Be Excellent to Each Other

Over at Steve’s Random Musings I came across his list of 5 things he hates about wargaming. He made a couple of comments that struck a nerve so I wanted to rant about it.

One of my biggest pet peeves is gamers who put down other gamers’ preferences. For example, Steve expressed his distaste for gridded wargames, saying “they aren't wargames, you're playing a board game.”

First of all, I thought of this:

How is a gridded game not a wargame? After all, a wargame is simply a game that in some fashion represents war. War + game. That’s all it takes. Thus, a board game can also be a wargame.

In a broader sense, it irks me when some gamers put down other gamers based on their preferences. They are engaged in a hobby that society at large looks down upon, and they’re turning around and looking down on others in the same hobby but with different preferences! Hello irony.

I don’t mind if people extol the merits of their favorite game, miniatures manufacturer, or whatever. I also don’t mind if people explain why they don’t prefer other games, etc. But to denigrate another person’s preference is just spreading negativity.

Can’t we just follow the advice of these two sagacious gentlemen?