The Things We Love to Hate About Wargaming

Having covered what people love about wargaming in the What I Like About You post, it's only fair to look at the flipside too.

In the Great Wargaming Survey, 2025 edition, a related question asked respondents, “What do you like least about miniatures wargaming?” As in the "most liked" question, responses were recorded as unstructured text with a maximum length of about 2,100 characters.  A few respondents actually pushed this limit in their lengthy and generous responses.  Some of these longer responses are fascinating to read and offer much to consider.  In total, there were 4,029 non-blank responses recorded.

Technique Choice

To (hopefully) make sense of this large body of free-form text, machine learning techniques are introduced.  Unlike the analysis on "What I Like" linked above, this analysis focuses on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) rather than on hierarchical cluster analysis.  While both tackle the challenge of qualifying these text responses, PCA and cluster analysis approach the problem differently in order bring some meaning out of the seeming chaos.  Both of these statistical techniques attempt to bring out underlying data associations lurking within these data.  PCA helps with revealing these patterns, graphically, using a biplot technique.  The first step in analysis is to preprocess these data and prepare them for further analysis. 

Preprocessing

To produce a PCA biplot, data reduction methods are utilized to reduce thousands of unique words (tokens) to a smaller and more manageable dataset.  The goal is to transform these unstructured texts into a count of representative tokens while keeping the essential meaning intact.

As an example, a snippet of survey responses shows the following text in the Miniatures_Gaming_Least column.  Parsing and preprocessing requires a number of text transformations (including correcting some spelling errors) to shape tokens into a standardized form.  In addition, synonyms are used to group similar tokens.  For example, parsing and tokenizing the highlighted entry produces the meaningful tokens, "general", "concerns", "persistent", "gatekeeping", "wargaming", "community".  

Raw text before parsing.

After these routines are completed, the resulting dataset produced 3,488 unique terms with associated frequencies.  A further data step involved keeping only tokens with 30 or more counts and then removing near-zero variance terms.  The result produced a dramatic dataset reduction to only nine key word tokens. These nine tokens are "people", "painting", "gaming", "time", "competition", "miniatures", "cost", "rules_lawyer", and "find".

Frequency table showing nine key tokens.

Principal Component Analysis

Once tokenization is complete, the next step focuses on Principal Component Analysis (PCA).  PCA simplifies complex datasets by reducing a number of related variables into a smaller set of uncorrelated dimensions called principal components.  These components are ordered by how much variance they explain.  The first principal component captures the most variation.  The second captures the next most, and so on.  One useful visualization tool is a PCA biplot which illustrates the relative importance (loadings) of each of the nine variables in 2D space.  The PCA biplot produced by this analysis is shown in Figure 1.  The plot shows broad association patterns only and does not identify any one individual.  Color and length of each vector denotes its contribution to the PCA analysis.  Variables pointing in similar directions are positively linked. Those pointing in opposite directions represent contrasting views. Vector length implies importance in the given dimension.   

Figure 1

Grouping or Clustering

The plot suggests that respondents’ least-liked aspects of wargaming fall into a few related, but distinct types of dissatisfaction based upon the nine tokens retained in the preprocessing phase.  Based upon the results illustrated in Figure 1, four main groups emerge from the PCA plot as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2

At a higher level of aggregation and inspection, these four clusters can be neatly bifurcated by each of the two dimensions (DIM1 and DIM2) as illustrated in Figure 3 and Figure 4.  For each Dimension, hemispheres are given intuitive classifications to describe the groupings.   

Figure 3 - DIM1

Figure 4 - DIM2

Interpretation and Inference

Graphical analysis of PCA results tends to lend itself (in most cases) to inferences that are easier to interpret than raw data and rudimentary descriptive statistics.  This PCA analysis shows that wargaming complaints aren't just one big nebulous cloud of negativity.  Instead, player dissatisfaction falls into three distinct "pain points" and one universal constant as shown in Figure 2.  These pain points are:

Burden (Miniatures, Painting, Time) 
The strongest pattern connects the time and labor required to bring a force to the table.  While respondents do not necessarily dislike collecting or historical gaming, itself, they tend to feel overwhelmed by the total preparation commitment.  Those commitments can include assembling, painting, basing, storing, and managing a project backlog of The Lead Pile.  The primary obstacle is the time lag between purchasing the figures and terrain for a new project and actually getting the figures onto the table for a game.

