40K: Who Is The Next Generation?
It must be a ghost, because I don’t see the typical next generation for 40K. Do YOU see many youngsters (middle school/high school age) actively engaged in our hobby?
Can we judge the health of 40K by looking at who is playing the game?
Kids these days…
A recent experience with the students at my middle/high school brought this issue into my field of view. Both 6th and 8th graders have asked me if I play Magic, the card game. I told them I used to. They brought in their shiny new sets of cards so that I could teach them the basics during a few lunch periods. They were very attentive and actively engaged in learning basic rules and some playing strategies. Yes, 6th graders and 8th graders. These same students know I have a hobby blog, and I have brought 40K models to school to show them what I do. To the point; no interest what so ever, other than the fact that they think the models are cool and it is cool that their teacher builds and paints them.
My high schoolers have shown a strong interest in 40K lore, collectively reading several Black Library novels. They, like their younger counterparts, show no interest in the hobby/gaming aspect of 40K. Several of them, who are also members of the board game club I run, are very interested in both the Relic board game and Conquest LCG (both by Fantasy Flight). This is the gateway for this age group; not the hobby/gaming route.
My point? I truly believe that other than a few exceptions, there is no place for these younger people in our hobby any longer. The interest in the lore is strong (at least in my experience), but the patience and the means to participate in the hobby/gaming aspect of 40K is just not there. From their perspective, who can blame them? Try showing most high school students the rulebook, even the pocket sized one, and the eyes of even the ones who are into the Grimdark lore start to glaze over. The cost is also a HUGE factor here. Try having a high school student walk into the GW store to buy a model, some brushes, glue and paint. Their birthday money will buy the head and torso of a model if they are lucky. That does not factor in the time, skill and patience required to build and paint the models. Yes, there are rare exceptions to this, but rare exceptions do not represent a next generation of gamers. Finally, they want to play with the models they build, but the price point for most young people is way too high, even with box/starter sets. I didn’t mention that $50 codex, dice, templates, etc.
So is our hobby dying?
Hell no. 20-somethings who’s geek tendencies have survived the post-high school years are the answer here. Most have decent jobs, the time, patience and interest to invest in building an army that is table top ready. These are the next iteration of those high schoolers who had the interest, but neither the means nor the time/patience. Even when those 20-somethings grow into their late 20s-early 30s and start families, they are financially stable enough to continue in our hobby. More importantly, they become more active participants in building/maintaining community through local gaming groups, tournament play, and Interweb forums/blogs/podcasts. Not that 20-somethings are not community builders, they just approach the hobby from a different level of experience and investment; both time wise and in terms of dollars as well.
I have seen my own local gaming group, D-Company Milwaukee, age over the last 14 years. Even the youngest of our group, who have joined in the last few years, are in their mid-20s. Many now have families. ALL have at least one large army, some a few of them. I suppose this is normal. But to look for some younger generation alone as an indication of the future health of 40K, IMO, is not an accurate reflection of what our hobby is. The Grimdark is many things to many people, and its future success should not be tied strictly to the hobby aspect of what we do.
Can we judge the health of our hobby by who participates in it and how the Grimdark engages them? Who is the future in your area?
