Topic: Is 40K an Adult Only Game?

[SeekingOne]

Funny thing is I see a lot of returning players with 8th, some are starting from scratch again, but they are all adults, I have not seen any young people picking the hobby up, not in my LGS nor the local GW store, in talking to the staff they have noticed the same thing as well.

To me, 40k has always been an "adult" game. Maybe it's just me, but imho it takes parents who are (multi)millionaires to actually fund such horribly expensive hobby for a school-age kid. At least if I were a kid, I wouldn't even seriously consider approaching my parents with such idea Only adults (and then mostly those who are not burdened with families and kids of their own) can spend that kind of money on what essentially is toys.

[Wyddr]

I mostly agree with SeekingOne. When I was in high school, I scraped together enough money to buy a very small army, but it was hardly anything (about 10-20 orks, 5 bikes, a few buggies) and a couple of my friends did the same, but we were barely able to play with what we had and that was in 2nd Edition, when the stuff was a LOT cheaper.

I didn't really get back to the game until I was an adult and I thought to myself "I've got a job and I can make this happen on about $50 a month, right?"

Which is true. I've spent about $50 USD a month on this hobby since I got back into it around 2005 (the only exception being the occasional splurge and, recently, my insane desire to build Vostroyan guard). That's gotten me 5 armies and a crapload of terrain. Could I do that as a kid? Hell no. But even with kids of my own, the cost is pretty manageable. The only frustrating thing is that I build armies really, really slowly. 

[Irisado]

I have the opposite experience.  I started playing Rogue Trader against my dad when I was nine years old.  I also played more games of second edition against people my own age (late childhood right through my teenage years) against a number of people of my own age.  Playing Fantasy and 40K really took off at my secondary school.  I was gaming every weekend and more regularly than that during the holidays.

I wouldn't say that eighth edition is inherently an adult game, or that 40K has ever been purely an adult game.  In fact, I'd say that eighth edition is one of the easiest editions for younger people to play, as the rules are nowhere near as long, and are, for the most part, pretty straightforward to follow.  The reason why fewer younger people may be getting into this edition is because there is so much more competition for their attention these days.  Computer games, online activities, and technology pull more of them into away from activities which do not involve the use of an electronic device more than ever before, so I think that it's likely that there may be fewer young people playing the game than before, but not because the game is inherently an adult game.

[Wyddr]

Oh, I agree that kids can totally play it. I just don't think they're likely to afford it if their parents aren't *also* into that kind of thing.

[Lord of Winter and War]

I rarely see people who are not 20+ playing 40k.


Mostly, I think it's because (like any hobby), you need disposable income to afford it. The rules are not a barrier to the game (never really were), it's really the time and cost. I think most kids (with the same money), would rather buy video games or game consoles.

[Blazinghand]

Yeah I would guess that video games being relatively cheap and popular is a big competitor for wargaming. I did play this as a kid but relied on spending a not-insignificant component of my summer job money to have a modest list. That being said the other day at my local game store I saw a couple of kids who looked middle school-age, maybe 12 or 13, playing with some partially painted models. I think this game still has appeal to young people even if it's got more competition

[Aurics Pride]

I did alright playing as a teenager but to be honest I stopped playing around 18ish and through my early adulthood mainly as it fell down in my priorities but also as my money was needing to go elsewhere. As I got closer to 30 however I started playing again as I was able to afford it and devote a bit more time again.

[faitherun (Fay-ith-er-run)]

I did alright playing as a teenager but to be honest I stopped playing around 18ish and through my early adulthood mainly as it fell down in my priorities but also as my money was needing to go elsewhere. As I got closer to 30 however I started playing again as I was able to afford it and devote a bit more time again.

Haha - this is me exactly. I started to play at 12 - went through 19. Then College, Marriage, and life required my money and time elsewhere. I just got back into the game this pas Jan.

[Blazinghand]

I also had a gap during college and earlier career. I think I was just too busy, though I always had my box full of models in case I ever got back into things, which I did this year when 8e came out.

