I'm trying to like the magazine. I'm really, really trying.
The highlight is the monthly column by Neil Shuck of Meeples and Minatures fame. His knowledge of the hobby and industry, plus his insights as a game are always interesting, informative and entertaining. I wish the same could be said of the rest of the magazine.
I acknowledge that the primary audience of the magazine is the UK game market. It's probably me, but generally most of the articles I do not find interesting or informative as it appears most of the articles are geared toward UK gaming clubs; most of the scenarios and rules presented require a gazillion miniatures to play. In addition there is, for my taste, too much coverage of UK gaming conventions. There is also alot of repetition of content. One recnet example is the release of the miniature's board game The Great War from PSC games:
1. In the July 2015 issue Neil Shuck provides an impromptu review in his column.
Score: 3 reviews of The Great War and one interview about the game in 3 issues. I felt like I was reading the same magazine over and over again.
The price in the United States is also driving me off; $12.49 plus local sales tax whereas Wargames Soldiers & Strategy, which has the same page count is only $7.99 plus local sales tax.
Interesting post and I don't know if magazines will ever be replaced be online blogs and articles one but it seems to be heading that way.
ReplyDeleteI realise this may sound a cliche but I think one of the problems is that in the UK wargaming everybody seems to know each other. Although the population of the UK is +65million the wargaming scene is relatively small and you do tend to recognise the same people when attending a number of the larger shows every year. I imagine that if you work within the industry itself then this magnified.
The editor of the magazine did a lot of the design work (advert design etc.) for PSC which is public knowledge. As a lot of the reviewers and manufacturers are all friends I would have thought it would be very awkward to give a negative review unless the product was an absolute stinker.
You could always write and contribute an article (taking a favorite topic of your own, for example, in a new direction). The editor Henry is always open to new content. Subscribing to the online edition might help lessen the blow of the B&N price, which does seem rather steep.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards,
Stokes
You read my mind, Stokes - soft copy is the way to go... I'm in the UK and even I went soft copy just for convenience... F.w.i.w. I don't think the magazine is as good as Battlegames was in it's hey day... but that's purely my view... quite often I don't even open it, never mind read it, whereas Battlegames was read cover to cover the day I got it.
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