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 - Turns 20, 21 and 22

The "Soviet-Persian War" continues using the Gulf Strike rules . The fighting continues as both sides suffer from limited supply points. Turn 20 - US/Iran still have the initiative In the Air: US F-111 aircraft start bombing missions from Konark air bases. They hit the Soviets around Karmanshah in an effort to help the Iranian defenses. B-52s bomb stacks of Soviets around Karmanshah. Soviet Backfire bombers hit an Iranian hovercraft flotilla in port and sink it. The flotilla did not represent any strategic importance, except to help Soviets gain the initiative by counting more hits. On Land: SpecOps use Long Range Recon Patrols to help B-52s and F-111s hit Soviet targets at Karmanshah. Soviet Mechanized Divisions have Karmanshah surrounded and continue the assault despite US air support. At Sea: BB Wisconsin begins bombardment of the Yemen base to allow US carrier task group to pass the Arabian peninsula safely. Yemen base launches Su-24 bombers to intercept the BB a...

Glider Rifle Company

I've started my new 15mm WW2 army for Flames of War . Even though some of the local players have decided to stop playing FoW, I still believe there is a lot of life left in this game. Even if they are correct, I seriously doubt that WW2 games in 15mm will go away any time soon. Case in point; my friend Dale has decided to purchase the rulebook for the excellent game I Ain't Been Shot Mum . He asked me if I'd be willing to learn the game with him and I agreed. I've played the game before and discussed it in this earlier post. This game provides a bit more realism than Flames of War and there are times when I really enjoy the gritty details of a serious wargame. So, we've setup a goal for each of us to paint up an army. I will build a US Glider Rifle Company and Dale will do a German PanzerGrenadier Company. I've purchased a box of the plastic US Infantry from The Plastic Soldier Company. They are great sculpts for the price. The only trick will be to figure o...

The Painted Thumb

Search This Blog