Meditative contemplation.

[Sean Clark]

Apologies, this is a long dreary post. Stop now if you have anything vaguely better to do.

I have been somewhat of a wargaming butterfly for a few years. My interests wax and wane, sometimes between breakfast and lunchtime.

I can't put my finger on this. Maybe because there is so much choice these days. Maybe it's a character flaw within me.

After a tough 18 months or so, I have dabbled with other scales to the extent that I thought i had found something to satisfy me for some time. I bought a load of 6mm ACW and WW1 figures. I sold off all of my unfinished projects and most of my unpainted 15mm figures to fund the purchase.

For a while, I looked at Chain of Command, first in 28mm us in the lovely Crusader figures, then in 20mm, then in 15mm.

I was (Still maybe...) tempted in doing a Masters in Britain and the First World War at Wolverhampton with the intention of really getting into the historical research and looking at gaming specific actions in 6mm. I still am to an extent.

But my problem is that I ignored what I enjoy most in the hobby, and that's playing a game for a couple of hours in the evening with some friends, having a nice chat and getting a plausible result. This is what RFCM gives me. Time after time without fail. Across a dozen or more periods of history 

I think due to other factors in my life, I was tempted by the fruit of another, so to speak. That's not to say that there aren't other scales or rules out there that provide the same. It's a matters of taste.

Too Fat Lardies have a larger following and having played Chain of Command it's a good game. But does it really provide anything more historical than any other rule set?

6mm has it's advantages. As Little Wars TV show, they can recreate a whole battle on a 6x4. But you really need all day to play and probably 4-6 players.

Having lost a large proportion of my figure collection recently, at a time when I was in a bit of a pickle health wise and facing some significant challenges with life, I could have easily turned my back on the hobby completely.

But some of my best and most enduring friendships have come through wargaming, including some people on here. Although I'm possibly the worst person to be friend with as I am prone to disappear for periods of time, I still value the those friendships more than I can say.

I am entirely too excited for the WWW coming up next week. I am feeling a new lease of (hobby) life. I am happier than I have been in some considerable time. And I'm glad to be back posting on here.

I am excited for the future of my hobby and looking forward to many more years of engaging  with both of my clubs - in Stoke and as the sole member of the Northern branch of the Weymouth Levellers.

I'm sorry to go on about this...Ive spoken to a couple of people on here in person and on one occasion posted a perhaps ill advised tweet under my aka of Bob Point. But this hobby is a broad church. We all have our own stories to tell...some sad some happy. The church is welcoming to all.

I'll end here. I may talk about this a bit more  in a podcast or on a Youtube video.

Play nice.

Sean

[John Watson]

Hi Sean,
the most important thing about wargaming is that it is what you want to make of it. I have war-gamed since I first bought Airfix ACW 20mm figures in the 1960's. I have drifted in and out of the hobby ever since. When I was 15/16 a school friend, Simon Chapman, and I took over a school classroom and played with Airfix WW2 stuff using his rather amazing self written rules. Then when I left school I stopped gaming until I discovered that one of the blokes I met at the pub and played football with on a Sunday afternoon had a Achaemenid Persian army. From there I discovered a war-games club (North London War-games Group) and then went on to Role Playing games and boardgames. When I left London on 1990 I stopped wargaming at club level but maintained my interest through the Lance and Longbow Society and this continued for over twenty years until I discovered the Wessex War-games Society just 15 minutes up the road form where I live now. All through that quiet time when I was rarely gaming I was still reading, researching and painting figures. During this time I also met a reprobate called Martin and a certain farmyard animal. Over the years I have met, lost, forgotten, found and so on many, many friends. I have had some amazing days at the table and a lot of disappointing ones, but I have had very, very few bad ones. So whatever life brings there is always wargaming and the friends that come with the hobby. So enjoy it Sean.

[pbeccas (Paul)]

Too Fat Lardies have a larger following and having played Chain of Command it's a good game. But does it really provide anything more historical than any other rule set?

Great point.  Don't get suckered into the TFL hype train that you must play their games as they are so combat realistic that 139 out of 100 combat veterans that stopped by the TFL stand at Salute where convinced they were back in Iraq whilst playing a demo game of a WWII Normandy scenario.  You will get the same result playing any similar sized game as CoC such as Bolt Action, Rate of Fire or Disposable Heroes.  It just depends on how do you want to arrive at that result.  Do you want a complex book keeping system or a pulling a dice out of a bag system?

Wargaming for me is about three things.
1. Painting is a stress relief for me.  So I paint things that I enjoy (most of the time). 
2. Socialising.  Having a game once a fortnight.  Coming on this forum etc.
3. History.  Reading books, watching film, listening to podcasts.

When guys take their hobby too serious.  It becomes work.  You loose your enjoyment.  You forget the reasons you love it.  If it takes you 12 years to paint a WWI Turk army you bought the day Peter Pig released it and you will never use it, who cares?  Just enjoy it.  And there's nothing wrong with being a wargames butterfly.  99% of us are.

