Favorite Gaming Periods?

In a recent Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy podcast (see WSS43 with survey discussion beginning at 14 minute mark), the group discussed results from the recently completed Great Wargaming Survey 2020.  Jasper began providing a dramatic rundown of the Top 5 gaming periods or eras beginning with Number 5 and working his way to the top placing.

The question was,

Q12 Which periods or settings do you prefer?

Please rank your top choices (up to 5) by indicating their score or dragging them in order.

The summary of top periods in the same reverse order as presented in the podcast is:

5. Ancients

4. WWII

3. Warhammer 40K

2. Fantasy (excluding Warhammer Age of Sigmar)

1. Sci-Fi (excluding Warhammer 40K)

Sci-Fi came in as the favorite gaming period with WWII way down in fourth place.  This ordering of top gaming eras is unlike the popularity witnessed in earlier years.  Typically, WWII tended to come out as the favorite gaming era.  Have preferences changed so much in one year's time? 

The podcast panel was surprised at the results and offered suggestions as to why this result is believable. Still, there was some skepticism with the results. I was asked to investigate.

Survey Differences
There is one important note to make with respect to the 2020 responses to this question. The method in which this question was presented in 2020 differed from prior years. Rather than allow a respondent to rank interest for every gaming period on a 1-5 scale, (a respondent could have multiple 1's, 2's etc..), the 2020 survey asked respondents to rank their top five periods in rank order. Only one #1 rank, one #2 rank, and so on. While the question requested that the responses be limited to the top five only, respondents could rank 21 periods if they so chose. Many did!

The survey uses a weighted "score" to compute these rankings.  These scores use all ranked responses and are not constrained to the top five choices.  Since ranking more than a handful of periods may be subject to error or simply result to filling in the lower ranked responses randomly, I limit my data exploration to the Top 5 responses as requested from the survey.  Will restricting this analysis to the top five ranked gaming periods change the survey results?  After this question is addressed, I dig into the numbers from several different perspectives.

Top 5 Re-examined
First, aggregating the responses across the top five ranked periods for each respondent, yields the following ranked order.

5. Ancients
4. Warhammer 40K
3. Sci-Fi (excluding Warhammer 40K)
2. Fantasy (excluding Warhammer Age of Sigmar)
1. WWII

While the Top 5 periods all remain the same as the survey scoring announced in the podcast, the ordering is different.  WWII pops up from #4 to #1 and back to its traditional top placement.  Notice, in the graphic below, that Ancients only barely beat out Napoleonics for a top five placing.  One of my favorite periods (mid-19th Century European Wars) finds itself in last place in the aggregated top five rankings with difficulty even registering a significant signal.  Such colorful uniforms with such little interest.  Sigh. 

The Top Counts of Wargaming Era Preferences graphic above counts all responses in the top 5 rankings.  If one respondent ranks WWII as #1 and another respondent ranks WWII as #5 then that would yield a count of 2.  That is, all respondents' top five responses are summed regardless of position within the top five placings.  What about considering the top eras by ranking? 

Top Eras by Ranking

What is the consensus First Choice among all respondents?  This time, counting each respondent's first choice and aggregating across era, WWII again rises to the top as the most popular era.

While WWII is the most popular First Choice among all periods and present in all of the top five choices, Sci-Fi is present in each of the top five choices too.  Each of the Top 5 preferences by ranked choice are provided in the graphics below.  Notice that Pulp is the top Fifth Choice.  Perhaps, by the time a respondent drills down to fifth choice, Pulp represents somewhat of a crossover period for many different demographics?  The five graphs below illustrate the top five era preferences for each of the top five rankings.

 

Top Eras by Primary Interest

One of the data breakouts I enjoy examining is the classification of survey respondents by primary interest.  Some gamers focus on historical miniature gaming, some on fantasy and sci-fi miniature gaming, and others enjoy a mix of historical and fantasy/sci-fi wargaming.  Let us take a look at each of these groups to see how wargaming preferences differ between primary interest given their top five ranked choices.

First up is the group whose primary interest is in fantasy and sci-fi gaming.  The Big Three eras in this grouping are Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Warhammer 40k.  Really no surprise here but notice that Pulp registers into the Top 5. 

