Timing is everything
It’s a weird time to start a wargaming blog for me…or it’s the perfect time!
After 20 years in this hobby I’ve been in a hobby slump for the last year or so. I still paint occasionally but haven’t really played in a looong time. Simple reason really; being burnt out on Games Workshop (GW) games.
In those 20 hobby years they’ve always been my go-to games.
A comfort zone as you will.
To be honest, it was bound to happen eventually.
And maybe it’s a bit more complicated then that…
My son is just over a year old now so that might have put some strain on my hobby time as well.
Well, maybe a whole lot of strain if I’m being honest.
Maybe.
Plastic crack
Still love GW models and think they make the best (plastic) models in the business BUT I’ve grown tired of the direction their gaming systems have been following lately.
I must admit that I’m much more of a painter then a gamer so gaming rules shouldn’t bother me really…it’s just fun with my buddies around the gaming table.
but I’ve always planned my collection with gaming in mind. It adds to the excitement and planning of collecting and motivates painting projects. Never to try to win (at all cost) but to try to theme my force while still keeping it an interesting tactical challenge for me and my opponent.
When the rules are so unbalanced that it doesn’t really matter what I’m bringing to the table (even if planning beforehand with your opponent) the planning excitement drains away and thus also the painting motivation…
I’m a slow painter so I can use all the motivation I can get!
GW always insist that they cater to collectors and painters first and foremost.
And thus implying (never outright saying) that a balanced rule-system is not one of their top priorities.
I can tell you as a devoted collector and painter that is does matter indeed.
It doesn’t help that I’m a big fan of the old Warhammer Fantasy (WH) setting and absolutely dislike the new War of Sigmar (WoS) replacement they came up with.
Why I dislike War of Sigmar is a whole other blog for another time though.
Old school
Still planning to paint or finish several Warhammer armies but am searching for an appropriate rule-system to use.
Which is a subject my gaming buddies don’t agree on and dampens the motivation on the playing part as you might imagine. Personally I think that 9th Age is the perfect solution;
Based on 8th edition with lots of changes, include rules from older editions to make the game more focused on tactical movement which 8th edition seem to have mostly lost.
All army lists were written and play-tested at the same time to promote as much balance AND you can use all your toys which wouldn’t be possible if you’d just choose an older edition or another system that doesn’t allow your entire collection to be used as intended.
To my surprise many of my gaming buddies don’t like 9th Age at all…It isn’t Warhammer anymore to them.
And I thought I was a GW fanboy…figures.
40K is another story
Still love the setting and models and don’t mind the basic rules but since the addition of unbound, formation, flyers and whole armies of knights it just feels too big, unnecessarily bloated and easily unbalanced for both players.
This my gaming buddies DO agree on but we’ve not settled on a solution yet that won’t cost us lots of time balancing house-rules. Time which we simply don’t have but don’t really want to admit…
We’re all getting a bit older and annoying things like work, kids and all kinds of responsibilities simply get in the way of our play-time.
I’m kind of waiting for the new edition but with no expectation it will go in the direction I’d be comfortable with.
Just have to wait and see I guess.
Luckily GW has been rudely shaken by how bad War of Sigmar has been received and has changed their direction to cater more to the old-school guys like me and tickle our nostalgia with pimped up versions of old games like Blood Bowl, and hopefully Necromunda
(while not changing or adding too much to their tried and tested rules!)
You can count on seeing a dwarven Blood bowl painting project on here soon!
More metal baby!
In the meanwhile one of my gaming buddies has gotten into Warmachine (WM) and has infected me with his excitement as well.
Funnily enough I tried WM many years ago when it just hit the gaming scene and I decided then that it wasn’t for me. I must admit this was heavily influenced by the first few games I played and the kind of players I faced. Most seemed like “power players” that only cared for the win. Even going so far as not helping me learn the game and withholding vital information just so they could win a “practice” game.
This turned me off big time.
Of course it all depends on the players (as with any other wargame) but I concluded the game did attract more power gamers by the nature of it’s rules and conditions then I liked.
And I still think this is basically true.
BUT with my burnout of GW games I do think the rules and armies are better balanced by far.
And with a new edition it has shaken up the meta and power levels enough for a fresh start. Which I strongly seem to crave.
Another bonus is that I already had a small army gathering dust somewhere so that expanding it wouldn’t cost me too much money. (still an expensive hobby though)
Another very big bonus is that the same gaming buddy has offered to teach me the game and help me out with it’s tactical intricacies so not to feel “dumped in the deep end” when I eventually start playing.
Something WM is (in)famous for.
A fresh start indeed.
The three stooges
And just recently another buddy of mine surprised us with the suggestion to start a “tale of X painters”
to get the give us all an incentive to get into the hobby again. Which I’m more then happy about!
I’ll be following our progress on the blog as well although it ended up as a “tale of (only) 3 painters”…
Which was quickly and aptly named the “Three Stooges” project.
We’ll bumble along for sure. As long as we’re having fun poking each other to keep painting.
I sincerely hope this will push me out of my gaming slump and gets me going enough to start painting and playing Warhammer and 40K again eventually.
By blogging about my progress it will motivate me even further…or result in an interesting story about my failings.
A win/win situation don’t you think?