[Cavalier]

The way I've collected hasn't really changed. I went super slow in 2nd ed, taking a year or two to get a playable army. When I got back into the game at the end of 4th I cobbled some stuff together but it wasn't very coherent though I managed to do well. In 5th I was getting crushed decided to stop playing and build a proper collection... but it was like going back to 2nd ed. I've never had much money for models so I just went one unit at a time. By the time I finished assembling and painting a unit I'd usually have enough money to add the next one. Thats the way I do it now and its not so bad.

[magenb]

I started playing the game as a teenager in 2nd ed, it started with just some pocket/birthday money. A single short shift from a part time job was enough to buy a blister pack back then, but with the part time job I started buying my own computer parts and then moved into cars, then life moves on again and partners, mortgages, kids, life moves on again and you start getting some time back and if your lucky a bit of spare income. So yeah 30's is what I'm seeing at my local game store as well, I get a lot of nostalgia comments when people see my Dark Reaper exarch with Web skulls

I'm not seeing any teenagers in store for 40k, a lot of them for Magic cards though, maybe they just play games with their friends at home like we used too, but I never really had a store to go play in back then, so we had too lol.

However the cost to start playing the game is rather high, at least the basic rules are free, but index/codex + undercoat + paints + starter box and you're in the $300 mark down here. While I like not having to deal with teenagers at a gaming table, its the new players that will keep the game going, so a little disconcerting that we all seem to be having such a similar experience.

[SeekingOne]

I started to play at 12 - went through 19. Then College, Marriage, and life required my money and time elsewhere. I just got back into the game this pas Jan.

And how old are you now, out of curiosity?

[Looshkin]

I started with 40k back in RT days. I was 9 or 10 IIRC. Building an army was difficult due to growing up on a small island with one stockist...and that stockist actually sold watches and luggage and the like, with 40k as a niche sideline. The cost at that time was in no way a barrier as blisters used to be about £3 for 5 models. Birthdays could see you get enough to buy several units with no problems at all.

I don't actually think that money should be a barrier for the young now; it's the culture that is the barrier. That is, the fact that people don't want to play a game with just 2 squads and a leader. Why do that when I can field almost all my units in a 2000pt army? Actually, at my GW, there are quite a lot of younger 40k players. Most of them have smaller armies and are actively encouraged to play at whatever points level they can. This is aided by the staff setting up things like 20 or 30pt gaming afternoons. Small scales that everyone can bring a force to.

I dipped out of the hobby when I went to Uni. Let's face facts, it's not regarded as a cool hobby...and I wanted to get laid. It was only when I was 26 or 27 that I saw some of the 3rd(?) Ed Bugs Bunny Striking Scorpions and I decided to at least try painting again. And then I was hooked. I'm lucky now. I have an understanding wife and while I have other hobbies and a son and mortgage and all the rest of it to suck up money, I can still afford a reasonable contribution each month, splurging when I need to. Thankfully I have the means to support all of this, so I can mix with the 'Bigger is Better' mentality. But I would always welcome a game against someone, even if it was with only a unit or 2.

[laucian_meliamne]

I started off with the Lord of the Rings game back when it first game out and I was only about 15-16.  It was a relatively expensive hobby compared to some, but not bank-breakingly so. Obviously I couldn't (and still can't) just buy everything I might possibly ever want, but with some judicious list-writing and reasonable expectations of what your army will be, it's doable.

Prices have gone up since then, and Lord of the Rings was always a bit cheaper than 40k of WHFB.  But I got into 40k when I was about 18 or 19, and managed to get a 1000 point Eldar army without much trouble.  Over the next few years I slowly expanded, adding a tank here, some new Aspect warriors there.  The up-front cost for the core of your army is always the biggest price-sink, but starting with a solid core of about 1000 points and then adding a squad at a time isn't horrendously expensive.

This idea that you need to play huge games or you're not doing it right is just nonsense. That attitude is mainly fuelled by vets who've been collecting for decades and just want to show off their collections.  I've always found smaller games more strategically interesting, since every model counts for so much more.

Finally, for the very wallet-conscious, there's the skirmish games like Armageddon and Necromunda (and hopefully Mordheim again someday).  Ages ago when I used to work at GW as a redshirt, I'd often recommend Necromunda or Mordheim to people who were curious about dipping their toes in the hobby, but didn't want to spend several hundred on an army up-front. Once box of Empire Militia or Catachans is enough to get a decent warband/gang put together, and then you could download the Specialist Games rulebooks for free.  With Armageddon you've got to add the rulebook cost, but pick almost any box of troops from any army and you've got a kill team to start playing with.

