Why Wargames?

     Having recently celebrated my 28th, I started the week as I do every "post birthday", assessing my life, possessions as well as my many interests. There is always a brief scan of the wardrobe, looking for any worn or unloved items of clothing, followed by the "spring cleaning" of anything remotely digital including my inbox and music purchases. All this scrutinising is ended ritualistically with a gaze at my ever extending collection of wargames miniatures, and the mass of surface area in my home they have acquired.

     I am lucky enough that my list of friends is long, and that I share a unique interest with almost each and every one of them. This ensures Im always actively involved in something, albeit with a different crowd dependant on What. Unless joined by my fellow "toy" enthusiasts, the inevitable question is always the same on entering my home, as my guest is faced with the dauntingly obvious display that is my miniatures cabinet. What they are is never asked, always why?

      The simple "why" is often followed by various jibes about additional necessary props or ceremonial head-gear required to play games of war, as well as references to my age and affinity with pretending I am a hobbit or some other fantastical creature. My response is always the same. It is brief but positive, expertly culling the questioning with well-rehearsed mantras about the relaxing properties painting can imbue, and some lie of how the game simply varies on the notion of chess, ( for the more avid of inquisitors.) And yet, somewhere within these quick defences is the statement to others that despite their views on my activity,  those models will remain, displayed for all to direct their quizzical looks upon.

     Around the time of ascending up the age ladder, I will often take time to ponder the "why" and make genuine effort to answer the question to myself. Whether it was my engrossment into the works of Tolkien's middle-earth as a boy, or the expertly painted, lead caste Dwarven lords my Aunty kept in her bungalow loft, I've always had an interest in the fantastic. It was certainly the latter of the two that encouraged my collective side, by introducing me to the particulars of the hobby and a universe created by a company with the same healthy obsession for the fictional as I.

       In my early teens, the recruitment of school friends to share in my new found fascination was compulsory, and regular visits to the hobby stores themselves were often looked forward to at the weekends. This was short-lived however, as when I entered my mid-teens there were suddenly other interests occupying my attentions. Regardless of when, I began to revisit the latest sculpts of wargames models in my early twenties & rediscovered my long lost interest in the mythical world I had become so well acquainted with. I convinced myself to begin collecting particular models of a "nocturnal" variety solely for the purposes of painting and collecting a small batch to satisfy my nostalgia. Infrequent trips to the hobby store grew into regular attendances as I began to meet like-minded individuals that to my surprise & delight were also of similar age.

      This discovery has since developed into a rekindled love for the game's systems with friends who use our time shared not only to escape the stresses of the real world, but expose their competitive & creative natures assured that their present company share in its embrace. Reconstructions of gaming tables & scenery purchased in abundance at the local hobby store litters my home creating the added joy of being able to host table-top matches with a group of friends without the addition of the young hobbyists. ( Found in-store frequently interrogating players as to who has won before the game has begun! )

      To simply say "because its fun" would simultaneously be the greatest & poorest response during my social grilling as simply playing games with friends is just that & need be nothing more. Imagine the joy of playing your favourite board game with the added investment of designing the board, the pieces and the situation before inviting a friend to determine the outcome. What if your gaming piece could have a background? A reason for emerging on the board you have created, or even a back-story that determines their behaviour or decision making? What If your game piece produced significant results repeatedly on the roll of a dice when involved in a specific situation, lending more to their character on how they regularly react in a given situation? Perhaps you would like to gloat & goad your opponents into a rematch against an undefeated or luck-riddled piece? All these variables decided on the roll of a few dice make resolving your imaginary scenario a spontaneous and unpredictable source of entertainment to share & remember, often resulting in pieces getting better paint jobs or additional pieces added as reward for their efforts.

    Glancing back at the various models in my collection, I use my birthday musing to assess the online worth of the unused models & unopened "future products" strewn across my living space, or the painting & resurrection of projects that I had saved for a rainy day. It is then I begin to pick-out individual miniatures, remembering their particular poor luck during battle, or compliments for the paint scheme from my fellow hobbyists, or the times when that singular dice roll they influenced won me the game. It is then I realise that I couldn't possibly part with them, despite the puzzled looks and exhaustive assessments of my house guests. So until next year, as I repeat the endless cycle of challenging my choice of hobby, my collection of toy soldiers will continue to grow along with the details of their adventures, created & continually loved simply because its fun.