As the title says, Paper Wars is focused on Compass Games and serves as the “house organ” for the publisher. This often is a red flag for me because a publication that is hyper-focused on a single publisher means I find only a few games of interest in the magazine. Paper Wars Nr. 101 has proven to be a bit different:
The Editorial offers several useful book recommendations to support the alternate history game within
Designer Adam Starkweather’s “Designer’s Response” article about his gameFulda Gap: The Battle for the Center (Modern War: Volume One) was just enough to make me go back and look at this title that I have casually brushed past before (and at $149 retail will be forced to pass by again…)
Likewise, the After-Action Report for Triumph of the Will has me looking for a copy
Bruce Maxwell’s designer deep dive for NATO has me pulling out my older first-edition and looking at the entire game system again
Stephen Newberg’s designer deep dive for the new edition of Seapower & the State has me very excited
Looking at the next few issues of Paper Wars, the wargame titles don’t really grab me. Maybe I got lucky this time and finally found an issue that has both a wargame of interest and interesting articles.
A post on Twitter aksed me where I get my wargame news from. I don’t have any real secrets to share; rather, I just try to bring some discipline to my social media.
Armchair Dragoons
My number 1 go-to place for news compiler is Brant and Armchair Dragoons. His regular #TuesdayNewsday columns are a great compilation of wargame-focused news.
My number 2 go-to place for wargame news is Twitter. I work hard to curate my wargame list to deliver news and wargame-related postings I want to see while eliminating much of that other, mostly negative, trash that constantly flames Twitter. Here I will share a secret, or at least some insight into how I (subjectively) curate content in Twitter.
I actually have four levels of list for Twitter. The first group is wargamers I follow. I want the content from these wargamers pushed to me automatically. The problem is there is good and great content out there and to both into my timeline clobbers it and makes separating the “wheat from chaff” difficult. So I curate.
A second group of wargamers I curate is kept on my Wargame list but NOT followed. This is a pull list…I have to make the decision and take the time during the day to look at this list. One can move between my following and wargame list pretty regularly; if I feel a user is straying away from wargaming content (like maybe being too involved with their favorite sports team) I unfollow but keep them on the wargame list for a while. If over time I see them getting “more wargame” they can always be put back on the follow list.
Every once in a while I review my followers to see if they need to go on my following or wargame list. I try to be generous; if you followed me and have a feed with at least some wargame content I will likely put you on the list at the very least. It’s also possible you might end up on another list of mine; I have History and Military Wonk and the like that one might find a home on. Minis and plastic modelers often end up on my Hobby list.
The third group of wargamers I curate are those I mute. Maybe you said something that annoyed me. You’re entitled to your opinion but I want to keep my feed free of content that I don’t enjoy—I don’t want to doomscroll. Sometimes these muted accounts show back up in my timeline as a muted feed when other wargamers like or retweet or quote them. That can kick off a round of reappraisal and, if I feel like it, a return to the list or following.
The fourth list of wargamers are accounts I block. There are a few out there. What they did to deserve being blocked is a very personal judgement. I’ll say I don’t use the block button lightly; it is far more likely I’ll simply mute the account for a while (a cooling off period for both of us). Honestly, most of the content I block is not necessarily from a wargamer but more often something they liked or retweeted that offended me. I am occasionally surprised by the wargamers who have blocked me. I usually don’t autoblock back…they have their reasons and I although I may not understand I respect them.
BoardGameGeek
I heavily use the subscription feature on BGG. I am subscribed to almost every game in my collection and many families—series if you will—of wargames too. I used to subscribe to companies but found it cluttered my feed too much. I also focus on some key wargame designers. I also follow a few guilds and some key geeklists.
Where available, I’m signed up for newsletters or whatever news feed many wargamer companies push from their websites. I use a separate wargame email account so Mrs RMN doesn’t have to sort through my wargamer mailings to get to the important family emails.
Kickstarter
A newsfeed I see more useful these days is Kickstarter. Over time I have backed more projects or favorited others. When content producers post updates I get the news. It’s pleasantly surprising how much info is conveyed in this manner. Actually, there is at least one wargame company I love that is terrible at updating their website but great at publicizing themselves via Kickstarter. I’ll take what I can get…
Podcasts
I have a curated list of wargame/boardgame podcasts that I subscribe to, but I only listen during my commute which means I don’t often go back to check the links or otherwise explore any news they relate. Of course, if there is one podcast you listen to it should be Mentioned in Dispatches. That is, if you can occasionally suffer my ramblings…
WordPress Reader
This blog is hosted through WordPress which does have a Reader feature. It’s there and I subscribe to some fellow gaming blogs but I find the selection rather sparse and marginally (very marginally) useful for wargame product news (better Mr. Train?).
YouTube
I subscribe to several wargame/boardgame related feeds. I actually don’t get many chances to watch videos; it just isn’t a priority source of entertainment, much less information, for me. I know that some game companies regularly use a weekly video feed to deliver news and updates…I’ll let Brant spend the time watching and pick out the best and compile it for me.
FaceBook
Nope. Just nope.
What about you?
If you are a follower of mine and don’t see yourself on a list please don’t be offended. Like I said, I review my settings every once in a while. In recent months I actually made some effort to reduce my social media time and focus on other activities which means I don’t always get around to reviewing. Also, don’t take it personally if you move between lists. Above all else be understanding; don’t be that one gamer who DM’d me after I unfollowed them and ranted about how I hurt their feelings. If you’re that fragile and view your world through the lens of Twitter likes and followers, well, you just might have some issues—and not being on my wargame list is probably the least of them.
RockyMountain Navy Gamer 