Re: An introduction - Wargame, meet significant other. . .

Buddy Chamberlain wrote:
> 
> You're a lucky guy...  How does one go about finding, if I may use the
term,
> "gamer chicks" anyway?  Just curious...  :o)
> 
It's a fairly slow process. . .

First, read science fiction books and talk about how good they
are. They must actually be good, otherwise it won't work. I
started with Michael Marshall Smith then worked my way up to
David Drake. Do this gradually. Overkill will destroy any
possibility of success.

Play card and board games with her. Lament how simple and boring
they are. Comment on the beauty of a Risk board, but how ugly the
plastic pieces look.

"Wouldn't it be cool to play Risk/Axis and Allies/ Monopoly with
attractively painted miniatures"

Do that. Comment on how dull the games are.

Buy a simple miniatures game. Then a more complex one. Be
prepared to explain the rules without her having read them before
hand. Always have two armies, and ask her what sort of colour
scheme (at least) one should have. When you go to buy minis,
start off by showing her two (tasteful) ones that you like. Ask
her to pick one.(At this point, don't buy both of them).

Soon, she will go into the store and browse around with you.
However, this doesn't mean she will actually buy anything; you
will have to pay for everything. This is easily tempered by the
fact that:

 a) She is playing wargames with you, and now knows the
difference betweeen a squad and platoon, and knows what SAW and
MLRS means.
 b) You would have bought all this stuff anyway, so if she
actually paints, buys models, etc, it's a bonus.

Voila.

I'm now in the process of introducing my wife to RPGs. This is a
slightly more difficult task, because RPGs have traditionally
been (in the media, at least) associated with freaks and
quasi-stable individuals. I'm helped by the fact that one of my
friends wants to play, and he's an engineer, and extraordinarily
logical.

See? Simple.

Paul