"Are You a Mugwump?" Topic

I'm too slow a painter to be anything but a mugwump.

Well, yes, by the definition given. But I'd love to know when and how this new definition crept in. Traditionally, a mugwump was indecisive, not aloof or independent.

What can I say? The main periods and styles of gaming were in place 50 years ago, so the "new and innovative" runs to obscure, franchise or both.

Other: Remaining indepdendent and being aloof are deliberate choices. I have no idea what is trendy in wargaming, so I cannot have any deliberate behaviour based on that status. I engage in things I find interesting and don't for ones I don't.

The only trend impact on my decisions is I am thrifty (read: a cheap bastard), so I assume that on my scavenging runs smf job lot searches I come across a lot of things that were wildly popular but no longer are.

Pretty much what etotheipi says. I don't know what constitutes "the latest trend" at any given moment (if there even is such a thing). I pursue what interests me. That ranges from games that are thirty years old to games released within the last two years. But I will say I seldom seem to hit "what is hot," given the range of my games that are now OOP (and therefore failed to be "hot," at least long term).

I thought this was about wizards?

I wouldn't say I am aloof but like the wise etotheipi says, I am kind of cheap so I don't dive into new things in large part for cost but also because I have lots of other things to do – like finish those six units for the Boxer Rebellion that have been sitting on the shelf for three years

I'm also inclined to think "hot new thing" should carry some sort of warning label. Did they ever actually put out enough of "Crimson Skies" "Castle Falkenstein" or "Tekumel" to put on a decent game? And how many people are still trying to complete--and paying premium prices for--"Starship Trooper" armies or Babylon 5 fleets? (Not to mention teddy bears.)

Maybe what we really need is a bonding authority, authorized to keep rules and figures available. You know, with 3D printing of figures and POD and PDF books, that's really not impossible.

As for "following the latest trends", I used to be the owner of the Yahoo PirateWargames group. It's long gone, and so are 95% If my Pirates.
Then along came Blood and Plunder, the answer to my dreams, and it flew totally under my radar.

The definition of "mugwump" is wrong here.
The original definition was someone sitting on a fence with "his mug on one side of the fence and his wump (rump) on the other".

I agree with John, however by the OP's unusual definition I am a Mugwump – if for no other reason than price. I am also a founding member of the Financially Frugal Front (FFF for short).