For historical wargamers, WWII takes top honors with Napoleonics and Ancients rounding out the top three.  Medieval and ACW tie for fourth place.

For those wargamers enjoying a mix of historical and fantasy/sci-fi, their Top 5 ranked choices match the overall Top 5 rankings shown earlier.  As seen in the overall totals, WWII is out in front as the most chosen period.

Finally, a number of respondents did not select a primary interest along the spectrum from Historical to Fantasy/Sci-Fi.  Interesting to note that the respondents in this "Not Specified" group mirror the ranked choices of the 'Mixed" primary interest grouping.  Very interesting.  Does this result suggest that those not completing this survey question were unsure of their primary interest such that a place on the historical-fantasy/sci-fi continuum could not be qualified?  

Top Eras by Age Group

Breaking out survey responses by age group, I find a fascinating exercise.  Well, I find all of this data exploration fascinating but age demographic studies more so.  Why?  I suppose I enjoy seeing how gaming preferences change as one ages and if my own experience fits into these tendencies.  

The table below displays the total counts for each era by age group.  Only a respondent's top five ranked choices were included into this tally.  While a reader can divine a sense of these tendencies across eras and age groups from this table, spotting take-aways at a glance requires a bit more work. 

To help identify these Era by Age Group insights, colored ranking are added.  For example, wargamers in the 31-40 age group rank their era preferences as,

1. Fantasy

2. Sci-fi

3. Warhammer 40K

4. Warhammer Age of Sigmar

5. WWII

What, if any generalizations can be made from these results?  Some results may confirm accepted, common knowledge but others may provide a surprise or two. 

My take-aways from the era preference by age group analysis suggests the following:

• Age groups 51+ prefer historicals to fantasy/sci-fi.
• Fantasy makes the Top 5 for every age group except the 61+ age group.
• WWII makes the Top 5 era preference for all age groups and the top choice for age groups 41+.
• ACW and Pike & Shotte seem to be mainstream eras for the 61+ age group only.
• Napoleonics (Ranked Choice #2) and Ancients (Ranked Choice #3) are very popular for the 51+ age groups.
• Warhammer 40K is very popular for the 40 and under age groups. 

Final Thoughts

Well, not so much final thoughts but my current and evolving thoughts based upon these data.  Looking at these results, I keep returning to the recent debates on the potential demise of historical wargaming.  Is historical wargaming dying?  What do these data suggest?

With WWII gaming making the top five in every age group, it is difficult to classify historical wargaming as a dying genre.  Yes, WWII is more popular in those 41+ age groups but the younger age groups dabble as well.  ACW, Ancients, Napoleonics, and Pike & Shotte seem the domain of the 51+ age cohorts.  Let me term this group of gaming eras as the Classics.  Is this absence from the younger age groups due to lack of interest, lack of exposure to the subject matter, a change in gaming style, barriers to entry, or something else?  

When I envision gaming the Classics eras, I expect large armies covering large tables in big battle games.  Perhaps gaming styles have changed?  No longer are big battles with thousands of troops possible or even desired among the younger age groups?  Painting thousands of figures takes time, money, more time, more money, and a lot of determination.  Building up armies of this size requires many years spent at the painting desk.  Certainly these are not armies to be fielded in a short period of time. 

Smaller armies in smaller battles or even skirmish gaming is a more accessible entry into the hobby.  Perhaps WWII skirmish gaming and an explosion of figures in plastic are two reasons WWII is popular across all age groups?

Gaming style whether big battles, skirmish gaming, or single figure may be a contributing factor in wargaming era preference.  Perhaps location matters?  What about figure size?  Gaming style, location, and figure size, I leave for consideration at another time.

I encourage readers' thoughts and comments on favorite gaming period.  Why do you game what you do?  

Austrian IR#20 and an Anniversary

Off the painting desk today is a single battalion of Austrian IR#20 for the 1799 project.  A single battalion of thirteen figures may seem somewhat underwhelming but this unit manages to clear out the remaining AB Miniatures' Austrians in helmet.  So, a small victory in clearing out a small bin in the vastness of The Lead Pile.  One must take small victories when presented, right? 