Access (Gaming, People, Find)
A second distinct cluster highlights the possible frustration around getting a game onto the table once painted armies have mustered out.  This roadblock includes finding compatible opponents, joining local clubs, scheduling, or matching interests in a particular period, scale, or ruleset.  For these players, the challenge isn't building or painting an army, but the ability to transform those completed units into regular, enjoyable games.

Culture & Friction (Competition, Rules-Lawyering)
A third, sharper pattern links competitive environments with rules disputes. This reflects a clear distaste for extreme adversarial gaming where min-maxing, rules-lawyering, or winning overshadows sociability, historical narrative, and mutual enjoyment.  This dimension strongly differentiates players who favor relaxed, scenario-driven or pick-up games from those uncomfortable with tournament-style play.

Cost as an Independent Factor: Cost operates largely independently, showing low alignment with any single cluster across the first two PCA dimensions. This suggests that financial expense is a universal secondary concern across all groups rather than the primary defining trait of a specific subset of players.

Dimensional Study

Dimension 1 (DIM1) in Figure 3 breaks the horizontal axis clearly between a production cluster on the left from the gaming/social cluster on the right.  On the left are people who dislike painting, miniatures, and the time those activities demand.  On the right, complaints focus on other players, gaming opportunities, competition, and even finding games or opponents.  Perhaps this underscores the differences between the solo preparatory burden of miniatures gaming and the social or organizational realities of actually playing it.

Dimension 2 (DIM2) in Figure 4 divides the vertical axis between the access or burden dislikes of the hobby against the negative culture or style of play components.  On the top, dislikes focus on participation, access, or preparation.  The bottom, on the other hand, highlights the style or tone of actual play especially in competitive or argumentative settings.

Summary
The broad inferences, here, suggest that wargaming’s main barriers are threefold and arise at three distinct stages of the hobby.  These are:

• Preparing to play.  Acquiring and painting miniatures takes time, effort, and money.
• Finding a game.  Connecting with like-minded opponents, clubs, and schedules.
• Enjoying the game.  Matching culture, style, and competitive expectations once at the table.

Ultimately, these data indicate that player disengagement is rarely caused by a lack of enthusiasm for history or rules.  Instead, these dislikes are driven by the sheer effort required to prepare, the friction of finding compatible opponents, and the occasional dissatisfaction with how games are played.

What are your main dislikes about the wargaming hobby?  Do any of these tendencies and associations hold for you? 

Prelude to Salem Church

The first Battle of Salem Church is in the books after a short/sharp fight on Monday.  How did Sedgwick fare?  That is a tale for another time.

Sedgwick on the attack!

Today's post is but a brief update to the Blog List to test that I can follow up with another successful post after having changed my url from "http" to "https".  While my url had been "http" since inception, the HTTPS Redirect toggle ensured that my "http" was redirected to "https".  Since the populated "Original feed" url in Feedburner is a fixed entity, that redirect may not be honored.  

Heavy fighting at Perry Farm.

To guarantee that you pick up your own blog in Blog List and that others can find you after using the Feedburner bypass, the Blog List entry in the gadget must match the "Original feed" path in Configure Proxy page.  If your Original feed path shows "http" then the Blog List entry must reference "http" as well and vice versa.  This works similarly for following other blogs in the gadget.  Your url entry in the Blog List gadget must match the author of the other blog's url if that author is using the Feedburner bypass.  If another's recent post is not appearing in your Blog List and that person has used the Feedburner bypass, try editing that Blog List entry by changing either "http" to "https" or from "https" to "http".

Clear as mud?

Let's see if PWJ still updates after switching to "https".  Yep!  Looks good in my Blogroll.  How about in yours?

Bring In The Cache Buster!

By now, we are all familiar with the issue.  Blogger's Blogroll gadget refuses to reliably pick up and publish the latest post.  I first encountered this issue back in May when I posted a short update at PWJ: Testing.  In May, this was an occasional issue with variable lags but not too long.  There were a few workarounds that seemed to lessen the burden and at least one of these techniques worked, most times, to force a repolling of Blogger's Blogroll gadget.

