Oldhammer - Just a case of “when I were a kid?” nostalgia?

Recently a small public limited miniature wargames company with a turnover of £131m released a new edition of one of their core games. This new edition featured a number of changes to the rules and as a consequence the way that games played out. These changes resulted in a number of more mature players deciding that they wouldn’t play the new incarnation and began looking for an alternative. Thus Oldhammer was born!

Now the whole ethos of Oldhammer is to play Warhammer 3rd Edition. Sounds easy doesn’t it, nothing to complicated about that I hear you say, unless of course you want the rulebook. Now this is where it becomes tricky because the rules have been out of print since 1992 however I believe you can possibly acquire a pdf download, whether that is legal or not is a different matter (on your head be it!). Luckily I have a copy of the rules and even better this is the first wargame I ever played back in 1988. It is also the most complicated edition of the game that said small company ever released. If you pop on over to the oldhammer blog (link above) you’ll see lots of info. Even better there’s an Oldhammer weekend being run at Foundry in Nottingham - http://warhammerforadults.blogspot.co.uk/p/oldhammer-eventfoundry-2013.html

Also there’s a nice little summary of one man’s (I believe he’s male!) move to Oldhammer here

http://warhammerforadults.blogspot.co.uk/p/why-is-it-called-warhammer-for-adults.html

Anyway (the most used word in blogs after “so”) this isn’t my reason for the post. I actually want to give my own view of Oldhammer and its place in my gaming list. You see I did play a lot of WFB 3rd  as a teen and really enjoyed it however I view the game and my memories of it as a place in time rather than a product. Going back to playing it would be a little like trying to relive those memories and place myself back in that point of time and I’m a million miles away from where I was back then. Additionally I’m not sure I have the time at the moment to relearn the rules and then teach said rules to anyone unfamiliar with it. Please note I’m not debunking the edition nor dissing the guys who have revived this as a valid ruleset - and by valid I mean promoting to other players and building a community that wishes to play and support it.

So all I’m trying to say is that for me it would be reliving my past and would sit firmly in the category of nostalgia. Now back to the first paragraph of the post and the changes made by that not inconsiderably sized PLC to the game I loved. I’ve decide to revert back to 7th edition. There are two reasons for this.

1. The books are still available second hand
2. I really enjoyed it and still know the rules

Now I’m sure there will be people who argue that the game was broken, too easily manipulated or too limiting in its options. And to that I say “its my hobby and I’ll play the way I wish”. If something doesn’t work then I’ll change it and make sure that the people I play are wargamers and not powergamers. I was always rubbish at tournaments anyway. I enjoy the story of the game, the dynamics or trying to defeat numerically superior opponents or just trying to survive.

Therefore in conclusion to this rather rambling post I’d just like to thank Games Workshop for finally setting the threshold that I am not willing to cross and opening up my mind to alternative hobby solutions. And in answer to the title of this post - Yes it is (for me) and unfortunately a number of years have passed since that wonderful memory and I don't want to disappoint myself in trying to get it back.

The king is dead, long live the dead king!