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Wednesday 27 June 2012

Oh I do Like to be beside the seaside... and other thoughts.

So Gentle reade here we are a scant 48 hours before we leave for War Torn is (possibly not) sunny Scarborough wondering what sort of weekend it will turn out to be. Last year's show was small but still a laugh. This year promises to be much bigger with some large Demo games ansd several competitons. Scarborough is a pleasant Victorian seaside town- especially if you avoid the Kiss me quck hats and the candy floss. Hopefully this year I'll have chosen a better hotel. The Grand- last year is a fine building - though the food could be better- or atb least edible- but the worst thing about the grand was the average age of the rest of the clientele-about 157- the absolute nadir - amongst several low points was the noise of 200 septagenarians coach travellers masticating gummily at their porrige for breakfast. Gentle reader I fairly fled the scene- tripping over sundry Zimmer frames as modbility scooters as I fled. There but for the Grace of God !! However this year we are at a different hotel so all should be well. Rest assured that I shall in the fullness tell all!! The other night I was looking out some info I needed in old copies of Miniature Wargames- these early issues from the 1980s. Now if there ever was a "Golden Age" for me this was probably it. The hobby has grown past its infancy - there are a good selection of figure ranges and the writers are intelligent and don't treat theri readers as if they are 12 . Articles have information in them- though there are still turkeys!1 and eye candy is not the raison D'etre of the publication. There is an assumption that you dear reader can actually read and write yourself. Compare with todays magazines WI is all shazam Kapow eye candy for the hard of thinking. Battlegames still thinks its 1972- well the 1st 13 issues do which are the only ones I have - it may have changed since- Miniature Wargames is the only fully rounded magazine we have but it has of course changed as the hobby has changed. My question here is the chicken and egg one. Did Wargmaers become thicker so the mags responded to demand or did the magazines dumb down. Answers on the back of a ten pound note to ...

10 comments:

  1. The mags have definitely dumbed down, its all about shiny shiny now and one certain mag trying to sell there 15mm WWII figures, makes me sick!!!

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  2. I haven't bopught a wargames mag fpr about two years now, I found that all I was doing was looking at the adverts for new figure ranges. The "eye candy" was exactly that, whilst the articles were merely re-writes of others' work, with little to do with wargames.

    Nostalgia ain't waht it used to be eh Andy ?

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  3. Yep, MW and WI have been dumbed down without a doubt, sometimes seeming like little more than advertorials. BG is actually pretty good these days and consistently so.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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  4. And what's wrong with 1972... (apart from; the economy, Trades Unions, politicians, Ulster, fashion, Imperial decline, music, Watney's Red, unemployment, British Rail, English cuisine, British Leyland...)?

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    1. Trousers!! Oh and I could only really afford airfix

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  5. Its interesting how the 3 comments differ. All agree that the hobby has dumbed down. I know quite a few chaps who don't buy any of the mags. For myself I'd probably be an occaisional buyer- certainly of MW less certainly of the others. At least MW does have something to read in it EVERY month now- even if its only Steve Eardley column- and there is usaully at least 1 article that will hold my interest. As for "Nothing about wargames" I've never been sure what that means as for me another article of a scenario for a set of rules I've never heard of just drives me to drink- not tha I need much driving !! It was THAT kind of stuff that put me off WI and to a lesser extent BG- though there were one or two things to read in early issues. however not being wedded to 1972 and certainly not to the comparative cruditiy of spencer smith or fictional countries I'm afraid the novelty wore off after 13 mags. Of course if those things blow YOUR skirt up then that is as it should be Certainly neither MW nor BG are mere advertorials.
    Right back to casting little 15mm Modern Brits...

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  6. Hmmm... dumbed down i believe.. but why is that ...i suspect lack of effort by gamers, wanting it made easy (well who can blame em..that now seems to the culture), everything on plate, no personal thought. The mags will cater for thier audience. i always just liked the eye candy.. but you can get that on plenty of blogs , why pay for it..

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    1. Dave like I said its a chicken and egg thing are some mags dumb becasue some wargamers are or visa versa. but even the same old same old eye candy pall after a while- seen that bin there done that but you are very right about the blogs though hunting them down ca be a bit tiresome The imperative is to sell magazines-or the products of the company that owns said magazine which like the mag has pretty packaging and at best average-and expensive content. As for who can blame 'em well I can - use your God given brain cells or do you want to be a mindless pap sucking
      "gamin' innit" blob.?

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  7. Hello Andy,
    I missed this post of yours. Ever the controversial,I do have to agree with a lot of what you say,mind 1972 was a very good year for me,so I'm not going to decry that.
    The trouble is the concept of dumbing down. You have to realise that schools tend not to teach history etc anymore and tend to let the child explore the subject ie look on the internet. A frighteningly large number of people no nothing about ours and world history. A great example was,I was in a pub one night chatting to some women,and one asked,what my badge was. I explained it was a LENIN party badge. She replied, John Lennon. No I said,Lenin who led the Russian revolution.
    At that,the reply was ''Russia's had a revolution!'' A true story.
    Being stupid's the new badge to wear,look at our television presenters during the Diamond Jubilee.I do enjoy MW, more,its really the only one that has tried to keep loyal with the majority of wargamers.
    Thanks Robbie.

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    1. Robbie- Having essayed many moons ago being a history teacher and deciding it was not for me!!!! I know exactly what you mean. However that is to miss the point in a way. The chaps who buy the mags are SUPPOSED to be interested in this stuff so they CHOOSE to be thick when they accept the mindless drivel printed on the pages- DaveD's point is well made- lack of effort. I'd go further and infer a lack of self respect and the fear of the "Anorak" label. As you say stupid is the new cool.
      FYI some new Jacdaw in the next few days- Schomberg Dragoon and Command and another set of Civilians as well as finally the first 4 packs of Napoleonic Swedes.

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