The wargaming press is full of articles about the state of the hobby. I suppose that this is another one of those diatribes. Some articles idealize 'the good 'ole days' and lament the commercialization of the hobby with all its expense. Others embrace the seemingly endless possibilities provided by the dozens of figure ranges producing models of wonderful quality and variety. I am fully in the second camp. The beautiful sculpting and casting of figures produced over the last ten years continually amaze me.

Furthermore, I believe that our expectations of wargames have risen; a green board with chalk roads and hills just doesn't do it anymore. Now, beautifully finished terrain, scratch built or commercial, is thankfully the standard that I think most would like to attain. To a large extent the British "glossies" are responsible for these improvements. This was exactly what the late Peter Gilder wanted to achieve when he helped start the original Miniature Wargames with Bruce McFarlane who then created Wargames Illustrated (WI). Even rules are better, not necessarily intellectually, but in terms of their quality of writing and production. For all of this praise, however, something strange seems to be happening to the wargaming community, at least in Vancouver: it is dissipating!

While wargaming seems to be flourishing, the Trumpeter Club - the only regional club in the Fraser Valley - suffered the financial and participatory blow of declining attendance at the weekly meetings. Several months ago, a general meeting of the club voted to end those weekly meetings. A part of my wargaming past had died. My wargaming friends and I contributed to this demise. In the past, I used to divide my wargaming between the club and games played at home. Progressively, my attendance at the club diminished as my gaming at home-became more fulfilling. As I got older and my modeling skills developed, I found that I could produce a better-looking and more Interesting game on my home table than I could in the hurried hours at the club. My friends from the club evolved the same attitudes.

As the White Rock Wargamers (WRW) grew, so did our number of venues for play. Today we have four home tables, each with lovely terrain and comfortable surroundings a truly fortuitous circumstance. But, of course, it is not just a question of good fortune. The WRW includes members who have placed a high value on the aesthetic qualities of wargaming and embrace the possibilities of now figures and rules. Membership (a term I use guardedly since we are not a formal club) has grown to over ten, most of whom were Trumpeter regulars.

Ironically, I would argue that the misfortune of the Trumpeter Club is associated with a general improvement and growth of the hobby. There are enough gamers in any one urban locality to support small "basement cells" and these gamers want to play games of a higher quality than what could be reasonably arranged at a weekly rented club space. In other words, the basement cell has supplanted the regional club.

What about all those high profile clubs featured in the British magazines; they seem to be healthy! Magazine coverage can be misleading. The many clubs that present their beautiful models, terrain, and scenarios in the magazines are often much smaller than they seem. The Scimitar Group, which was a frequent contributor to WI, was essentially a cell of about 7 members. The Grimsby Club, noted for articles and rules by Richard Marsh and Colin Rumford (Rapid Fire), is also a relatively small group. It should be noted that most wargaming manufacturers are also small concerns.

For example, Elite Miniatures has its 'manufacturing plant* in a garden shed! This was a surprise to me but certainly resulted in personal and friendly service; Peter Morby makes a bloody good cup of tea. It is not surprising that many small groups exist in Britain. The hobby Is relatively strong and, again, there are enough gamers in most urban localities to support wargaming cells. Large regional clubs are not necessary. Another reason for this is the ease with which wargamers can meet each other at the conventions held almost weekly somewhere in the country. Interestingly, conventions perform increasingly the same function for the wargaming community in the Pacific Northwest.

I found it surprising that the wargaming community of greater Seattle was so dispersed. When I attended the first Enfilade convention I thought that this was the product of a large and well-organized regional club. I was right that it seemed well organized. What I didn't realize was that there was no regularly meeting club. Instead, there was a series of cells that communicated but only met at events like the convention. It worked then and seems to work now. I enjoy the interaction and inspiration I derive from people I see once or twice a year at the conventions in Seattle. The WRW presents games, and showcases the latest efforts 'for this special occasion. Judged by the quality of the games presented by numerous groups over the last few years, I would say wargaming is alive and healthier than ever.

The Vancouver Salute conventions are increasingly serving the same function as Enfilade. People meet who haven't seen each other during the year, they share stories and ideas, play a "convention game', and then return to their respective basement cells invigorated by the collective experience. There is no harm in this trend. However, if conventions perform a regional function that cells do not, who is going to organize the conventions?

Supra-cell organizations are required, not for hosting games, but to organize conventions and to establish communications between the various cells. The Seattle based NHMGS serves this purpose through the Citadel and its conventions. With its weekly meetings no more, the Trumpeters are now going to focus their energies on performing the same function as the NHMGS. Ironically, membership will increase if linked to the convention entrance.

Furthermore, several Game Days are planned and, and when combined with the Trumpeter newsletter, will keep the organization alive. Wargaming is growing, I believe, and with imaginative organization, communication, and effort the hobby will better serve the cells, conventions, and the organizations that present them.

This letter was submitted for several reasons. My commentary on the Vancouver situation was written principally for the Vancouver readership. More generally, however, I wanted to Indirectly applaud the efforts of the NHMGS and the Citadel. While the conventions and newsletters are often a struggle to create, these means of achieving "community" are crucial. Wargamers must support these means of communication.

I started this piece by mentioning Peter Gilder and Miniature Wargaming magazine. Gilder was frustrated that magazines like Military Modeling- made wargaming a 'poor cousin" hobby. A few short articles and poor quality black and white photos hardly represented the modeling talents of wargamers. Gilder know that wargamers could, and were producing high quality models and games. Looking at the magazines and products available for wargamers today indicates that Gilder was right and wargaming has developed and grown. Let's be positive about the future of our hobby. The Trumpeters are alive and will be well through your support of the Game Days, the Salute conventions and the Trumpeter newsletter.

The Trumpeter newsletter is edited by Chris Leach ' Please send any articles and letters for the newsletter to: Chris Leach 12947 14A Ave, Surrey, B.C. V4A 1H6