Who reads this stuff?

I write this blog as much for my own amusement as for any other reason. But it seems to be amusing others as well, at a rate of over 1,300 page views a month. This is gratifying and also somewhat intriguing, particularly when it comes to the geographical breakdown of where the readership is coming from.

The top two countries in the all-time list are no surprise, being those English-speaking strongholds of the wargaming hobby, the US and the UK. But then there is one in the top 10 which has been generating a lot of traffic in recent weeks - Russia?? Are there nests of BBB players in Tula, Nizhegorod or Novorossiysk, happily reenacting their ancestors' regiments' glorious exploits via my Kurudere Crimean War scenario from BBEB? Is it a result of me inadvertently misleading people by tagging some of my posts with the label "beautiful models"?

Some of the readership is more easily explained. I think I have some idea who is reading this in Indonesia or Turkey. I know some of the folks in France and Australia. Germany's strong showing is, I am sure, mainly due to the reports by Muenster wargamers of the gorgeous BBB games they've been creating.

But some of the data is more surprising. Who is reading this in unlikely wargaming hotbeds such as Morocco, Ecuador, Ivory Coast? Are these readers just British or American expats or visitors, trying to keep in touch with the hobby from a distant hotel room? Isolated locals, starved of like-minded wargamer company? Or are there in fact thriving wargames clubs or groups in all these diverse and far-flung places?

Whatever the answer, and I imagine it is a mix of all of the above, it is a pleasure for me to see the global spread of readership. I'd really love to hear comments from you - perhaps you could vie for the claim of most obscure/improbable location: highest altitude wargame? remotest wargame? etc. Meanwhile, so long as you guys/gals keep reading this blog in such numbers, I'll keep writing it.


And a footnote - last night another reprise of the Coulmiers FPW scenario provided me with a victory, so my running total for the year can be updated:

Games played to conclusion - 27.
Won - 12.
Drawn - 5.
Lost - 10.