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Had to go to Reading today (a large town in the UK -- 250,000 population) and was wandering around bored and went into the big WH Smiths (newsagent) there.

I found two wargames magazines that I haven't seen before, though one of them has been going for many years and it embarrasses me not to know it. Maybe in my old age I have just forgotten!

Wargames Soldiers & Strategy is the newer one, now on issue 71. (Six years?!?!)

Miniature Wargames in on issue 371.

Without going into specifics I liked both these mags. There is a good mix of editorials, reviews and articles featuring mainly historical, and including fantasy/SF/genre (there is a Steampunk feature in WSS, for example.)

Both are available in digital formats too.

I am very encouraged that three paper wargame magazines are available on the newsstand.

I remember the early days of fantasy gaming in Military Modelling in the early 1970s. The hobby has come a long way. Pulp and Spy Fi style skirmish (A Fistful of Kung Fu, 7TV, etc.) are now accepted on tables that previously would have been reserved for "serious" historicals. And that is all to the good, I think.

There used to be more. There was also Battlegames, which recently merged with Miniature Wargames. I never read Battlegames, but I was apparently quite well regarded and the it's old editor was put in charge of Miniature Wargames after the merge.

I also remember 'Practical Wargamer' in the late 90's. A friend of mine was a subscriber, but I don’t remember much about it. I think It disappeared a while ago.

I'd quite happily subscribe to all 3 of the current magazines if it I could afford it and wasn’t under pressure from the misuses to stop taking up so much shelf space with magazines!

Now I have a Tablet I might be encoraged to take out a digital subscription.

Yes, a cunning plan. My wife too cannot notice the expansion of my library when it doesn't physically expand.

There is something about a paper magazine, though. The A4 format is a really good one for reading text + images. That's why so many websites are basically variations on an A4 page size.

I have read both and they are both decent. Pretty sure miniture wargames has a reasonably prices digital sub.

Lived in reading for a while. Decent place all in all.m

Really enjoy Wargames Soldiers & Strategy, it's quite a different magazine to Wargames Illustrated (which is my other regular buy) - love the detail that they go into with whichever is the feature period in that month's issue, and the bi-monthly release means that it's packed with content and a lot less filler.

I get both every month (every other month for WS&S) plus Wargames Illustrated. They scratch the itch that WD used to fill as well as being generally better written and with interesting content.

This is first month I aint bought WI since issue 1.

Finally got bored of it.

I have a digital sub to MW, but that dont really catch my interest either.

I like WSS and occasionally read it when they send me a free issue for writing an article.

I think after 27 years buying wargames mags, im a little jaded and they fail to excite or drive me as they used too.

Was that an article of yours in WSS the other month big P? Some pics of Warwick Kincade in there and BG Kursk or some such like (unfortunately don't have the magazine to hand).

I did a painting tutorial a couple of issues ago... just submitted another today on painting 15mm Brits for WW2.

Doing them a historical scenario next.

Big P wrote:
This is first month I aint bought WI since issue 1.

Finally got bored of it.

I have a digital sub to MW, but that dont really catch my interest either.

I like WSS and occasionally read it when they send me a free issue for writing an article.

I think after 27 years buying wargames mags, im a little jaded and they fail to excite or drive me as they used too.

I'm the opposite. After a decade of not buying any magazines they seem fresh and exciting.

Then that is a very good thing!

Having not bought White Dwaf for years; I've recently felt like trying out some of the other magazines around so last month I picked up Wargames Illustrated.

There was a full page ad for my FLGS; with a picture of me in it!

I did enjoy the magazine too; much better written than WD. I might try out some of these other suggestions at some point.

I currently subscribe to WS&S and WI and like them both very much. The WI battle reports are fun reading and I like the mix of article types in WS&S, especially their quirky editorials and informative reviews. Even in this digital age, I sometimes first learn about new games (and not so new games) from these print sources.

I greatly enjoy WI (though fortunately I like ACW and WW2, so their constant presence doesn't detract).

WS&S always provide long, good quality articles for me to read.

I buy one or both magazines mentioned when there's a good modelling article, or a historical piece like uniforms of the ACW.

I don't feel as guilty about paying for a magazine with such an article, as I would about buying a book dedicated to the subject. Is that odd?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Big P wrote:
I did a painting tutorial a couple of issues ago... just submitted another today on painting 15mm Brits for WW2.

Doing them a historical scenario next.

Painting mid-scale faces? I enjoyed that. Good stuff.