And while new recruits may be frustrating for long time players, truth is that computer games have notoriously short legs. AH is amazing for the way it holds its victims interest for years and years....but even the addict will find that Aces Crack wears out eventually.
I've observed that the guys who keep playing forever -- who've been here from almost the beginning -- tend to be guys who find extra things, relationships or game services (like skinning, TA, SEA, AvA), that keep bringing new challenges and interests.
Without that, even a game as rich and deep as AH is eventually going to feel stale. And in reality that may be many folks' issue, not the gameplay of the arenas.
________
Here's another explanation for the decline of boxed games: the generation after mine had a fundamentally different way of interacting with the world, generally choosing media input over text.
In other words, the majority out there has a very short attention span, and wants constant stimulation and variation.
I suspect that has more to do with box games' decline than anything. Even "fast play" games take enormously longer than a computer game, and the "stimulation" you get from a hex game is rooted in imagination and tactical thought. Contrast that with what passes for "strategy" in computer gaming -- RTS's with their emphasis on high speed development followed by a "rush" attack; RPG's with endless advancement treadmills.
Decreased development of attention and imagination skills also explains why other activities of our youth -- like plastic modelling, reading, etc. -- have faded proportionately. And why movies have steadily increased the pace of their storytelling...and much else.
Just a thought.
