Are You "In The Life?" This past week, Bob Beattie (he introduced me to this hobby some 32 years ago—my wife hates him) and I were talking about the hobby. Bob came up with the thought that preparing to play wargames is the biggest part of the hobby. Playing games takes up only a small part of our hobby for some of us. He differentiates between those who just play wargames and those who are Wargamers. He says of the latter that they are "in the life." Those "in the life" paint figures, study history to get ideas for game scenarios, find themselves planning a game (or an army) based on the book they are reading, go to conventions to put on games more so than to play, subscribe to magazines rather than borrow those of their friends, and worry about such things as how best to flock a base and how best to transport their figures. They participate in debate over arcane things like "is it better to have the magnet on the stand and the metal in the transport device drawer, or to have metal bases and magnets in the drawer!" Bob was telling me about a fellow who came to visit his group for a game. When Bob was showing off his figures, the visitor was more interested in how he made the boxes to hold the figures. To those "in the life" figures are important but how to store them is even more so. The serious of us make up army lists for the next game while taking a shower, are happy to go with the wife to a fabric store in hopes of finding some new table cover material, are willing to visit a gift shop in case there are any specials on Christmas villages, wonder if the new appliance has any useful foam pieces and pick up interesting colored stones on the beach for game markers. Obviously those not in "the life" are more interested in just the gaming. They have no painted figures of their own and use yours or the club's even after years in the hobby. They rarely if ever put on a game at the club or host a game at their home. They never attend conventions even those a few miles from their home. If they do get into on-line news groups, they ask things like who makes figures for the American Civil War or what color are French Napoleonic uniforms. (At least they are starting to get into the hobby a bit more.) These folks are important for providing the bodies necessary for the Wargamers' big battle scenarios. Both types are needed to make the hobby successful but those in the life should take the difference into consideration when they wish others in the local group would do more. Where do you count yourself? Are you "in the life"? ( a clue, did you buy this magazine or are you reading it at someone else's house during a game someone else is putting on:) Oh yes ­ I was kidding about my wife hating Bob! Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #79 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com