Young blood: from V3 to Scottish Nationals

This story starts at the end. In May of this year I was lucky enough to play at the new and improved Scottish nationals, and after a couple drinks too many with Mark and others agreed to write this article for BtA. I am a relatively young flames of war player, one of the youngest at the tournament and in the community in
general, which at 26 can be an unusual feeling, especially for those who come from teen skewed Games Workshop games. So, after day 1 of the event, sitting at the top of the standings having won 3 games, I was thinking back to my first flames of war event at 19 and my path through the game and the Scottish
community.

New kid on the block

My first exposure to flames of war was, I joke you not, the movie Fury. After watching what I thought at the time was an awesome historical movie (oh god), my best friend quickly told me about a WW2 game he had heard of, Flames of War. We were both in a malaise as GW were in the process of killing our staple game Warhammer fantasy battle, so I jumped at trying something new. This was my first year of the game, US tanks were on my Christmas list to go with the paras from the Open Fire set and we stumbled through learning the rules and figuring out how to actually win the game in V3.

At first it was totally alien to our teenage brains, only the friendly d6 reminding us of the games we had grown up on. But as time went by, I fell in love with pushing tiny soldiers around and feeling like we were enacting history, if highly inaccurately at first. So when I left for university flames was a game I had thoroughly enjoyed. At 18 I arrived in Edinburgh for university and wargaming was not a high priority that first year, mostly playing skirmish games and getting my proper gaming in (i.e. Flames) on visits home.

It was the end of V3 that introduced me to the Scottish flames of war player base. As everywhere it had been a popular edition and there was an event to celebrate the end of it. So I arrived at my first ever Flames event, and games against anyone but my best friend, fresh faced and 5 years off from growing a full beard. I bravely chose to take the ISU heavy assault gun company and had 3 cracking games. Most importantly however I met players who were local to Edinburgh and some key members of the Scottish community as a whole. Everyone was welcoming to a fault and I learned a lot. Differences in life experiences and such didn’t matter, we all enjoyed history and Flames of War.

Young blood

In this early phase of playing Flames in the community it was hard not to feel a little out of place. Not saying the player base is old by any means, especially now, but at the time I was at least 10 years younger than 90% of people I was playing with. That said I made some fantastic friends and played many great games. It was good to have people to talk to who weren’t 18-22 year olds, getting out of the ‘student bubble’, and the depth of flames of war meant it quickly became my main game. What’s more as time marched on I was actually becoming good at the game.

As the youngest member of the local community at the time the release of V4 was interesting. I was still excited just to play the game with new people so was interested to observe the reluctance of some, enthusiasm of others, and just get on with it approach most who kept playing seemed to take. As a result, I played a lot of V4 at the start and took part in several small events. Given where I was in my life I had my study brain on and so took on the rules changes quickly, with relatively little V3 baggage (though I still miss eyes and ears). At this time the Scottish community was rather small, with the number of truly regular players quite low. There was a Scottish Nationals in 2018 but it was a relatively humble affair and there would not be another one for several years.

Over my very early 20s I wracked up an impressive 125 games of Flames of War. I know this because I wrote them all down, and still do in a tatty notebook after every battle.  Over the course of these games I saw the community getting back on its feet as Mid war ran its course and Late war started releasing. Shoutout to Games Hub in Edinburgh where I played most of my games during this period and who hosted multiple events with 6-10 players. I still play there regularly and recommend you check them out if in the area. During this process I was still the youngest, still the fresh faced youth looking at the much more impressive armies of those with real adult jobs and hobby skills, but I didn’t mind because I was loving it. It was great to play with people interested in history as well as just gaming and I made some firm friendships as well as fierce gaming rivalries. As I approached 22 I was beginning to get pretty good at the game, then the bad thing happened.

The dark times

We all know 2020 was a rough time, but for people of my age it was particularly bad. I never got a graduation after my degree was finished online due to the pandemic. I had lost access to my friends, and for a while family. And, tragically, flames of war stopped. As a young man I had always been more about playing than painting or modelling, the pandemic changed this. Over the spring of 2020 I managed to slash my pile of shame and get several armies up to an ok standard, including the US I would use at Scottish nationals in 2024. This much painting and time between games was unprecedented for me, but if I’m honest put me in good stead for life after COVID, where I would become a teacher and lose access to weekday afternoon gaming.

The pandemic also offered another opportunity. As a gen Z I was pretty active on social media, certainly compared to a lot of my peers in the flames of war community and ended up posting a lot of discussions on online in lieu of actually being able to play a game. It was through this online presence that I actually ended up playing online games and featuring on the Valleygaming Youtube channel run by my now friend and nationals rival Rob. This was a great opportunity to connect with players during the pandemic and also helped maintain connections with the Scottish community, as a couple of players from up here also featured and played online.

After the pandemic

Given the stop-start nature of Covid restrictions in Scotland and the rest of the UK things didn’t go back to normal quickly for the Flames of war community. But by my 24^th year, 7^th as a player, events were regular and relatively well attended. V4 had finally matured with new players, and returning players, starting to emerge. I had started real life and a career so Flames of War was a touchstone for me, being a teacher can be hard and it was good to have a weekend of pushing toys around to look forward too.

I was playing less than ever before thanks to work and was beginning to appreciate how it was for everyone else I had met in the community now that I wasn’t a student. That said I felt more a part of the community than ever. I was playing new people often and it was great to see them getting into the game, or back into the game. What’s more I noticed a shift in age happening with more young players – read early to mid twenties – getting involved after Covid at the events in Edinburgh.

By this time I was pretty good at actually winning, especially with certain armies. I was even getting a bit of a reputation among the older guys for my aggressive play style and the fact I treat all my infantry as Soviet infantry (casualties are always acceptable!). The quality of my play was definitely improving and I was placing well at events. My mid 20s have been a great time for flames of war and it has been great to welcome people to the game like you all welcomed me as a fresh-faced youngster.

Scottish nationals

Scottish Nationals 2024 was a culmination for me. It was a great weekend with many of the friends I had made on my Flames of War journey, and new ones of course. As I had come to expect I was one of, but not the, youngest players there. As usual it meant little, as basically everyone in Flames is super chill and good fun in my experience. I had a great first day winning 3/3 games and putting myself at the top of the standings going into day 2. That night I enjoyed some drinks with the other top players including BtA’s own Mark, setting the world of Flames to rights! I then used my youth to full effect the next day, feeling relatively fresh to the surprise of some.

Unfortunately, I lost my first game on day 2 versus eventual winner Rob, in an odd encounter playing one of the defend vs defend missions in the nationals pack. However, I rallied and managed to beat my final opponent on the attack to secure myself 2^nd place, tied with Mark but awarded thanks to the tie breaker (most sporting votes).

Scottish nationals was a truly brilliant event, it was great to see the community that has welcomed me in and adopted me over the last 7 years on a real high and I can’t wait for next year. I am no longer the youngest Flames of War player I know (wow) and hopefully can help do my bit to keep new players coming to the game, young and old(er). My Flames of War journey continues as I approach 30 and other life milestones, and who knows, maybe in many years I’ll be lucky enough to have a long and illustrious Flames of War career behind me, and hopefully welcome fresh blood to the game. Finally, I’d like to thank everyone, despite what some say being a youngster is not easy these days, this game has been a massive positive in my life and I look forward to many more years at the tabletop and hobby desk.