Hey Fans,
Sorry for the depressing title, no I am not giving up on life or my hobby, but I am getting tired of the latest vibe with one of my hobbies. I am pretty sure this feeling is from the current state of affairs with the world and the Rona, but I am getting tired of Games Workshop and the current trend of collecting being the main focus for the hobby.
I started my war gaming hobby with a few old classic GW games like Space Hulk and Blood Bowl and I moved onto to Warhammer Quest, Fantasy Battle, Battle Fleet Gothic, Epic, Lord of the Rings, Warhammer 40K, AOS, Kill Team and a few others. I have been a fan of all of their games and of recent love the models that they are turning out. yes i am a GW gamer at heart. I have spent tons of money on games and have had a great time with all of them. In fact some of the other versions have pulled me back into the fold and spent a lot of time working on newer models.
But I have started to wonder if its worth it anymore? Its not the money, I am not really enjoying the games like I used to when i was younger. I used to get all fired up thinking about games, campaigns and new projects, now I just feel sort of like Ehh. Perhaps its being older, my attention is not like it used to be and even the drive is not there like it was.
I wonder if this feeling is the same with others? Is there a point that we reach with GW games that is the end? Am I alone thinking like this? As I said at the top, some of this is brought on by the fact I can't game as much right now, I keep hearing this thing will pass, but its been almost 6 months and its still here, dosn't look like its going away anytime soon, but I will not go there. The other part of it was just yesterday I was looking through my book shelf and I still have two copies of old Warhammer Fantasy, a couple of editions of 40k books and a few other game rule books from GW, I have at least a two dozen rulebooks and it dawned on me, why do I still have these??
That is what got me thinking, am I done with Games Workshop? My most recent projects have me thinking about Pulp games, WW2 games and other games (Gaslands) that I would rather be playing. The drive to do anything for GW is just not there. perhaps the saying is true, with age comes wisdom, maybe I am done spending money with a company that dosn't seem to value you me anymore (if they ever did that is).
So I am just wondering, is this depression of GW coming from the Rona? Is it coming with Age? I can't be the only one who feels like this (or am I?). I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
TK
6 comments:
It seems collecting books has become part of the hobby. Companies just keep changing the game causing us to buy more books. I have 5 banker boxes of books in my closet of old rules. It would not be that bad if we were not paying so much for the rules to start with. At the end of the day you just need to decide if playing the game is worth spending the money on the new books. If you don't see the value in it than stop playing the game.
I am feeling somewhat like that Tim. It really is about collecting now...books, codexes/battle tomes, newest models, cards, etc. I have no problem with sticking with versions that I like and other people want to play. I don't want to keep chasing their games. I just want to play games I like with my friends...that can be a GW game or something else.
The world happenings aren't very helpful for motivation to be sure. There is an annoying churn of editions and endless supplements which grates on me. The most interesting stuff I see on blogs is the people who are creating their own storylines, characters, and worlds and gaming them out with their figs, mixing and matching manufacturers as they feel it.
Often they are within the 40k universe, which is wide enough and has cool stuff that most things can be fitted within it. Often they change up the rules, pulp alley for small stuff, skirmish rulesets for bigger. Occasional mass battles that have been led up to by the previous narrative games.
You may get more fired up by stepping off the treadmill and starting to work on your own sandbox....
As far as GW goes, I love the miniatures, the ideas,& most of all the 'specialist' games. However I've never been a fan of tournaments, as it brings out the 'worst' kinds of gamers. That's not to say there are not great gamers our there, whom I can compete against & enjoy. Just seems there was always that 1 guy..to spoil the day. I've mainly been drawn to their specialist games, Mordhiem, Warhammer Quest, & now Necromunda & Kill team. Even with Kill Team, I have no desire for massive forces, preferring just to play with what comes in the box. The continual regurgitation of rulesets has long put me off. Even sadder is the state that old editions are now redundant & pretty much dumpster material. Luckily there seems to be a group of folks out there who are content with the old versions & happily so. Even looking at the LOTR series of games, which I've been a big fan of. I am happy to play with the original rules from the Fellowship starter box. If I build the scenario & use the rules I want, the group I hang with will play it. At the end of the day, play the game as You want too, As we age, time isn't as finite as it was when younger, so game time becomes that much more precious. Find those of like-minds & spend the social time with them (once the pandemic allows), the enjoyment gained will be tenfold.
I am actually in the quite opposite position now. I did give up GW for probably the last 5-7 years for basically the same reasons and I enjoyed playing some of the smaller skirmish games out there, even Warmachine/Hordes. Then my LGS quit selling WM/H, then they quit selling Guild Ball, then they quit selling this and that and basically all that is left on the shelf are the hot sellers of GW and X-Wing, and practically every LGS in the nation stocks Games Workshop. My go to game was Guild Ball for the last 2-3 years, then Steamforged Games started to act like the old GW, no communications with the customers and production issues, then last week officially announcing the death of Guild Ball. Same thing happened with Knight Models and Batman (though they did notkill the game, just a completely different new edition). Luckily this past year I jumped back into GW and 40K and I am enjoying it again (thankfully I did keep most of my 40K armies). GW;s support has also taken a 180 turn and they are communication with their customers and even posting to the community. Yes there are always a bunch of books you need to get, but... I can at least pick those up from my LGS instead of always having to order from overseas.
You aren't alone. I left the Games Workshop ecosystem a while ago. I often felt "betrayed" by various changes, exclusions, along with the things you mention. Even just changing the Space Marine Terminator bases annoys me to no end. Do you know how much I've invested in just that alone? It ruined 40k and Space Hulk for me. I don't want to redo my models. My friends say things like "It's part of the game," but I've moved on to other systems and board games. I'm much happier. I think you will be too.
I still enjoy Game Workshop models, and I love keeping up on the latest news. Some of the latest changes look really enticing, but I'm not willing to dive back into the pain. The hobby seems to have become much deeper, but that also means you need deeper pockets. That's always been the case with Games Workshop, and I can't fault them for it.
I hope you land in a good place with your hobby. I think your blog is great, and I really enjoyed the Pulp figures you painted recently. Keep it up! Try to lock into what you enjoy and do that... if that includes GW, great. Honestly, there are so many great systems these days, it's just not always easy to find players. That's one huge benefit of GW. The biggest problem I've had with the hobby is letting these gorgeous, painted armies gather dust. I still pull them out from time to time and fantasize about playing (or selling them on eBay)! Haha. Good luck and best wishes with this quandary. I hope your discouragement doesn't affect other aspects of your hobby life.
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