How to include your partner in the hobby

By: Antonius

Lately I have been trying to find a way to get my wife involved in tabletop games.

Some of you may stop and say, "why?" Well it is simple really, this is a hobby I really enjoy and want to share that enjoyment and experience with my wife as a chance for us to do something together that would be interactive.

In truth, it wasn't an overly difficult sale to make to her really. I simply had to approach it in a sensible manner.

First off, simply saying to her "Hey, I want you to play miniature wargames with me!" would not have worked. I had to find a system she could relate to that was not completely encumbered by layers of rules. Play a game with a straightforward set of rules throughout all different scenarios of gameplay.

I looked at her interests, which are not all that dissimilar from my own, and determined that a fantasy setting was perfect. I had a giant inroad with Games Workshop and their Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. With the system determined, the next decision had to be made, what factions do we play?

Picking a faction for any wargame system is just as important as picking the system itself. After she agreed to play, I let her pick the faction she was going to play, completely without knowing what I would play and without my influence at all.

Factions are a personal matter. We are drawn to factions based off the miniatures within the range, the meta, any synergies we can create by combining units, or simply based off budget, and what is available at our price range. Subsequently, my wife chose to play Elves while I chose the armies of Gondor. She initially picked them based off Legolas, but after doing some reading she discovered they had a lot that really spoke to her playstyle. They were fast, had decent defenses and were versatile.

Once we picked factions, the final step in getting my wife introduced to miniature wargames was setting a cap on points. We decided to stick to something mid range in order to never be stuck playing the same units over and over again, while still allowing us to field some that were aesthetically pleasing or had rules we wanted to try out against the other person.

While we are still collecting and have yet to play a full game (her range of minis are harder to come by it seems...) this has opened a new avenue for conversation with us. We sit and discuss how the game plays, talk colour schemes and if we would expand into other systems in the future. It is wonderful to share the passion I have for tabletop games with a community, but even more rewarding to share it with my wife too.

Until next time everyone, always remember to have fun at the tables!