Shocked. Stunned. Amazed. Humbled. Unbelievable.

These were the only words that came to my mind as I awoke Saturday morning to check out the new episode of No Enemies Here Wargaming News produced by our friend Dan “Il Duce” Pancaldi. As I watched I learned that Alexander and I, The Players’ Aid team, had been selected by a group of our peers as the 2019 Grognards of the Year.

Then, I started to hear other words in my mind. Impossible. Outlandish. Unimaginable. Unthinkable. Puzzled.

I just don’t know how to feel about this award nor how to process it right now. There are so many other more deserving wargamers out there. We regularly watch videos from Stuka Joe, calandale (when he puts them out), Marco Wargamer, Rob Oren, Gimpy, Moe, Ardwulf’s Lair, The Big Board, Tom Russell (of Hollandspiele fame) and many others. I also marvel at the amazing designers and publishers that make something that we all enjoy and play with their precious time, sweat, sanity and means. All we do is play their games, turn the camera on and talk about our thoughts on the game.

My mind also drifted to those that we lost this year in Berg and Jensen and thought about their contributions to the hobby we love as well as their lives and those they left behind.

But in the end both Alexander and I are amazed at this award and want to thank all those that watch our videos, read our designer interviews and blog posts, say hi to us at conventions and even those that brave our company for multiple hours as we have played wargames with you. We are all a collective. A grand symbiotic beast. A part of a grand hobby that gives us all so much joy and we are pleased and happy to do our part, how we can and from where we are, to build up that community and bring joy to others.

THANK YOU!

P.S. to Dan the Man, thanks for your great show and your presence here as well. You are appreciated and I am glad to call you my friend!

-Grant