Greetings, Wargaming Bruthas - I'd like to tell you that wargamers are made, and not born or bom and not made, but the truth of the matter is that it's both. Why this big deal is made about the 'Graying of the Hobby', I just don't know. The Case As It Stands is this: If you take those young folk with a natural interest in history, and cultivate that interest with things of a historical nature, then liberally seed it with doses of gaming with toy soldiers, there's a fair chance an adult gamer may result. If you don't do any of these things, don't expect to see many historical gamers in the future, and please don't come crying about the death of the hobby, 'cause all this was in your hands in the first place. What the hell do I mean by all this? Well, several things have been happening locally that support the above theory. You'll recall in one of the last columns a Veterans' Appreciation Day was held for our cub scout chapter. It went very well. From the planned presentation discussed in the column the event morphed into several veterans stopping by and talking to the cubs and parents, as well as two visual presentations, one of a 25mm WWII game and the other of all the gear of a WWII reenactor, who also provided a stunning impression of an American Airborne trooper. The visual presentations stole the show, as the audience could take the time to walk up and casually examine the displays. It too was an excellent display of testosterone bonding, watching cubs and respective dads check out the gear and toys. It generated a fair amount of questions in both the gaming and reenacting hobbies as well, because as suspected, not a lot of folks out there were aware of either hobby. Obviously this was not a bad thing for anybody. Now we move on to HMGS' Autumm event, Fall In! and my son's first experience with a large out-of-state convention. I'd wanted to take Mike on some sort of special outing that would provide a chance for just him and I to get away, and Fall In! sounded like it would fit the bill with it's proximity to both Gettysburg and Hershey. Hershey!, you ask? Well, Mike likes toy soldiers, is a history nut all by himself without any prompting from me, and he'd also seen a travel ad about the town of Hershey with it's chocolate kiss shaped strectlights. The concept of the street lights fascinated the kid, so hey, I thought, toys and candy, what could be a better vacation? Using the old educational ploy, and managing to teach Mike still another manipulative tool to use throughout life, we wangled a couple of days off from school so we were ready to be on our way. Realizing the fields and fences of Gettysburg would probably have little impact on his psyche without some form of stimuli, I rented the movie Gettysburg before we left and pulled out a couple of accompanying books with maps and pictures, in an attempt to generate some interest. Generate some interest did I say? The kid took the bait hook, line and sinker. For at least that weekend, Joshua Chamberlain, the 20th Maine and Pickett's Charge replaced Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. We watched it once together, and when I came home from work to find him watching the camera span the Union battle line at Little Round Top, I knew I got him. We made the long drive from Michigan to Pennsylvania and pulled into Gettysburg towards dusk. Knowing we didn't have much time before it got too dark to see the park and being of like mind, we bee-lined to Little Round Top to the site of the 20th Maine's famous stand. Nobody could have got a better atmosphere for their first viewing of the battlefield. The sun was just starting to set on a beautiful autumn day and there was no one else in sight except for one other person, who seemed to be caught in the same sort of reflection as ourselves. Not being as informed as I would like about the action, I asked that person when he drew near to us what he may know about the event. It was quite a bit, being as he was currently researching a book he planned on writing about the 20th Maine's stand, and for a good twenty minutes he captivated and entertained the two of us with a mini-tour and lecture in that gathering twilight. Good stuff. The evening wasn't over yet. On the way back through town we passed another man, this time dressed in period Civil War garb, standing on the streetside next to a sign advertising "Ghost Tours". We'd seen a special on TV about the tours - on Unsolved Mysteries I think - and the concept was interesting, that being the guide walked the tour through the city of Gettysburg pointing out buildings and homes where supernatural events had supposedly taken place, and relaying the associated tale. Now I probably would have never done the tour if I wasn't with my son, but talk about doing something different and being glad you did. The stories on the tour were of a supernatural lean, to be sure, but we got more history out of that ninety minute walk. I've been to Gettysburg several times and never before have I got so much knowledge about the town itself Buildings I'd seen for years took on much more meaning. We were shown old schools and libraries used as hospitals, heard how it was as the Union forces fled through the town and saw from where Rebel sharpshooters shot at Culp's Hill - andwere shot at in return. All this for just six bucks American. They do these year round and as Hal says in toy reviews. highly recommended. We spent most of the next day touring the battlefield, checking out Devil's Den and the like, and finally made it to the convention in the afternoon. There we met and talked with Stuart Asquith, esteemed editor of Practical Wargamer, and also checked out the games and dealer area as well, The next day we spent more time at the convention and then headed for Hershey and those streetlights, which didn't turn out to be a very bad ordeal. They've got a tour at the factory, an amusement park of sorts, a gift shop, and you get free candy at the end of the tour. What could be better indeed. When we got home Mike was still interested in all things Civil War, so we combined the next cub scout meeting with a trip to the library to pick up more literature. Naturally the other scouts were interested in why he was interested. What interested me was how many of them were also interested in the Civil War. Say, you guys - I said - How'bout a Civil War game with toy soldiers next time we get together? Piercing screams of enthusiasm from eight nine-year-old boys greeted my ears. A game we did put on, and I steeled my nerves as I listened to those same piercing screams and gritted my teeth as I watched my lovingly painted Dixons and Old Glorys both chink and fall from their sweaty little grasps, but in the end, I felt it was worth it. As for the parents, some stayed and seemed as interested as the kids, and others just examined the battle board with bemused expressions when they picked their children up, but I think all left with a favorable impression of what we do. First of all, it was good and wholesome - it was obviously a family activity and even though it was about a war, it was the Civil War, a truly Just Cause to most of the public in this Great White North, and there's nothing wrong with that history lesson as well. Second, it was obviously fun and entertaining for those involved, and I think there was also an appeal to the creativity of it. You know, the questions on So you painted all these? and, You built this stuff yourself? In this day of computerized entertainment, I think the creativity aspect of the hobby is something we shouldn't fail to stress. Finally, if done right - and baby, let me tell you with all proper modesty, I always try to do the hobby up right - people cannot help but respect us as much as well-known hobbies like model railroading or coin collecting. Once people see the degree of research, effort and time spent in creating something as satisfying as what we are capable of doing, they can't help but respect us and regard us as credible. All this after just trying to have some fun with kids, eh? Like I said, gamers are both made and born. You can do the same thing too. Till next time, Wargaming Bruthas. Back to MWAN #98 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum 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