Warhammer Reflections
Despite my disgust for all things G.W. these days, I still hop on over to their website every now and again. Mostly to look at the new minis coming out, although http://www.tabletopgamingnews.com is a vastly superior resource. I must say the upcoming daemon models are, for the most part (daemonettes excluded) gorgeous...
...But the main reason I've gone over to the site is to look at the upcoming 25th anniversary of Warhammer "deals". I'll not dwell on this too much, but suffice it to say $350 for part of an army is in no way something I'd define as a deal.
While stewing on my disgust for "the hobby" (which is to say Games Workshop) I got to thinking. Where did my dislike for wargaming begin (note at this point I'm two weeks clean)? There are two games- in particular two opponents I can think ofthat really got me up in arms. The first was during the "Season's Beatings" tournament around christmas. My first game was against a kid who like me, played Imperial Guard (for the uninformed, they look and function like WW2 infantry). This kid had to move each squad at least four times before deciding on the unit's final position. Needless to say, his six-inch moves were dubious at best. This little bastard argued even the most basic rules, and constantly asked me during my turn, "are you done?" This constant barrage of annoyance resulted in me repeatedly losing track of where I was in my turn, as well as forgetting the victory conditions of the mission. One of his squads deploved 24" away from the poopsite board edge, moved 6", 4" (through a ruined building, thus slowing their advance), and somehow, upon measuring their distance from the board edge, they were 9" away! Finally my paitence wore out. I yelled, "fine! I quit!" at the little bastard before literally sweeping my army off the board into a waiting box, where they remained for the next two months.
The other one instance I can point to is again at a tournament (where people seem to have something to prove about their manhood...). Remember the draw through douchebaggery? This son of a bitch was discussing tactics with bystanders (table talk) arguing rules, even when proven wrong, and delaying the game. This dirt bag even had the balls to say to my face, "it's the ultimate cheese." He even refused to continue the game untill he could find out how much time was left. In addition to this, he was talking with his fucking annoying son two tables down.
All of these offenses are enough to get you ejected from any other tournament, but the fucking spineless red shirt refused to get involved.
I think I'm just tired of the competitive nature of tournament / store play. Historicals beckon me, either Three Kingdoms Chineese or some early European time period. The problem is opponents.
Games like Flames of War havethe same problem as G.W., so most likely I'd end up using some generic system or a home brew.
Warmaster Ancients would be useful only for the core rules, but they're owned (albiet indirectly) by the Evil Empire.
I'm not readt to give up on the hobby yet, but it needs a drastic overhaul. I recently read a series of articles on the afore mentioned Tabletop Gaming News called Gaming in Plastic, in which the author goes into using 1:72 model soldiers by manufacturers such as Tamiya and Italieri (probably misspelled) affixed to 20x40mm steel bases to build entire armies for about $50-$70, which compared to the above price tags is quite a bargain.
I followed the provided links, and discovered that the minis were indeed cheap and plentiful, and most of the few holes in the lines could easily be plugged with a few metals from other miniature sculptors or a change of paint to represent elevated status. Even a little ametuer sculpting or conversion work could be applied with dazzling effect.
In the end, the point is that I'm done with "mainstream" wargaming, and need to find a niche group of historical gamers to play against. Easier said than done in a market so flooded with G.W. and WizKids players...
It's a quest, but a worthy endeavor. In the end I'll keep those who care updated. Those who don't will be able to instantly recognize these posts, and can thusly avoid them.
...But the main reason I've gone over to the site is to look at the upcoming 25th anniversary of Warhammer "deals". I'll not dwell on this too much, but suffice it to say $350 for part of an army is in no way something I'd define as a deal.
While stewing on my disgust for "the hobby" (which is to say Games Workshop) I got to thinking. Where did my dislike for wargaming begin (note at this point I'm two weeks clean)? There are two games- in particular two opponents I can think ofthat really got me up in arms. The first was during the "Season's Beatings" tournament around christmas. My first game was against a kid who like me, played Imperial Guard (for the uninformed, they look and function like WW2 infantry). This kid had to move each squad at least four times before deciding on the unit's final position. Needless to say, his six-inch moves were dubious at best. This little bastard argued even the most basic rules, and constantly asked me during my turn, "are you done?" This constant barrage of annoyance resulted in me repeatedly losing track of where I was in my turn, as well as forgetting the victory conditions of the mission. One of his squads deploved 24" away from the poopsite board edge, moved 6", 4" (through a ruined building, thus slowing their advance), and somehow, upon measuring their distance from the board edge, they were 9" away! Finally my paitence wore out. I yelled, "fine! I quit!" at the little bastard before literally sweeping my army off the board into a waiting box, where they remained for the next two months.
The other one instance I can point to is again at a tournament (where people seem to have something to prove about their manhood...). Remember the draw through douchebaggery? This son of a bitch was discussing tactics with bystanders (table talk) arguing rules, even when proven wrong, and delaying the game. This dirt bag even had the balls to say to my face, "it's the ultimate cheese." He even refused to continue the game untill he could find out how much time was left. In addition to this, he was talking with his fucking annoying son two tables down.
All of these offenses are enough to get you ejected from any other tournament, but the fucking spineless red shirt refused to get involved.
I think I'm just tired of the competitive nature of tournament / store play. Historicals beckon me, either Three Kingdoms Chineese or some early European time period. The problem is opponents.
Games like Flames of War havethe same problem as G.W., so most likely I'd end up using some generic system or a home brew.
Warmaster Ancients would be useful only for the core rules, but they're owned (albiet indirectly) by the Evil Empire.
I'm not readt to give up on the hobby yet, but it needs a drastic overhaul. I recently read a series of articles on the afore mentioned Tabletop Gaming News called Gaming in Plastic, in which the author goes into using 1:72 model soldiers by manufacturers such as Tamiya and Italieri (probably misspelled) affixed to 20x40mm steel bases to build entire armies for about $50-$70, which compared to the above price tags is quite a bargain.
I followed the provided links, and discovered that the minis were indeed cheap and plentiful, and most of the few holes in the lines could easily be plugged with a few metals from other miniature sculptors or a change of paint to represent elevated status. Even a little ametuer sculpting or conversion work could be applied with dazzling effect.
In the end, the point is that I'm done with "mainstream" wargaming, and need to find a niche group of historical gamers to play against. Easier said than done in a market so flooded with G.W. and WizKids players...
It's a quest, but a worthy endeavor. In the end I'll keep those who care updated. Those who don't will be able to instantly recognize these posts, and can thusly avoid them.