That situation has changed to a worse case as witnessed by blogs now seeing multi-day delays in the most recent post appearing in Blogroll.  Very frustrating.  None of the temporary "methods" I used in the past to jog the gadget into action seemed to work.  Blogger's Community has seen a growing number of complaints that I first referenced in response to a comment in PWJ: Fourteen Years of Marching Through History.  That reference pointed to New posts not showing on Reading List.  This issue holds for the Blogroll gadget as well.  One respondent laid blame on pasting formatted text into a blog post for this failure to update.  A more likely explanation is that the Reading List or Blogroll displays a cached or stale feed rather than the feed from the most recent post.  The latter explanation seems the most reasonable conclusion since current posts still appear in the daily Feedspot Today email and Feedly Reading List remains current.       

Responses in the community note, above, suggest clearing the cache.  Now, “Clearing the cache” can mean two different things, and it is important not to confuse them.  The response suggests clearing your browser cache.  Clearing the browser cache or viewing the blogsite in a private/incognito window is a good way to make sure you are seeing the current version of your own blog.  This is useful for validating whether a change made to the Blogroll gadget has appeared publicly without cache contamination by your local browser.

In the current state of affairs, Blogger’s feed cache is, again, the more likely culprit.  Blogger keeps its own cached copy of the feeds used by the Blogroll gadget.  Blogroll gadget sometimes holds on to an old copy of a blog’s feed.  Therefore, the gadget does not always notice a new post promptly even though the post was published correctly.  This condition is reinforced by seeing that many Wordpress blogs continue to show recent updates.  What we really need to do is bring out the heavy equipment and bust through the Blogroll cache that is holding back more recent posts.

One workaround is to use Google's own Feedburner's version of the blog’s feed.  Feedburner acts as a middleman.  It takes a fresh copy of the blog’s feed and provides a different feed address for the Blogroll to read.  That is why the Feedburner approach can be useful.  On the Feedburner page, your blog should be listed under "Your feeds."  Clicking on the three dots next your feed brings up a dropdown with "Refresh feed."  This choice forces Feedburner to fetch the current feed again.  If your Blogroll points to the Feedburner URL, it may retrieve the refreshed Feedburner version rather than relying on Blogger’s stale copy of the ordinary blog feed.  Now to be clear, PWJ still references the ordinary blog feed url in Blogroll.  That is, 

http://palousewargamingjournal.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

An alternative option that works for some is

http://palousewargamingjournal.blogspot.com/?alt=rss

After publishing a new blog post, open Feedburner website and click on "Refresh Feed."  That click ought to set the refresh in motion.  The key to remember is that Blogger’s Blogroll can still have its own cache. Resetting Feedburner cannot force Blogger to clear that cache or trigger Blogroll to poll immediately.

Note Very Well!

Do not rely on Feedburner as though it is a guaranteed repair.  Feedburner does not give you control over Blogger’s internal Blogroll cache.  This technique is best viewed as a practical workaround and not as a definitive solution.  Blogger still needs to resolve this issue.  Good practice to back up before making changes like this and test results.  Of course, YMMV.

If you give this a try, report back with your results.  If I see recent blogs popping up in my Blogroll, I will bet that some of you gave this workaround a try.  This technique worked for allowing PWJ to appear in Blogroll with its current and timely post, but I make no guarantees that this maneuver will work for everyone.  Enter these waters at your own risk!

Biblical Camel Archers

The purpose of this post is twofold.  One to show the latest figures loping out from the painting desk, and two, to see if what I discovered about a working solution to the blogroll delay (or absence altogether) is reproducible.

First up, the latest units off the painting desk are two, three camel groups of mounted archers.  These early, tandem dromedary troopers are additions that I have been eyeing for a long time.  Finally, the first two stands are ready for action.  These fellas will see service in some of the Biblical armies.  

Figures are 28mm Newline Designs.  Nice looking sculpts and something different and fun to paint.  I like 'em!  There are another six of these camelry in The Lead Pile.   

Second, this post is a test to see if the forced, work-around publishing to the blogroll seen in my 14th Anniversary post can be reproduced in a controlled and repeatable fashion.  If it can, then I will write up what I discovered and my solution.  If the forced effort fails, well, then you will not see this post unless you come looking. 

Fourteen Years of Marching Through History

Fourteen years ago, in September 2012, the Palouse Wargaming Journal (PWJ) began as a place to record my wargaming activities and perhaps connect with a few like-minded wargamers.  At the time, I had no clear sense of where the project might lead nor how long this venture might last.  I certainly did not imagine that, fourteen years later, the blog would have accumulated 1,915 posts, 62,241 comments, and 341 followers.

