Few
people making a living out of hobby wargaming.
Many wargamers are outstanding specialists,
who know a great deal about particular aspects of the most diverse hobby of
wargaming. Some of these are fine rule writers, excellent at organising games,
figure painters worthy of artistic accolade, great board game designers, clever
model makers etc. A bold generalisation could be that practically any wargaming
club in the land has some people who are very good at the hobby. The problem is
that some have sufficient self-awareness to recognise their expertise, expect others
to recognise this and then anticipate hobby to reward them with a living.
Games Workshop, like them or loath them, with
a 2009 turnover of £61 million, are an outstanding commercial wargaming company
in the world. They produce figures, rules, paint, scenery and fiction (based
around their fantasy/ science fiction). In 2009, they reported a net debt of
£11 million. By factory efficiencies (using cheap labour, such as paying staff
in figures), reducing staff numbers (and age, making them below the minimum
wage for ages 21+), moving shops to lower rent locations, they expected a
profit of £14 million for the tax year ending April 2010. The decline in sales
of Lord of the Rings figures almost finished the company.
Apart from Games Workshop, there are not
many companies of 25 staff +, making money out of wargaming. There are a few
board game companies, a few computer companies who produce products most
wargamers would acknowledge as ‘proper wargames’ and many, many small companies
jostling for entry level positions.
The reason for the scarcity of major or
even medium sized companies in wargaming are due to inherent characteristics of
the hobby itself and do not reflect a lack of desire, enthusiasm or effort on
behalf of various entrepreneurs who turn to the their much loved hobby of
wargaming in an attempt to get rich. SPI found that its 80,000 Strategy and
Tactics subscribers received 6 issues a year and on average bought 6 more games
per year. It seemed that for most wargaming consumers, this was enough material
to keep them happy for 12 months. In today’s terms, they would be spending a
mere £200 to sustain themselves in their hobby.
Wargaming armies are not that expensive,
especially if one is willing to use plastic or second hand figures. Shopping
around with £100 would get a good army (or more) at a local show. The problem
for making money out of wargaming is that figures, scenery and rules have a
relatively long shelf life. Once painted, with a bit of care, armies can be
used, sold and resold many times. Some rule books become out of date, but many
are still entertaining decades later. Well made scenery seems to go on forever.
I am using a bridge which was painted by Charles Grant (the first one) from 50
years ago.
To participate in the grand hobby of wargaming
does not need a huge expenditure to sustain it, there is a large second hand
market, an investment in a set of scenery could be utilised over a whole
lifetime. A single set of rules with a suitable army can keep a wargamer
entertained for months.
The conglomeration of these factors creates
a sector of business where it is very hard for entrepreneurs to make
significant amounts of money. Few people
making a living out of hobby wargaming.
