I find the community to be sometimes embarrassing.

Case and point, the Jumpmaster and Biggs discussion (formerly the PWT, and Phantom discussion).

Yeah it's embarrassing.

Never be ashamed of things that have nothing to be ashamed about. I just tell people my inner child isn't very deeply buried

I'll put it this way; one of my students brought me back Chewbacca socks from a trip to Disneyland. They know I'm a Star Wars geek

RoV

4 hours ago, Marinealver said:

I find the community to be sometimes embarrassing.

Case and point, the Jumpmaster and Biggs discussion (formerly the PWT, and Phantom discussion).

Yeah it's embarrassing.

Yes, the way people carry on, they certainly have something to be ashamed of

RoV

When I first started telling people at work why had to be out the door by 10 to 6 on Thurs I'd get weird looks. Tiny spaceships was my description. Now in my current t

Furball league I get several requests for updates on how I went, nobody is keen to play but are interested in it anyway.

My lady friend also doesn't understand despite my teaching her to play but is happy for me to do my thing as long as there us still together time.

In my experience, when I tell (mostly show) people about X-Wing, they always get pretty excited, and I'm talking people who would never, ever play any board game as an intensive hobby. The thing is: 1) Star Wars is not for-nerd-only, everybody is into Star Wars these days, it's as mass-consumed as it gets; and 2) X-Wing doesn't look like a hypercomplicated wargame with a thousands miniatures you paint in your basement; it's a fast-paced, essentially simple game with sleek pieces that look like collectibles without looking like you spend your weekends assembling them and can't stand other people touching them; sure they look like toys, but they look like cool toys.

So this helps, but mostly it's about your attitude toward it and the way you present it to non-gaming people. As for people already into games, that's a no-brainer: even friends whose gaming experience stopped at party games agreed to play X-Wing and had a lot of fun with it. They didn't become players, but certainly I wasn't embarrassed showing it to them.

The older I have gotten the more I realize I just do not care what people think about me. A healthy state of just not caring ... and, well, pretty liberating.

Totally embrace my inner dork and just do not give a blank and what i have found?

Large segment of the local Austin folks playing? Not that different from me. Businessmen by day; non judgmental; channeling inner dork ...

I was going to avoid chiming in on this topic. I'm over 65, retired and I don't give a rodent's rump what people think. The people that know me, know "I'm a bit off" and accept it as part of me being me. Those that don't know me, who cares. If they won't or don't take the time to know who I am, it's their loss, not mine.

I started serious gaming back in the 3rd grade with Avalon Hill's Gettysburg and haven't looked back.

I work as a firefighter, generally considered not a very geeky job. I imbrace my geeky lifestyle, comic collecting, video games , d&d, flying little spaceships across a table and so forth. I don't try to hide it and talk about it all the time, so much so that I got one of my workmates into it and we play at work during downtime! What I'm trying to say is you shouldn't be embarrassed about your passions, you may be surprised at just how many people out there are supportive. :-)

Often I laught till my eyes are full of tears when somebody says "Wooooh...15 euros that tiny ship. And you need a lot. Quite expensive".

And that guy owns a boat to relax fishing on sunny Sundays, or rides a Harley decorated by skull and bones perhaps 4 days a year. And of course, after 35 years wargaming I own some stuff...

But some people think it is OK to purchase a Harley (adult's toy) and not X Wing stuff (child's toy). Perspective.