I've decided my wife is right, all gamers do have a touch of OCD in their makeup. It wouldn't be the first time the label obsessive has been leveled at me but I think this time I'm going to have to reluctantly agree with my 'significant other'. And it all starts with a simple cardboard box. Let me explain....
Once upon a time I was a normal person with normal hobbies. This was way back in the mists of time when I was still a fluffy chinned adolescent and didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. Then one of my friends gave me a copy of a Fighting Fantasy game book and things took a new route. Ever since then I have thrown myself into whatever game I have been playing at the time. I dread to think how much money I have spent over the years but one thing that has consistently sucked on my meager financial resources has been storage. I like storage. Boxes of all sizes and shapes, often with specially cut foam inserts or little trays designed to hold my mini's. And all neatly segregated, labeled and categorized...
Every new game brought with it a new storage system. I had a special bag for my original D&D stuff; a set of multi-drawer boxes for my WH40 Epic miniatures; Dozens of plastic boxes for each set of CCG's I owned (plus a special one for the current deck!); and now several metal model cases for my Flames of War miniatures. The latest time-suck comes in the form of low profile cardboard boxes specifically for holding flat items of wargaming terrain. I have two large plastic boxes will all my 15mm terrain and within each are several smaller boxes to 'protect' my precious models.
Of course this all begs the question, what the hell am I protecting everything from? My current collection could withstand a direct hit from a nuclear bomb given the amount of storage they are kept in. Come the Zombie-Apocalypse I'm hiding in my terrain boxes!
I had everything out last week in an attempt to make some space in my bedroom (I was getting 'the stare' from my long suffering wife) and all that happened was I spent two hours reorganizing my boxes into an even bigger space. The missus came and checked on my progress as I was packing everything away and - in a moment of insanity - I mumbled something about needing some new foam for the next set of tanks I'm working on. The silence was deafening and I could feel the hair on the back of my head being vaporised by 'the stare'. "Your obsessed!" she said in that half mocking, half amused tone she uses when referring to my hobby. I looked back blankly, "Yes dear, I'm a gamer".
I have it. For example, all it took was listening to episode 73 of Meeples and Miniatures and off I go and order a new rule book.
ReplyDeleteFunny how "clearing out" and "reorganizing" usually leads to a expansion of space being required. I must be "obsessed" as well!
ReplyDeleteYou pretty much described me to a T. When people don't have organized storage for their miniatures, I question their loyalty to the hobby.
ReplyDeleteI'm saving money to remodel my hobby room if that gives a picture of where my level of obsession is!
ReplyDeleteMy wife says endures it as well and to her credit is quite understanding, however she is thinks I'm obsessed as well.
Cheers
Christopher
I find these bloody blogs a nightmare as so many new ideas & eye candy to fill my head with and empty my pockets.
ReplyDeleteI just booked a holiday abroad today for family and kept thinking how much lead/terrain/books I could have bought for its cost :-)
I always tell my beloved its better to be OCD with wargaming than many another thing (like other women !!)......doesnt often wash though !
Cheers
I'm waiting to see the episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive that features an avid gamer and hobbyist. :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Yup we are all a bit OCD for sure. I refer to it as game attention deficit disorder on my own blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm about halfway there, I have the boxes to store things netly, now, but I dread trying to organize things and put them away. I'd rather work on a new project.
ReplyDeleteI think all gamers have a touch of OCD, it's the only time I enjoy tidying up and reorganizing by room!!
ReplyDeleteLol Yep that's how it goes.
ReplyDelete