goatboy's 40k thoughts: are we having fun? (from belloflost souls)

Hi there again. I played some Warhammer Fantasy this weekend, in the first “Heavy” tournament of the season here in Austin. I brought a tweaked Warriors of Chaos list with a Nurgle theme running through it. It is the same list I plan on throwing out at the Lone Wolf tournament this coming weekend. I had 3 great games and ending up coming up in second place at the end of it. Not to bad for someone that has played about 6 games of Fantasy before that.

So what am I going to discuss this week? Well I want to talk about not only playing this game but enjoying it. I know we all want to say that we always have fun when playing this game, but we all know that doesn’t happen. Let’s look at some common ways that the game can turn sour and the ways we can try and keep this game fun and our spirits up.

ANGRY DICE GODS

First of all, the most obvious thing that can make this game go from an awesome bloodfest, to a sad panda day is terrible rolling. We’ve all had those games where rolling a 4+ is next to impossible. It’s just a factor of the game, and something we can’t prevent (I guess you could always have loaded dice, but we all know that BoLS readers would never stoop so low). Any dice based game will always balance out in the end, but when you hit one of “those games” and your Space Marines fail 7 out of 8 3+ saves, it’s hard to tell yourself that.

Now how do you keep this game fun when all you are rolling is horrific? I like to just think that this is game and that no matter what this game is not the most important thing for me to “accomplish” that day. It is just a game for entertainment no matter how much I like to type about it. Its a great time to break out the jokes about how all your luck is going to some poor sod that finally won the lottery or magically was cured of some crazy disease. If my luck is extremely poor, I like to push the envelope and try to see if everything can fall through and I can roll as many 1’s as possible. If I can’t make a joke out of it, then I obviously need to take a break, step back and see all the plastic figures I bought and how in all reality this individual game means nothing in the long run.

DON’T PLAY “THAT GUY”

Another thing that can just turn a great game south is playing the wrong type of opponent. I know in a tournament, you can’t help whom you play. It is all based on the luck of the roll as well as the type of tournament you are playing in. But what about the open table Thursday’s you might locally have? If you know a certain player pushes really gross armies and tries anything to win no matter what game they play, then don’t play them. I know that doesn’t sound hard, but lots of people just want to get games in and any chance to throw some dice is taken just to try and have some fun.

I know I come across as a power gamer, but most of the time I would rather throw a random list together with cool things to test out and see what is fun and what would work for a tournament. I only bring the “pain” when asked. I would rather spend my Thursday throwing dice and coming up with fun goofy stories of my really awesome dreadnought going all the way. Having a fun opponent is something you can control most of the time, because you can always say no. If they guy is a jerk, then most likely people will figure that out and he will get less and less game time on the table and hopefully will change his attitude.

BE A GRACIOUS WINNER

Another way to help have fun in any kind of game environment is don’t be a jerk if you are winning. No one likes to have it pointed out they are losing. I know, winning is fun, but being gracious when you have the upper hand is the mark of a mature player that everyone likes to play. That is also why in games I play, I tell an opponent if they forgot to move someone. I know it might lose me the game but at a basic level this is a game for fun and forgetting something that might help you win, makes the game less fun for the other guy. It also helps your opponents get better too. And having better players, usually makes for better games. In the end it is just a game that takes at least two people to have fun.

I know this isn’t the normal tactics article that I normally put up per week, but I think this advise is just as valid to the game. We all want to have fun when we play. It is why we play Warhammer instead of doing laundry or washing the car. We want it to be fun. If it wasn’t, then most likely the game wouldn’t be here. I admit to occasionally falling into into the whole “not winning is making my day bad”. We all have. I usually follow my own advice, but sometimes I forget about it too. I am still only a goatboy.