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I'm sixteen, and my rule is as long as you aren't annoying, I don't care.

It has less to do with age and more to do with knowledge. I do not expect a newbie to know every rule in every Codex, but having an elementary grasp of the basic rules would help, or at least a willingness to learn.

Personally, i dont really see what the problem is. I know plenty of yunguns who are great, and on the flip side, i know a few older guys who arn't so great. Its more of a question of personality and purpose than age.

Having new young hobbyists filtering in all the time is necessary for the survival of our hobby. And while some are annoying, they are usually manageable. The obnoxious, sometimes even belligerent adults are much more of a problem than the mere nuisance created by some youngsters.

There are some really great young people coming into the hobby at the stores I frequent and it's fun to see them getting into it and when I am asked I give them any assistance I can. The nuisances, young and old, will always be there as they are a permanent fixture in this and probably any other "geek" hobby.

oadie wrote:...don't think that everyone who prescribes to a particular assumption does so dogmatically. ...

Do you think a kid will even know what that means

See, I wasn't sure how young you were talking. But, yeah, that's were it all starts... for many of us, anyhow.

I could see young players being very annoying for their parents, though. haha

I think it's fair to say 90% or wargamers get into in when they're kids. Then most of us actually stay as kids well into later life.
It seems playing with toy soldiers keeps one eternally young

Generally speaking, I get along well with young people; I don't have any qualms telling someone to calm down, to not be rude. As long as we all speak to one another as grown adults, we all get along.

You get mouthy, moody oiks in all ages I find. The real trouble is the late teens, they're the worst

I am 13, and I find many people the same age as me, really annoying.
Joining your 1 on 1 game without letting you say anything, and not caring for your figures in your case.

artyboy wrote:Every once in a while I run into a jackass (always in the 14-17 range) but for the most part they're cool.

What I've found is being a jackass is not restricted to one age group.

I'm 35 and whilst I do prefer playing older players as long as the person across the table from me knows how to play and is courteous I don't mind playing them at all.

I'm not being ageist in saying I prefer playing older players. It's just I don't need to think about how I put something across to them and adult humour is also fine!

darkkt wrote:Skulls are skulls, regardless of age. KHORNE CARES NOT FROM WHENCE THE BLOOD FLOWS!!!

QFT ^^

They tend to be a little over enthusiastic especially when discussing some of the background in a "If x and y had a fight, who would win?" kind of way. I was probably much the same in my youth though.

I think new blood is essential, or else the hobby will dry up and die.
While it is true some young players are insanely annoying (lord knows there's a few of 'em at the Aberdeen GW), as older gamers it helps if we can lead by example and show them how to behave. How else are they going to learn?

I went with "Could be Better - Many are annoying but we were all like that once", but only because it was the option where at least half the sentence was relevant.

"Could be better- Many are annoying" is 100% true. The "we were all like that once." is not true at all. At least, I wasn't an impolite, downright rude little s**t.

Back in the day (ca 1985), I had one kid in my whole school who behaved like most kids behave today. He threw tantrums, punched both students and teachers alike and generally behaved like a baboon on lsd. Not only was he alone in this in my entire school, he was "notorious" among other schools in the district.

Today, this is most kids. (And just for clarification, by most, I don't mean all.) Seems like every time I visit my local GW, there's at least one kid with what conventional psychology would call severe ADHD, and I'd call voluntary tourrettes.

Now, they don't damage my enjoyment of the hobby itself, but it kills any wish I have to linger in the store. It also stops a lot of older people from even thinking about entering a GW store. After all, a store where all those little brats are allowed to just hang out all day must just sell toys, right? I know if I hadn't already been hooked on the 40K universe, through dawn of war and the black library, I would probably never have entered GW twice.


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Wannabe Writer wrote:How else are they going to learn?

From their parents? That's where I learned to behave and to be polite. Most parents of young kids today, are too busy being buddies with their kids, to properly raise them.

They are critical to the growth of our hobby and should be encouraged.

We need young people for one if we don't GM would go bankrupt
For two The old people have job's that don't allow them to play as often
Its getting to that age where you rather spend time with your family then play a hobby.(40-above)

I'm twelve and I usually play adults only because they are sometimes the only people there. I play kids, teens, and beyond without complaining. I know some kids can be annoying but just don't care about that part of them. If they are into the hobby, give them a chance.

I'm 26 and started playing when i was 18, and i find that at no matter what age, someone can still be annoying. I know people in thier 30's that annoy me as much as the little kid at the FLGS. But this is also why i play mostly at the house these days where i can have motivational beer to see me to the end of a game

Youngsters are amazing and essential to the hoby. Without them, there is no future to the hoby. Sure some are anoying, but then veterans are anoying in the same ratios.

its more that I feel like i'm a creepy bastard if i'm hanging around with 12 year olds. (with their soft, supple bodies......) At least if they are 16+, I don't feel wierd.

