WHAT IS OUR HOBBY ALL ABOUT? Our hobby seems to be struggling from an identity of who, what, and where we are going. I have heard many of the arguments back and forth on this topic for some time. Are we just playing a game? Is it a simulation? Or I have heard that a tabletop game is teaching military history. The answers seemed to be tied to the type of person you ask. Why do some people think we are doing more than just playing a game? Is this to give us some sort elitist attitude? In this light, our hobby and the "Games Workshop" hobby are very similar. It seems people want to distance themselves from the "Orcs and Elves" crowd by making the hobby something very altruistic. Games Workshop considers that they are a hobby unto themselves, and not associated with anyone else. Does reducing our hobby to playing a game seem childish? I do not think so. Lets face it. We play with toy soldiers. Our hobby at the core is a social hobby. Most of us get together for a few laughs, drink some beer, and roll some dice. Is this just a simulation? I hope not. I, for one, do not want to play or watch a simulation. If that were the case, I would rather play a computer game or watch it on the screen. I mean, don't we all want to be armchair generals and try something different. I do not want to make the same decision the Napoleon did at Waterloo or Custer at Little Big Horn. Part of the fun for me is to try and change some of the history and see a "What If" outcome. Like I said, if you are looking for a simulation, then why play with live people? Why not just load in into your computer? The last great argument I hear about our hobby is that we are teaching military history through miniature gaming. Wow! Who came up with this line anyway? I do not think I have ever learned more history than I already knew by playing a miniature game. For example, one of the periods I own is Boxer Rebellion. I became interested in this period because of a game I played at Historicon 2000 by Bob Giglio. After the game, I did not go out and do research, but picked up a video copy of 55 Days At Peking. As you can see, I only became interested in the period from the game, not because I had a history lesson. Now I could be wrong here, but my historical knowledge has come on my own and not from playing in a game. Whatever your reason for being in the hobby does not matter to me. If you like to build terrain, paint figures, do simulations or just plain game, it is all the same. My point here is do not make the hobby into something it is not. I mean, we are not finding the cure for cancer or something. We play with toy soldiers and that's it! If you are looking for something more spiritual and fulfilling I suggest you try religion or some volunteer work. Well, that is this issue's rant. Take it or leave it. Back to MWAN # 132 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2004 Legio X This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com