Plenty of Austrians in helmet remain to receive a slap of paint.  Several bags of the slightly smaller Battle Honors infantry plus a couple of packs of Campaign Game Miniatures (CGM) figures await their turn at the workbench.  The Battle Honors figures will remain untapped, for now, but the CGM figures are actively in work.  For good measure, I added into the production line two packs of CGM grenz.  

With the recent change in the season, my painting plans are seeing a shift too.  In the last quarter of a very trying 2020, I intend to shift painting focus from 28mm projects to a few of the 15-18mm projects.  This means more 1799, 1859, and SYW troops hitting the painting desk between now and year end.  We will see if this plan survives contact with The Lead Pile and my fleeting motivations and interests.  Expect 25mm Biblicals to remain in the painting mix including work on augmenting the Hittites.

On the cycling front, September was another good month put into the legs.  While I did not hit the 1,000 miles seen in August, I did exceed 800 miles.  I lay some of the blame squarely upon the shoulders of the September fires when I was confined to the indoor trainer for nearly two weeks.  A September cycling wrap up will be upcoming showing photos from a few recent rides.  I passed a young moose out on the trail yesterday.  Have not seen a moose on the loose in a few years.  Last time I encountered one, she was wandering through our housing development looking for a quick exit.  I was looking to avoid trouble.  A moose is a very unpredictable beast.  If you have never encountered one, be warned, give it a wide berth.

Next time, I expect another installment of analyzing the Great Wargaming Survey when I examine the popularity of various wargaming periods and some of the attributes driving those preferences. 

On a final note, Palouse Wargaming Journal reached Year 8 at the end of September.  I struck out on this venture eight years ago at the encouragement of a couple of my regular gaming friends not knowing what to expect.  They both maintained wargaming blogs (MacPhee's Miniature Men and Dartfrog's Adventures in 6mm) and suggested I ought to get with the times and create one for myself.  That I did.  Hard to believe I have been doing this for eight years.  1,200+ posts later, I enjoy this facet of the hobby more than ever.  Thank you to all who stop by for a visit and a special thanks to those leaving comments. 

Hittite Chariot and Crew

Unit #3 of the Hittite Augmentation Project rolls off from the painting desk.  This time, the second of three chariots planned for the project expansion is finished.  Three units down and three to go.  What remains are one more chariot and two bow units.  Figures are Wargames Foundry.

Besides Hittites for the Biblical Assyrian Wars project, I pushed a unit of Sea Peoples' bowmen into the painting queue.  While the Sea Peoples' bowmen will not count toward my Hittite Augmentation goal, it provides something new to paint for the project.

Reaching the Sea Peoples unit may take a while, however.  There are a number of units in the painting queue ahead of the Sea Peoples including SYW Irish and Revolutionary French and Austrian infantry.  As a radical change of pace, a handful of Star Wars Legion troops are in work.  With weather sunny and warm, mileage on the bicycle has increased after ten days of smoke filled skies followed by a couple of days of rain and high winds.  Tranquility has returned.  Very pleasant to be back outside.

Another distraction from hobby time this weekend was the painting of my office.  The home improvement project began as a repainting of the space but quickly turned into an exercise in scope creep as one task led to another.  In the end, my office has a fresh coat of paint, a good clear out, and a bit of furniture rearranging.  The game room is stacked with debris from the office refit as one bookcase from the game room moved up two flights of stairs into the office.  Next, the game room needs some attention since two battles remain out on deck as well as piles of figures, books, magazines, models, and other assorted goodies.

Still have not managed to get to the flocking of my hex terrain but someday, it may actually happen before the snow flies.  In the meantime, two more posts addressing results of the Great Wargaming Survey are in work as is a piece on my impressions of a recent remote battle of Bassignana in which I commanded the Spanish forces.

Enough to keep me busy, for sure.

Contributors to Material Preference

Last time (see One Word, "Plastics"), we identified that hard plastic was the preferred figure material from the 2020 survey.  From those results, hard plastic beat out metal as the top choice by ten percentage points (48% to 38%).  Survey responses suggest that the choice between hard plastic and metal changes with age.  That is, younger gamers pick hard plastics as a first choice while older gamers pick metals.  The result of hard plastic overcoming metal figures was a surprise to me but not for many of those responding in the prior post's commentary.  Of course, my perspective may very well be biased by my own age.  While many voiced an opinion that metal was their preferred choice, the top ranking for hard plastic was no surprise.

