Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. An old soldier.
- n. games, slang Someone who enjoys playing board wargames, particularly the counter-heavy strategy board wargames from the 1970s and 1980s.
- n. games, slang Someone who enjoys playing previous editions of roleplaying games when new editions of the game are available.
- n. computer games, slang Inside the computer game development industry, a game fan who will buy every game released in a certain genre of computer game (RTS, or computer role-playing game, etc.).
Etymologies
- From French grognard ("old soldier") (Wiktionary)
Examples
“This blog takes its name from the French word grognard, which means roughly "grumbler" or "grouch.”
“This from a "grognard" who owns only three RPG books published since 1987 Gygax's Living Fantasy and Kuntz's Bottle City and Living Room.”
“He's taking the most extreme type of 'grognard' and then using his perception of that individual to construct an other to define himself.”
“Anyway, I agree that being a "grognard" I hate the sound of the word, BTW is a matter of perspective on the shift in prevailing RPG style rather than a matter of vintage.”
“Such is the reason why, although I can enjoy "old school gaming" one one level, I'll never call myself an "old school gamer" or a "grognard".”
“I think it's more likely that my understanding of "grognard" is more restrictive than the general usage.”
“When I was younger, I never heard the term -- or "grognard" for that matter -- and it wasn't until the late 80s/early 90s that I have any recollection of a distinction being made between "old school" games and what we were playing at the time.”
“In the vernacular of game lore, a "grognard" is one who plays board wargames fn1.”
“Avalon Hill and Diplomacy gave birth to a new subspecies of hobbyist: the grognard (The origins of which probably date to a term used for "a soldier of Napoleon's Old Guard").”
The Wall Street Journal: Boys, Men and the War-Strategy Game
“The “grognard squad” has gotten quieter over time.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘grognard’.
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phrontistery - g
from phrontistery.info
gabardine, gabbart, gabble, gabbro, gabelle, gabion, gablock, gad, gadarene, gadoid, gadroon, gadzookery and 439 more...
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bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1401 more...
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Field Mass
for the same
fanon, armet, wether, filibuster, shadoof, shabrack, mai, sainfoin, sand-crack, panoply, guerdon, flunky and 233 more...
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rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3248 more...
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Military
skunk works, armiger, coistrel, chasseur, bogatyr, vexillum, vivandière, cantiniere, sutler, fantassin, habergeon, cascabel and 65 more...
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VanishedOne's Words
facipulator, fetiphobia, gules, boustrophedon, reverse boustroph..., unreal, ensiform, xiphoid, romhack, heritage, floccinaucinihili..., johnian and 1004 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for grognard.
mtc At first blush I thought "grognard" referred to a heavy drinker--not to a heavy game player. Jul 27, 2012
vanishedone According to costik.com/weblog/2003/08/grognard-capture.html: '"Grognard" was a slang term for members of Napoleon's Old Guard. Hardcore board wargamers adopted it as a term for themselves. By extention, grognard capture means capture of a game style by the hardest-core and most experienced players—to the ultimate exclusion of others.' Dec 1, 2007