What aspect of miniature wargaming is most important to you? We all tend to like most aspects of the hobby, but what would you say is the biggest attraction for you to miniature wargaming?

I chose "Other" because I prefer building/converting/customizing over the other choices. That's not to say that the listed choices aren't important to me, but if you limited me to one choice for the rest of my days, I'd spend them tweaking minis to look the way I want. GS sculpting, lots of bits and odds/ends, and casting allow for unlimited variation.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that painting or collecting a stock figure, without changing it, just doesn't excite me much. Plastic and resin models that make it easy to vary heads, arms, poses lead to figures that are fun to paint and play. Metal models are often cool and esquitely detailed but some of the glam is lost when ten other guys in the room are using the exact same model or when you have a squad with three or four of that exact same pose.

Just my two cents in support of the "Other" category!

Its nice to see some nice info on this matter, great idea for a poll legoburner!

LunaHound wrote:Its nice to see some nice info on this matter, great idea for a poll legoburner!

I'm guessing it was your conflagration of a thread which gave him the idea

All of the following!!!!! Thats whats makes my hobby!

Flashman wrote:

LunaHound wrote:Its nice to see some nice info on this matter, great idea for a poll legoburner!

I'm guessing it was your conflagration of a thread which gave him the idea

Actually, it was Jervis Johnson's latest standard bearer article. God I feel so dirty... so very dirty

legoburner wrote:

Flashman wrote:

LunaHound wrote:Its nice to see some nice info on this matter, great idea for a poll legoburner!

I'm guessing it was your conflagration of a thread which gave him the idea

Actually, it was Jervis Johnson's latest standard bearer article. God I feel so dirty... so very dirty

You should feel dirty!

I vote OTHER. For me its all aspects of the game.

BTW, the new homepage looks great!

I voted other. Simply because I love the aspect of converting/painting/fluff discussing, all rolled up into one large lump of fun-ness

legoburner wrote:

Flashman wrote:

LunaHound wrote:Its nice to see some nice info on this matter, great idea for a poll legoburner!

I'm guessing it was your conflagration of a thread which gave him the idea

Actually, it was Jervis Johnson's latest standard bearer article. God I feel so dirty... so very dirty

That was going to be my second guess

I enjoy pretty much every aspect of the hobby, but the big ones are the backround and social life.

Backround is important other wise it wouldn't make much sense.

The social life part of the hobby (in my experiance) is important because you get to hang out and meet cool people and goof off.

I enjoy painting most of all. There is just something about takeing bare plastic and turning it into an army with character.

Converting is second. I do, however, have to limit how much I do or I start going nuts (Looks at Ork Painboy dentist, Ork dressed as a UN Peacekeeper, Ork with Chainsaws instead of Hands)

Gameing is third. Nice way to pit your mind against someone elses.


P.S. What was Jervis blathering about this time?

I just love all of it. I like the social part because you get to hang out with friends and maybe meet new people.

I love painting them, because it gives me a fun little challenge for the day. the collecting is also fun simply to just watch your armies grow.

Playing the game is 100% awesome!

and the fiction is exciting to read and write about.

The fluff. I write my own for every army I own or wish I own. It helps pass the time.

EDIT: In the year i have played 40k, I have only finished 2 games, one being yesterday. I have writen more fluff then I have actualy played. I am truly in it for the fluff.

Other:

I cannot pick between modelling/painting and gaming. They're the two parts I really enjoy, and I enjoy them equally.

I love the gaming aspect and painting to a limited degree. Mostly, I'm into wargaming for the social part of it. Meeting interesting people, even jerks, that I wouldn't normally meet is great. Also, attending cons adds to that. I could meet interesting people through more mainstream activities but the best people I ever met has been through wargames, RPGs, Renaissance faires, martial arts, shooting, etc.

Plus, creating an army to pwn some smack talking n00b is also great fun.

The game itself, the aesthetic of the models, but also being part of a gaming fraternity.

The game is first and foremost for me. I have long neglected the hobby side of the game. I love seeing well painted armies but lack the skill/patience to make one of my own.

Since I have no one to play against in my area I am mainly a painter.I love painting,only ever played one or two games in 4th edition.But I will would like to get out and game more.

avery thing about the hobby is fun

Lore by far

Other*
I enjoy converting/kitbashing & modeling most,however I love pretty much all aspects of the hobby.

