It’s funny how quickly your enthusiasm for a hobby can change.
Not because you buy something new.
Not because a new game releases.
But because you spend a weekend with the right people.
I nearly didn’t make it to PAX.
Between twelve-hour shifts, ten-hour shifts, barely any sleep, and Trent’s annual tradition of turning my hobby room upside down, I wasn’t even sure I’d have the energy.
I’m really glad I went.
Inspiration Is Contagious
The event itself wasn’t huge.
It wasn’t packed with massive company displays or giant tournament halls.
Instead, it was filled with passionate people showing off games they’d created, terrain they’d built, and projects they genuinely cared about.
That’s my favourite kind of hobby event.
The sort where conversations last longer than the games.
I caught up with familiar faces, met viewers of the channel, rolled some dice in a game of Mordheim, and played a skirmish game called Creature by Stuart Delves.
That one game ended up changing the entire direction of my thinking.
The Projects We Leave Waiting
Playing Creature reminded me of something I’d almost forgotten.
Years ago, Scott Reed and I spent countless hours developing our own skirmish game, Mirrors of Tan.
We wrote rules.
Playtested scenarios.
Commissioned miniatures.
Built a world.
Life happened, as it often does, and the project slowly found its way onto a shelf alongside so many other unfinished ideas.
Not abandoned.
Just waiting.
Sometimes all it takes is seeing someone else’s creative work to remember your own.
Creating Inspires More Creating
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the years is that creativity isn’t a limited resource.
It grows when you’re around other creative people.
Watching someone proudly explain the game they’ve written doesn’t make me think, “I wish I’d done that.”
It makes me think, “I want to go home and work on my own game.”
Seeing beautifully painted miniatures doesn’t make me want to buy more miniatures.
It makes me want to paint the ones I already own.
Enthusiasm has a habit of spreading.
Sharing the Hobby
The other highlight of the weekend had nothing to do with the convention itself.
Trent and I spent time scanning some classic miniatures from Ian Hemingway’s old Fiendish Fabrications range so they could be preserved digitally and shared with the community.
Seeing hundreds of people download those files within days was incredibly rewarding.
There’s something special about taking pieces of hobby history that might otherwise disappear and giving them a second life.
It reminded me that creating isn’t always about making something new.
Sometimes it’s about making sure the old things aren’t forgotten.
Coming Home With New Eyes
When I got home, I opened the boxes containing the Mirrors of Tan miniatures.
Anton Derov had sculpted exactly what we’d hoped for all those years ago—characterful, old-school fantasy miniatures full of personality.
Looking at them now, I realised they deserve more than sitting safely packed away.
They deserve paint.
They deserve rules.
They deserve to be played.
Most importantly, they deserve to be finished.
The Best Hobby Purchases Aren’t Things
People often ask what the best investment is in this hobby.
A new printer?
Better paints?
More miniatures?
After this weekend, I think I have a different answer.
Spend time with people who love creating.
Play a game you’ve never heard of.
Go to a small convention.
Have conversations with enthusiastic hobbyists.
You might come home without buying very much.
But you could come home with something far more valuable.
The motivation to start creating again.