Perceptions and Realities

[smurf309]

The perception of our hobby, and certainly mine until recently, is that we are a rapidly aging group of men and there is no new generation coming behind us to replenish our ranks.  Certainly if you pay attention to the Birthdays that are reported on Blitz Members there's an awful lot of 6s and 7s and in those ages these days.  My experiences in PBEM during 2024 have altered my perception of that reality however, and I have found myself engaged with a string of opponents vastly younger than myself.  Since the beginning of the year I have crossed swords with:

A young man from China, a graduate University student, and leader of a war gaming club at University.
An American Ex-pat living in France and recently graduated from University and a passionate student of the French Campaign.
A young man just last week graduated from University in Florida and 3 years younger than my youngest daughter, and in many ways like looking into a mirror when we discuss things we like and our points of view.

All of these players are in their 20s, and as passionate about war gaming as I was in my 20s.  When i was in my 20s the world was a vastly different place and most 20 something war gamers thought they were very much alone in the world or at best one of a small group of "weirdos" who met down at the local gaming store, or a friends basement to play once a week.  When the internet exploded and PCs replaced our table tops, we suddenly perhaps perceived the hobby to be bigger than it was, so in comparison today we may view that it is shrinking and dying.  I suggest that just as with Fog of War on a Battlefield, our perceptions and realities may not always align.  It is possible that our hobby as a group is smaller as a percentage of a whole, but that whole number has grown as well, so that the actual number of players may be a constant or actually some percentage of growth.  Without knowing a damn thing about WDS' business model I do know they wouldn't bother making the games if they saw no future in it, so that's encouraging too. 

I have no agenda in posting this, just sharing a stream of thought as it spills from my brain, thinking perhaps others may find they have similar thoughts but not similar experiences.  There are newer, younger players out there, the hobby has a life and a future, and if we wish to assist in that the best thing we can do is engage and encourage those younger players.

To all my opponents past, present and future, I wish you Good Luck and Good Gaming.

cool:)