Playing the game!!

As much as I love painting to death to make them realistic (which I can't seem to accomplish) or converting them like mad, the reason I got into this is to play!

Plus the attention when passerby's look at my stuff!! ^_^

Another write in for "conversions".

I am kinda suprised you did not have a catagory for Winning at All Costs. I wonder how that would change the percentages. For me its the paint side simply because it tends to lead into the social side as well. People are more apt to talk to you about a good looking army then the power gamer with 3 colors hehe.

This is a tough one.

I went with gaming, only because I wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't for the games.

But I try to with the best painted awards at tourneys.
40K background is an excellent read in the novels from BL.
I buy the rarer special edition minis and put them in a box, unopened.
Alot of my friends play the games.

Ahh if only the other thread wasnt locked i'll point this thread to them... only 26% xD
solid proves (others) do exist.

I chose other becuase I just can't CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!!!

Other - building the models, terrain, etc followed by painting.

This is opposite how I feel about board wargaming where the ruleset and how fun the game is to play are the most important.

All of the above+conversions+scratchbuilding and then some. lol

For me it is about the actual modeling and converting both of models and terrain. I spend many hours doing so, far more then I actually play...

It's a social hobby.

I don't need to prove anything anymore, so I can just have fun in my "me" time..

It's all important, but painting is the nuts and bolts of it for me. I gotta paint.

I like going to the Hobby shop and getting to talk to people and playing the game's.

Other since its a combo of two. Painting and playing friendly fun games are both the best part of it for me. Painting is relaxing and good army theory time, and a fully painted army makes games more fun.

i like painting some of the models, i love gaming, but most of all, i like converting!

You missed the converting option lego
For me, i enjoy converting and sculpting models alot more than anything else, allthough, painting now seems to get annoying after so long (need a new colour scheme)

For me it would have to be a tie between painting and collecting. Both of which I often enjoy more than the game itself.

I love to get together with my friends and have a few games, we always have a good time no matter who wins.

Painting for me so.... there.

I was voter #666!

I voted other because I like converting more than anything else.

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!

I'd have to say that for me, as well as the group I play with, it's mostly the social aspect. Often times, we won't even finish the games we start due to the amount of alcohol that is ingested before/during the game.

Where's the 'All of the above' option? I love every aspect of gaming. That's why I do it. However, IMO, the most important part to me would be a tie between the social life and playing the actual game. Mainly just because the two go hand-in-hand.

Where's the 'All of the above' option? I love every aspect of gaming. That's why I do it. However, IMO, the most important part to me would be a tie between the social life and playing the actual game. Mainly just because the two go hand-in-hand.

Where's the 'All of the above' option? I love every aspect of gaming. That's why I do it. However, IMO, the most important part to me would be a tie between the social life and playing the actual game. Mainly just because the two go hand-in-hand.

I like all aspects of the hobby, but painting is the one that wins out.

I chose 'Social Life', as I really love that I can spend time Painting and Modelling alone, but it all pays off when I attend my Club. Usually, whenever you unpack something that people haven't spotted before, they show a positive interest and give you feedback, and praise, for the work you've put in! I love that aspect of Hobbying! I also enjoy generally having a laugh whilst Gaming; there's always a good discussion flying about the room - always!

I chose other, for me it's the time spent between games, surfing tacticas or making counter strategies to armies after games. that matters the most. I spend the large majority of my time (related to this hobby) just doing this. I also find it to be far more involving than the games themselves.(although I still love to play)

When I was younger, it was all about the games. Then it developed into the painting, but Now I just seem to be a plastic junkie, and need a fix of 1980s 1st gen eldar every so often.

Playing the game.
I actually dislike painting almost as much as I dislike playing with unpainted models.

The social part is obviously good as well, or we would not be here posting about it.

Its always been the gaming aspect for me. The game itself is what first attracted me. The social aspect is nice too as get to me people with similar interests. The painting modeling is just a necessary evil to me.

