Thursday 21 March 2013

Are all Wargamers 'Not right in the head'?

First off I should say that this isn't a rant about the sort of people you sometimes encounter at tournaments or shows. Nor is it a self-deprecating dig at the vast number of idiotic tactical blunders I make on a regular basis. No this is something that has just occurred to me about behaviour that seems innate to all wargamers.


I'm talking about our inability to pick a period/ruleset/activity and stick to it for any length of time. Let me give you an example. For various reasons I haven't actually played any kind of wargame or painted any figures for about six months. Yet in that time I've bought three different rulebooks, two painted Napoleonic armies, various bases, dice and paint and a boardgame. That comes to a grand total of £397.46. While that's bad enough I haven't completely read through any of the rule books, played the boardgame (although it can be played solo) or finished re-basing the Napoleonics. YET just in this week alone I've found myself thinking about going back to play 'Hordes of the Things' which led me on to looking at DBA 3.0 and then onto Mantic's 'Kings of War' and, because someone at the club was having a clear out, various figures and rules for 'Empire of the Dead' & SotTR and it's only Wednesday!!!

This got me thinking and I realised I'm not alone. Go to any club and you'll see a number of systems/periods being played but a month later there'll be a bunch of different games taking place as people have 'moved on'. You can also see this in various gaming blogs with people talking about trying out new rules or having theme months and then doing something completely different. It's the same at shows, even if you go with a list you often end up buying a load of stuff you hadn't planned on getting. Either it was 'too good a deal to miss' or you just wanted it so badly that you rationalised it some way. Often by covincing friends to buy into it as well so it's not just you.

So are we as wargamers just wired to be always wanting something new and shiny or are we weak willed wretches being prayed upon by evil companies dispensing their metal/plastic/paper drugs knowing we just can't say 'No!'

12 comments:

  1. Ha ha! Your'e not wrong Ferb! I gave up playing RPGs in my early twenties, and didn't get (back) into wargaming until my late thirties.

    Didn't stop me buying a loft full of rules, supplements and (unpainted) figures, as well as downloading a hard drive full of the internet's best wargaming bits in the intervening years...

    Even now, I'm normally juggling at least 2 dozen 'projects'and not actually progressing ANY of them! Thank goodness for pre-paints is all I can say...

    Dave W

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And thank heavens for eBay where we can 'have a clear out' and sell one or two items only to buy a load more stuff with the proceeds!

      Delete
  2. I've only been doing this for a year and I'm in the same boat. I have however managed to keep plugging away at my two big projects. I will finish those buggers, but I have three unfinished "side projects" going at the same time. And I can't stop buying either. At first I thought my behavior was "abnormal". But then all my gamer friends assured me it was normal, so I just go with it and am happy.

    I have this girlfriend whose husband games and she just doesn't get it. She thinks he's got some sort of problem and has forced him into couselling. God help that man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ouch! Maybe he should just equate it to the need to keep buying shoes then maybe she'll get it. :-)

      Delete
  3. I just typed up a blog post that will go up in a few days about this very thing. 'Cause of a new ruleset I've bought. I've come to embrace it. To me, it's part of the hobby. And that's okay.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, it's just a shame we don't get to play with everything we've bought as there's only so much time available for gaming.

      Delete
  4. We're all crackers that's for sure!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Too many periods... too little time!

    My only consistency is playing FoW, as I have local players who are always up for a game, but I dabble in loads of other stuff I like, there is certainly an 'Oooh Shiney' factor!
    And I do find I can't help being motivated by movies;

    The Hobbit / LOTR - speak for themselves...
    Pirates of the Caribbean - Legends of the High Seas...
    Sherlock Holmes / Dracula / Wolfman etc - Empire of the Dead...
    Any WWII - FoW...
    Anything Historical - Hail Caesar / Black Powder...

    That just about has everything covered! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You had to list some games didn't you! Now you've got me thinking about Hail caesar, Damn you!! :-)

      Delete
  6. Yes - I have seen your games room, Scott.

    As to not sticking to a particular period/scale/rule set - I am not sure it is a bad thing. Variety is the spice of life after all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True, but the trouble is there's too many systems and too little time to play them all. Never mind paying for them and finding the time to get them all painted.

      Delete

You may also like:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...