Why?

Why? Yes Why? Why do I call myself a Wargamer?

In the past year, actually 18 months I have not taken part in a wargame. I have played many games, board games, card games even a couple of computer games, so why do I call myself a Wargamer?

I have bought figures, sold figures, painted figures and even sculpted a few. I have built models and terrain, even had the odd article published, and there's the two books, so why do I call myself a Wargamer?

I have stated on many occasions that I am a model-maker first, a figure painter second and a gamer third. So why do I call myself a Wargamer?

Since Christmas I have purchased two wargaming magazines and three (second hand) model making magazines. So why do I call myself a Wargamer?

My collection of figures runs into the hundreds (I don't think it is yet at the thousands). My terrain collection is huge and I have dozens of different rule sets (some never used) but all enjoyed. My dice box is full of different coloured and shaped dice, with markers and chips for almost every eventuality. But still, why do I call myself a Wargamer?

I was prompted to write this post after reading an article in Miniature Wargame with Battlegames - issue 381 - The Unwinnable War (why writing rules requires resilience) by Barry Hilton. In which the author suggests that wargamers game for a variety of different reasons - therefore different rules offer different styles of games. He goes on to list different types of gamers (players) and how they get satisfaction from these games. So why do I call myself a Wargamer?

I came to the very simple conclusion that I call myself a Wargamer because I enjoy the whole hobby, not because I enjoy gaming. Wargaming is more that just setting up a table with scenery and figures and re-fighting an epic encounter - wargaming is about the whole experience, the reading about the background, the studying of uniform colours and styles, the understanding of the mechanics of gaming and the interaction between gamers - even if they never actually play a game, I enjoy the reading of books and magazines on gaming - Fantasy and Historical. I know that the whole hobby of Wargaming is what I enjoy. This is why I call myself a Wargamer.

Tony