation a bit over 760% since 1970, that $0.25 USD Minifig would cost $2.15 USD today. Given that, price increases have actually been moderate, and are essentially in line with the measured inflation rate over the years. One of my responsibilities when I worked for the Federal Reserve was to track inflation in the 8th Federal Reserve District. Compared to other segments in the economy (healthcare, for example), price increases in the hobby have been remarkably moderate.

It's important to note that Games Workshop is an outlier, and cannot be used as a bellwether for conditions within the overall hobby population. I have no accurate data to support this, but I would not be surprised if GW's EBIT surpasses that of every other miniature manufacturer combined. Including GW in any analysis of the hobby would significantly skew the results.

Agree with Titch and Extrabio,
all things considered, wargaming is still a cheaper hobby than most, and I'm at a point currently where I can spend just about "what I want."

I'm currently looking at a new car to replace my less than luxury econo car. Even after 20K down, it will still cost me $500 USD a month plus my taxes and insurance will increase by at least 10% (and its one of the safest models on the road, go figure).

That's probably more than I will spend in the next 20 years in wargaming.

Agree also GW is not a good model to base averages on; even though you can find figures that are comparable in price (Infinity models are on par with GW costs), you rarely need the mass armies 40K now needs to play. But on the other hand, GW's manufacturing is mostly (not all, granted) in country, and I also find that worthy of support.

My club member don't seem to have any problem investing $100 USDs even $100 USDs on armies and terrain. As for myself I scratch build, paint everything myself.

Agreed: wargaming is very inexpensive compared to most "hobbies." Playing RPG's is another minimalist investment hobby.

I have shared with my sons that wargaming and RPG gaming are probably the two least expensive hobbies they could get into. Once you have your rules sets, and some figures and terrain, you don't need anything else! I am still playing 2e BattleSystem fantasy minatures games and that rules set went OOP after 1992. I don't have any trouble finding interested players for my games. I am still playing 2e AD&D RPG which was first published in 1989, and it was replaced by 3.0 D&D in 2000, then 3.5 in 2002/4 in 2008/5 in 2014/5.5 in 2024. I have not had difficulty finding players for my 1989-based 2e AD&D games either!

If you make the games fun to play, people will join you, in most cases, assuming you do not live in a small town/rural area where fellow gamers may not exist… Cheers!

While I had bought Der Kriegspierers in the early 1970s, the cost made me go back to plastic Airfix..
In 1977 I ventured from board games back to miniatures. I bought Minifigs 1st edition strip 15mm (3 Mrs or 5 foot) for 60 cents and they soon went up to 75 cents. Switched to Heritage when they came out. The better detail was worth the higher price.about 18 cents each.
Prices creeped up until they hit 36 cents each. Then the great Old Glory roll back happened. They sold bags of 100 for $12.00 USD that first year at Historicon. Even with a price hike to $15.00 USD for a 100 count bag.
Next issue was the great lead scare making manufactures reduce or stop using lead i miniatures.new pewter formulas caused a surge in pricing but it still ran 25 cents or less for a 15mm casting. Being that was over 35 years ago, it is not a surprise that many ranges are over 40 cents per 15mm foot.

Not too expensive but I am very judicious on what I buy.

I am in the process of buying some really nice Triguard 40's for $4.00 USD/each. I am finishing up and filling out my AWI with unique units so this does not bother me. Also, I am a skirmish wargamer so I do not need a lot of miniatures.

Thanks

Armand

Boardgames are still great value for money. Wargames that offer lots of replay potential will last a lifetime.

Used to own a boat that used 32 gallons of fuel an hour when running around. Miniatures are waaaaay cheaper!

The answered to me have nothing to do with wargaming. A wargame can be played for virtually free. Lots of free downloads of elements either stand up 2D or view from top of almost any period. There are starter rules available for free. IF you want miniatures you can buy then, they are essential IF really it's more about collecting them than actually playing the game. So wargaming. Is cheap ,miniature collection no so much. It is important to specify What you mean we sill on occasion use card in our otherwise miniature games if the models are not a available. I started using a screws for figures and had many,many enjoyable games.

It's going to get cheaper when gamers start dying off and those game items end up on the market. I just gave away a bunch of rpg books to clear out stuff I don't use, most were nand new.

Thanks also…

Armand

I don't think Wargaming is so expensive that one would need to stop doing it. Very little of the hobby is consumable, paints and brushes are about the only things that wear out. Those $.25 USD miniatures bought in the 1980s can still be played with.

Now as UshCha says if it's about collecting then the hobby can easily get pricy. WWII could be fought with British against Germans in Italy but who wouldn't want to jump back to North Africa and or go fight the Japanese in Burma and now it sounds like a good time to invade Russia with those Germans. Wait didn't Napoleon invade Russia also?

Big publishers aside (GW and the like) and accounting for inflation and the current abundance of options including 3D printed options, it is the cheapest it has ever been when averaged out.

A game is not a game is not a game.
(Apologies, Gertrude.)

As indicated above, "the hobby" isn't one particular thing. "Other hobbies" is even less of a specific thing. Pick any partcular modality of wargaming, and I can gove you dozens of examples of hobbies more or less expensive.

The linked article makes the point because they shift from one thing (40K and AOS) to another (historicals). Neither of those categories of wargaming is specific enough for a legit comparison.

There are tons of factors to consider.

Compared to other segments in the economy (healthcare, for example), price increases in the hobby have been remarkably moderate.

This is a great example.

You can absolutely compare the inflation-adjusted cost of 1970's radiation therapy for cancer eradiction with the current cost of cancer treatements. But that comparison doesn't make sense unless you include, at least success rate, survival rate (did the treatment eradicate the cancer, but also kill the patient – a serious concern for 1970's rad), and length x quality of life after treatment.

A 1970's lead figure is a different thing than a modern figure. 70s: features too big for scale; modern: hands and weapons all to scale. … and also … 70s: I dropped this five times and it's fine; modern: I picked this up too fast and the spear broke.

From my perspective, I pay what I want for hobby expenses. Sometimes I have buyer's remorse. Sometimes I have continuing enjoyment for decades.

I don't whine about a market telling producers a viable price is past what I want to pay. At least, I don't complain about the producers …

You can drive yourself crazy trying to work out values and comparing to old prices. I do wish caliver would take a £1.00 GBP off their Minifigs though. There's a psychological barrier that we all run into in the end.

There is a group in the UK Which only fights with Titans. some of these are up to £1,000.00 GBP Madness. But is it? For the same money they could get a space marine force if a few dozen space marines, a couple of special heroes maybe a tank or two. Is that actually any better? Especially, is that any better if one really wants to fight battles with three foot high titans?

It's actually cheaper to do the game you want than the game you feel is cheap enough to play. You buy the figures, the paints put in the hours painting, make the terrain, and… it's no fun because you wanted to play with Titans.