I'd probably go with "planning" as my write-in. I like painting, modeling, and scratchbuilding, but I have ten times as many projects slowly formulating into legitimate ideas as I do on my work table, and I there are half a dozen of those in various stages of completion (most of which have been in the same state for an embarrassingly long time). I like playing, but I have only a handful of games under my belt, while I have hours upon hours spent thinking "Man, it'll be awesome when it's a bit more convenient and I can actually get in at least a few games every month."

At the rate I go, if I didn't like the planning, I'd never really have picked up the hobby. Too many irons in the fire to devote myself 100% to 40K, but I somehow manage to feel involved, even if I don't touch anything related to it for a few weeks.

I enjoy the collecting and painting. I mostly tend to just buy models from different armies that look cool.

I am a collector by heart! But playing would be a close second

For me, its about getting together with my fellow gamers and enjoying the game together!
Playing the game and painting come in a close second!

I'm saying painting primarily because this year I've been in the middle of butt f- nowhere most of the time and painting helps keep me sane...ish.

For me it's having fun and making friends, as well as making cool models.

Other for me, I like the gaming and the background (making my own up as well as reading official stuff) and the modelling to an extent, but I abhore painting.

Its a toss up between playing and painting/modelling for me, but the latter wins. I have taken long breaks from playing but always come back because of the painting

Painting. Although everything is pretty important.

To me the part that is the most fun is building them and painting them

Other: the most important part about wargaming for me is converting models.

cameradie (sp?)
gaming
konvertin'
painting good-detail models (not troops)
the fluff.

It's always been painting for me. It's fun, it's enjoyable, it's therapeutic even (kind of de-stresses me when I need to get my mind off things), and most of all it's rewarding, especially after spending many hours on a single model (or days for some really talented people) it feels really good to see the finished product especially if it comes out well. It gets the creative juices flowing too which is fun as well when creating a paint scheme and seeing how it turns out. I mean I like the gaming aspect too but for me it's not as fun because you can lose a game of 40K and that's not fun. Painting is always fun for me. lol in fact just the other day I played my first game in weeks after spending pretty much everyday since my last battle painting. Not that I didn't have time for a game I just wanted to paint more lol.

Painting and building.

Then Collecting my lovely lovely plastic chaps.

Then Gaming.

Background/Fiction is just a bit of a laugh on the side for me. Dont pay too much attention to it other than the main points.

The social life is mostly crap! haha. No its good enough. They should have bigger GW shops with more tables and an 18+ section with a bar tho. That would make it better. Way too many kids in last time I was there.

To Krump some 'eads!
WAAAAGH!!!

Spend a lot of time collecting bits and models to convert and paint, so I would say the "hobby part" of 40K. Do also enjoy the gaming.

Making the actual modeling and converting is my favorite. It makes the game personal.

Playing the game with some old models my cousin passed down to me and my brother was what got me hooked...painting just turned out to be satisfying too once I was old enough to paint halfway decent. Still, playing a good game is the best part about it.

I think everything bar the gaming is very important to me.

But I do enjoy gaming socially

I couldn't choose. It depends on my mood. What I love most is that it does have all these aspects. Whether I feel like immersing myself in the world by curling up with a Black Library novel, or having a friend over for a game that I might not have thought of to invite around otherwise, or really in the mood to paint, maybe today I can't wait to assemble my dudes and the drive to finish my collection and watch it grow...

To me it's genuinely all important in equal measures.

The social aspect of it, especially if you have a great group at your lgs. It's always nice to have a casual conversation during a game. Joking about what's going on in the game.
"alright I killed 4 fire warriors in the assault"
Me: "well you have to take a wound because your space marines high-fived each other and that one dumb ass forgot he has a power fist"
"hahaha, get the feth outta here!"

social life, and painting as well....curse you for making me decide

I guess it'd have to be painting, for me. Currently, at least. Collecting was great fun when I had money and few models, but that time has passed (:(). I'm finally in a position to start playing somewhat regularly (I hope), but that hasn't started, yet. I love the universe, but my application of fluff is visual - I like models/buildings to have explainable features and to fit into the universe, but I don't really care to write a story about them and I've never read a BL book. With a FLGS nearby, building terrain has become less important, too, so I'm left with painting, as liable as that is to change.

