2019 GWS - the Basics

Over the last few months Jon Freitag and Miles Reidy have taken time out of their busy schedules to start the proper analysis of this year's Great Wargaming Survey and it's time to start reporting. But first, a big thank-you to both of them. Without their help, any reports would have not have been published till much later, and without the depth they have provided.

The Great Wargaming Survey 2019 - basics

Before delving into the details in future blogs, it's probably a good idea to start with the very basics of this year's survey. It ran from August 1st till the 31st and gathered 10,795 responses, with a 93% completion rate. The former is a record (8% more than the previous record of 2016), and the latter is average. 97.8% of respondents identified as male, 1.7% as female and 0.6% as other.

The North American contingent of the respondents was slightly bigger this year than any year apart from 2014 at 36.5% and the British & Irish group was the biggest ever at 35.3%. The growth in respondent numbers was largely among these two groups.

Age-wise, there seems to be little change. There was a slight increase in younger participants, but the 'age pyramid' still very much looks like a stereotypical wargamer: a large bulge in the middle. That suggests that, though young wargamers are definitely joining the hobby, there's an 'age bubble' moving through the hobby.

Finally, this year we asked about respondents' age when they started wargaming. It appears that the great majority (76.7%) rolled into the hobby before reaching adulthood. That of course doesn't mean they didn't take a break at any time and come back later, but it does mean it's essential to generate interest as early as possible, as only 14.3% take up the hobby in their twenties. It drops off very quickly after that.

The good news, and it really is good, is that once people are in, 97% of respondents indicate high levels of enthusiasm about their hobby. If this was a company satisfaction survey, it would be bonuses all-round.

Prizes

Update on the prizes, as not everyone seems to be getting our newsletters. The Rubicon sprues have shipped, the Sarissa kits are expected in this week and will be shipped immediately, and Wargames Atlantic has promised the first sprues shortly.