Leadership, Circuition, and Shift in Tabletop Wargaming Community

This paper, by Jacek Mianowski of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, examines the life cycle of tabletop wargaming communities, covering how groups form, how they sustain themselves, and the mechanisms that lead to their decline. The argument is that wargaming is more than a hobby: it generates distinctive speech communities and systems of practice. The analysis draws on ongoing ethnographic research conducted since 2015, centred on larger Polish cities, with the author participating as a player. Data comprise participant observation, fieldwork notes, semi-structured player interviews, and online discussions gathered over roughly three years, with a detailed focus on a Flames of War community and supporting references to Warmachine & Hordes and Star Wars: X-Wing and Armada.

The paper proposes a three-stage model of community development drawing on Peter Block's concepts of belonging, hospitality, and citizenship. The first stage involves small group dynamics, where newcomers must feel welcomed and needed, and where early growth depends on accessible games and personal invitations. The second stage, organised play, emerges once a group reaches roughly six or more active players, marked by tournaments, rewards, and players who begin investing time and resources as citizens rather than consumers. The third stage addresses national and international competition, where large events of twenty to over a hundred participants test game mechanics and where meta-gaming, the strategic exploitation of rules, becomes central. Decline typically arises from power struggles, negative public discourse on social media, and the departure of community leaders, while revival depends on a shift toward forward-looking conversation and renewed civic engagement.

The study's scope is limited to Polish communities, and its findings rest on qualitative, single-researcher observation rather than large-scale survey data, so generalisation beyond these contexts is necessarily tentative. Its central conclusion is that community sustainability depends on engaged players willing to act, support from local hobby shops and publishers, and games that remain sufficiently appealing to attract new participants.