Historical wargaming allows you to put your strategic mind to the test in reimagined or revisited battles of the past, playing with some fantastic miniatures along the way. However, entering this realm can be a daunting process, especially if you are new to the hobby and if you are young.
Being able to fully access wargaming is something that Games Workshop (GW) not only honed but mastered. If the young mind of today wants to venture into the wargaming community, they only need to walk down their local high street to find a shop, a very helpful GW employee and a host of amazing starter sets to allow you to fully invest in wargaming. You may have seen/done this already. Moreover, there are beginner sessions and reward incentives for completing certain aspects of the hobby that help you stay consistent with the hobby. This is great if you want to venture into sci-fi or fantasy wargaming, however, where is the same for historical wargaming? Arguably there are a lot of young people who are interested in history, and would be interested in historical wargaming, but where is the opportunity to try? If you find yourself asking that question, this blog is for you.
Where I began
I first started tabletop gaming with the usual place: Warhammer 40,000. I began in my early teens but by the time I was 15/16, I had lost momentum, and my nearest store was too far away to access regularly. At 21, I picked up the hobby again and got some mates involved too. Fast forward to 28 and we are taking regular trips to Warhammer World and playing most weeks at our local gaming store (LGS, you’ll see this abbreviation a lot when you google tabletop gaming) and our local gaming club,
About 5 years ago, I started wondering if there was a World War 2 tabletop game. Not only was there a few, but there was a huge manufacturer called Warlord Games making pretty much every vehicle, soldier and artillery piece that was used. I was HOOKED. I bought the Band of Brothers Starter Set and began my journey, however, I started to
realise that, if I didn’t really have the experience of working with Warhammer, then I would have really struggled. The problem with historical wargaming is that it isn’t as beginner friendly as Warhammer. Firstly, it isn’t as popular as Warhammer, so the novice isn’t drawn to it making it most likely that those who want to start historical wargaming, are usually older and have had experience. In essence, Warhammer finds you, you find historical wargaming. Secondly, there are no designated high-street stores for companies like Warlord Games, which prevents you from being able to get involved in the hobby easily. Lastly, you will have to find a friend or local club/gaming store so that you can play games. There are no stores that are devoted to historical wargaming, but there are many where people play the game.
Despite this, there are some excellent resources out there that can help the historical wargaming novice begin the hobby, and cheaply too.
Where and how to start
If I could do it all again, I’d start at the end; What is it that I want from the hobby? Do I want to play games? Is it just the miniatures that I’m interested in? What is my goal here? Ask yourself these questions and that will guide your hobby journey, giving you a good start and when you sit at your hobby desk building and painting, you’ll be working toward a goal which is always rewarding. It also helps you stay realistic. For example, it took me a while to stop painting miniatures to my absolute best. I was burning out and hating the process. However, once I realised that I’m painting these to play games, not win painting competitions, I took the pressure off myself and started to enjoy the process more.
So, you’ve got your end goal. Now, where do you go? Well, if you picked ‘to play games’ then your best start is to see if there is a local club/gaming store near to you. If there is, get in contact and ask to play a game of whatever historical wargame is on offer and takes your fancy. I can almost guarantee that there will be people there that will happily let you play a game with one of their armies. If not, grab a mate and get them into it! Have a go, have go at other games as well, and decide which one you would like to delve into first.
From here, find the miniature game you’d like to play. There will usually be a starter set for this that will provide you with a good set of miniatures (usually two small armies) and some dice and measuring devices. You’ll need some basic tools and kit to get you started, these are:
– Mini files
– Hobby knife
– Plastic Glue
– Mug
– Kitchen Roll
– Paint brushes
– Paints
All of these (apart from Kitchen roll and a mug, both of which I’m sure you probably have!) can be purchased from the Zatu Games online store. Once you have these, then head over to Youtube where you can find a plethora of videos on the basics of building and painting minis. I use Youtube for miniature content almost daily, and there aren’t any ones I’d specifically recommend for beginners; there are so many great content creators for this kind of thing that you can’t really go wrong!
Now, once your miniatures are built up, you’re ready to go! You can paint along the way, or you can be strict and only play with painted miniatures, it’s up to you! You can build up your army, play in friendly and competitive tournaments, and maybe host your own gaming days. What you have done though, is take a leap into a brilliant hobby that ill take across different game systems which will provide some cinematic moments and meet some brilliant people. I wish you all the bet in your ventures and welcome to the hobby!
If it’s just the miniatures and painting side you’re interested in, then grab yourself a box of the minis that you like the most and the list of tools and kit above and do the same but without the gaming side! It can still be beneficial to get involved with a local club, as there will be some excellent hobbyists there who can give you some great painting tips. Additionally, reaching out to miniature painters on Instagram and Youtube for advice can really help too. I find that searching through Instagram provides excellent references for colours, as well as inspiration for other ventures,
Paints: Can be bought as sets or individually, just head to Zatu Games and pick the colours you want!
