In the last year or two I have been trying to expand the range of miniature games that I play. Trying to break out of the Games Workshop (GW) sphere and I have discovered a series of interesting, fun and unique games. However, I am finding it near impossible to find anyone who wants to play them.
This could be a problem of where I am in England however I find that most people at local clubs and stores stay to GW games, if they do stray outside these games it still tends to be the larger brands (Warmachine and Bolt Action for example).
Recently I have been looking for people to play Carnevale by TTcombat (Unique Miniatures Games & MDF Wargaming Scenery – TTCombat) and Fallout Factions by Modiphius (Modiphius – Publisher of RPG’s, miniatures, & tabletop board games – Modiphius Entertainment). I understand that not everyone is interested in Fallout however I have only been able to get one person interested in trying Carnevale.
I have barely seen anyone mention playing a non-GW game outside Warmachine and Bolt action. Whether this is a cycle of new people playing GW games because everyone else is and don’t try anything else and then newer people doing the same. It could also just be a show of how popular the models/setting of Warhammer is.
Whatever the reason I think it is unfortunate that many people are unwilling to at least try different games, especially with so many offering so much variety and different experiences. GW games tend to be a similar experience, with a few exceptions, however there is so much variety out there and surely something for everyone. I just find it unfortunate that GW has such a large monopoly and want to bring the issue forward, try and encourage people to at least look at and try new and different games.
I know this isn’t a problem everywhere has, I now some other areas of England have more players of these games, so I may be biased but this has been my experience.
With a new shop opening nearby I think I will be looking at what I can do to increase the variety of games played there, especially as they only stock Warlord Games Miniatures, see if anyone is interested in some of their other games.
To anyone who thinks about trying different games, I say do it, find someone nearby who can show you the game. If no one is around, see if you can find some rules (some games have free rules or free starter rules) and proxy some models. To anyone who hasn’t thought about it before, why not try something different? You might find that you prefer it.