MINI GAMING: Miniature Games - The Good, the Bad & the Ugly!

Hi Everyone,

Well, Scott DiBartelo has started a blog and it's coming along. Just the other day or so ago, he decided to discuss the hobby of miniature wargaming and came up with a few questions he wanted to pose to his friends and readers...

Read his entire discussion here:

http://nothingbutgames.blogspot.com/

http://nothingbutgames.blogspot.com/2006/04/miniature-games-good-bad-and-ugly.html#links

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The specific questions he posed were:

So there ya have it, my take on why I love (for the most part), miniature games. They aren't perfect - though some do come real close for me, they are open to rules lawyering - though often it's unavoidable due to the nature of the game, the look absolutely fantastic - no denying that! and they provide an appropriate outlet for my creative tendencies that is both satisfying and appealing.

How about you?

- An oddball uncle got me into the hobby in the 1980s and I haven't looked back since although I have taken several long hiatuses from the hobby several times for work and/or university studies. I started off with board games and RPGs, but quickly switched over to the entry-level miniatures games, where miniatures replace game chits / counters. I remember the early fantasy rules like Chainmail and the Star Trek mania that Starfleet Battles brought about.

- Your statement, "Show me some cool scenery or terrain and give me some nice looking figures to push around and I'm a happy camper," certainly applies to me. I also enjoy the hobby on many different levels: artisanry, craftsmanship, social interaction, intellectual challenge, historical interest, etc., etc.

Do you enjoy miniature games?

- Oh, yes. I've had a great time with the hobby over the years and one of my favorite aspects of the hobby is that it's a very calm and peaceful outlet. It's also relatively inexpensive compared to hobbies like extensive television watching (...need that big screen TV sooner or later), sports cars, boats or even bar hopping... traditional domains of the male stereotype.

- And one of the greatest benefits I've gained from the hobby is a group of great friends all over the world from...

- Dafrca down in Burbank, CA in the Greater Los Angeles area to...

- Peter "Primarch" Ramos in Puerto Rico to...

- Ronen Tamari in Karmiel, Israel to...

- Stephane in France, to...

- Ian "Cybershadow" Weir in the UK, to...

- Mark and Tas in New Zealand and Oz respectively, to...

- John VanVlak in Malta, to...

And the list goes on and on...

- John, the other day ago, posted about Easter on Malta:

http://www.epic40k.co.uk/epicomms/ikonboard.cgi?s=281f1214f9ce24f7d9f9e7ef66d4b2aa;act=ST;f=59;t=6704;st=0

- I'm interested in trying some of his Maltese recipes now:

http://www.maltagozo.com/recipes#figolli

- This one sounds particularly good: "FIGOLLI - TRADITIONAL MALTESE EASTER PASTRY"

Have you had the same kinds of experiences?

- Yes. I think I've gone the full gambit of gaming experiences, but, on the other hand, the nice thing about the hobby is that there is always something new coming down the pipe. You never know what the next popular trend or historical interest will be...

- I know that in my time, I've tried out a huge variety of games from an equally large number of historical periods and a few nonhistorical ones as well...

- Overall, my gaming experiences have been very very good. I've made some very positive friendships and had some great experiences.

Do they appeal to you for the same (or maybe different) reasons?

- Gaming for me is first and foremost a social outlet. I like the social banter, the camarderie and the feelings of warmth from interacting with nice folks.

- The collecting and craftsmanship angles are nice as well, but the social aspect is more attractive to me.

- And the historical aspect is up there for me as well. I love the interest in history that gaming often brings about. I've learned a lot about history that I might never have learned if it wasn't for gaming.

Have you played with a miniature rules lawyer?

- I think we all have at some point and they do put a crimp in the hobby, which is a bummer, but nothing is perfect.

- One of my favorite local gamers is KIMBO! And he specifically avoid miniatures games because of rules lawyers. He likes the dependability of games with less "rules lawyer'in." Bummer. Kimbo would be a fun fellow to share those sorts of games with.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/kimbo

- A trend that I've noticed is that groups often shrink and become insular to prevent entry of "rules lawyers" and other such undesireables. I can't blame such groups for the trend, but I have a sort of pet peeve to introduce gamers to each other and keep the player pool from stagnating too much. I think that that is one of the great saving graces of the Internet:

- On one hand, cyber-relationships are impersonal and keep some from interacting face-to-face, BUT, on the other hand, the Internet is great when used as a tool to gather like-minded folks. I've made a number of interest groups for the hobby and one of the most successful has over 1,500 members. I think of the Internet as a tool to help me meet quality folks and... it's pretty much worked out that way for me.

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Scott is known for being a generous great guy and has hosted at local Nothern California gaming conventions for years and year. One of his favorite games is Man O War, the classic GW game of fantasy naval combat from the 1990s. He started a Yahoo support E-group for Man O War called "The Sea Of Claws," which now has over 1,200 members!

Here are links to his favorite game and his venerated Yahoo E-group:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/2516

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/theseaofclaws/

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
I dont know exactly why I picked that comic for today's post, but I enjoyed it and why not?