This time, I plan to examine preferred material choice more closely by considering primary material preference (respondent's Ranking #1) by the factors that may contribute to choice.  The factors or attributes to study are:

• Gamer's Location
• Gamer's Preferred Genre (Historical, Fantasy/Sci-fi, or a Mix)
• Figure Scale (or Size)
• Gaming Era

Note that these analyses rely upon the assumption that a respondent's preferred material choice corresponds to the respondent's preferred figure size and gaming era.  I will address each attribute individually and then summarize the findings.

Gamer's Location

Does a respondent's location have a bearing on preferred material choice?  Is the mix of gamers and their material preferences distributed across the globe similarly?  When considering first choice between either hard plastic or metal, it is interesting that Continental Europe/Scandinavia prefer hard plastic to metal about two-to-one while USA/Canada prefer hard plastic over metal at about a three-to-two rate.  The UK/Ireland and Australia/New Zealand are about evenly split between choosing hard plastic and metal. 

Gamer's Preferred Genre (Primary Interest)

Responses to this question on the survey were recoded to make a distinction between Historical and Fantasy/Sci-Fi gamers.  To that end, the recoding was, 

• If the response was either 0 or 1 then the respondent was classified as “Historical.” 
• If the response was either 5 or 6 then the respondent was classified as “Fantasy/Sci-Fi.” 
• Otherwise (2,3,4 responses), the respondent was classified as “Mixed” suggesting that both historical and fantasy games were considered rather than exclusively one end of the spectrum.

What do the data suggest?  Well, fantasy/sci-fi gamers overwhelmingly pick hard plastic as their material of choice. Historical gamers prefer metal more than two-to-one.  Hard plastic is given the edge by those gamers enjoying both historical and fantasy/sci-fi gaming.  Seeing earlier results that younger age cohorts prefer hard plastic and that these same groups lean toward fantasy/sci-fi, no surprise that hard plastic is the preferred choice for fantasy/sci-fi.  Similarly, the older age cohorts tend toward historical gaming and historical gaming tends toward metal as a preference.  Again, the results seem reasonable. 

Figure Scale (Size)

Matching up first choice of material with first choice of figure scale produces the count distribution shown in the graph below.

By total counts of respondent first choice by figure size, 25-28mm size is the most popular followed by 28mm Heroics, and then 15-18mm.  When the breakdown of material preference between these top three categories with respect to material choice, 28mm Heroics are dominated by hard plastic over metal by almost four-to-one.  25-28mm figure size is about evenly split between hard plastic and metal.  For figure sizes between 6mm and 18mm, metal is preferred.

Gaming Era 
With so many gaming periods to choose from, it is no surprise that wargaming has something of interest to everyone.  The most popular periods are hardly a surprise.  WWII takes the top spot with Warhammer40k in at number two.  Sci-Fi and fantasy come in at three and four.

Hard plastic dominates Warhammer 40k and shows a comfortable lead over metal in fantasy and sci-fi.  WWII, the top gaming choice, is about evenly split between hard plastic and metal.  With this even split in WWII materials, I would expect the smaller figure sizes to tend toward metal with 25-28mm showing an increase toward hard plastic as more figures become available.   

While past surveys suggested that WWII gaming was popular, with no ranking it was difficult to judge the popularity of WWII gaming.  With rank added into the 2020 survey, the popularity of WWII gaming is evident.  To me, a surprising result although a global conflict ought to hold a global and lasting appeal.

The other historical periods of Napoleonics, Ancients, and 18th Century tend toward metal figures.  Besides the overwhelming popularity of WWII and Warhammer 40k, another surprise, to me, was the relatively few numbers of respondents listing ACW as a first choice.  I suppose ACW gaming may have a national or regional appeal, perhaps, similar to Pike & Shot gaming?

