What I love about this hobby is ...

[magokiron]

I love the crative aspect of the hobby:

Choosing, organizing and painting miniatures, scratch building scenery and painting to a good level, etc.

I like rules too.

Reading how different people simulates a tabletop conflict, different approaches, different dice, activations, etc.

A really interesting thread.

Waiting to read more opinions.

Best wishes.

[warlord frod]

Thinking about this some more I would add that in the early days I loved building huge armies and I still have them but today its skirmish level collections.

I also love putting a great table together with nice terrain and buildings. The look of the game is as important to me as the rules of play. I would never play an army unpainted for example.

[Rob_bresnen]

I also love putting a great table together with nice terrain and buildings. The look of the game is as important to me as the rules of play. I would never play an army unpainted for example.

I would second that.

[Argonor]

I also love putting a great table together with nice terrain and buildings. The look of the game is as important to me as the rules of play. I would never play an army unpainted for example.

Oh, yes, I love to play games on well-equipped tables (not so much the process of building terrain).

I started out wargaming with unpainted Airfix naps, but over the years I lowered my painting standards for large small-scale armies, so I got stuff painted relatively fast. 

[zemjw]

For me it's collecting miniatures and using them to play in worlds that don't exist - yup, I live vicariously through my minis .

Seeing what artists and sculptors come up with in terms of visions of the future and fantastic realms is also a big part of it.

I also enjoy the painting and converting sides, although I seem to be getting worse rather than better at the moment

The hobby encompasses a wide range of disciplines and there's always something new to learn and experiment with, so it never gets stale

[Tactalvanic]

Building and Climbing my own personal lead/plastic/resin mountain from the amazing pool of other peoples creativity and imagination, and putting my paint all over it.

Painting.

Having something physical as the final accomplishment thats 'mine' even if its only tabletop average paint-job - tis mine and I did it.

Gaming.

Very much used to enjoy playing on the occasions opponents where available, maybe that will come back again as I get more into it again, and find like minded weirdos nearby.

The value of the hobby as an entertainment and distraction.

The other weirdos - company is always good.

[Dr. Zombie]

Building and Climbing my own personal lead/plastic/resin mountain from the amazing pool of other peoples creativity and imagination, and putting my paint all over it.

Painting.

Having something physical as the final accomplishment thats 'mine' even if its only tabletop average paint-job - tis mine and I did it.

Gaming.

Very much used to enjoy playing on the occasions opponents where available, maybe that will come back again as I get more into it again, and find like minded weirdos nearby.

The value of the hobby as an entertainment and distraction.

The other weirdos - company is always good.

This sums it up quite nicely for me.

[Conquistador]

In descending order of pleasure:

1) 1/600th aircraft - nirvana.

2) Organizing armies/forces/companies on paper for rules/games.  I am not talking Min-Max but stylistic representations of "army" types.

3) 1/600th Napoleonic figures - now I can really get a sense of a charging cavalry force threatening a square of infantry.

4) The ability of our current "Golden Age of Miniatures" to have the same company/forces/armies in 3/6/15/25+ mm at the same time. 

5) The amazing niche eras/genres of miniatures available (snow-ball and icicle armed penguins on Leopard seals "cavalry" and Zorro-chasing Presidials) at this time.

6) Playing war games with rules/mechanics/dice/miniatures using unified mechanics that allow reasonable simulation of historical battles (or SF/Fantasy battles based on historical events) while still being fast and fun.  THW and the invention of Polyhedral dice are key but disparate components of this one.

7) Talking with other war gamers about History/Science Fiction/Fantasy War Gaming whether before/during/after actually gaming sessions or at gatherings at local restaurants/homes.

The potential breakthrough of 3D Printing of miniatures.  When this is a reality it will move up the list.

9) Preparing Terrain pieces for games

10)  Painting miniatures.

Gracias,

Glenn

[Andym]

For me it's the inspiration people get when they game. People that may not have taken an art class at school suddenly can get a idea, glue and a couple of coffee stirrers and create a wonderful piece of art!! I find that very inspiring!

Seeing what comes out of the imagination of gamers is what I love most about the hobby!

[Argonor]

3) 1/600th Napoleonic figures - now I can really get a sense of a charging cavalry force threatening a square of infantry.

What are those.. about 3 mm high infantry? What ratio man/figure do you use?

[eilif]

-Hanging out with my friends.  4 years later after forming a gaming club, I count some of the members as among my closest friends.
-Building Terrain. Probably stemming from my love of LEGO, the building of terrain is possibly my favorite hobby-related activity.
-Miniatures.  What more can one say.  Miniatures are great. Painting them is still not my favorite activity, but a few years ago (a decade and a half after entering the hobby) I finally discovered painting methods (dipping) that let me achieve a level of painting that I'm happy with in an amount of time that didn't frustrate me.  I've painted alot more figures since then!
-Gaming.  This didn't used to be as much my favorite, but having finally discovered rulesets that fit my style of play (Fast playing, streamlined, etc) I'm enjoying gaming more than ever.

[Conquistador]

What are those.. about 3 mm high infantry? What ratio man/figure do you use?

When you deal with "Units" instead of figures it doesn't have to be fixed ratio.  A "unit" or stand can be a company or a Battalion, or a regiment, or a Brigade, etc...

Gracias,

Glenn

[matthais-mouse]

Where do I start.

The part I like the most is the painting aspect. Im an average painter but I do enjoy it and recently got a proper start on finishing projects.
Secondly, the modelling side of the hobby is great, with interchangeable parts and my want to sculpt allows me to come up with great ideas for myself.

Lastly, the socialisation side isnt great for me, I have met some great people in the hobby but a lot of the time ive found people quite 'snotty' in stores and not visited a gaming group because of that. Although I would like to.

[Archie]

I've found people online can be pretty decent but this isnt a 'social' hobby for me first and foremost. I am going to a club occassionally but to be honest I play who I go with and so interactions with others has been limited.

[Momotaro]

It's the way that the ladies really go for a guy with a well-painted space marine force that's optimised to the current metagame 

Just don't tell the wife