It feels somewhat odd saying that's my favorite part of the hobby, since I do so very little of it. If you looked at me, it might seem like I find it a chore, but looking at a fully painted mini - that I painted - is incredibly satisfying. While that may not be sufficient impetus to crank them out with any regularity (energy and motivation are not my strong suits), it doesn't diminish the satisfaction one bit. I like all aspects of the hobby, in my own time and fashion, but painting definitely tops the list.

I voted for playing the game..... but i love all aspects of the hobby!!

It has to be gaming for me. And I'm getting more games in nowadays, which is great

I like the fluff but I also like actually playing.

background and fluff no doubt, it's what drew me to 40k in the first place, and what keeps me a loyal customer despite recent ass rapings

Although I do like to play, I enjoy assembling models more than any thing else.

JB wrote:I chose "Other" because I prefer building/converting/customizing over the other choices.

+1 to this.

I love the challenge and freedom of converting models, especially those that are not usually made for convertin'

Modeling and converting for me. It's way more fun than painting.

Everything in that list is important to me, First and foremost its a hobby that i enjoy, which includes everything mentioned.

Lets see in terms of %

Collecting - 50
Painting - 30
Social - 10
Playing The Game - 5
Background - 5

That breaks it up roughly, I could go into more detail though.

Other: Modeling/converting. If I never had to paint again, I'd be alright. On the other hand, I would never ask someone to paint my troops for me. That just doesn't seem right. If it's my work, I can show it off and be proud of it. It doesn't sit right if someone compliments me on a paintjob and I reply "oh, yeah... I didn't do that. But thanks!"

Rico...

It used to be gaming, but i much prefer the fluff now.

Definetly playing the actual games. But all the other aspects are important too and still fun to do.

I voted for other as for me it seems to be a mix of all the above. But if I had to choose, I would lean more for the modelling aspect. I love collecting new bitz and pieces and kit bashing to make unique stuff AND I love to paint them to the best of my abilities.

It has got to be the backround for me.

I shall live and die in service to the God-Emperor of mankind.

I wouldn't have anything to do with my warhammer if I didn't go to social gaming clubs

Mainly collecting but the painting is awesome as well

Painting, gaming and the lore/background in equal parts.

All of the options.

Gotta go with background, but just playing is a close second.

Hate to admit it but the first HH book really got me into SM. Love the fluff still!

Progress to me means armies getting closer to fluff. My latest pet project is a tactical SGT with power AXE and plasma pistol. I reckon he is a badass with good access the the armoury!

Although I do paint more than game or anything else, that's simply because there isn't a gaming club within easy reach from where I live. When there was a gaming club about, it was easily the social aspect of meeting your mates and making new friends from more or less all walks of life. Background close second actually, then painting. I like making homebrew chapters/regiments/craftworlds and then painting them up. And then dick about with club members for a few hours!

I clicked painting, but really, it's more building then painting.

Jon

I had to pick other b/c there is not an all of the above.

At this point I mainly care about playing the damned game. I've got models coming out of my ears... even unassembled stuff. Most of my armies are also fully painted so all that's really on my plate is finding people to play with

Started for the sake of collecting and now i'm actually using said collection to play

Toss up between playing and the fluff. I absolutely love both. But if the fluff is what really seals the deal for me (specifically for 40k and WHF).

I love fluffing out armies with characters, background, color schemes and stories. Second is probably painting and modeling.

JB wrote:I chose "Other" because I prefer building/converting/customizing over the other choices. That's not to say that the listed choices aren't important to me, but if you limited me to one choice for the rest of my days, I'd spend them tweaking minis to look the way I want. GS sculpting, lots of bits and odds/ends, and casting allow for unlimited variation.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that painting or collecting a stock figure, without changing it, just doesn't excite me much. Plastic and resin models that make it easy to vary heads, arms, poses lead to figures that are fun to paint and play. Metal models are often cool and esquitely detailed but some of the glam is lost when ten other guys in the room are using the exact same model or when you have a squad with three or four of that exact same pose.

Just my two cents in support of the "Other" category!

i totally agree with that, so i just quoted it for you to read it again

I voted playing the games... with the proviso that I strongly prefer playing with painted armies, against friends who play just for the fun of it, and sometimes nice folks who I've never met before.

I don't actually enjoy painting so much. However my desire to have a painted army usually overcomes that!

