For the love of the game

Sorry it's been over a week since we posted everything, but it's been a week where we've had some interesting developments and had some time for thinking about, if not playing, 40k.

I'm a competetive person at heart and that can come back to bite me in this game. I always try to punch in and bring the best list and plan I can to the table. I see it as a matter of respect between players. I bring the best I can because I believe you will as well. Let us remember that, though we never intend to, we can royally screw up and destroy our own game plan with simple mistakes. Realizing when you make a mistake and being able to accept when you do is a major part of playing 40k.

Just yesterday I played a game against a long time friend of mine and relative newcomer to 40k. I prepared my list, deployed and took second turn, fully expecting to clober him. Hubris, as the Greeks would say, got the best of me. I started to lose my temper when my friend's tankbustas paid for themselves in phenomenal fashion destroying a hammerhead and devilfish on the first two turns of the game, putting a severe crimp in my game plan. To further compound my problems, my positional relay (allows one unit to arrive from reserves on a 2+) failed for the first two turns it could work for the second game in a row. At this point I had half a mind to concede the game and sacrifice my pride. It was around that time I remembered that I had set up first, was taking the bottom of the turn and had attempted to seize the initiative, not realizing that I was entitled to the top of the turn order and had been playing the entire game wrong.

I finally composed myself, if about four turns too late, and decided to give my friend the best possible game I could with what I had. I managed to use my crisis suits' mobility to nip away at his footslogging waaagh! and fight my way into contest points at the end of the game. The first part went well, but I lost both of the combats I needed to win but that is no surprise for a Tau player.

The reason I tell you this story is hopefully you can gain something from my poor sportsmanship and not be like me. Remember that it is just a game of plastic spacemen and not a way to measure your worth as a human being. Have a few drinks (if of legal age), relax and spend some time with your friends. Rules aren't incredibly important, if they do make for decent conversation pieces if you keep it civil and mistakes happen. Barring blatant cheating, relax talk to each other about what you think the other did wrong and why, but play friendly games. There aren't that many spacemen players in the world, so don't make enemies when you could make friends.


But in a tournament game, punch in, raise the black flag and kick ass!