History of Wargames

How Many Wargamers Are There?

There aren't enough of them, that's for damn sure. Sales patterns indicate that at its peak in the late 1970s, there were only a few hundred thousand historical wargamers in the nation. There were about as many throughout

the rest of the world. As of the early 1990s, sales patterns indicate that there are probably only about 100,000 paper gamers still active. Computer wargames are another story, with several hundred thousand regular devotees of the genre and the number steadily growing. By the end of the decade there will probably be over half a million. This growth is made possible by the increasing ease of use of computer wargames. Granted, most of these new computer wargamers are playing simulator type wargames, but they are just as eager for historical simulation and the historical accuracy that goes with it.

There are about 10,000 miniatures wargamers world wide. These guys spend a lot of money, so their market clout is larger than their numbers would indicate.

Wargaming is largely a male avocation. There are women wargamers, but they comprise only about one percent of those active. The figure is somewhat higher with computer wargames, perhaps two or three percent. Aside from men being more curious about warfare, the only scientific research I could ever dig on this issue was that one experiment showed that women prefer games with more (apparent) chance while men prefer games with more (apparent) skill. Well, I guess that explains why you find casinos with more women playing the slot machines and more men playing card games.

  Wargames Over There

  Chapter 6 - Computer Wargames

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 5 Contents