Awaiting the rise of miniature wargaming in India

Miniature wargaming, a hobby that combines strategic thinking, historical knowledge, and artistic craftsmanship, has gained popularity worldwide. In recent years, India has witnessed a significant rise in interest and participation in tabletop games, though this has not yet translated into an interest in miniature wargaming or historical wargaming. I write this to bring out the potential, challenges and ways to make this hobby popular in India.

Potential

With the growing economy and an ever increasing youth, India today is open to spend time and money. More and more people are looking for hobbies and as such I see there to be a great market for the hobby among the millions of us out here. There is an avid interest in history and with a rich military culture, there's quite a lot of interest and opinion about warfare - all that is required is to channel that energy to our harmless but very enjoyable hobby.

Challenges

Miniature wargaming in India faces several challenges. One significant obstacle is the limited availability of gaming materials, including miniatures, rulebooks, and terrain accessories. Import restrictions, high shipping costs, and a lack of local production contribute to the scarcity of gaming supplies, making it difficult for enthusiasts to fully immerse themselves in the hobby. Additionally, the niche nature of miniature wargaming can pose challenges in attracting new players and fostering a sustainable gaming community in some regions of India.

Community Building and Collaboration

Despite these challenges, I have been trying to build miniature models our of paper and mdf blocks (I did get some miniatures imported but not everyone may want to go that route). My attempts as of now have been limited to organise games among my students and friends, the interest has been quite encouraging with few in even showing interest in model-making. What needs to happen in future is more of these local clubs but for that we have to overcome the challenge of scarcity of gaming materials. I will continue to work on more paper minis to help in this area but it wouldn't hurt if manufacturers can start to look east and think of investing out here.

Future Plans

More games of-course ; more videos and social media posts to take this hobby to new people and hope it clicks and grows. This has led to this blog and the Instagram channel, I hope to start posting on YouTube soon as well. I will try to focus on affordable and easy wargaming. Let's see what lay ahead...