What happened to wargaming?

[Andy Brown]

When I was in high school in the late 80's the gaming industry seemed to be in great shape, there was SPI, GDW, AH and others. I went to college and found beer and girls, and then the working world and just didn't keep playing. In the past couple of years I've been trying to get back into it and I see that much has changed.

So what happened - was it the end of the Cold War, was it computers? (Iv'e never understood some of the antipathy to computers and computer gaming, seems very complimentary to me)

Anyways since I really didn't see it happen, I'm just curious...

[Dav Vandenbroucke]

The usual suspects: roleplaying games and computer games drew people away. RPGs appeal to the personal adventure aspects of wargaming in a less rigid and more self-aggrandizing way. Computer games are easier to get started with, since you don't have to read the rules or set out the counters--and you don't have to leave the game on a table for multisession play. And, of course, computer games have monsters, explosions and pulse-pounding action (whatever that is). I also suspect that some of the decline is due to kids not spending their free time playing "army" in the backyard. Their fathers and neighbors are not World War II veterans. Indeed, parents are suspected of child abuse if they let their charges have toy guns.

[Daniel Gagnon]

Andy,

I too have fond memories of gaming in the 70s and 80s - all the old classics. But it was a tiny niche even then, and I would argue that we are now experiencing a true "golden age" in terms of both quantity and quality of designs available, on every conceivable subject. And I agree - computers and boardgames can be extremely complementary, to whit this discussion - not to mention Vassal, Aide de Camp, Cyberboard ...

[Skip Franklin]

I think that we have hit the new "Golden Age" as the quality of games have recently been good (there will always be exceptions), the graphics have definately improved and the game run from simple to complex, half-map to multi-map and game conventions just for wargames.

[Gerald-Markus Zabos]

Andy,

why did you quit beer and girls ? :-)

I am quite young, had my first encounter with MBT in 1999, then quickly switched to computer gaming - mostly MMORPGs - which got boring so fast, so i returned to boardgames in 2002. Since then my interest for boardgames and wargames has increased dramatically, while computer gaming decreased. Today i still use computers on their planned operational area: being a utility (VASSAL,etc.)

The brain stuff is handled by myself again (*phew*) - no more flashy action-graphics , as a result of a growing boardgaming industry and maybe getting older...

In my overview things in gaming have changed - the better way.

[Andy Brown]

Well my wife is glad I quit girls and beer! OK lame :)

Anyways, here is what I've seen. The pro's of this day and age.

1. Quality - the quality of almost all gaming components has increased. I bought GDW's Asault last year and comparing it to the quality of Lock 'N Load's Eisenbach Gap - no comparison.

2. Rules - it seems like people are willing to think about playability and the quality if writing and thought in the rules are much better.

3. Archiving - Nothing is lost anymore , between scanning and other computer tools make sure nothing is lost.

Cons:

1. No one to play with! I live in Boston, and let me be blunt - it's not a hotbed of hobbying of any type, much less war gaming.

2. This has nothing to do wth wargaming - but I work and while I can afford just about all of the wargames I need, I travel and work ALOT.... Oh dear. So even if I can find people and places to game, it's very had to get time....

[Daniel Gagnon]

Andy, it seems to me that Vassal or Cyberboard could address your opponent and time issues. Between the two of them, there are hundreds of boardgame ports - if a game has a decent following, chances are there's a module to play it online. And you don't necessarily have to play head-to-head; turns can be swapped via email, handy when playing opponents in different time zones. You can even play while travelling if you have a laptop.

[Skip Franklin]

I am using CyberBoard for three games in progress and am not against using ADC2 either. I'm a fumble-bumb in VASSAL and have fiddled around with at couple other applications. While not as satisfying as FTF play it helps to get the occasional game played regardless. I did notice that some games play better with a PBEM aide. Luftwaffe is one of them.

[Marc Guenette]

Andy, if you need to travel a lot, if you ever get in, let's say Montreal, two guys in this page will ofer you to play a game ;-). I'm with skip on the internet gaming, i need to develop skills to play online. I regularly use Brucve Widgor's system, but there is a limited number of games to be played. And unless I can find an opponent who's a t my average skill, it's not such a fun time to play PoG or BtB. Still there is a possibility right there.

[Rob Doane]

Andy, have you tried the Strategic Games Society at MIT? I used to go every now and then when I lived in Boston. They meet every Friday night, if I recall. Just search for them on Yahoo Groups, you'll find them.

[Andy Brown]

Yeah I might - I pinged them and they said they were more into eurogames but he did say they wouldn't nmind if I brought wargames. Part of my biggest issue is I travel a lot for work... So I'm gonna keep trying.

[Lewis Goldberg]

I missed it too. Left when the big three were chugging along - came back to all new players, some of which were going past 10 years already. Was overjoyed to find S&T still in prod, and even more overjoyed to discover Command via it's old website, which someone was keeping up as a memento even though the mag was dead for years by then. Bad joke - I had my credit card in hand ready to subscribe.

Computer games? Feh. I work on a PC all day long, and use it to communicate (obviously) but games for me have to be tactile.

>I live in Boston, and let me be blunt - it's not a hotbed of hobbying of any type, much less war gaming.

Boston has Hobby Bunker - someone has to be keeping that store in business!

[Brant Guillory]

Well, TSR's buyout of SPI didn't help, nor did the computer revolution where wargaming hit everyone's small screen. But I think the generational change from my dad's generation to mine (and I'm 35!) also came with a generational change in that most of my peers couldn't give a rat's ass about history overall.

What's the appeal of playing a game about Chancelorsville if you have no idea why the battle took place? Why wargame Anzio if you don't know anything about WWII?

And if you don't know anything about history, how are you expecting to pass that love of history on to your kids (my son is 5, and already knows some of the 'stories' from the history books). How many of today's kids playing a WWII videogame know anything about Operation Market-Garden, but are just playing a twitch-fest with a different skin on it? There's a reason East Front games aren't as popular on digits as they are on the tabletop... most videogamers think the US won WWII and the Russians were just a sideshow.

I think every wargamer's New Year Resolution should be to convert 1 new player/year. A modest goal, but it would double the size of the hobby :)