As most of you have seen, there is certainly a drop in the amount of Flames of War coverage on the blog and in the podcast. A few you have spoken to me or shot me a note asking me what's going on. I figured that I would put some thoughts on the page, as it were, and see if I could figure out what is going on with my (lack of) interest in Flames of War.
Please note, I am speaking about my personal views only - you'll have to ask Steven, Luke and Eric what they think.
Too Much, Too Fast
Some of it is certainly that we played a LOT of it for quite a while. Even more, I did some insane work painting and constructing FoW models - I painted and assembled 231 Tanks in 2013. We went to a ton of tournaments and played a bunch around town. If you listen to some of the old podcasts, you can hear about us playing a ton of games.It seems to me that we went a little bonkers with Flames for a while. As with anything, "those who burn twice as bright, burn half as long."
Other Games Got Good
Over time, we really got into some good board, card and lighter-weight miniature games. Fantasy Flight has knocked a couple of balls out of the park with the LotR, Conquest, Games of Thrones and Netrunner LCGs. They also have stepped it up with Armada and X-Wing for miniatures and things like Lords of Waterdeep. Heck, I even got back in to Battletech a bit.
Right now, when we get together, it is just easier and more fun for us to play one of these low-maintenance games. The setup and tear-down time is just not as appealing as it once was for Flames. I also just don't want to play Luke or Steven for the 50th time.
Uninteresting Content
First of all - before I get a ton of crap from anyone - this is my opinion, and only mine. MANY will disagree with me, and that is fine. I have no interest in changing your mind if you love the new stuff. I also have no interest in you trying to change mine. With that...
...I'm just not excited about the new FoW stuff. I didn't get into 'Nam, which I hear is pretty fun. I think Team Yankee is wrong at 15mm - it should be at 6mm and a Battalion-Level game. I am not interested in the Pacific from a ground combat game point of view. This was never my area of study, so I guess I never developed a huge interest. I think the last FoW content I was interested in was Remagen, which was great. Berlin just didn't do it for me - seemed like the same ol' stuff.
What's next? Apparently, Pacific and Team Yankee. Meh. If you like it, I am super glad! For me, I just don't seem to have much interest. I totally forgot about The Great War, so yeah. Whatever the reasons, I am just not excited about the new stuff.
Nothing Local
There is ZERO FoW around my locality. We had a pretty good group going back in the day, but with people moving away, shops closing or dropping FoW, there just isn't the level of interest. Many of the "near-local" I95 guys have pretty much moved on from FoW. I could scare up a game with Wally, Andrew or Luke, but where in the past I was all about that, now I just kinda shrug. I barely have a table set up to play on these days.
Digital Content Move
I don't want to get the new digital content. I liked Easy Army fine, but - for some reason I just can't figure out - I have no interest in any of the new digital content. Maybe it is just that it is an extra step and I already kinda don't have interest in the books up there. I have a wall of FoW books that I play out of today - I just can't get on board with the new digital stuff. I really do not want to carry a tablet around at a tournament.
New Interests
From a modeling and painting point of view, I have moved on to some other things. I have an active, interested group of friends who go to Comic Cons now and we make all kinds of fun stuff. So, where I would grab a Panzer IV in the past, I now grab some craft foam and make a helmet. I find this challenging, interesting and fun!
So, I guess it is death by a thousand cuts, eh? I am still plenty excited about going to tournaments and playing games there - I really enjoy it. I dig talking some lists, tactics and what not while I am there, but when the tournament is done, I am pretty much done. I am certainly not AGAINST FoW, but I think I might just be at a low-point. Watch this space to see if I rebound!
