“It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
‘By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp’st thou me?”
Coleridge
Well, you will have to forgive this particular ancient mariner for relating an old tale that may well be lost on half my readership. I’m talking about that dimly remembered time of the late 1980s and early 1990s when our hobby was in full bloom.
Shops full of models were my recollections of the 1980’s. Mother had a laissez fair attitude to parenting: usually I was dropped off at the shops and told to meet back in three hours; long enough for social services involvement in 2024!
“ And, as always happens, and happens far too soon, the strange and wonderful becomes a memory and a memory becomes a dream.”
Terry Pratchett
So I had hundreds of toy soldiers, thousands maybe? But, the purchase that got me really into the hobby was Terence Wise’s “ Introduction to Battlegaming”. I won’t bore you with a run through of the years that followed as god knows some older gamers are want to do. No, I was keen to point out just how interesting I found the books of the period and they still hold a certain charm but why? Why haven’t they just been superseded by modern versions or else just forgotten?
Nevermind super delux Warhammer dark histories, photos like the one above were the first I had seen. The stage after playing on the floor and making dakka- dakka noises was in such books. War films were a weekly event and the Warpact Soviet Union was in the East waiting like Prince Andrew at a free lunch. War was indeed the answer!
One of the criticism of glossy magazines and social media posts is that the images are unobtainable by most. When the hobby was young, a glossy green pillow of papier mache was not frowned upon.
The Airfix miniatures above were cheap and looked amazing en masse. I wasted so many hours just looking at similar pictures. Not forgetting the handcrafted DIY approach, there was also the beginnings of the data crunching games that really dominated until about fifteen years ago.
The PGL guide was a wonderful introduction to serious gaming. You had to consult charts, and remember factors and measure!
This was no longer just kid’s stuff. But, who needed to be knowledgeable when, horror of horrors, you could find a club. I remember finding a club card in a library book. Don’t guess what you might find today.
For me though, the period is best summed up by Operation Warboard; black and white photos. An author who has never cracked a joke in his life but introduced the basic attack and defence values for armour that have become ubiquitous in modern gaming.
Don’t forget these classics. Some of them are still in great demand( 42 pounds for the PSL guide on Amazon). I do love all that is modern gaming but sometimes, just sometimes, it’s good to look back and capture some of that old magic.
Terry Pratchett again,
“ Rincewind tried to force the memory out of his mind, but it was rather enjoying itself there, terrorizing the other occupants and kicking over the furniture…”
Holidays start tomorrow!
Michael
Despertaferres 
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