Many Hobby Magazines have come and gone over the years and the universally accepted truth is that the sector has struggled to maintain circulation, especially in this internet age. And while I accept that each magazine will contain a proportion of articles and adverts that have no interest for the niche wargamer, the majority of us will find something in each issue to pique our interest. Magazines are by their very nature a broad church of articles designed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. I rarely read an issue cover to cover - on average I'll read about 50% - but I'm OK with that because I'm connecting with my hobby in a way that even the internet can't compete with.
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I get my wargaming magazine kick from the societies that I hqve joined. So Slingshot from the Society of Ancients, Hobilar from the Lance and Longbow Society, Arquebusier from the Pike and Shot Society and Foreign correspondent from the Continental Wars Society. Thet reminds me that I must rejoin the Naval Wargames Society to get Battlefleet again. Once again not all the articles are of interest but there is a good chance that most will be. I also feel that I am part of of a wider community of wargamers and my membership subscription also helps keep these worthy organisations afloat. Wargames societies might be a good subject for one of your videos
ReplyDeleteI used to belong to the Pike and Shot Society many moons ago. I'm a bit of a wargames butterfly, interested in lost of periods and scales. Staying focused on one period is not something in my DNA apparently!
DeleteMe too. I play too many periods to join a society and get my time and moneys worth.
DeleteNowadays I find little to interest me in any of the main wargames magazines. I much prefer to follow Blogs that game in 6mm & 10mm or ones that have good content that appeals to me. So in a sense I have my virtual magazine that caters for my tastes. Also I find that for the cost of a magazine I can buy a good second hand copy of a book that will give me more pleasure.
ReplyDeleteNow I've been gaming for some 40+ years and have periods and rules that I'm happy with, so the magazine articles are of little interest to me. But I think for younger gamers, who are probably a better target audience, they are still very important aspect of our wonderful hobby. But they are no longer for me and I hope they continue to flourish.
Each to their own, and if you find more value in second hand books than more power to you.
DeleteAn interesting article, thanks for taking the time to record it.
ReplyDeleteI only subscribe to a couple of magazines now, being the journals of the Pike & Shot Society and the Society of Ancients. I found the value of the more general magazines harder to justify, especially as my periods of interest and scales have been more defined for many years. As you rightly note storage for all is challenging.
Thanks, recording them keeps me occupied!
DeleteI only have a few subscriptions simply for storage reasons, but I do enjoy getting them.
As editor of Slingshot I'm always interested in input on what one finds interesting in a wargame mag. The Society of Ancients' remit is pre-gunpowder military history as applicable to wargaming, which means researching armies, battles and fighting techniques to better inform rules writers and figure manufacturers.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you particularly like to see more of in Slingshot? I try to strike a balance between military history and wargaming but that's always up for more tweaking....