Monday, December 12, 2011

Eclectic Gamers Unite!

I like to play games.  I like to play lots of games.  I would like to play more games than I currently get to play regularly   While I spend most of my energy on 40K, that doesn't mean I don't like Warmachine, Flames of War, Dystopian Wars, Uncharted Seas, Firestorm Armada, ext, ext...  Unfortunately, reality only allows me to play one game system on any kind on a regular basis.  Time and money are the big factors for the most part.

Money is pretty significant hurtle to overcome, but over a decade of hobby gaming has allowed me to accumulate collections across a broad spectrum of game systems.  I would have a much larger collection if I had not developed some very strict rules on when I allow myself to buy miniature games.  Rule 1: I have to have time to paint it.  Rule 2: There has to be people to play with.

I've broken this rule a couple of times.  This is why I have an unused copy of Space Hulk and both of my Dystopian War and Firestorm Fleets.  Following this rule has kept me from double the size of my Dystopian War and Firestorm Fleets and from starting a High Elf Fantasy army.  It's also keeping me from getting back into Flames of War.

So really, time is the big constraint.  If I have no time to play or paint, then it's a waste of money to get into a game.  Wasting money is a big pit fall for me thanks to the sunk cost fallacy.  The more I spend; the more I want to spend to justify what I've already spent.

I would like to branch out a little on a regular basis and play other games, but I can't justify the expense if I'm not guaranteed to have the regular basis in the first place.    If I knew I could get in at least 2 games a month of Flames or War, I'd defiantly collect some British armor as soon as I finished my Tau.

The ironic thing here is that Indy has a big FoW community.  Unfortunately, they primarily play on weeknights at stores that are an impractical distance from my home and office for weeknight gaming.  While you might have the occasional gamer that pays for both sides, the communities tend to give each other a wide berth.  The Fantasy guys and 40K guys and the Warmachine guys, and FoW guys don't play on the same days.  There's practical considerations behind this.  Game stores have limited room, and it's not good to have players from a half dozen systems competing for table space.

When I was in college and single, I could spend two or three nights a week at the game store.  With a full time job, a full time wife, and at minimum a 30 minute commute to a game store,  I can't do it anymore.

So, today I had a thought.  Wouldn't it be nice if there was a gaming club that focused on the eclectic gamers of the world.  Able Company and Hivefleet do a great job for the FoW and 40K communities respectfully, but I think there is a need for a club that focuses on the entire miniature gaming community.

A primary job for the club would be to organize a gaming schedule.  It would pick a day and a local store to set up shop in, and set up a rotational schedule of gaming systems.    For example: the first Saturday of the month is 40K/Fantasy, the second is FoW, the third is Warmachine, and the forth is anything goes.

Something like this would allow people with limited gaming time to play all the games systems they like, without having to juggle their schedules so much.  It would also help alleviate the often encountered problem of gamer burnout.  People just get tired of their games when they play them too much.  Spending some time playing something else would give people much needed break.  Too often people end up switching games by selling off one army to buy into another game.  I've always regretted the times I've done that.  I'll eventually want to play the game I sold again at some point.

What are peoples thoughts on this?  Is this something anyone but me would be interested in?
   

3 comments:

  1. I am also an 'eclectic' Indy gamer.
    I play alot of 40k, not because I love it (I do like it, obviously!) but because it's always available.
    I have armies for alot of systems that either don't get played or only get played on the south or west sides (I play north and east side typically).
    I would definately be interested in a weekend rotation of systems!
    Games I'd like to see or see more of: Flames of War(would need to rebase my 15mm), and Infinity.

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  2. After I posted this I realized the Circle City Gamers does have a mission statement with a similar emphasis to what I'm proposing. Unfortunately that blog and forums have been pretty sluggish for the past few months. I might try getting in contact with them to see if a rotating gaming event would be something they'd want to get behind.

    Another though I had would be to not only rotate games, but to rotate the store the event would be at.

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