Is the Hobby Just Too Old?

Phil Dutre' has written a nice post concerning the ability to recruit new players into the miniature wargaming hobby. It follows that without new players the hobby will eventually disappear. I encourage you to check it out in his blog here Tiny Tin Men. He has a hopeful attitude and encourages other players to feel the same. I would like to hear what any of you think of this issue. Is the hobby 'greying' or has it got room to grow?

I'm personally worried a bit. I don't think the hobby will disappear completely. I expect it to change to meet the expectations of new players. But change does not always translate into improvement. It is already at a point where hex-n-counter games have almost disappeared completely. And I've seen some excellent games fade away.

Take for example Steve Jackson Games. Ogre and Car Wars were both excellent game systems. Fortunately, SJG was able to reprint them with Kickstarter campaigns. But, are they catching on like they did when the games were originally produced. I have fond memories of my teenage years when my buddies and I would stay up until dawn playing Car Wars, Advanced D&D, or Star Fleet Battles. Kids don't seem to do that anymore. The new versions of these games look much different. They have fewer look-up tables, glossier and shorter rulebooks, overly decorated maps, stat cards and proprietary dice.

I am personally going to try to recruit some of my nieces to play Battlesworn and I mentioned my plans in a previous post. Looks like some of them are visiting grandparents for the summer so this project may get pushed up in my priority list.

I'd like to hear your thoughts about the state of the hobby.

Comments

The Blog is going on a Permanent Vacation

Ok, I haven't had any comments on this blog on an post for many, many months. The only post that seems to get any traffic is my 2015 post about Star Fleet Battles. I don't fully understand why that post has generated so much interest, while the rest of my content has been mostly ignored. Clearly, this has not been an successful blog. I get much more traffic with my Facebook content and the YouTube channel is showing promise. Perhaps the subjects of my posts have been too random. I may need to focus on a specific game or subject. Maybe I didn't generate enough posts to keep the audience connected. Whatever the case, I am ending this blog with this final post. I'm calling it a 'permanent vacation' because the blog and posts will still be here, though I will not be adding any new content. I might continue to comment on the SFB post since that is still generating traffic 3 years after it was published. To anyone who might still be reading, I say 'Thank

Gulf Strike - Final Turns 26,27,28,29, and 30

The "Soviet-Persian War" continues using the Gulf Strike rules. We have reached the final turns of the scenario. Turn 30 is the last turn, when we will count the number of cities captured by the Soviets and determine the margin of victory. The Soviets currently have 10 cities captured. The US is building a supply network in southern Iran. Can they reach the Iranian cities in time to help defend? Most of the air missions and ground assaults have been reduced due to decreasing supply for both sides. Turn 26 - US/Iran still have the initiative On Land: The last few Iranian infantry brigades move toward Esfahan. The Soviets assault the city of Kashan and capture it. This is the 11th city for the Soviets. This qualifies them for a 'marginal victory'. At Sea: The US LHA carrier with a compliment of AV-8 Harrier aircraft, moves northwest to the Iranian port city of Abadan. In the Air: Harriers launch air strikes against Soviet targets approaching Ahraz, but are ineffecti

Gulf Strike - Turns 18 and 19

The "Soviet-Persian War" continues using the Gulf Strike rules . The Soviets are moving further south in Iran. The Americans now have supply chain problems. There are two points of failure. A Soviet heavy cruiser is bombarding the supply head at Diego Garcia The supply chain has been broken at Konark. Turn 18 - In Air; F-4s bomb a supply depot in Afghanistan, further weakening the Soviets there. Soviet Backfires make a conventional bombing attack on Iranian Militia in Hamadan, but the militia gets some incredibly lucky rolls and put a hit on the bombers. This forces the bombers to retreat. Su-24s provide close air support for the assault on Hamadan and Qom. On Land; SpecOps raids destroy a truck unit in Afghanistan. Soviets push out the remaining militia and capture the holy city of Qom. At Sea; The Soviet CA is finally sunk by an American SSN. This is the last Soviet naval unit in the Indian Ocean. US heavy transport ships reach the friendly port in Somalia.

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