The future’s not ours to see...

I’m probably something of an ‘old fart’ if truth be told, but I really do try to keep up with all that’s happening in our hobby; it’s just that things seem to be rather more nimble shall we say than I’m proving to be. I’ve been having an ongoing conversation with Matt for a while now centred on some of my views on the seemingly inevitable rise of the ‘Goldfish Gamer’ and the associated never ending line of ‘games in a box’. No doubt some of these ‘games’ are good fun; but, are they wargames at all and do they lead their exponents onto more traditional forms of the hobby?

I suppose I’d better try to define my terms first. The ‘Goldfish Gamer’ first; an individual with a limited hobby attention span, finding it hard to focus on anything for a sustained period, the wargamer’s equivalent of the millenial, needing instant gratification in their hobby as in their life. The true devotee of the ‘50 figures is an army’ brigade. They are tied inevitability to the bijou ‘game in a box’, offering a shallow gaming experience needing no knowledge or interest beyond the boxed contents. These are the sorts you encounter on Forum Boards and such asking for ‘support’ for this or that game, never thinking to read a bit of history and work it out for themselves. Or asking, as I saw once, if such and such a unit is ‘legal’ in a game. The latter left me speechless with laughter. Were they expecting a knock on their door at midnight from some Game Marshall or enforcer? Were they afraid of being sent to the Re-education Camp?
I’m sure now you see where I’m coming from. So, do these games and associated gamers qualify as wargames and wargamers? Matt tells me that they do, but I’m not so sure I can agree. His argument is that I and my generation are 50 years plus down the hobby timeline and have therefore accumulated largish armies in several periods, while the younger gamer just starting out may be daunted by years of painting required to build a decent sized army. The bijou game offers an easy point of entry, with manageable numbers of figures, limited terrain and a structure to game within. In many ways it’s a persuasive argument, but, is it inevitable that they will make the transfer to mainstream wargaming? I’m not so sure on that point, any more than I am on the transfer from games of space fairies! Of course, I won’t be around I expect to see what happens in another fifty years...
There is an advert running on TV at present for an insurance comparison website, it’s relevant here because it sets itself up against too much choice with scenes of excess that might be out of some dystopian future. It’s a decent metaphor for our hobby at present: mushrooming companies, endless kickstarters, new rule books, more MDF than you can shake a stick at, and so on. Is this a sign of a vibrant and growing hobby community? Or is it simply more folk chasing the same hobby pound? Pick up an old wargames or military modelling magazine and count all the companies that are no more. I know which option my money’s on here.

So, having chewed a bit of fat and exercised my old fart credentials a tad, where does that leave me? Well, I’m prepared to admit that my hobby might not be yours, but both are probably equally valid within their communities. The vibrancy of our hobby at present owes a good deal to these new forms of games, leaving aside the moot point of whether they be wargames at all, anyone at Hammerhead or WMMS in the past two weeks couldn’t help but notice that! Against that, there were a large number of more traditional wargames as I understand them, proving just as popular with visitors but in different ways.

Having wrestled with this question of the hobby’s future direction, Matt has challenged me to do something outside my comfort zone. There were any number of choices, but in the end I plumped for a modern game, in plastic and in 15mm! Next year should see the emergence in GHQ of Cold War Gone Hot 1983 wargaming. I’ve acquired already the basics for the game: a BAOR force who will be opposed by East Germans. For rules I’ve been looking around the net for free offerings, so far finding a Rapid Fire spin off and a Battlegroup offering. I’ve also acquired several sets of MDF 15mm buildings, aiming to build a factory complex and a couple of farms to break up the table and provide objectives. Still a long way to go there, but I’ll keep mooching about for suitable items. I'd like to have the initial project on the table in time for my 70th birthday next May, but we'll have to see how that goes.
I'll  keep you up to snuff as the project develops, but for now it’s more SYW and AWI units first, so plenty of time for other hobby stuff in GHQ...