GWS 2017 6/31 questions - the UK vs Germany
German wargamers compared to Brits
Last Monday, July 2nd, we noticed that German wargamers - as far as they'd taken the Great Wargaming Survey 2017 - are on the whole considerable younger than the average wargamer. I thought it'd be interesting to compare this group of respondents to those from the UK. We'll highlight some differences that SurveyMonkey indicates are statistically significant.
Age-based differences
At a glance: German wargamers, on average, haven't yet been in the hobby as long as British wargamers, which makes complete sense when you know they are also younger. 'Real life' not getting in the way is a bigger concern in Germany, but German wargamers are otherwise equally eager to enjoy their hobby. That too might be explained by the lower average age when houses, jobs, relationships, etc, are less established. A higher percentage of computer-wargamers again fits the pattern as does the greater popularity of cross-over-type (X-Wing, Zombicide) games.
Playing tabletop wargames
German wargamers are equally enthusiastic about playing the game, but less interested in rules-tinkering, collecting rulesets, or background research. They are on average more interested in list-building, however, terrain building, and find hanging out with friends even more important than the already very social British wargamer.
Ein Piratenleben für mich?
When it comes to preferred periods and settings, German wargamers are considerably less interested in the strictly historical settings. That's pretty much across the board. Pirates, which is easily 'semi historical' is the only exception to this rule. Science Fiction, both including and excluding 40K, is more popular here, as is fantasy, though that doesn't go for Age of Sigmar.
Solo-wargaming is barely 'a thing' in Germany, where they generally play in smaller groups than in the UK. Considering the fact that they more often play at their own or a friend's home, that suggests a small (fixed) group of friends they play with. They are more interested than Brits in expanding that group via a Friendfinder App. When compared to the UK show schedule, the German one is pretty sparse. It's no surprise that most German wargamers only get to go to a few shows, such as Tactica in Hamburg, or abroad, to Crisis or Salute.
Contribute to our 31 Questions challenge
Have any questions about the results of the Great Wargaming Survey 2017? Feel free to submit them here, but try to keep in mind what we can and cannot answer based on the questions and possible answers to the survey. To refresh your memory, check out a preview of last year's questions and possible answers.
