How old are you!?

                                                                          How old are you!?

    Old Gamer is not just a catchy title. If you talk of the graying of the hobby, you are talking about me, I have been at this longer than 50 years. A Gold Gamer! I have been through it all, because I was once a young gamer, trying to make my way into the hobby. Gate Keepers? Met quite a few, luckily there were a few more gamers open to letting a kid do more than push a few micro armor destroyers around and let the real gamers play the game. Soon I managed to get a few of my own miniatures and figures and looked forward to using my own stuff. Then I joined the military and my gaming came to an end, for a little while. While some of my gaming took the form of Risk or the old Milton Bradley games such as Axis and Allies. Slowly I found other gamers, only to move around the US and have to start from scratch. My interests ran the gambit, I collected 25mm figures of one type or another, including getting my Micro Armor and Valiant ships collection even larger. I even dabbled in D&D, as it was the only game in town for a while.

Then came Chicago. Avalon Hill had a new game out called Napoleon's Battles and of course the lure and call of Napoleonic's finally took hold. I mean I was in Chicago, and the number of Hobby Shops as well as game stores was amazing. So I got my 15mm Old Glory figures and painted up some Brits and cannon and set out. By now, I wasn't a kid anymore, I was a 30 something guy with some funds to spend and a pretty good knowledge of games and how to play. Guess what I found? Gate Keepers. Button counters. Color critiquers, and in general negative people. At one store I was told my figures were not good enough to be on their table, so I had to use someone else's. At another place, a large game was going to be played and we were divided up into sides and then given a list of figures we had to buy and paint up. I had drawn of all things The Scots Greys. This was quickly taken away and I was given a line unit. With suggestions on which paints to use and how to base them. That part was fine, what wasn't fine was sitting watching all the others play as my "reinforcement" regiment was never called in. 

And that was the extent of my 15mm Napoleonic foray. Then came the Store and the games there. Gate keepers changed a bit. They didn't shut out new guys, they encouraged them a bit then set them up for annihilation in a game. Win at all costs even if you have to "misremember" a rule or two, maybe even a chapter! Then came the simpler games, the fun games, where winning wasn't the important thing. The so called "skirmish games" where newbies could get a box of everything they needed and they could play. And people taught them to play, with a mulligan or two if needed.

    Now I am back to the big games. Warlord Epic sets are just what is needed. And of course I have my 15mm stuff, this time for WWII.

I am An Old Gamer!

      From Avalon Hill, SPI and Ral Partha to GMT, Dan Verson and resin miniatures of the 21st century, I am the Old Gamer.

    My interests were and are mainly historical games. In 2009 I became aware that the local game store was selling. So I bought it. It was a GW store and as there were a host of players, mostly 40K, I had a 'captive audience' per se. My dream was to convert them to historical gamers. Never happened. But I had my eyes opened to many very good and kind people that helped me out, business and hobby wise. From small to large miniature companies, and from my distributors, the number of people that want you to succeed amazes me still. Among these wonderful people were two guys from England, Great Britain, the UK, Richard Clarke and Nick Skinner, together known as Too Fat Lardies. Though I am sure they have no idea of the number of gamers like myself they have helped! We have never actually met,  yet they have done so much for my hobby and this old gamer from across the pond, I am forever a fan. The game that sealed the deal for me was Ain't Been Shot Mum.  I do not honestly recall how I found this rule set, I had just started doing business with Warlord Games and their line of WWII Miniatures under the Bolt Action name, but there were no rules published yet. Somehow, a copy made it's way into my store and I read through it. The activation of sections and teams via cards was a bit alien to me, but I set up a game for myself to play through just for fun using all the Flames of War stuff I had in the store. I used to do that in my store, set up a game and play solo or wait for a random customer to ask "What's this?" and play for a few minutes. Of course during this time Flames of War had begun and then came the Battle Group rule set, and it seemed as if History was going to come galloping in and save me from the 40K hordes. It didn't.

Then, came TFL and Chain of Command. No cards. Dice. Just the D6, nothing fancy. And the first game I set up had customers scratching their heads. All the figures we off to the side. A table full of terrain and not one figure? What is this?! 

I should confess also I am not into historical games that allow list building or points. I like to use games that have actual lists of what a platoon/company had. Understanding full well that many times these would be under or well under acceptable level. I am looking at a WWII scenario for Operation Casanova. Quick synopsis: The US was attempting to put a Regiment across the Meuse reiver in Late November 1944. The 95th Infantry division 388th Regiment was to cross the Meuse and drive the Germans out of the peninsula. But it had been raining and the Meuse was running high and rapid. Two Companies made it across with most of a heavy weapons company before the river was just too dangerous to send more across. The orders were to hold the peninsula. To make matters worse, it continued to rain and the ceiling dropped to 25 feet, there would be no air support. The Americans were cut off.                                                                                                                                                          Somehow they did hold. When finally relieved one company was down to 44 men able to fight, One had 77 and the heavy weapons company was down to 38.  Now a point system might reflect losses like that, but a list builder would probably take two heavy weapon companies, or more. Sorry, no tanks could cross! Oh, the Germans had some tanks and several companies in the village, they had been there for a while. Again, No Tigers. No Panthers. Just a few Mark IV's and a Stug. And while the Americans had no air support, neither did the Germans. (Although some very brave "grasshopper" pilots flew supplies to them almost continuously, ammunition, food and medical supplies were dropped, and all of the drops were successful. Most missions were flown below 25 feet! 

Well, that's my scenario I am working on. For now, Old Gamer. . .Out.