Roller Derby vs Rolling Dice
So I’ve recently discovered Roller Derby and thought i’d write a blog post about it. But I still want this to be a gaming blog so I’m pretty sure you’re about to read the world’s first blog on collecting toy soldiers and Roller Derby.
What is Roller Derby?
Have you seen the film Rollerball? The original, not the god-awful remake. Roller Derby’s like that. Just without the motorbikes, the ball and the custom track. If you’re of that age it also feels like you imagine Speedball 2 would be.
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Maybe it’s better described as team speed skating, except you score points by one of your team, the “Jammer”, lapping the other players. The rest of the team tries to clear a path for your Jammer while taking out the opposing Jammer. Sort of rugby on wheels. Like gaming companies Nottingham has more than its fair share of teams. There’s the Hellfire Harlots, Nottingham Roller Girls and Super Smash Brollers.
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Kit
When I worked at Games Workshop it was quite a common argument about pricing that all hobbies are expensive. It turns out they are. To get going in Roller Derby you’re looking at pads, a helmet and skates. Not much kit compared to the volume of getting started in toy soldiery but it all adds up. A cheap starter set is around £90 for everything but you won’t want to stop at that. You can pretty much spend as much as you like (have?). And just like wargaming there’s a huge second hand market for bits and pieces. I’d actually say the cost is pretty comparable to wargaming but that’s more to do with it eating up my hobby allowance.
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Boot Camp
Before you can begin to skate with the team you need to pass minimum skills. That means that you have to take a fifteen week course to learn the basics – stopping, skating, jumping, falling, blocking. Not too hard until you realise you’re ON SKATES! Still it’s a great idea to get people properly prepared for the sport and if you know what you’re doing then you’re more likely to have fun. Games Workshop stores already do something similar, or at least used to, on their beginner Sundays, but it’s something we should all be aware of. Quite often people’s first introduction to wargaming is getting their ass handed to them on their first game. It’s fun destroying the new guy and it’s an easy win but our hobby is more fun with more players. By making sure we take our time and ease them in then we’ll have more people to play. And more players’ means more wins in the long run. Veteran players would benefit too – knowing the person you’re playing has reached a certain level makes for a more enjoyable game and you know you don’t have to worry about basic rules questions.
Skill
Skating is a skill and takes time to master. Wargaming is as well. We learn to paint and play games. I’ve been wargaming for something like 23 years now and I’ve developed my own painting techniques and know what works for me. It’s interesting being at the start of something new, having to think about what you’re doing. To begin with we learn the basics but over time that will evolve and i’ll learn new tricks and shortcuts.
Game Pride
It seems that roller derby takes over your life – everyone i’ve met who plays is an evangelist for the sport. Here is one of the real differences between roller derby and wargaming – roller derby players are proud of what they do. Wargaming takes over your life, that’s for sure, but it’s also something we tend to keep to ourselves. Our hobby is regarded as quirky and more than a little geeky but I think perhaps we should be doing more to get others involved. We don’t have to make them and it’s important not to scare anyone off but we certainly shouldn’t be hiding who we are.
Both players and refs also choose Derby Names for themselves. The beginners’ coaches are Notts O’Gentle, The Ruth Hurts, Skate Plissken, Dellar Artois and Cherry Revenge. I’ve no idea how we translate something like this to wargaming but I do think it would make for great fun. Get a bit of trash talk in beforehand and we’d be away!
Merch is a huge thing as well, all the teams have their logos, you can buy your opponent’s shirts to remember them by. Or if it didn’t go well you can go home and set fire to them.
Conclusion
Not much of a conclusion here but i guess i need some sort of wrap up. I’d really love to see touring clubs of wargamers, hiring out halls and playing each other – not to see who’s the best (although it’s always nice to know) but really celebrating the awesomeness of wargaming. We could play a mixture of games, invite people to come take a look and see what it’s about and have a few sales stands with toys and merch. I’m thinking a more modern version of wargaming shows – much more of an emphasis on fun than winning and attract a much younger crowd than traditional wargame shows.
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It would also be remiss of me not to point you in the direction of the Nottingham Roller Girls website – http://nottinghamrollergirls.com