Weekender XLBS: The Cult Of The New; Are People Playing Too Many Games?
April 3, 2016 by crew
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First
@toxicvex that post and the thumbs down it generates makes me giggle every time.
I’ve taken to thumbs up’ing Toxic’s First posts as people clearly take offence to his playful trolling.
lol
@toxicvex clearly love getting all those negs, but surely you have something better to do at 6am on a Sunday than that?
Depends where they live. Could be between 6-8pm in the Antipodes
That’s the thing, I don’t.
Apologies I meant to hit thumbs up but my big fat fingers got in the way
Robotech RPG Tactics…
April 2013 — Rick Hunter Valkyrie render
April 2016 — …. still just a render
Without a doubt we are playing too many games. See if I say to someone want to play a game of … if there are less games in the market the chance of them knowing what I am talking about is higher, and if him his lady friend and some people want to have a game after dinner it is easier because there might be two or three people who know the rules. And then game does what all games are designed to. Distract us, while we converse and enjoy ourselves. If every time the answer I haven’t heard of… Read more »
I do agree it is a challenge to find players.. but the competition for gamers and support does generally lead to better games… if PP and others hadn’t found a way to compete with GW and if the board game market hadn’t taken off, would we all just have monopoly, risk, and 4,000 pts of High Elves and Dark Angels on our shelves? It is easy to get distracted.. heck, that’s not just a gamer issue though.. it is an internet and news organization and pop music issue… I just keep hoping that the “good games” will survive the test… Read more »
I think to an extent we can see it happening. Dropzone Commander seems to be still building fans, holding more tournaments, expanding ranges and having regular games being played. Warmahordes and Infinity are both clearly doing well and are popular enough that they seem to be self-sustaining communities. (Although that said, it’s notable that all of the parent companies put a lot of effort into supporting their gaming communities.) I’m sure there are some others – perhaps Kings of War might count? – and I know that these games are still relatively new compared to 40K, but they seem to… Read more »
Happy Sunday!
Happy Sunday!
As someone who took receipt of only 2 new games in the post on Friday – whereas none arrived yesterday – of course I’m going to ask you to stop asking stupid questions!
That was 2 new board/card games arrived… do they count? I have suffered from “the cult of the new”/shiny syndrome or “butterflying” between games since moving away from GW systems. I am now settling down to a few core systems mostly due to a stable group of players for these developing at club and my FLGS… but there’s always the lure of the new… One trouble with some Kickstarters is you often end up with ALL the factions and a mountain of stuff you’ll never build… I’m looking at Guildball. the incoming Mercs and not too distant DropFleet Commander as… Read more »
Amen to all of that @coxjul !
So true, so true
I only gamed 2 periods for 35+ years then started watching BoW stuff, Infinity week came on and BAM, new game to collect. And being mainly a solo gamer I have to do several armies, though my daughter and wife both play Infinity. Curse you Beasts of War.
Still happy playing MERCs! Recon is nice, but I like MERCs. Would like to BoW team to revisit it at some point.
I’m hoping my low expectations of what’s coming through the Recon KS Wave 2 for TT will be exceeded. If it’s the quality (EU batch) that I expect then it’s likely the grey plastic will sit there while more interesting, better quality models with a robust ruleset stand out for my attention. They can;t afford to deliver a flaky TT 2.0 rulebook needing immediate FAQs and patches to be workable (like Myth and Recon rulesets have been).
WHERE IS v2.0!!! lol.. I am so hoping that takes off as it is a great game in so many ways!
Too many games? Too true, dude! And too little time.
Great show guys, again! I think the ‘Cult of the New’ has developed it’s own momentum, which cannot now be reversed. I think one way to ‘deal’ (live with it), is to strive to grow your local clubs, especially by recruiting ‘new blood’, ie, inexperienced and inquisitive potential gamers, thereby the probability will increase that you will find someone in either camp. I fall into the Ben camp, but certainly am not immune to the Justin mind set and have recently invested in 4 new game systems! Doh! Shiny, Shiny! One difference with historical gamers, of which I am also,… Read more »
I recently (well, last year) moved across the country and so quickly found that my new LGStores had a very different collection of games than what I had before… so it did force my hand as despite having a good selection of “good games” with me, I adapted to the new set of games… I actually think it would be really interesting to somehow get a really good comprehensive poll of what gamers are playing in different parts of the country.. although honestly I think it might actually just boil down to individual clubs and stores.. but it would be… Read more »
Too many games? Nope there all the same game
Some how the rest of my comment disappeared. I continue to say that the shiny magpie affliction is powerful. 2-3 games is IMHO about as far as I will take it. The primary spot is for Infinity – best game ever, all other games feel like snap in comparison. I then defrag with Frost Grave – fun/slight competition/doesn’t need a lot of attention/fun again. I am dipping into Guildball – looks great, but I’m only doing it because everyone plays at my local club; yet to have a game and just have a Butchers Starter, and finally (yes that’s 4)… Read more »
I love Infinity too, and am just starting with Guild Ball. What appeals to me about both systems is how players are rewarded for thinking in terms of synergy. Guild Ball is massive on this (but then, it’s basically Malifaux with dice and a ball – and Malifaux is all about synergy).
