I've been a wargamer most of my life. As a hobby it is both entertaining and educational, and can be as expensive or inexpensive as one wishes to set their sights.

I was introduced to a couple Avalon Hill games by a friend (either John Matsen or Bill Calore - credit &/or blame where due)  when I was 12 or 13 (in 1969-70), give or take a few months. Back then those games cost from 5-10 bucks total! For those few hard earned paper route dollars we could spend hours battling out the Battle of the Bulge, the battle for North Afrika (Afrika Korps) and stand side by side with the Marines at Guadalcanal. Eventually I discovered SPI, and soon found there were a few other gaming companies that produced military simulations I was interested in, and my collection grew.

While I have some non-military games, the bulk of my hobby and interest in gaming has been the conflict simulation, commonly known as Wargames. Despite a certain military stigma some people attach to wargaming, the hobby is not about being violent, but about history. Most times it is also about entertainment and sometimes about being competitive.

I've now got over 300 game titles dating back from as early as the 1960's to the present covering historic events from the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia to hypothetical futures, and some imaginary events which are fun to game as well. They also cover combat from man to man, to large armies on continental scales. Some games are very one sided as well (one in particular on the Alamo), while most are pretty well balanced for all the players. 

I've enjoyed this hobby a long time, introducing my son to the same interest as he grew up and was old enough to understand the rules. He has learned an immense amount of history because of this hobby, and his grasp of social sciences is well on the way if it's an educational path he chooses to pursue.

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