I'm sixteen now but I started to play when I was 13. I didn't play a lot back then, but I think I wasn't annoying.
Our gaming fellows don't have anyone under 14. Other people could say that a particulary one of them is very annoying, and maybe he is, but at least he can play quite well.
As said, don't generalise. I was annoyed when I lost (as 15) to definetly under 13 (or at least he was like 140 cm).

As long as they don't...

Put their sticky hands all over my models.
Play Army men with my models.
Cry to their mother whenever I kill any model of theirs.

Otherwise they are quite alright. Being said...I have only played a game against a couple young kids. One game included all three problems as above, and the other was very well behaved and really just enjoyed the game for what it was.

Little kids can also be some of the least competitive and most relaxed gamers. I can take a loss. This is because I started when I was 12, and my LGS was nothing but guys who had at least 3-4 years of gaming experience on me. Spending two years nearly getting tabled 4 out of 5 games tends to develop a good sportsmen.

There are just as many fat, moon crater faced mid twenties guys who are whiny and annoying as there are little kids. And at least the kids are just that, kids, not man children. Kids rarely have ego issues, they expect adults to be better then them at things. Where some coddled basement dweller might expect he is entitled to being the best, that kid knows he must earn it.

Many of the older guys I meet who feel that newbies/young players ruin the hobby suffer from severe elitist syndrome. Namely that nobody else is allowed to play plastic army men, as they are the best at warhams. No gak your army is painted better/you tabled him, the kid is 12 and has played for 2 months. I have no issue walking a kid through a game against me, often letting them win if it helps them in the long run. I do not suffer from the kind of ego issues that make me incapable of taking a loss.

This is not to say that some kids suffer from personality defects, and I will ignore them all the same. However that is for the kids who are crazy, not the kids who are just kids. At my LGS we have a good 3 or 4 players between 12 and 15. All of them are good sportsmen. The problem people are all the older bachelors.

I dont mind little kids, aslong as they're not annoying and screaming in there high pitched voices every second, or crowding the painting tables, or asking me constantly how i painted my battlesuit, etc

So yeah, as long as they have some sense, i dont mind them... unless they collect ultrasmurfs for their first army or ruin their own models... Im starting to rant...

im 16 and i can think of 3 people over my age, some mid 20's that are far more annoying and childish than half the kids we have in our local gw..

I am an adult (but don't ask my wife) and I think that YoungBloods add a great facet to the hobby.

I do think there is an appropriate age cut-off point that, all too often, gets ignored for the benefit of the sale. I don't think 8-year-olds should be playing war games let alone playing with x-actos, super glues or strange adults 4 - 5 times their age. This isn't a hobby for kids that young.

I think a better age to start is 10 - 12. Personally, I enjoy teaching kids how to paint and play and it's great to see how they progress in the hobby and game aspects.

But that has it's place, too. Do I ALWAYS want to be the teacher ? Not at all. Sometimes I just want to play a game against someone in my demographic range who is like-minded and of similar maturity level. And by "maturity" I mean "experience" ... we play with toy soldiers so how "mature" are any of us, really ?

That's where game clubs and game stores have to step up ... there is room for all age groups to co-exist, but there needs to be a concerted effort to accommodate everyone. Veteran's nights, Youngblood nights, Basic Training nights all have their place. Ideally, separate areas on all nights would be fantastic but probably not realistic.

I'm 13 although most people mistake me for a 15 year old can be annoying. I think it is good for young people like me to be instrested in the hobby but as long as they can handle it and not get pissed when they get an ass kicking

I started the hobby when I was 9, though didn't really get into it until I was 11.
It really depends on the kid. If they are willing to listen to the guy who is a Grizzled old bitter shell of the man he once was, then they are tolerable.

In all other cases, Exterminatus Immediatum.

ERm, I want to change my vote from "Very annoying - The hobby has suffered greatly from catering to them" to "Exterminatus - Controversial but effective" I was thinking that young people were people too young to drink (18 here, conviniently for me) then read "under 13" they're (usualy) unable to understand the rules, they are loud, unclean and pretty poor conversation.

Kyley wrote:ERm, I want to change my vote from "Very annoying - The hobby has suffered greatly from catering to them" to "Exterminatus - Controversial but effective" I was thinking that young people were people too young to drink (18 here, conviniently for me) then read "under 13" they're (usualy) unable to understand the rules, they are loud, unclean and pretty poor conversation.

Perhaps you should find a new hobby then . As it could be yourself you see in the kids

I'm not saying we're perfect, in fact half of other kids I meet piss me off too. Like people said, it depends on the kid. I personally don't think I'm that much of a pain, but others might think different. Adults and kids have different sense of humor, face it: we don't think you guys are that funny either.

I'm 13, I understand the rules, and wont bitch about it if others say different.

Go exterminatus yourself.