Summary

After two posts examining hard plastic figures as a top choice and the relationship between material preference and a variety of possible contributing factors, I will step out on a limb and make the following generalizations about a respondents' top choice of hard plastic.  Those preferring hard plastic as a first choice of figure material are more likely:

• Under the age of 51
• Living in Continental Europe, Scandinavia, USA, and Canada
• Having a primary interest in fantasy/sci-fi gaming
• Gaming with 28mm Heroics
• Playing Warhammer 40k and fantasy/sci-fi

Perhaps not revolutionary findings but useful, reinforcing generalizations, nonetheless.  In my mind, at least.

Given the data presented, what conclusion does the reader reach?

Hittite Spearmen

Work continues on fielding the "extra" six units to augment the original, dozen unit Hittite army completed earlier in the year.  This unit of fourteen spearmen files in as Unit #2 in this additional recruitment.  Mustering out four more units in three months before year-end should pose no problem.  Well, no problem as long as I can keep the brush in motion and the paint flowing.  Figures are from Wargames Foundry.  Nice figures.

Next off the painting desk for the Hittites will likely be another chariot and crew.  Chariot and runners will again be Foundry figures.  A resupply of Newline Design figures came in-house recently containing three more chariots so the Hittites will be switching chariot suppliers soon.  As at Kadesh, my Hittite Army may field a lot of chariots.  While only six can be called up for duty at present, enough models are in The Lead Pile to bring that total up to twelve (or maybe thirteen?).

I never did make it to the hex flocking project I planned for this weekend past.  Work on the GWS2020 analysis took precedence and kept me busy.  While I plan to tackle a follow-up analysis on the Figure Material Preference question this weekend, perhaps, I can work in a flocking exercise?  Time will tell.

Speaking of the Figure Material Preference analysis, I thank all of you who took the time to respond.  This was a very informative and vigorous discussion and I appreciate these efforts very much.  Really a top quality discussion that provided some good insights!  Hopefully, the continuation of the analysis for this question can raise an equal interest and contribution to the discussion. 

GWS2020: One Word, “Plastics”

To quote Mr. Mcquire in the 1967 movie, The Graduate, "there is a great future in plastics."  According to the 2020 edition of the Great Wargaming Survey, plastics especially hard plastics may be the future.  See Jasper's WSS blog post with an initial peek at some of the initial results of this year's survey at GWS 2020: Highlights and Maybe Some Shadows.

In this first look at the 2020 survey results, Jasper highlights responses to one of the new questions on the 2020 survey. That is,

Which material do you prefer for your miniatures?

Based upon survey responses, the answer is hard plastics by a small margin over metal. Resin comes in at third overall.

As I did for the GWS 2019 survey, I plan to dig a little deeper into the data in an attempt to bring more order out of the data chaos.  With Jasper referencing Question 17 in his initial blog post on GWS2020, this survey question relating to miniatures' material preference is as good of a place to start as any.

Since this question asked for the respondent's top three choices, I limit my analysis to the Top Three choices even though the survey graphic provides a weighted average across all choices.  Does that make a difference?  Even limiting material choices to the Top Three, Hard Plastic, Metal, and Resin comprise the Top Three choices as in the survey summary.

Figure 1

Seeing the result of hard plastic figures coming out as the top material choice in the aggregate, is a surprise to me.  Perhaps, this is only one indication that I am out of step with the hobby.  For me, metal is my preferred figure material but I am one of the Old Guard, I suppose.  I began miniature wargaming in the early 70s with Airfix HO scale plastics.  While I amassed sizable armies in soft plastic, by the early 90s the plastics were jettisoned and I moved on to metal figures.  I really have not looked back.  Well, not yet, anyway.  I did recently pick up a Star Wars Legion core set in hard plastic to work with my grandson.

Since the graphic above (Figure 1) is an aggregation of the Top Three material choices, does breaking down the rankings make any material difference?  Yes, it does.  See Figure 2.

Figure 2

Respondents' top choice for figure material is Hard Plastic (48%), Metal (38%), and Soft Plastic (5%). 

Respondents' second choice for figure material is Hard Plastic (33%), Metal (27%), and Resin (21%).

Respondents' third choice for figure material is Resin (35%), Metal (17%), and Soft Plastic (10%).

These results suggest that outside of hard plastics and metals, resin is a popular second choice.  As a third choice, it is dominant.  Interesting since my collection of resin figures is almost nil.  Most of my resin models are for WWI aircraft.  I cannot think of having any resin figures but I must have a few.  Again, I seem to be out of step with the masses.

