Friday Frivolity: Wargames

From a stock photo of Battles of Waterloo, a favorite game of mine

So a week or so ago I was chatting  with my wife about the fact that I don't really have a hobby.  That's because I lack the ability to stick with any one interest long enough to justify it being called a hobby.  

I probably have what hipsters call ADHD. Or at least ADD.  My mind can seldom stay focused more than a few minutes at any given time.  Put  me in a corporate meeting with some hour presentation going on and it's as close to hell for me as I can imagine.  The same goes for anything.  Books, interests, topics, or just pastimes will come and go again.  I'll have a dozen books being read, sitting around at the same time.  That's pretty much true with anything.  

Anyhoo, as I said this, I was told this isn't true.  I was reminded that wargames, or the broader category of strategy games, has long been my hobby.  No matter what I've picked up or tossed aside over the years, my love of strategy style games has never changed.  I suppose there is some truth to that. 

I imagine that falls under the wider context of history as my hobby.  Though over the years I have taught, lectured and read endlessly about history, I never made a living of it.  I always thought there might be some loss to the enjoyment if it became a job with a steady paycheck.  Nonetheless, since I received my first history book at the tender age of eight, I was hooked. 

It was one of those old coffee table World War II books.  My dad bought it for me since I was already interested in the war.  That's because I had several family members who served and fought in the war. I heard about their exploits, but largely from everyone else who didn't serve and fight.  Plus it being the early 70s, WWII hadn't fallen on the hard times it would by the time I was in high school and college.  That's up until Saving Private Ryan and Tom Brokaw made WWII cool again, if only for a season. 

Though the book was a gift for me, it was clearly published for adults.  I struggled with the text to be sure, especially the Russian and Asian names and terms.  As a coffee table book it was replete with pictures, charts and images.  Leaning on what had to be a 2 point font, it also managed to have a decent amount of text.  Compared to school books and textbooks I've seen published today, it came off as doctoral level scholarship.  

It was also brutal.  Many of the images from that destructive war were there without modifying or editing.  Images of the dead, the mutilated, the tortured graced the pages at a time when the worst of Hollywood was still kept from kids my age, and Harryhausen was about as brutal as we'd see.  I vividly remember a color photo of a German solider caught and crushed by tanks during retreat.  Not for the squeamish.  And probably not for an eight year old in 1974. 

But it spurred my interest in the war and in history overall.  Over the years I would learn more about that subject, and eventually other periods in the long story of human history.  Eventually other periods would eclipse my interest in WWII, particularly the Napoleonic Era and Mediaeval European history.  In seminary, of all the topics I could zero in on, I became enamored with the transmission and textual record of the New Testament.  What Greek I learned, I learned to better grasp the various textual witnesses of the New Testament through the ages. 

With that said, it shouldn't be surprising that as a youngster and young man, a big part of my interests revolved around military history of any sort.  It's hard to read history and not run into the myriad conflicts that have marred human relations over the years.  Back in the day, it was a very young man thing to focus on. 

Now, the thing about history is it's tough to 'do.'  You can read about it, or watch documentaries or movies for what they're worth.  But it isn't like science, or music, or sports, or art where you can 'do things.'  Which might be why, for reasons I can't fathom, many people I know say history was their least favorite subject.  I always ask people who say that if they like books, TV shows, plays or movies.  If they say yes, then I ask why would they ever not like history?  There is nothing in any fiction that matches the real McCoy. 

In any event, I get that history is tough to do.  Unless you're a reenactor risking being called a Nazi, or enjoy traveling a lot and can afford endless museums and historical sites, you're stuck reading about it or passively watching it on screen.  

Enter wargames.  Or strategy games.  Though I'll admit, strategy games might be a bit broad for me.  Perhaps historical strategy games.  After all, my sons prefer more far out games, and enjoy Sci-Fi or other fantastical forms of strategy games.  Who can colonize Mars first, or whose galactic empire will come out on top and such. Not me.  When asked to play I will, however, since I believe there are worst things for a parent to endure than being asked to do things with one's children. 

Nonetheless, I prefer history based strategy games.  I do like period games, such as the old Roman Republic, which really isn't a wargame, but a very broad and abstract strategic game set in that period of history.  Mostly, however, it's the old 'chit' game replicating a specific war, conflict or battle that I prefer.  It's a bit like chess, but on steroids.  

I like chess, don't get me wrong.  I'm not that good, but I enjoy it.  I prefer more bells and whistles, however, since I find more extras and add-ons give more chances to circumvent my deficiencies where strategic thinking is concerned.  Hence my enjoyment of the game World in Flames - the ultimate game with a million extra add-ons.  Which is why, in the end, I enjoy endless strategy games, especially of the historical type.  They scratch that love of history itch, and they let me flex my strategic thinking muscles while giving me more than 'pawn takes rook' options.  And they can be educational, with the historical notes sections of old Avalon Hill games surpassing most of what passes as history in today's schools. 

So I guess that's fair, I do have a hobby after all.