Wargaming is now a hundred years old. Many games have been played and the hobby has grown from a handful of men to a fellowship of thousands that, literally spans the world. I am interested in how that fellowship is organized.
Organization is important since it dictates what actions can and can't be pulled off. It says a lot on how the resources of the hobby will be used and the goals that are attained. If you are bored by this line of thought I urge you to not read this article. But if you are one of the "Men on horseback" please read on.
It seems to me that the basic purpose of the hobby is to play games. It's as simple as that. of course due to the vast array of games this is not simple at all. The title"wargamer" is very loose, and includes groups of players who are bored stiff by the games of other of their fellows.
Playing games is the single greatest unifying factor the hobby has. The structure of the game forms the hobby's basic level of organization. Groups of friends around the world get together to partake of their favorite structured entertainment. The rules tell the players how to act in unison. Common sense shows that when people do the same thing together they become a group, which is the basic unit of the fellowship.
Most rules pull together 6 to 8 people around a game. Beyond that number of players, games tend to bog down and stop. Thus for the hobby to be organized on any level higher than a tiny group of gaming buddies, players must be willing to play in more than one game. This is a problem.
Not all games are to every players taste, so many players are quite reluctant to cross over and try another game. This is especially true if the game is of another genre. So playing games unifies us, but the very diversity of the games available pulls us apart. This is natural enough, people with similar interests will naturally tend to come together. Unfortunately this can tear apart any group sense between the different genres of the hobby (i.e. miniatures, board games, and role playing). Fortunately, for the hobbles sake, what pulls us together in general has been stronger than what pulls us apart. Consider for a moment why that is the case.
The basic unit of the hobby is the individual gamer. He brings to the hobby all the raw materials that people on higher levels of organization will use. Primarily, though, he gives his time. Time spent playing and talking games. This is a fun activity. I like having fun, so when I hear of a new game I feel curious. Curiousity opens the gamer up to try something new. Thus a board gamer tries miniatrures (and loves it), a role player tries a board game (and finds it a nice change of pace), or any player tries an experimental game or new genre like a matrix game (and is intrigued by the possibilities). Whatever happens, when a player crosses genre boundaries and tries something new, the hobby is strengthened.
Often times players will not just spontaneously decide to try out a new game. Rather it is some individual who takes the initiative and brings in the new experience. I call these people organizers. The hobby needs to give these fellows credit since it is by and large their energy that moves the hobby out of the game box and into play.
The lowest level organizers are the game masters, referees, and hosts who pull together a group of friends for a private game. often times the game rules provide most of the organization about what will happen but it takes the energy of the organizer to create the venue for it to happen.
When an area acquires 2 or more groups of players who live in the same town, a club can be formed. A club requires an organizer, or group of organizers just as a game does. For a club to work, the organizers provide a space for the games to be played, energy in recruiting individuals to run games, and a calm voice to keep the peace amoungst conflicting gamers. Though, club organizers are sometimes elected (called presidents, chairmen, and the like) they are more often self appointed. Not everyone is interested or even willing to take on these kind of responsibilities.
Club organizers are the first level of leaders who must contend with gamers tendency to split into feuding sects of "board gamers" and "role players." Often times clubs experience complete breaks when there is not cross over play. Fortunately though, when the organizer sets an example of cross over play, cliquish gamers often come around and start trying new things.
As the hobby has expanded, geographical distance is the next force that threatens to pull the hobby apart. It Is. extremely common for isolated gamers to be completely unaware of the existance of a game club in only the next town. Solo wargaming often becomes the only viable option to get a game played. Over the years several levels of organization have developed to pull people together over space.
Retail hobby and game stores are a natural rallying points for gamers in a given region. Individual players curious about what new games are out, come to view the goods. Merchants, always interested increasing sales, have a vested interest in spreading interest in the hobby. If this can be helped by providing a bulletin board for players to find one another, or by posting a flyer for the local club then this is done.
Also on the market side of tile hobby, game companies publish magazines to spread the word about their new games and help players find one another. Both retailers, and manufacturers are organizers who deal by and large with the money resource of the hobby. As leary as many gamers are of the influence that profit driven companies have on the hobby, the companies must be given their due. Games are expensive to manufacture and distribute. There seems to be very little profit in doing it. so while I am not personally interested in doing that work (it would take too much time away from my gaming), I am glad that someone is doing it.
The amateur responce to the challenge of space comes In three different, but interrelated forms: 1. Association (regional, national, and international), 2. Conventions, and 3. Club and Association Magazines. Each of these endeavers requires organizers who are willing to direct a large portion of their game time towards handling communication between game groups distantly seperated.
Associations, such as the "Solo Wargamers Association," the "Midwest Wargamers Association," and the "Society of Ancients" all organize gamers interested in specific types of games. In the above cases each organizes miniatures players but miniatures of very different sorts (solo games vs historical miniature vs tournament games). The "Role Play Gamers Association" is directed at RPG tournaments. Even EGG Is an association, aimed at encouraging the play of experimental games.
Association organizers seem to be generally encouraging the play of one type of game or other. Sometimes various associations feel intimidated by one another since, "They are trying to dominate the hobby!" This assumes that there are only so many gamers available to play games and that organizers must fight over this scarce resource. This does not seem to be the reality of the matter. Quite the contrary, the more associations there are, the more players there are who emerge from the woodwork.
Conventions, game days, and demonstration games, started in the 50s and are a hallmark of what gaming is. In effect the convention organizer is doing the same thing that the club organizer does but on a larger scale. Players travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles to play a game together. Connections made at conventions can lead to the formation of new associations (such as Wargames Development, that set out to encourage innovation in wargames, following a convention in 1980).
It is amazing how many conventions are run in this country. It is even more amazing at how few organizers there are out there making this happen. Running one convention can expend a gamers entire energy for the hobby without even being able to get in one game.
Magazines, both from clubs (such as the PW Review) or from association (such as the Midwest Wargamers Association Newsletter), require an organizer to edit the thing. A magazine can serve as a soap box for one writer (often the editor) tospread his ideas around. It can also become almost like a game club that meets through the mail. Either way, magazines are forums of communication that pull people together.
Magazine organizers expend a lot of energy. But their actions take a step beyond just playing the game. Like game manufacturers, magazine articles add to the collective knowledge about how and why games need to be run. A magazine can function as a incubator, in which a new idea is worked on and matures. More so than manufacturers journals, amateur magazines are the fertile fields in which the next developments will he made.
Obviously magazine attract and need writers. Writing and game making require an expenditure of not only energy but also a good bit of creativity. This does not seem to be the starving but brilliant artist kind of creativity that comes in a flash. That kind of creation does not seem to have a lasting impact. Instead, the writers impact seems to come out of persistence of message.
It is interesting to note that people who write are almost always organizers on some other level. Writing and lower level organizing are the standard entry into stepping into a higher level leadership role. This happens because a person is hooked into the communication network. Because he has developed confidence in himself by prior work, and because he is struck by a temporary madness ("Yes I want to spend hundreds of hours doing an unforgiving task.." A wonderful madness to have.
To begin summing up, wargaming as a hobby is very loosely organized. Rather than a higherarchy in which the "King" commands the "Peasants" what to do, it is a loose affiliation of like minded equals. There are leaders, but they lead by example and conversing argument. We have been well lead and the hobby has grown. The challenge is on us to continue to bring groups together rather than pull groups apart.
If you feel I've missed any section of the hobby, or you have a comment on my obviously personal conclusion from this article, please write me.
Back to Experimental Games Group # 8 Table of Contents
Back to Experimental Games Group List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1990 by Chris Engle
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