Friday, December 21, 2018

Opinions, FAQ's, and the Art of Growing the Age of Sigmar Community

There has been a lot of banter online lately about the game we all know and love, Age of Sigmar.  It is great to see the community being active and passionate about whatever aspect of the game they feel the most connection towards.  Some people really care about the competitive balance of the game, while others focus on keeping a strong narrative presence in the rules.  Others, like myself, find their joy and focus on having a large and positive community and the recent talks seem to split people and it can seem concerning, but we are all coming from the same perspective of growing our game.  In this madness that can be online debates and discussions, it is important to not just be a passive player and accept one person's thoughts as your own.  Listening to everyone and forming your own opinion is key to reaching the goal we are all after.  A strong and healthy community set around the game of Age of Sigmar.


I see no issue with people across the community offering their thoughts and opinions as long as it is constructive and, for the most part, it does seem to be the case.  Humans are very unique and we all have our own lens in which we view our world and sometimes this lens can be a glass half full and sometimes it is a glass half empty.  Neither is wrong and neither is right and it is important to not simply lock yourself to one side or another.

We all have opinions and it is easy to get very attached to our opinions, but doing this only creates an impassable divide as when you become emotional and attached in such a way that your opinion is the only correct answer.  Take your opinion with you while you listen to others opinions on the subject.  Take others ideas and use it to critique your opinions and see how they stand up to that critique.   It is how we grow and not become stagnant and bogged down in pointless arguments about toy soldiers.

I won't lie that I very much look at the good in every situation.  It is my nature and it is not going to change anytime soon.  When I look at faqs and other updates to the game I love I always see it as a step towards the goal of having a solid set of working rules.  Even when something might look like a misstep to me I remind myself that even failure is another step toward the goal.  Whether you agree or disagree with how I view the world it is good to remember it is only one viewpoint and there are thousands of other viewpoints and that are all just as valid as mine.  There is more than one way to reach our goals and limiting ourselves to our own opinions is a disservice to yourself while also creating potential divides.  Sometimes we do need to plant our flag in the sand, but it does not mean we ignore others opinions while believing in our own.

I know this post is going a bit all over the place, but my goal has always been to see this community grow together and become stronger as the years continue on and I feel this goal is being reached, but the more we begin to draw lines in the sand the harder this goal becomes and to see divides form is disheartening as we are all after the same thing in the end.  We all love Age of Sigmar and we all want to have fun playing it with one another be it through telling a story, sharing our hobby, or by playing to our highest competitive level.  The next time Twitter or another part of social media ignites with heated debates I hope to see it remain constructive and ideas being presented to help both parties understand one another while reaching toward that unified goal we all share.  Put yourself in the others shoes and remember the lens they use to view the world is different, but even if you do not agree with their view there is likely a small bit of truth from what they present.  Take it in and use it to form your own opinion and prevent needless divides in our community.  Only together with all our different lenses will we be able to continue to grow and strengthen our Age of Sigmar Community.

Happy Holidays and Happy Hobbying,

Chuck Moore