I've found that it becomes hard to admitting to other people - even people you know well - that I'm a wargamer. After all, it doesn't lend itself as a gambit for normal conversation - preferring to stick to the normal stuff that is weather, football, the traffic etc.
"The A34 was terrible tonight"
"What about that Arsenal game last night?"
"Do you think this rain will turn to snow overnight?"
"I'm painting Parthian cataphracts for FOG at the moment"
At least its a guaranteed conversation stopper!
Before I was made redundant before Christmas (thanks for that!) my colleague asked what I was doing that night and I told him - going down to the wargaming club. His reaction was - to be fair - quite good. He asked a few questions and said that it was something he'd always wanted to do but never had the chance. He seemed genuinely interested and eager to find out more.
Then one of the sales guys came in and his reaction was somewhat different - essentially ridicule and laughter (when I mentioned "6mm" he had tears coursing down his cheeks and had difficulty breathing). He made it a constant source of fun for himself from then on ("Not playing with your toy soldiers tonight?") - this from a man who follows Kiss and has a full collection of Kiss dolls (action figures?), posters and a full sized model of Gene Simmonds in full regalia in his bedroom!
Of course my relatives know - as every birthday and Christmas yields requests for 10mm Sarmatians or 6mm Prussian artillery - but I'm concious that I rarely tell other people about my hobby (despite the hours and hours I spend doing it or writing about it). It's almost like it carries its own stigma - like admitting that you collect Nazi memorabilia or pull the wings off insects.
Are you open about your hobby - or is it the dark-kept secret that only the nearest and dearest are aware of? And what's been the reaction of those that have found out?