Those numbers are more than statistics.  Much more.  Together they represent fourteen years of games played, figures painted, and ideas exchanged with readers and fellow wargamers.  The Palouse Wargaming Journal began as my hobby notebook, but it has gradually become something more.  The PWJ records my ongoing wargaming activities preserved one post at a time.  Occasionally, a little bit of Real Life is tossed in for good measure.

The blog is also a record of the dynamic nature of the hobby.  Some periods have been filled with games and painting projects.  Others have been slowed by competing demands, a wandering eye, or simply the difficulty of finding time to arrange a game.  Projects have been started, set aside, restarted, and occasionally (but rarely!) completed.  Armies have marched onto the tabletop, disappeared back into their storage boxes, and returned years later under entirely different rules.  Sometimes even appearing with different basing schemes.  The blog preserves all of those stages, including the false starts, mistakes, and second guesses that rarely appear in a photo or a summarized battle account.

The past year has been a period of both activity and reflection.  I have continued to report games, show painted figures, and describe the projects occupying my painting desk and gaming table.  At the same time, I found myself thinking more often about the wider purpose of wargaming blogs.  What makes such a blog worthwhile?  Does blogging still have a future in an age taken over by social media, video, and artificial intelligence?  Why do wargamers devote so much effort to recording painting, researching, designing, and playing of games?

My continuing interest in analyzing the results of WSS' The Great Wargaming Survey offers one way to explore these questions.  The survey provides useful information about the people who participate in the hobby, the periods and rules they prefer, and the reasons they continue to wargame.  Yet these data also raise questions that statistics alone cannot answer.  Numbers may reveal patterns, but they do not always explain the personal experiences behind them.  Two people may report playing the same rules or historical period while finding entirely different rewards in the experience.

That tug-of-war between information and experience has become increasingly important as the internet continues to change.  I repeatedly find myself asking whether blogs still matter.  The question has been particularly difficult to ignore during a year marked by ongoing frustrations with Blogger’s infrastructure.  Those technical problems are compounded by the growing influence of social media which offers quick publication and immediate feedback.  Video, too, has become an increasingly popular way of presentation.   Artificial intelligence adds another layer to the changing landscape by summarizing information and answering questions without necessarily directing readers to the original source.

Can blogging offer something different to these newer forms of communication?

I believe it can, although perhaps not by trying to compete with them on their own terms.  The Palouse Wargaming Journal is not simply a collection of answers about rules, armies, or battles that can be extracted and summarized by an AI agent.  For me, it is a personal record of a hobby in progress.  It shows the figures and units as they emerge from the painting desk, the battlefields as they are laid out, the games as they develop, and the decisions that influence battle outcomes.

That personal element is important because wargaming is not only about information.  It is also about interpretation.  A battle report may explain who won, but it can also describe how the game unfolded, which decisions mattered, and what made the contest memorable.  Similarly, a painting post may show a finished unit but also the way attention moves from one project to another, from one army to another, and from one historical period to the next.

As I wrote in Has AI Killed the Blogger Star?, those details cannot easily be reduced to a generic summary.  These details belong to a particular hobby journey and to the individual experiences of the people involved.  A blog can preserve those experiences in a way that is more personal and more durable than a brief social-media post.

In that sense, the blog remains both an archive and a conversation.  Each post records a small part of the hobby, but it also invites readers to respond, contribute their own experiences, and even disagree with my conclusions or decisions.  The comments, correspondence, and remote games that have grown from the blog are as important as the posts themselves.  They demonstrate that wargaming is not merely a solitary activity carried out among shelves of miniatures.  Wargaming is also a means of building connections across distance and sharing enthusiasm with people who may never otherwise meet.

When I began blogging fourteen years ago as a challenge, I did not know whether anyone would read the Palouse Wargaming Journal, much less whether it would still exist fourteen years later.  The wargaming blogosphere has changed considerably since 2012.  Many blogs have disappeared, social media has altered how wargamers share their work, and AI-assisted search is beginning to reshape how people find information online.  Yet the fundamental appeal of the hobby remains unchanged.

There is still satisfaction in painting a unit, studying a campaign, laying out a battlefield, rolling the dice, and discovering what happens when history is placed in the hands of players. There is also value in recording that experience.  Not of value because every game is historically significant or every painted figure is a masterpiece, but because each one forms part of my continuing journey.

