Following recent posts, I am wondering what type of game do people prefer - Pre 1600 (vote Stab) or post 1600 (Vote Bang).

Caveats - this is all other things being equal, it's not about the opponent, figures, rule set, etc. What period are you drawn to?
Also, before someone points out the question is very European based, I KNOW!   I don't care if Elbonia didn't get muskets until 1934, do you prefer the 'up close and personal', or the 'kill them at a distance'?

Personally, I am going to vote 'Splody, because there tends to be more manoeuvring.

Bang,but pre 1900

Same as his Grace above

One of you hasn't voted.

NOTE TO ALL
This is a Poll - there should be buttons at the top* (I know they aren't always that obvious).

*or somewhere.

My preference is All of the above.


Depends on my mood. Sometimes I like the rapidity of a modern battle - 100 figures and a dozen vehicles; sometimes I like the majestic dance of big armies in close order; and sometimes I want a skirmish of less than 30 figures.

I refuse to be pigeonholed.

I'm with fsn on this (which is a cause for concern!).

I do not have a preference, I butterfly my way between various eras. Looking at the composition of my collection it would seen I tend towards stabby in 28mm and shooty in 10mm. But that isn't exclusive.

I do not have a preference, but I tend to have a liking for guns/tanks in general so voted for Bang!

QuoteI'm with fsn on this (which is a cause for concern!).

Until the arrival of weapons with decent range and lethality (late C18), warfare is linear.
Ranged weapons give depth to the battlefield and the decisions to be made increase hugely in quantity and variety. Far more interesting games (for my taste).

Yes, I voted.
Guess how!

WWII has always been my first wargaming love and most likely always will be. The influence of Airfix kits, the magazine, documentaries and films probably is the root of all of this.

As I have said before I only do one period and one theatre.

The period is 1,000,000,000 BCE to 1000,000,000 CE.

The theatre is the current universe.

So stab, bang, chomp, pew pew, slash, whoosh, BOOM!

The players matter, the rules and minis not so much.

But what if a game starts into another universe? 

At the minute Bang is my preference - both WWII and VSF flavoured SciFi being played recently. 

But Fantasy is always part of the mix - which does tend to mix up the Stabby approach compared to historical battles. 

For historicals I probably own more Bang era forces - but certainly have a few Stabby ones (often ones that can do double duty as Fantasy armies...)

QuoteBut what if a game starts into another universe? 

A galaxy far, far away ... but still this universe.

I think I'll cope 

Less stabby than bang but whether or not the missile troops go bang or twang I prefer armies to have at least some of them.

Don't see gunpowder as a big dividing line myself.

QuoteI'm with fsn on this (which is a cause for concern!).

Nurse will be round soon.

Tony I realise both have had a bit of the other in, but archers/slingers are just an annoyance in a game until you get close enough to go THWACK.

Quote from: tony of TTT on 06 January 2026, 07:37:22 PMDon't see gunpowder as a big dividing line myself.

Gunpowder per se isn't the dividing line. Long-ranged, accurate, mobile artillery is what really gives the battlefield depth.

I have eclectic tastes, and have tried most genres.
The hobby isn't big or widespread enough for me to be super-picky.

It would probably be quicker to list the things I'm no longer excited about (or have grown tired of).
 * Ancients - love the history, have never been satisfied with the games.
 * Naval Sail - movement's either dumb-simple or massively complicated, and far too easy for one fleet to simply sail away.
 * Post ww2 "Modern" - A bit too real, and so many relatively untested weapons.
 * Science Fiction - Like Modern, but worse.

Modern is the only one where I feel an active distaste.
The others, just don't tickle my entertainment centres.

Good luck to those who enjoy them, just not for me.

I don't want to answer the binary question.  Bit like would I prefer £100 as 10 £10s or 5 20s.   I have slightly more stabby armies (Crusaders, Mongols, Huns, EIRomans(WIP), Celts, Germans, Abbasids, Saracens, WOTRx2) than bang (ECWx2, Napoleonicx2, AWIx2, SYW) . So I could say stabby but its not really a strong preference.  I tend to recoil from WW1 onwards but there is no logical reason. Stabby periods could be just as horrific. Possibly more interesting to this forum is that my stabbies are largely 1/72 and my bangs are all 10mm. The pile of shame future fulfillment has a LOT of 10mm "dark age" and medievals and still some peninsular naps.

I think I may have introduced 'stabby' and 'bangy' as wargame terms on the forum