[Saim-Dann]

G'day all!
I started the game as an adult. However, as a parent, the game can be used to teach our kids about work ethic and money handling. "You want to create an army for the game? Get a job,(If of that age). Or give them an extra list of chores around the house for pocket money.

As much as a child dislikes chores/a job, wanting to buy the next unit is a great incentive for them to work and watch their pennies. "The more Macca's you buy yourself, the longer it will take to get that Crimson Hunter"... and wow! You should see the effort in the creation and how well they look after their models when they've gone to such effort to buy them themselves.

It also makes it easier for the whole family to know what to get them for b'days/Xmas. They're all grown up now. I miss those days... Pointy ears forever!!       

[faitherun (Fay-ith-er-run)]

I started to play at 12 - went through 19. Then College, Marriage, and life required my money and time elsewhere. I just got back into the game this pas Jan.

And how old are you now, out of curiosity?

Im 29 now - took a 10 yr break with some dabbling and painting... I am playing now more than ever before, even with 60 hrs a week at work and a wife... getting the wife to paly too helped a lot tho 

[murgel]

The game itself is easy enough. Back in 4th I played a few games with my daughter and she was just able to do enough math for the game. Personally I always thought they dumped down the game to preteen level with the 3rd edition. So the only thing that could make it "adult only" to me is the background and the design of the minis.
Frankly I was never concerned about the minis being to "sexy". I liked i.e. the old daemonetts, own them and never had a problem with my, then 10 year old daughter thinking about a Slaneesh army.
My problem with design has come up more recently. It started with the un-sexy, more monstrous, vampiristic looking Slaneesh line but specifically the Nurgle line crossed over in the territory of adult only.
Don't get me wrong, I can see the art in the design etc.. Still, or even because of that, these things disgust me. For me it is just to much. Stuff like that could IMO be the source of nightmares, not necessarily for children only.
In my opinion Minis like these should be kept to adult only just like TV shows as Walking dead etc.
I know that I'm old fashioned and conservative in that regard.

The background is not more disturbing than many of the books which are used to educate our children, be it "1984" or "brave new world" blood, gore, intrigue and amorality is found in abundance in Shakespeare and Goethe. So I have no problem there.

So to have my position in short:
- The Game and the background are not easy but with guidance and under supervision can be o.k. for younger players.
- The minis should be treated with caution, some of them should be avoided.

[Sungosona]

It has the complexity to be an Adult game, but at the same time I feel like a child playing it. Not in a bad way, in a happy, this makes me relive a childhood memory type way.

joingy

[MechTau]

I was really into it when I was kid. Maybe the game itself appealed to me more than the hobbyist side - I really saw assembling and painting as just a prelude to playing games with my friends and hopefully stomping their heads in.

It's a rich hobby. A kid can love the dark lore. An adult can find more ways to appreciate it. I tell my older friends it's a fictional universe more than 30 years in the making. They can respect that.

[Gildaheir]

My buddies and I picked it up in middle school, and we still play as 30 year olds, now.  We used to scrape and save for models, use bartertown for good deals, and basically fill our Christmas lists with model requests.  We also proxied like crazy (played in my basement on some plywood sheets atop a pool table).  In fact, we probably had a heck of a lot more pure fun from those games even if our models were ugly, the terrain was slapdash, and the rules were botched.  It can be done, but the price point is very, very hard for younger folks, especially ones that want to go to the mall, buy video games, pay for gas/insurance, etc.

I am a high school teacher now, and I run a gaming club for my students.  Some picked up 40k last year, and I made sure to explain how financially demanding the game can be.  Fortunately, they have something I didn't, which is a gaming store that has nice terrain and a free play area, so they don't have to shell out for scenery and what not.  I've found that the secondary items (codexes, data cards, paints, brushed, dice, etc.) is a bit of a hurdle.  $40 for a codex is really harsh when all you want to do is play a game.  When you have little $$$ to begin with, buying models, since they can actually be used and are more fun, is the priority for my students.  Definitely not an adult-only hobby, but also not a hobby for your average younger person.