Probably not, but they might just serve as a useful redoubt from the ravening hordes of normies and midwit gentrifiers.
Before we step back and look at things objectively, let’s just reassure the tourists that we’re making no value judgment here. God loves all the little children, and those who desire to dumb down the miniature wargaming hobby to broaden it’s appeal are as equally beloved by God as those of us who wish to preserve it’s nature as a deeply intellectual exercise that challenges our abilities to remember complex systems, track complex logistics, and implement complex strategies. Be that as it may, we want very different things out of the hobby.
The grimederp crew and more feminine set of wargamers are united in streamlining and simplifying every subsystem they can get their hands on. That makes sense from a business standpoint. There’s a whole heck of a lot more people shopping at the peak of the bell curve then over on the far right hand side of it. There’s even a built-in marketing ploy where you sell the 100 IQ shopper on the idea that, by playing the wargame equivalent of Yahtzee they surely must be part of the 130+ Club. In a delightful bit of positive feedback, they won’t be smart enough to see the sleight of hand you’re pulling.
And all you have to do is change the nature of the hobby. And the only one you’ll annoy are the increasingly small minority of hobbyists that you’re pushing out of the way.
It’s kind of brilliant.
But what if you’re part of that small minority? What is an old school wargamer to do?
With the barbarians already inside the gate, he’s going to need to find another set of gates to keep. He’ll need an unpopular niche within the niche, and preferably one with high barriers to entry. It would be ideal if that subgenre required extensive reading and a lot more math and geometry than the usual wargame. Being hard to pursue and viewed as a weird cousin can be turned into positives, in fine tactical style.
And naval wargaming meets all of those criteria. Especially if you mix in campaigns. Those require an extra level of care and thought and that bane of the dullard, patience. The prelude to shooting matches is usually a long and slow chase through trackless seas, and rewards those who can look well down the road to find those little bumps that bring the hunt to sharp, dramatic close. It’s not a style of wargaming for just anybody.
And that makes it a perfect bolt-hole or refuge for wargamers who don’t want “elegance” or speed of play. Naval wargaming might just be the genre where we can retire from the GenCon Now crowd and get back you our GenCon of the 80s roots for a good long while.
But hey, I could be wrong.
