Time Sink

I followed up the Incomprehensibility post with Ev-man. Or rather, he followed it up with me.

It's not the game systems that put him off, he explained, it's the time you spend before you actually get to play the game that is something he's not interested in. That's fair.

Here's a tale from my world: Right now I've been spending most evenings re-basing existing Warhammer miniatures. Going from a tired old one-part shiny grass flock, to a nice new 2part static grass and bare earth base. The results look great, but it's a time-consuming process. This is being done in preparation for the 5,000 point clash with Aido, now scheduled for December 09. I know I won't get the full army done in time, because there simply isn't enough time.

Warhammer is not the only wargame to have this feature, but it's an undeniable barrier between people who are interested in playing, and them actually being able to play. Ev-man prefers his X-Box 360, the changing of one CD for another being an amount of preparation time he is comfortable with.

Rakham are trying to address this issue with their upcoming AT-43 game. At first glance they have the design elements right, with figures that can be used out of the box, touched up slightly, or else given a basecoat spray and painted entirely according to your own wishes. A bold move, and we'll see soon whether there is a market for pre-painted figures of the right quality. A solution to the time sink may be at hand.