Introducing the Lazy Gamer's Guide to Wargaming

Introduction
I am beginning a new series of posts that I'm calling the Lazy Gamer's Guide to Wargaming. I hope to have a new post every week, but because I'm a lazy gamer you never know. I am not sure how long this series will run; I'll just keep at it until I cover all I want.

The Inspiration
My idea for the Lazy Gamer's Guide came from a post on The Miniatures Page online forum. The original poster lamented that “I am rubbish at my hobby!” He noted that he had too many figures and projects but never seemed to complete one. He wrote “I want to do so much more” but he could not find the time. I can appreciate his concern because it is something that I have struggled with during the past 30+ years of miniature wargaming.

The Problem
Part of my problem was that I aspired to emulate the amazing displays in wargames magazines. Hundreds if not thousands of miniature soldiers march to battle on large tables with lavish terrain. Inspired, I would rush into a project to replicate what I saw. I began painting and building like mad, but real life inevitably got in the way and the project began to languish. A little while later, something else drew my attention, but this time from it’s from another era in history. Fascinated, I flitted like a moth toward this new theme, dropping the previous project and embarking on a new frenzy of figure-buying, painting, and building. I ended up with a bunch of half-finished projects. Furthermore, I never seemed to have enough completed miniatures nor could I find the time to play with my toy soldiers!

For much of my early days in the hobby, I found myself in this situation. I am a slow, mediocre painter so my efforts never measured up and I could never finish enough figures to put on a game. I grew frustrated but I was still too fascinated by the hobby to give it up. It was clear that I needed a new direction.

The Solution
To solve my dilemma I realized I needed to change my direction. Rather than trying to emulate what I saw in magazines, I decided to adopt a new philosophy. The core of this philosophy is this statement:

Focus on what is important

Simply put, I wanted to focus my energies on what was important and spend less time on what wasn’t. Of course, this means that I needed to define what was important. Note that this can vary for each individual. Miniature wargaming can be a very personal hobby. There are many facets to it, and different people are drawn to different aspects. Thus, there is really no wrong answer here (despite what some people say on forums). Instead, each person needs to decide for himself / herself what is truly important.

Defining "Important"
I began to think about what was and wasn't important to me (f you game with a regular group you may need to consider what is important to them as well. I am a solo gamer so I don't have to worry about others). Now I did not do this as a systematic process; it just developed organically. Looking back, I can see and understand what I did intuitively. In short, my answer to what is important is shown below:

What is important?

• Playing games
• Flexibility

What is not important?

• Collecting miniatures
• Impressive display

As you can see above, my main interest is in the games themselves rather than the aesthetics of the game. I also want to have the flexibility to game in many different eras. I find ancients, horse & musket, modern, fantasy, and sci-fi almost equally fascinating. Thus, I want to be able to jump around easily.

My New Strategy
Once I defined what was important to me, how could I achieve my important objectives in the most efficient manner? Over time, I have been developing a strategy that I call the Lazy Gamer Approach.

My new series of posts will discuss this approach in detail.

Next Week
In my next post, I will define the mission of a lazy gamer.