One Million Pageviews

We broke the one-million-pageview lifetime-hits mark yesterday, which, in the world of blogs, is a huge achievement. Very few people read blogs regularly, which puts us in an elite club. I ask Google's AI, and it says only 5 to 10 hobby blogs have cracked this lifetime number (take that with a grain of salt, as I suspect it is far more). I started this blog because I missed reading the classic Grognardia way back in the day and wanted my own space to reflect on gaming's long history.

"I don't always agree with you, but this is a great blog..."

I don't expect anyone to, which is the beauty of our hobby. Back in the 1980s, we were all just figuring this out, and there was no standard way to do things, and everyone had their own ideas. This is why so many amazing games originated in the 1980s and 1990s. My views and opinions constantly change, depending on my mood and frustration with live service models. I will put a game in storage, multiple times, only to realize later that I really miss it, and back out it comes again. Some games now permanently live in storage, and I realize I can live without those.

But like you, my thoughts change, and I work them out here. Others may agree or not, or be struggling with the same things I mention. It is all good. This is a discussion. Discussions make the hobby special, and being able to have them without some ideologue coming in and telling us, "this is how you must think," is an openness and conversation that I like to encourage.

We have seen the "MMO culture" merge with the hobby, with people declaring "everyone must be on one platform!" That is against the spirit of gaming and experimentation with which this hobby began in the 1980s, when we would play several games and be exposed to many ideas that helped us grow and learn. If all you know is 5E, you have a very narrow view and experience from which to talk about gaming. And someday, 5E will go away, and the platform adherence crowd will move on to the next thing.

Preaching loyalty to a single Wall Street corporation is not what gaming is about. We are free thinkers, tinkerers, experimenters, game designers, thrill-seekers, and fans of the hobby and its culture. We mixed games, used Rolemaster crit charts for AD&D, played Car Wars all day, loved Battletech, collected Rifts books, played Star Wars, went to Pizza Hut, and jammed to the best music on the radio, playing our favorites.

And I never expect any views on what I write. I'm not an influencer, nor do I have a YouTube channel. That may change, too, depending on my time and how I feel.

But a million pageviews?

Thank you.