I'm a collector/painter, never rolled a dice in anger, wouldn't know where to begin if I'm honest!

I've had a fascination with the collecting side since I was knee high and started on airfix, must have had 20,000+ 1/72 plastics since then (sadly all traded away), it was only by chance that I saw a copy of 'practical wargamer' as a kid when with my mum I popped into a shop and I saw a french lancer on the cover and grabbed it.
From there, I realised that there was a whole community of gamers/painters and I guess it was just the quality of the pics and the lack of a gaming club nearby that cemented me as a collector/painter.
Having a massive unpainted lead mountain is a joy and a curse, joy because I've got a fair sized collection to drool over and a curse because I know I'll never paint everything I buy.
I'd love to game one day but am cautious as I wonder whether I'd enjoy it too much, get into it in a big way and lose the motivation to paint as often as I do.

That said, I will try it one day. 

Cheers

Ry

Dear Mr Ry Man.

DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!

Invest in Don Featherstone's "War Games" and/or "Solo Wargaming". They're available on Amazon, even if they're the execrable John Curry reprints. Start small - a skirmish. The small unit game is perfect for many periods - the Viking raid, two Barons bumping heads, outpost work on the Coa 1809, paras vs bridge guards 1944 - and it gets your figure on a table and moving - gets you used to playing. Ignore the big rule sets, something quick and fun to whet your appetite. I am a solo wargamer by preference, and I have games that can go on for days. (I seem to remember a game that stopped until I had painted some Portuguese Cacadores who were due on as reinforcements.)

Look at a all your figures. Their little eyes pleading, their little voices squeaking "you spend so much time making us look good but you never let us do what we are designed to do. Would you buy a car and never drive it? Would you leave a bottle of wine undrunk? Would you get that Thai bride out the catalogue, the one you like on page 72, and never ..."  Noisy little squeaky buggers - but you get the picture.

Don't be game-curious, jump in and have a whole new way of losing you evenings!

TRy something fast and free, there is loads around!

http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/

I find the motivation for painting is gaming. There's no greater spur to finishing a unit than "it's got to be ready by Sunday"!

Quote from: Hertsblue on 22 November 2013, 08:15:40 AM
I find the motivation for painting is gaming. There's no greater spur to finishing a unit than "it's got to be ready by Sunday"!

Completely agree

Too true.

Greetings

At the moment my motivation is planning for a series of games in May 2014 - so Phase 2 of my 10mm SYW will be done in December and hopefully some 10mm WW2 desert in the Spring.   However I'll get to solo game with my 10mm SYW as I test different rulesets using the same scenario.    Each of the units (painted and in preparation and planned) are named units hopefully with correct or at least plausible uniforms and colours.

Regards

Edward