Endings (first world version)
It's been a long time coming. After playing for seventeen years and through four editions, Games Worskhop has radically changed their Warhammer Fantasy game to the point where the only similarity between the old and new games are the models themselves. This decision has led 90% of the tournament community to abandon not only Age of Sigmar (the new abomination of a game) but the old 8th edition rules as well. This has caused a rather persistent low grade depression in me over the last few months. I consider that a sign of growth that what's getting me down is something external and minor, but still. I've started looking in a new game (Malifaux, very gothic/wester/steampunk oriented) which fun, but it's very small scale and totally different. There is another game more similar to fantasy (Kings of War) but currently feels like a dumbed down version of Warhammer Fantasy.
When you have a hobby you've enjoyed for almost half your life, it's natural to be sad over its ending. I can understand the reasons people want to quit Warhammer Fantasy: the game is no longer supported by new models or rules, it's hard to get new people into the game. These don't seem like sufficient reasons to me: we have a strong community of players, all the rules are still there, all our models (which we spent hundreds of dollars on and hours painting them) are still there. Over time perhaps the community will shrink, but there's no reasons to stop dead in your tracks. Unfortunately, I'm pretty much alone in my feelings.
All one can really do is mourn the passing of the hobby, and try to find the fun in something new. If the other tournament scenes pick up, that community will still live on (just with different slang and in-jokes). It was a challenging, sometimes frustrating, sometimes rewarding, and largely fun ride while it lasted.
When you have a hobby you've enjoyed for almost half your life, it's natural to be sad over its ending. I can understand the reasons people want to quit Warhammer Fantasy: the game is no longer supported by new models or rules, it's hard to get new people into the game. These don't seem like sufficient reasons to me: we have a strong community of players, all the rules are still there, all our models (which we spent hundreds of dollars on and hours painting them) are still there. Over time perhaps the community will shrink, but there's no reasons to stop dead in your tracks. Unfortunately, I'm pretty much alone in my feelings.
All one can really do is mourn the passing of the hobby, and try to find the fun in something new. If the other tournament scenes pick up, that community will still live on (just with different slang and in-jokes). It was a challenging, sometimes frustrating, sometimes rewarding, and largely fun ride while it lasted.