26 June 2018

Failed Morale Check



Morale is hitting an all time low. I don't think I've been as close to just getting rid of everything and giving up on the idea of gaming as I am now. Above is one of the two graveyards my painted miniatures go to. (Someone asked how I "display" my painted minis a while ago, so I took a photo of the better one.)

The multiple hurdles of lack of (day and/or continuous) time, lack of space, and no friends is seeming impossible to overcome. It's been five+ years of painting and planning for some theoretical future enjoyment, but I think I need to admit that I can't see any of that changing in the next five... ten... or however many years.

I don't want to keep making plans and wasting my scarce time for some sort of future enjoyment that's never going to happen. I don't want to look back someday and realize I wasted what little time I had on something that was never going to happen.


12 comments:

  1. That’s sad to hear. Do you still derive pleasure or peace of mind from painting? If so, keep plugging away. I know that the experiences of people are all relative and don’t really bear comparison, but I went 13 years without a game (apart from getting trounced by my wife at Risk twice). I’m a day dreamer at heart and kept thinking about that elusive ‘one day’ which, combined with painting for fun, kept me going.
    Plus, I just noticed that you’re within 12” of your Battle Standard Bearer - you get to make a rally roll :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. My 2 cents : If you don't enjoy what you do anymore, it's time to move to something else. If you still enjoy painting, but are sure there's no chance of a game in the future, you might consider trying "art figs" (54mm, 75mm, busts, etc...). Those you could display in a better place. Anyway, that's your decision. I hope you'll find happiness in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Where are you based that it’s so hard to get a game?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you in the US? Perchance in the Northeast? Urge to find you and make you play with minis rising.

      Delete
  4. Chuck it in man. If the hobby is causing you so much grief then it's not worth it. But don't sell it all off, just pack everything away. You may find your interest rekindled someday.

    Just remember, there's life after mini's ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. It sure can feel that way sometimes. If you are feeling guilty about time away from family/kids then just pack it away for now. The other thing to do is to identify one event/place/time per year where you do bring out a bunch of toys and game. That's what makes it worth it for me at this point. I pretty much don't game at all unless I'm going to a con or Oldhammer event. I too am guilty of the grandiose project that seems like it will never get done. Start small. Whatever you do, take a minute before you give/sell it all away. I'm so glad that I just buried my collection, saved me a lot of money when I came back to the hobby.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Have a break but don’t sell up if you don’t absolutely have to. You have some brilliant stuff and I think that one day you would really regret it. I don’t game much but the idea that one day I might gives structure to the collecting and painting that actually I enjoy more.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I too got burned out. Frankly, blogging didn’t help, nor did the idea that I’d actually play with any of the minis I painted. Took a break for a while, moved onto other things.

    But then I picked up the brush again when I needed something to distract me from some bad times.

    I think it’s best to step away for a while, but don’t sell yet if you don’t need the cash. You may need something to fall back on.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi 023,
    I understand, but believe me, don't give up or sell it - the time would come to reconsider it, find people or take it in another way. I leave these for nearlly 8 years, then returned and painting and playing hard, after that I left the country for job nearly 10 months... Doingh a break could be the healthiest thing; of course, anything you do, do the best for you and yours! We'll keep waiting for your work because it's super inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Things ebb and flow, what may get the juices flowing at one point may loose its flavor during another. Why not try a change of approach?. Solo gaming is my only gaming outlet and it is a very 'free' way to game, you become more of a story teller and can control the flow of the game from that perspective. Why not just grab a few minis into small war bands and put a simple scenario on the table and enjoy the story that results?. I know its not always as simple as 'why not try this or that' and you know how you feel but I would say go to something small that got the juices flowing in the first place and see what works.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your work is so good, that I can only hope you can find the time and 'mental space' to feel more postive about your efforts and achievements.

    I too game Very Little - we're talking a handful of games in 40 yrs (I'm not joking). So perhaps enjoy the collecting and painting for now, and rest assured your sharing the results here and on the LAF (among other places?) is very much enjoyed and admired by others. And take some satisfaction from that?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Feel free to get in touch...maybe we live close enough to get a game together!

    ReplyDelete