One reason so many other games feel flat and ‘vanilla’ to me is that they fail to provide this extra dimension. And Age of Sigmar’s “be within x inches and reroll ones!” doesn’t count.
Four, tight, fun , skirmish sized games! If only I had such discipline…
Happy Sunday
Nooo a Tank has tracks not wheels
Great show guys. Love the work on the Nid Titan.
I wouldn’t say I’m playing too many games. I might say I’m buying too many 🙂
Any, shiny syndrome is what keeps an industry like wargames in business
Definitly to many games. I see something I can’t resist everytime. (Knight models marvel heroes, Imperial assault, dropfleet), and I already spend way to little time on the games I have.
But as long as I’m enjoying myself…
argh why does the backstage always crash at some point on my tablet happy sunday…. so far a good show on the subject of Superman v batman saw it last week… first superman film i have seen at the cinema since Superman 2 way back in 82 i think…not sure i am yet a fan of the direction of this but Wonder woman was the best charater in it. i did see an article the other day that said the new Superman v Batman film is too interllectual for the Marvel fans which made me chuckle ok back to finding… Read more »
I think there can be balance within the cult of new. I love picking up a new system and usually dive head first into purchasing miniatures for it. But I also have played warmachine and hordes from day 1 and continue to play it on a weekly basis. For me a ruleset I enjoy is the most important thing. Not the background which can help but i play games where i have never read the fluff. If a game is enjoyable then I end up wanting to experience it in as many different ways as possible. If a player can… Read more »
I dislike the cult of the new very strongly. Justin seems to think people can pick up a gazillion different systems and then just cycle them every week or so. In reality most people won’t be able to support more than a few systems due to time/money/interest. Further it all is depending on you having someone else to play with, and when the newest shinies draw all the gollums you won’t someone to play with.
I don’t think the ‘Cult of the New’ is a problem in miniature war gaming. In board games and card games it might be as you get a board/card game and you play it once and it will take a year before you play it again because there is always something new. As you said it is a very 1st world problem. With miniatures I think we have an advantage that if you want you can use miniatures from any line in any game you want to play. I for the most part like to buy miniatures because I like… Read more »
Happy Sunday! So…. The Cult of the New…. Have to say I blame BoW for me joining this cult! 🙂 There I was a few years ago, happy with my 30/40k…. Then you introduced me to Bolt Action….. so I bought the starter set….. and then I built a couple of armies… Then you introduced me to Flames of War…..so I bought the starter set….. but couldn’t get anyone to play it much, so it gathered dust… Then you introduced me to X-Wing….so I bought the starter set….. and a few more ships… and get the occasional game in between… Read more »
Oh and that’s not mentioning all the other games I’m tempted to get…. I’m looking at you Dungeon Saga…
Happy Sunday! I will weigh in on the Cult of the New from my perspective. I consider myself a Painter and Collector above gamer, not out of choice but out of neccessity because I do not have the time to always find and get a game in. I fall in the Justins idea of games running in cycles, this is where cult of the new and future suits me because I will buy games/models just to paint, I will make sure I have the numbers required to field them if need be. This allows me to paint cool models and… Read more »
Great selection there. I’d be a gamer first and a painter second. I like the social aspect of playing.
My list is as follows:
40K:
tau
Necrons
Chaos space marines
Daemons
Guard
Warmachine:
Protectorate of Menoth
Cryx
Other Games:
Epic armageddon (Old collection)
Battlestar Galactica
Undercity
Dreadball
Space hulk
Team Yankee US
Terminator Genesis
Starting DC knight miniatures
So, loads of games. Other than Warmachine I have not played most of the others in over a year and some not at all. Shame
Another good show. Just leaves me wanting more. PS I’m with Ben and Lloyd on the subject of too many games. Maybe because it’s because I live in the country and there is not a club beside me but it’s very hard to get a consistent run of games. If only way more people were into table top gaming, then this problem would be totally solved. 🙁
There is too much choice and there is a cult of the new. In the last five years I’ve had to relocate because of work and I’ve found that no one plays the same games as I’ve been playing. In the past when there was less choice which meant you could always get a game with someone. It does mean that people have a bigger choice these days, but this means that we end up spreading ourselves far too thin across to many games. This could be a long term problem for companies with a player base that’s fickle, jumping… Read more »
Great show thanks guys and happy Sunday
On the cult of the new: a post I saw on the Privateer Press forums sums it up perfectly. I’m paraphrasing but it was along the lines of “my hobby is buying miniatures; everything else like painting and playing is a side-effect”. Historical gaming makes this less of an issue. I’ve painted a Welsh army for Saga, but with a few additions it’ll do for other games. Similarly the WW2 army I painted for Bolt Action is a WW2 army, rather than a Bolt Action army and it’ll do nicely for whatever’s next around the corner. That said I’m painting… Read more »