[Smiley Miley 66]

Must admit, only really play games that I can adapt what I have in my cupboards. As most of my painted armies are PP based that can by limited. I have got out some of my old 20mm stuff for Battlefront. It was quite amazing a couple of years ago play with my King Tigers, especially as they were older than most of the players at the table, being 1979-81 vintage. ( after a bit of a tidy up)
One day I might do my 6mm Cold War tanks up.( I have loads) Now I ve got a games system to fit them. Team Yankee. But that's another year or so away.
Miles

[Leman (Andy)]

Wargaming and, prior to that, playing with toy soldiers has been a part of my life since the latter half of the 1950s. In that time I had three years when I didn't wargame -  mid-1971 to mid-1974, i.e. university. Started again with the painting when doing teacher training then had the immense luck to get my first job in a school with a wargames club and eventually four members of staff who were wargamers. I continued solely with school club gaming until 1991 when I joined the local club having discovered that it was run by an ex-pupil. Very much a butterfly, having dabbled in ancients, dark ages, medieval, renaissance, SYW, Mexican-American War, First Schleswig, Crimea, FAW, ACW, APW, FPW, WWI, RCW and RPW. Have to confess that I am first and foremost a black powder man having started with the ACW in 1966 and finding that today I am painting up Pat Cleburne's division in 15mm. Painting and basing styles have changed over the years and today 15mm and below gets the full-on black magic wash treatment. I have also been suckered into stuff which I am now getting rid of - first to go were the 15mm painted FPW armies, then the 28mm Romans, followed by 28mm Marlburians and at the moment I am preparing to jettison the 28mm ECW (anyone notice a pattern). As above I have also succumbed to some TFL rules only to find that they have been written as 'mates rules' (an assumption that you are already aware of the basic principles so they don't need explaining - in best panto fashion: OH YES THEY DO!!) and remain a mystery to me in how they should actually be played - and have been dumped. So to return to the thread title - I do often find myself wondering what I am doing and why and have arrived at the conclusion that I now have about three projects I want to complete (ACW, 1914 and Republican FPW, this latter now in 10mm) before embarking on completing other stuff. It seems to me that to have some ready to pick up armies, both at home and at the club, is the best way forward to keep me level headed at this time.

[Sean Clark]

I have also succumbed to some TFL rules only to find that they have been written as 'mates rules' (an assumption that you are already aware of the basic principles so they don't need explaining - in best panto fashion: OH YES THEY DO!!) and remain a mystery to me in how they should actually be played - and have been dumped.

I do think they are masters of self promotion. Not saying this is a bad thing! Their podcast is actually quite interesting. But you will find grammar and spelling mistakes in every publication they produce. And I find their rules equally confusing to read.


Some interesting thoughts chaps!

[Matías]

I don't really understand the reason for this post, but since you guys have mentioned TFL, I have some things to say.

pbeccas said you will get the same experience out of a game like Bolt Action and Chain of Command. I have to disagree. If you have any interest in History, Chain of Command provides a better experience. I'm not a great wargamer but I have both rulesets and Bolt Action feels more like a game than a strategy game if that makes any sense.

Leman says they are "mate rules" and that they have the "assumption that you are already aware of the basic principles so they don't need explaining". Again I have to disagree, I'm a beginner in the hobby and Chain Of Command and Sharp Practice are really intuitive to me. It might have something to do with the amount of AARs that are our there tough. I don't have any on their older rulesets so I can't talk about that.

Having said that, I am guilty of jumping in the bandwagon with their coming project "Infamy! Infamy!", I have already ordered enough PP Romans for a decent force and they should be arriving this week.

[Sean Clark]

The purpose of the post is certainly not to criticise the TFL rules. I was pointing out the hype around them and how good they are at self promotion.

The post is about much more than TFL. I did warn it was a long and somewhat emotive post. I apologise if it's of no interest. I shall keep future posts much shorter.

[Colonel Kilgore]

I enjoyed your ramble yesterday, Sean - it made me feel so much better about my numerous false-starts and inability to stick with things

That said, this Forum, and particularly the activities associated with it (games days, new rules), has been a godsend in helping me choose an objective and stay on the righteous path until I get there (or at least close enough - most of my projects still have the opportunity to go further, but at least I've been completing forces that I can play with).

I do have Chain of Command but have yet to use it. Maybe something we can all try out at next year's Weymouth Weekend?

[Stewart 46A]

Sean, I think we have all to some degree have gone through the same, it's a hobby and real life has to take priority.
I started very young , first big 32nd Airfix, then with my dads 25mm ancients  (he didn't know ) His Romans' had machine guns. then 1/72 Airfix . I dabble in other scales  manly 6mm whitest in the forces (paints and figures fit in my locker) but also played board games manly 6th fleet and other spi games.
Within  the hobby you meet people, some become friends, you meet at clubs or each other's homes, there is no pressure and normally no time limits although recent loss of a friend brings home that we don't know when time is going to be called.
SO enjoy  LIFE, HOBBEY, FAMILY not necessary  in that order.
Sorry if I seemed to ramble on, just wanted to support Sean and I'm sure we would meet more often if not for the distance needed to travel

[Sean Clark]

This is true Stewart but a move south isn't on the cards unfortunately 😄

[Leman (Andy)]

As Ricky Gervais says, "I should have left it there." Unlike Ricky Gervais I will leave it there re. TFL - their style just doesn't suit me. However, I think any of us should be able to have a little ramble anytime we feel the need. The British stiff upper lip has been the the cause of much misery over the years with people feeling obliged to bottle things up and 'put on a brave face.' Any forum of this nature tends to result in members feeling closer to one another, even if they never meet in the flesh, so a bit of virtual unburdening is ok by me, and many others I suspect.

[Sean Clark]

Gracious words Leman, thank you.

[Leslie BT]

Looking forward to catching up next weekend, Sean.

[pbeccas (Paul)]

pbeccas said you will get the same experience out of a game like Bolt Action and Chain of Command. I have to disagree. If you have any interest in History, Chain of Command provides a better experience. I'm not a great wargamer but I have both rulesets and Bolt Action feels more like a game than a strategy game if that makes any sense.

I don't disagree that Bolt Action feels like a game.  But so does CoC.  Basically your forces teleport onto the battlefield through a star gate, opps I meant to say jump off point.  Historically minded people know they are all games and they are only a vessel to showcase our awesome figures and terrain.