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For me it was less about a change in the hobby itself, and more about changing what crowd I was looking for. I didn't get to old for playing tabletop games, I got to old to play with hyperconpetitive teenagers and twentysomethings who are min-maxing rather than building fluff armies. If you get tired of the hobby it might be worth evaluating if you are tired of the hobby or if you are tired of the people you are hanging around.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that the people playing the game changed or that the local store changed and I fully accept that I used to be focused on the same things and that I am the one that changed. So this is not a "kids these days" kind of post. But I did start looking for a different crowd and changed my focus on different parts of the hobby. I still like tabletop games, but I am more focused on fluff and the modeling aspect than wins and losses. I like casual games, not tournaments. I am more laid back and like to socialize almost more than playing the actual game sometimes. I think that's why I am moving more towards board games and RPGs than tabletop games. But the big one for me was people. I have a big table at home and play with friends where we can have a beer and have the TV on a game. I have a good gaming club where people are friendly and love exploring new games. I'm still a "gamer", but I no longer keep up with the meta and whatnot. My focus shifted, and if I stayed with the FLGS I would have burned out and felt like leaving the hobby.

Unfortunately a pair of kids will put a nice cap on any hobby, lol.

I just hit level 39 in the game of life about a month ago..

ive been the DM of my AD&D-pathfinder-starwars-d20-xgamesystem since 1988. At this point dming each week is as much apart of my life as anything else. ive got a room a garage dedicated to gaming. Ive been collecting bits and kits for 40k for years.. just finally started assembling them last year. and painting them. since i got this new place with the gaming room.

ID love to just be a player.. but none of the guys/gal at my table have more then a year experience DMing combined.. and thats spread out over 29 years when id take breaks for a few weeks or when was in the navy. even then i ran or played at a table.

The weeks we dont game.. i feel so lost and confused those nights that i cant really focus on anything. as well its become a way of life over the decades.

On the 40k side of things. ive played one tourney which was meah. and a bunch of games against my brother or the neighbors that play and mid 30s ish age.

During my 20s and 30s my main hobby was music. I suppose it was a bit more than a hobby because I got paid for it in various bands, but when I wasn't playing for money, I spent my free time playing music with friends.

In my early 30s, I eventually got burned out. Playing live was more than a hassle than it was worth, and even with causal music I altogether just felt like I was going through the motions.

That's when I knew the hobby was over....when I felt like I was going through the motions and no longer got any real joy about of playing. I never thought I'd wasted any time doing it, but I knew I needed to put it down for a while.

The thing is, after about 5 or so years, it became fun again. So if you take a break from the hobbies you're no longer getting enjoyment out of, there's nothing at all wrong with doing that, and who knows? Give it several years and you might have fun doing it again.

I didn't get into TT gaming til my late 30s....but I don't do it full force and devote all of my free time to it. Moderation and switching things up is a good way to avoid burnout. I play music casually, play some video games, and some other stiff here and there as hobbies these days. I may now take break from 40K, because I'm not optimistic about the rumors for 8th edition or the prospect of forking over more money for books to keep up with GWs perpetual release cycle. I'll play a game of 7th here and there with friends, but I'm planning on getting back into LOTR again. It was such an awesome game, really the funnest TT game I've played IMO, and I miss playing it.

Anyway, moderation and having multiple hobbies can help with burnout. If you're not enjoying your hobby, just take a break. However long a break you need. Life's too short to do frivolous things that you don't even enjoy.

I think it boils down to what you find more "shiny" during your life.
We folk can be an obsessive lot and it is easy to find yourself sucked into some hobby culture you may have looked at or your friends got into.
I have NEVER come across anyone without some obsessive hobby, some are more traditional than most.
I have always put together models.
It has evolved a bit more toward tabletop but I can put together the odd car, tank, Gundam or battleship.
I still obsess over music and finding much fun in stuff playing on Altnation.
I have two kids and yes, the early years can kill the hobby dead until they sleep more and you can be up past midnight like I plan to do tonight to work on Shadow War Armageddon terrain.

We DO "grow up" but all that means is to attend to the important details and relationships that matter which allow us the time later to pursue our interests and what makes us happy.
Yeah, maybe I should be reviewing my investments a bit better and find better places to put my money.
I review these things but like with any hobby: you draw a line between enough is enough or you are just fiddling because you can (I also like sailing which is a FINE example of constant fussing).
Scuba Dive, Kendo, I cook, I can sew, awesome at Excel... as the years stack up, you find cool stuff to do and never quite leave them behind.

Best quote on this I know:

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

George Bernard Shaw

BTW I am 48 this year, so there is hope OR you can look at it that I am some immature neckbeard ... got a good job, married, my own big house, scary strange kids but I live (when I can) in the basement in my man-cave and I tend to get all kinds of "visitors" to include in my fun.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I would add one thing I noticed:
If many things you used to enjoy no longer work: it may be signs of depression.
Something I experienced, caught me by surprise so worth mentioning.

The social aspects of hobby and finding good people I would agree is a big thing for me too.
One can only stay in the cave so long.

I'm 32 this year, and I stopped 40k for around 17 years until I began again this January. I stopped because of 2 main things - Rugby and XBox. Also, my regular opponents either stopped playing or became unbearable to play against, due to horrendous power gaming and essentially me realising they were complete arse holes.

That's probably the number one reason I got burned out with it I suppose. Always playing hyper competitive lists alienated other friends who couldn't keep up and I essentially lost a 10+ year friendship with one of my closest friends due to him being unable to see that his power gaming was pretty bad. I finally said "feth it" after 5 years of pretty hardcore 40k, and losing that friendship, it sort of soured me against Wargaming.

So. Here I am again, painting, playing and actually enjoying. I've banned myself from any tournaments, and I'm using only fluffy lists, not giving two hoots over any W/L/D numbers. The main lobby of a hobby is to have fun. So that's what I'm doing!