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| We don't need no stinking minis! |
Welcome to my new blog dedicated to miniature wargaming without miniatures.
A Little History
I began my first blog, Warwell's Wargames, in 2013. At the time, I wanted to get back into miniature gaming after a hiatus where I primarily played video games (World of Warcraft and Elder Scrolls mostly). I used the blog to record my journey.
Well, I went through a lot of back-and-forth regarding miniatures. Back in 2013, I wanted to emulate Bob Cordery's portable wargames. I ordered some 15mm miniatures, aaaand never finished painting them.
I tried a number of different sizes - 10mm, 6mm, 2mm, and 3mm. But I never settled on anything. 10mm and 6mm did not give the big battle look. I had trouble distinguishing troop types with the 2mm. The 3mm were a good compromise, but I just never was able to complete all the factions I wanted.
Mini-less Experiments
Over the years, I experimented with block armies instead of miniatures.
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| What's what? You got me. |
They never took hold of me. The big issue I had was distinguishing troop types.
Things changed in 2023. I was planning a Disney trip and wanted to take a game with me. I put together some counters that looked like this.
I liked them so much that I continued to use them. That's when epiphany struck.
The Epiphany
I realized that I hate miniatures.
Oh, I like to look at them. They are pretty after all. But I hate the whole process of preparing them and then storing them. I hate having to clean up the blocks, prime them, paint them, and base them. I hate having to store them carefully so they don't get broken. I hate that they take up more space than my counters. Hate, hate hate.
If I hate them so much, why bother? My gaming is solo, so my opponent is not going to complain.
The Future
Recently, I was disparaged online for my counters. As a result, I am somewhat cutting ties with my gaming past and going all in on counters. To emphasize this change, I decided to start a new blog dedicated to using counters and other alternatives for miniature gaming.
So here we go. Are you ready to dive into war without miniatures?
I am ready for the new blog. I have always admired what what you are doing with Microbattles and the small gridded boards. Counters or minis is irrelevent - it is all gaming. Keep up the good work. I do like minis but hate painting. Most of my miniatures are from 30--40 years ago when I only disliked painting, or ones subsequently I have bought painted. Part of the reason I am using smaller and smaller tables for solo play is the setting up and packing away. 2'x2' seems large these days! Although for FTF gaming I don't seem to mind larger tables.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Welcome to the blog.
ReplyDeleteI rather like your block armies … and as far as I can see, they serve your needs and that is all the justification you need for using them. I don’t see any great difference between them and the cardboard counters used in wargames … except that to me they look much, much better than the cardboard counters.
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Bob
Thanks Bob. I appreciate the encouraging words.
DeleteSorry you were the butt of someone's distemper, some people are just douches and or unaware of how they come across.
ReplyDeleteGL going forwards though!