Blogging remains my preferred way of sharing that journey.  It provides the time and space to explain not only what happened, but also why it mattered to me.  The Palouse Wargaming Journal continues not only because the hobby remains rewarding, but also because sharing my thoughts and experiences with others makes the hobby better.

Thank you to everyone who has visited the PWJ, left a comment, joined a remote game, offered encouragement, or simply followed along quietly.  Your interest has helped sustain the blog through fourteen years of painting, gaming, research, reflection, and occasional technical frustration.

For now, marching through history in miniature continues.

Edit 11 September:  Even with no (or long delayed) Blogroll widget updates, seeing readers find this post despite the hurdles to overcome is very encouraging!

Iron & Honor: The Art of Knighthood

The medieval knight in armor is one of the most popular figures in the collective imagination. This exhibition brings these legendary figures to life through an exceptional selection of objects from the collection of European weaponry and armor from the Stibbert Museum in Florence, Italy. From battlefields to royal courts, explore the various aspects of the knights’ life including their code of honor, their equipment, their role in military actions and their role in the societies of the Middle Ages. This exhibition provides a rare opportunity for Spokane to get a closer look at the masterpieces of complete suits of armor, helmets, swords, and shields that highlight the incredible craftsmanship of the era’s artisans.

Exhibition organized by Contemporanea Progetti, Italy in collaboration with the Museo Stibbert, Florence, Italy.

As mentioned briefly in the previous post, Nancy and I visited the Spokane Museum of Art and Culture to take in their exhibit on medieval armor from the Stibbert Museum in Florence entitled, Iron & Honor: The Art of Knighthood.

Following is a brief photo tour of some of the items on exhibit from the Stibbert Museum.  Note the intricate engravings and craftsmanship on the armor and especially the helmets.  Besides suits of armor for mounted knights, the exhibit included two examples of pikemen's armor.  Most of the armor originated in Italy and Germany.

Chris asked in the previous post's comments if seeing this exhibit makes me want to get the Italian Wars collection back out onto the gaming table.  The answer is “Yes”, this does stir emotions of developing a scenario and bringing the Italian Wars collection back to the gaming table.  When will I actually jump into action?  Who knows?  I have a number of battles I want to bring to the table first.

A Few More Moors

As outside temperatures begin to cool, activity at the painting desk is heating up again following my usual mid-summer lull.  Cooler weather means that I return from cycling less fatigued and more ready to concentrate.  The change in weather is only part of the reason for the renewed attention.  With fewer games played in August, just five by my count or an average of one per week, there has been more time and energy to devote to painting.  Recently, I have actually looked forward to meaningful painting sessions.  Although the monthly game totals are a little below par, the break from scenario design and development, as well as game preparation and play, has allowed for a modest rejuvenation at the painting desk.  Several units are now moving through the production line, including some unit types that have never appeared on the blog before.

Next out of the gates are two units for the 28mm Reconquista project.  This time, a twelve-figure body of Arab spearmen is joined by a four-figure stand of Arab crossbowmen.  These Muslims unite with the body of spearmen mustered out back in August (see Back to the Painting Desk).  Figures are from Black Tree Design.  The cupboard is getting quite bare of BTD figures for this period with the exception of miscellaneous command and enough cavalry for several bodies of horsemen.  Nice figures that paint up well.  Too bad I have abandoned acquiring more.

The guns remain silent at Salem Church.  Hopefully, the table will see some action before the game with the Rejects in two weeks.  If no group game can be arranged before then, I may at least play through a few solo turns to see how the rules and scenario work together before they are stress-tested by a bunch of Rejects.

On the art-and-armor front, the Spokane Museum of Art and Culture is hosting an exhibit from the Stibbert Museum in Florence, Italy.  Nancy and I visited the exhibit a few weeks ago and found a fascinating selection of arms and armor.  OK, maybe I found the exhibit more of interest, but she enjoyed it too.  Reenactors were also on hand to demonstrate and explain the craftsmanship and practical functions of these remarkable pieces of art and warfare.

Edit 03 SEP: Besides long delays between posting and appearing in blogroll (this post experienced an 8-hour delay), now attempts at replying to comments are currently failing.  Well, not exactly failing but when submitting a comment, the reply seems stuck in "Publishing" indefinitely.  Do you experience the same?  I have tried different browsers, same result.  Searching Blogger Community Notes, this is a known issue.  Let's hope Google gets this issue worked through satisfactorily soon.  Hold those thoughts until commenting resumes.  Please be patient and try again later.