“This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band!” These iconic words, attached to a simple line drawing showed a movement, expertly boiled down to a pure essence and transmitted as a fucking good rallying cry. It appeared in the late 70’s, and contrary to the complications and excess of the contemporary music scene, this call to action was something different. Punk rock was about energy over experience, about creation over refinement and most importantly about doing over planning. After multiple obituaries, flirtations with mainstream audiences and co-opting by everyone from high fashion to low end retail, the vital energy of punk and the DIY movement still offers up lessons far above thrashing out chords in a shitty venue that smells of puke and alcohol. Life lessons that go beyond what you think of as the purview of punk rock. This music, this scene, this way of thinking influences those who partook, even sometimes for a short period, and changes their worldview for life. Punk and hardcore has the power to change people, and I find myself applying the lessons I learned on an almost daily basis.

Today’s lesson is about DIY (do it yourself) gaming. Now this isn’t about hobby projects done with power tools or scraps of construction materials. Plenty of more qualified folks will tell you how to make a gaming table or spray paint cool shit, this isn’t that kind of DIY. This is about capturing the spirit of making things new and applying it to how you game. This is about creativity and a “fuck it, I can do this myself” attitude that can both motivate you, and smash traditional views on gaming material that allows you to play what and how you want. The idea is about taking what is great about a punk scene, the closeness, energy, constant evolution and adaptability, and bringing that thinking into your gaming, whether it is Warhammer, some other miniatures game, RPG’s or whatever. This way of thinking exposes games for what they generally are, a tool kit. It empowers you to chop, change and expand whatever you’re playing possibly leading to the gaming equivalent of “forming a band.”

So why should you care? Maybe you shouldn’t. If you’re the type of person who has every want and need for gaming met by published products, then that is awesome for you. There is no judgement here, seriously. There is an incredible wealth of material out there encompassing the hard work of creative people from all over the world. Not only do we have a better variety of good stuff out there now than ever, primarily due to the global community of the internet, digital distribution, Kickstarter and the rising acceptance of gaming, there is also decent access to the entire modern history of gaming. Want to play Warhammer Fantasy from 1987? Do it. Want a go at rules for battling with toy soldiers on the floor written by HG Wells? Quick internet search will turn those up. Love a social RPG with vampires but also love the middle ages? Plenty of published source material for that game. We live in an age of plenty when it comes to nerdy dice games, so why complain? Simple answer, because we want something different, something that is ours. Continue reading →