All of the options. So I picked other.

I love playing the game. It is by far the best table top game i have ever played.

They are all equally important to me. I value some more than others, but without one, the others are meaningless. Therefore i vote for all of them.

I voted 'background' although its a close contest between that and painting. Looking closely at switching to Dark Heresy which should encompass both of these.

I'd say it's mixture of social and painting, but I chose the latter because I could only choose one.

I love the Social life wargaming brings. The gaming is also awesome and the collecting is also cool.

Such a hard question.. I put painting, although collecting is a huge pleasure too, when I can afford to fork out.. It's still exciting to save up for that one big one you've wanted so badly.

I wish I could just listen to audio of someone speaking about the background / stories about my army as I'm painting. I love that feeling of connection between yourself and your race.

The social side of it is big to me too though. I still just don't know enough people who play 40k.
It's all very rewarding.

It's full packaged experience for me, can't decide on just one thing.

Yeah i'm with MFMONK, i like it all pretty equally.

I answered background/fiction, but my real answer is the way the fiction, painting, and creativity in painting/list building all feed into the experience of playing the tabletop game. It's the whole package. Playing a game with two fully painted armies on a nice terrain board is a really special experience. There's nothing like it.

I love the building and modelling aspects. Actual painting I find mind-numbingly tedious and that is probably my least favorite part of the hobby. On the other hand, I do like having the minis on display, and that requires painting them, so paint them I do.

Still, in a perfect world I would build the models and hand them to someone else to paint.

I have only actually played 40k a handful of times, and that was around 10 years ago (5th edition). Mostly I like the lore from the Dawn of War games.

Other, for me it is the spectacle of a good looking table with decently painted armies. Without nice terrain and models, I would rather just play a board game which is more contained, often more mechanically sound and far less of a time/space commitment. And without a game, I would rather get more detailed (and often less expensive) full model kits entirely intended for display.

Voted for background/fiction, because I really do love the fluff and the Black Library - but I love collecting and painting and I'm most looking forward to socialising and playing!

I said socializing, but it's more about the entire process leading up to that socialization.

When I host a game, I want the whole thing to be a bit of an event. Much as some people enjoy entertaining friends at their house for dinner...I enjoy entertaining friends with wargaming hobbies. This is not 40K-centric either. It's whatever game I'm running. People know from my previous posts I take terrain/table appearance very seriously. I want any wargame hosted at my place to be a bit of a treat.

Top quality terrain, fully painted miniatures (my armies are fully painted, or if I'm hosting another game...everything is painted if I'm providing the miniatures). Chairs, snacks, dice, all provided if needed, etc. Ideally all of this would be capped by a quality fun, laugh-out-loud or skin-of-our-teeth game. 40K rarely provides that final element, but it's occasionally fun to try.

A great wargame is something you can tell stories about several weeks, months or years later...if you can't, why play? A great wargame is like writing/directing a crazy action film you would want to watch. That means sets, make-up, special effects (if you have LED-lit burning clouds of smoke...use them!), etc. This collaborative process is where the socializing happens. As any quality wargame unfolds it should be telling a story...much as if you read a comic book, or even a historical account. 40K is probably the least story-telling/thematic game we play, but a lot of people have armies so it's still popular here.

As I've lost interest in 40K I still write scenarios, set up tables, and host other players coming over to game. It's still about getting people together to throw dice and have a good time.

Building and being creative. 90% of what i do is modified in at least some small way. Since we got out of Warhammer, everything I've done has been a kitbash or completely custom like the Avante Guardians army I'm working on

Diarama which I did a little bit of in the past. I've always like to display my minis, doesn't seem right to coop them up in a tote. I don't play though.

For me, the main thing is to get to play with the toys.

Fluff doesn't interest me too much (I rarely bother to read the lore on the various rulebooks I buy), and while I love modelling, I also hate it, and downright agonize over painting stuff because of my impossibly high standards I try to enforce on myself. "A new hope" set the standards of modelling impossibly high already before I had assembled or painted a single mini, and I'm not sure I will match the quality of those models anytime soon..

Socializing, umm, most of my friends don't wargame or stopped being into miniatures a couple decades ago, so that doesn't really tie into it either