We hear a lot of discussion about wargaming becoming a “grey” hobby, with the proponents generally ageing and no youngsters coming on board
This week I (a 65 year old retired gentleman) have played a board wargame of the Battle of Britain with a 23 year old and a table-top 1941 naval battle with an 11(?) year old. Both want to play again.
Ben is looking forward to the follow-up Indian Mutiny game at th3 Wargames Holiday Centre in October with the “Featherstone” crowd.
Luke has asked me to put together a “massive tank battle”. I have decided to use my redundant “Memoir ‘44” tanks (even if the scale and dimensions are a bit “iffy”) for a Western Desert battle in 1942. I will ask Luke to bring his mate for a 30 tanks a side game.
But first I have a load of painting to deal with…
And during both games I heard a lot of references to semi-equivalent computer games beyond my knowledge and comprehension, from which both opponents had gained much of their historical knowledge.
General Whiskers' semi-historical wanderings 
The draw to electronic games of all sorts is huge. Even a young person with an interest in history rarely has the patience required to paint armies of little soldiers, build terrain, learn rules, etc. Combination board\miniature games such as MEM44 or Battle Cry (ACW) are often better bets. These are just the observations of an old guy who started with miniatures in the late 1960s. I’m working hard with my son and grandsons to spark the interest in miniature games. Interesting topic to be sure.
At our reenactments of the English Civil War I now have a gaming gazebo where I entertain and educate our younger members. We have played so far: a game based on our re-enactment battles with 20mm figures, Waterloo on a 2ft x 2ft card table, Gettysburg using “Battle Cry” with 6mm miniatures.
Next year I intend to play the ECW battle of Alton in 2mm during the re-enactment of the battle of Alton with self-mobile 1800mm figures.