The Four Quadrants

Sometimes there comes a topic that will just not leave your mind. It has a grip on you and it just keeps swimming through your mind. On November 9th I was recording an episode of my podcast with a local from the Pacific Northwest Malifaux player named Morgan. We were finally able to sit down and chat after having to reschedule a few times due to a few different things that have popped up in my life. If you are familiar with my podcast the premise is fairly simple and I try to keep it that way because I want the focus to be on the guest. I start by introducing them and usually ask a simple question like “How did you get into miniature gaming?”, “How did you get into Malifaux?”, or something along that line. This recording session went on just like all the others I have done so far but partway through the recording Morgan said something to me that got me really thinking (like thinking so much that smoke started coming out of my ears and my wife was worried that my brain short-circuited). Morgan mentioned “The Four Quadrants” to me and explained them briefly to me.

“Miniature hobbyist get enjoyment from four aspects of the hobby; playing, painting, collecting, and lore. Everyone has a different ratio to get to 100%. My ratio is 70% painting, 10% in playing, collecting, and lore. It’s the “why” do I do this. We all know the where, when, what and how but my approach to critical thinking is ask the most important question; “Why”".” He then goes into explaining why painting holds such a high percentage for him (I will not spoil the interview as I will be releasing this episode fairly shortly).

It has been nearly a week since that recording and I find myself keep going back to that conversation trying to dig deep and figure out my own ratios. If any of you have talked to me on discord, listened to my podcast, or etc you know that I am someone that struggles with just finding a crew or playstyle that suits me in Malifaux. I tend to go from one to another faster than most people (I do believe) and I have spent more time and money than I can count trying to figure it out. A little while ago I told myself in 2025 that I would stick with just one faction and three masters (trying to give myself a small comfortable box to be inside) but I keep looking around at the other crews. My thirst for wanting to experiment, play, discuss and just otherwise not stick to one keyword never being quenched in the slightest. I find myself self conscious about having to many models laying around unpainted, unplayed, and my attention going to the new “shiny” or just never finding them time to actually play those crews I have worked so hard on painting. So with all that being said my search for the ratio of my Four Quadrants begins but before I start let me go into more depth of each quadrant.

As mentioned before there are four quadrants or aspects of the hobby that hobbyist get enjoyment out of (I feel like all you would have to do is change around the names and this could work with any hobby). The first one that I have listed is “playing” which is pretty self explanatory if you think about it. It’s all about playing the game, reading the rules, understanding the mechanics, the combinations, the plays, and more. I think of it as someone that could breakdown the game in their head and figure out what each model can do by taking a quick look at their card. The person that has the most percentage in this aspect would be the people that love going to tournaments and find the most enjoyment out of the rules itself. This is not bad by any stretch of the imagination because it is that person’s enjoyment and what they get out of the game. I don’t think of them as always trying to break the game, min/max the models, or etc but having pure enjoyment with their opponent getting the most of out their crew by optimizing it to the give them the best advantage (which sounds like min/maxing but I think there is a fine line there). Now that I gave you a brief rundown of this aspect what do you think? Do you find yourself getting more enjoyment out of playing the game? Do you find yourself pouring over the rules, model’s cards, theory crafting list or more? Don’t feel self conscious about it because you should embrace it! These people are the ones that I think help Wyrd with the crunchy data of the game, the people that push the game to the limits and find the weaknesses or strengths of something that might be tweaked. I think without these people the game might be one hot mess.

The second aspect is the one my guest Morgan finds himself having the most percentage in and that is “painting”. Just like the first aspect this one is pretty self explanatory because this is where we get those amazing painters that we see on Facebook, Instagram, Discord, or other social media platforms. Painting just like the playing aspect draws it’s own certain people because these people are not necessarily solely into buying the models to play the game but to paint them. When they are looking at these models they are dreaming up paint schemes, stories, or more that they are going to tell. They will see something they don’t like on the model and convert it and make it unique to them. They will put their own spin on their crew to make it unique on the tabletop telling their own story of how it got there and more. The hobbyist that find themselves in this aspect are the ones that will spend most of their free time hunched over their hobby desk (keep your backs straight! No bad postures here says this blogger’s wife who is a massage therapist) at various times of the day toiling away at their plastic models. I tend to find myself in this aspect quiet often because I find the act of painting to be zen-like and it gives me the ability to just put the worries of the day to the side and concentrate on something different. There is a lot to be said about painting as a hobby but that is most likely going to be another blog post down the road sometime. At the end of the day the hobbyist that love painting are what helps the game grow as well because their work is seen on the table top being pushed around and battling it out for control. They are works of art to be admired, played with, and shown off!

The third aspect is something I have not really given a lot of thought to be honest. It is the collecting side of the hobby which in itself could be a hobby (I joke with my wife that she make a hobby of collecting hobbies). Maybe people that like collecting stuff for Malifaux find themselves looking for those rare one off models, special edition, limited edition, collecting whole factions, or etc. I have tried to never have to many things laying around because I get very anxious about having multiple projects in multiple stages. I tend to have my hobby desk fairly clean and organized because if it gets chaotic I just cannot find anything at all and it spirals out of control from there. Maybe if you dear reader have something more to say about this aspect you could enlighten me? Are you someone that likes to collect the models, books or etc? Let me know!

The fourth and final aspect is the lore. The fluff as many people say that give the game life and allows people to sink their teeth into a story. At the end of the day most people love stories (from all the various genres out there) so it just goes hand in hand that if there is a good story to the game people will be more likely to buy into it. I know myself really get hooked on the lore of Malifaux for example because there is so much to it! It spans at least a decade now and is still growing (which is very impressive). Wyrd has made a universe where anything can happen and where bad things usually do happen to good people. I know for myself I was really looking forward to seeing where the characters are at the end of the Burning Man Saga and what is in store for them next. Unfortunately, collecting Malifaux lore is a tall order because it is scattered through various editions and game systems but that doesn’t stop the die hard fans! Lore is one of those key aspects that can hook people into a game because without it we are just playing Chess with fancy plastic miniatures. Lore is what gives those models stories and what makes them come to life! Why is Colette and Zoraida facing off in this strategy and scheme pool? Why are these two Guild keywords getting into a fight? Who is dropping the pianos all over the place!? These are the questions that keep people coming back for more and allow us to remember those amazing games.

So at the end of the day have I unearthed my percentage in the four quadrants? Maybe? or Maybe not? I don’t know. All I know is that I enjoy this game from the all the various aspects that I have mentioned above. I do enjoy the rules but do I enjoy going to tournaments and being competitive? Nah, not really because I find when I start losing to often the fun gets sucked out of me. Do I love painting? Heck yeah! (check out some of my projects on the other pages) but I can burnout really fast on a project and just sell it off to start a new. Do I look at the models and go “Oh I like the look of that one!”? Yep, I do that as well! Hello, TTB Hannah that will probably never see the table top. Do I like the lore? Oh heck yeah! The lore is awesome and I cannot get enough of it. Maybe at the end of the day this is the ramblings and introspection of someone that doesn’t know their “why” yet for their hobby? or maybe I just figured out my why in a few simple sentences. All I can tell you is that sometimes taking a step back and digging deep and having a little bit of introspection is good for you. It makes you rethink certain things, it makes you realize stuff, and maybe just maybe you can figure out the answer to a fairly tough question.. WHY?

P.S

I just want to go on record and say that I do make some broad statements in this piece and make some general statements. Please take all these opinions with a grain of salt.