Military gaming has always been a hobby of mine, and the social aspect cannot be denied. I've met a lot of gentlemen with interests similar to mine, which provides for some interesting discussions and opportunities for smack talk during gaming. Plus, it stimulates my own interest in the subject matter which in turn leads me to learn more about it and related subjects.

Gaming has led me to find a great group of friends, both IRL at the local game store, and online at the ForuMINI. Plus, I've spent way too much money on it. But that's not necessarily a bad thing...right...?

I could joke about the cost of several hundred tiny plastic ships and planes in both time and money, but overall the wargaming hobby generally and Axis & Allies: War at Sea specifically have been overwhelmingly a positive experience for me. As a History graduate student I love most eras of history, but as a medievalist I don't often have time to study more modern history; WAS has given me a nice, easy hobby that has also taught me a little bit about WWII naval history but also indulges my nerdier, gamer side (since I come from the fantasy/D&D/Magic side of the gaming hobby). Furthermore, and probably more importantly, the group of people I have met through gaming have become some of my closest friends and greatest mentors, and moving little ships around a table and rolling some dice still provide us with a few hours of camaraderie (and some measure of stress relief) each week.

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Gaming has been both positive and negative, I guess. On the plus side, it is fun and I have made some money making custom miniatures for other people. On the down side, it costs a lot to keep buying more and more.

Gaming has affected me in 2 ways. The first is positively, because it let me meet a bunch of guys on the forumini, and also because it makes you think, and not just randomly move and hope for a lucky roll. The second is negatively, because I have spent way more than I want to on this game, and I find myself wanting even more. But, all-in-all, I find it's worth it.

Gaming has been a positive, because it has helped me entertain my kids.

Wargaming's actually been both positive and negative for me. As a military history student planning a degree in WWII Studies, it has been a positive in giving me new tools to visualize historical battles and understand what a given commander could have seen at any one time, and insight into the complications of strategic and tactical planning. Plus, it's given me ready-made visual-aids for when I finally have a professorship and a classroom of my own... The negatives are the time and money that building and maintaining inventory on my collection require--the whole mess has left my balancesheets hemorrhaging red ink since Day One in the game, not to mention the logistical nightmare of moving my collection when I need it for an event.