Perhaps, my out-of-steppedness can be explained by age?  As seen in many of the analyses from the GWS2019 survey, age does matter.  Is that the situation here as well?

Looking at Figure 3 (below), age seems to be a driver of material first choice as well.  In the 40-and-under age groups, roughly two-thirds of respondents pick hard plastic as their first choice.  Hard plastic as a first choice drops to 50% for the 41-50 Age Group, to 33% for the 51-60 Age Group, and down to 23% for those 61-and-over group.   

For metals as a first choice of material, popularity increases with age.  Those respondents in the 40-and-under groups list metals as a first choice in less than 20% of the responses.  In the 41-50 age group, metal as a first choice jumps to 37%.  In the 51-60 group that first choice percentage is 58% and two-thirds for those 61-and-over.

Figure 3

Is this pattern brought about due to figure size, game genre (fantasy vs historical), game type, combinations of all three, or something else entirely?  Perhaps cost is a major contributing factor in material choice?  Cost for the lower age cohorts certainly seems a reasonable barrier to entry into the world of fielding large armies in metal.  I have my hunches based upon these results and trends seen in the GWS2019 survey.

Next time, I will examine the effects of adding preferred figure size, game genre, and game type into this debate on the drivers of material preference.

The future may come down to one word, plastics.

For readers making it through these graphics and analysis, and wanting to weigh in with their own observations and experiences, I encourage and look forward to your comments.  For your age group, do these generalized survey tendencies ring true with respect to preferred figure material?

US Volunteer Infantry in 1898

This week, I finished off a second 30-figure bag of Old Glory infantry for the Spanish-American War project.  Rather than Spanish in the blue tunics of their Foreign Service uniform (see Spanish in Foreign Service Dress), I have US volunteer infantry in its familiar blue shirt.  As always with this project, the Old Glory figures are a real joy to paint.  Simple uniforms, bold details, and few accoutrements, what is not to like? 

The Spanish-American War project is another collection whereby I am drawing down the inventory of unpainted lead.  While I have not taken an assessment of the size of the collection to date, I must surely have enough painted figures to hold a large action.  Two more 30-figure bags remain in The Lead Pile but there is no hurry to bring them to the workbench since I am in the midst of switching gears.

By switching gears, I mean focusing attention to 25mm Hittites and 15mm 18th Century projects.  Expect SYW and 1799 units to march off the painting desk as they alternate with additional Hittites which are slated for completion by year-end. 

Unfortunately, as I draw down The Lead Pile for a few projects, more orders arrive to replenish other projects.  With a number of recent summer-ending sales, more 25mm Biblicals from Newline Designs, 15mm SYW and 1859 figures from 19th Century Miniatures, and 15mm SYW and Napoleonics from Eureka arrive.  This is a never ending battle.  

Also off the painting desk are a handful of Jump Off markers for Chain of Command.  With Jake busy fielding British paras (see More Paratroopers), it would be fun to see this long dormant project back on the gaming table.  Once the situation allows, of course.  The crate selection is from a recent order from Brigade Games.

On the gaming front, not much action over the last two weeks since my last F2F outing at the boardgame table.  Several games are under consideration including a second round of 15mm AWI battles using Fields of Honor.  Of course, these will be solo contests.  I delayed returning to the gridded AWI battles while I awaited a resupply of Woodland Scenics flock to dress up my bare, green hexes before tackling more hex-based games.  That order arrived in yesterday's post.  I may have a small project for the weekend.  

On the New Blogger front, I notice that the interface still is undergoing revision.  Today, the options available for photos have changed from my last post four days ago.  It would be useful to see a Change Log as developers are mucking around with this new interface.  With a Change Log, at least we would know what pitfalls have been covered and which may still lay ahead.

Finally, the Northwest continues to be blanketed in smoke from numerous fires burning across the region.  While cycling has been confined to the indoor trainer for the last five days, air quality is slowly showing signs of improvement today.  Rather than the Hazardous reading of the past several days, air quality is merely Very Unhealthy.  I may have a chance to return outdoors by Friday or Saturday.