[lmm]

> A good counter example could perhaps be table top wargaming, e.g. Warhammer and the likes. Surely, people who call that their hobby like to play the (various different) games. But a lot of people love building and painting their miniature armies just as much. And some people hate it. So what's the scoop? If you enjoy the building and painting of new minis more than actually playing the game they're made for, you're doing it wrong?

If you enjoy building and painting miniatures then it's not wrong. It's a different hobby from wargaming though.

> Look, hobbies are for your enjoyment. If buying gear or trying to build it yourself gives you joy, more power to you.

Sure. But a lot of people find themselves accumulating a closet full of junk that was supposed to help with a fun part that they never actually get around to. Which is really just another form of consumerism; while I'm open to the idea that some kinds of collecting can be good hobbies, there's definitely a kind of pseudo-hobby of buying things that all too often ends up as an addiction-like behaviour that doesn't actually bring people much joy or satisfaction.

> The acquisition of gear (be it buying or building) is not a means to an end - it is part of the hobby.

If it brings you joy, yes. If it just quiets the cravings for a while, no.

[kleiba]

> If you enjoy building and painting miniatures then it's not wrong. It's a different hobby from wargaming though.

See, and here I disagree, and I think at least a non-trivial number of players would too.

> If it brings you joy, yes. If it just quiets the cravings for a while, no.

Too hard to reliably distinguish between the two.

[samus]

> See, and here I disagree, and I think at least a non-trivial number of players would too.

Good for them! They are not the ones we should be concerned about.

> Too hard to reliably distinguish between the two.

It's probably hard to distinguish from the outside, but it's important to cultivate that skill [edit: to evaluate one's own habits] if living in a consumerist society where most cravings can be satisfied by going to a shopping mall or to an online store.

[gilleain]

> there's definitely a kind of pseudo-hobby of buying things that all too often ends up as an addiction-like behaviour

For Warhammer, specifically, that's maybe why I've heard the term 'plastic crack' ... That is, buying large amounts of miniatures that never get painted.

(Always paint your bases!)

[genericuser256]

Based. Kremlo came from space!

[gilleain]

Praise frog.