Warhammer 40,000

Warhammer 40,000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K or simply 40K) is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1988 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics. Expansions for Warhammer 40,000 are released from time to time which give rules for urban, planetary siege and large-scale combat, respectively. The game is currently in its fifth edition. Players can assemble and paint individual 28 mm (1.1 in) scale miniature figures that represent futuristic soldiers, creatures and vehicles of war. These figurines are collected to comprise squads in armies that can be pitted against those of other players. Each player brings a roughly equal complement of units to a tabletop battlefield with handmade or purchased terrain. The players then decide upon a scenario, ranging from simple skirmishes to complex battles involving defended objectives and reinforcements. The models are physically moved across the table and the actual distance between models plays a role in the outcome of combat. Play is turn based, with various outcomes determined by tables and the roll of dice. Battles may last anywhere from a half hour to several days, and battles may be strung together to form campaigns. Some game and hobby stores host games periodically, and official tournaments are held on a regular basis. Warhammer 40,000's space fantasy setting spans a vast fictional universe. Its various factions and races include the Imperium of Man (the human race 38,000 years hence), the Orks (similar to Warhammer Fantasy Orcs), and the Eldar (similar to Elves in Warhammer Fantasy Battle), among others. These races, along with their playing rules, are covered in the game's rule books and supplemental army 'codexes' (called this by Games Workshop despite the correct plural being codices, hence this spelling is used throughout this article), along with articles in the Games Workshop magazines, White Dwarf and Imperial Armour. Lines of these miniatures are produced by Citadel Miniatures and Forge World. The Warhammer 40,000 setting is used for several related tabletop games, video games, and various works of fiction, including licensed works published by Black Library, a subsidiary of Games Workshop.

Warhammer

The Warhammer 40,000 game takes place in a highly-dystopic, science-fantasy universe.[2] Set in the 41st millennium, most of the major storylines that provide the backdrop and history span over millennia. Central to the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the Space Marines, giant, genetically-enhanced super-soldiers with world-destroying firepower and unswerving, fanatical loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind. While Space Marines act as the special forces of the Imperium, the bulk of mankind's military power is found in the Imperial Guard, which consist of billions of regiments, each thousands of soldiers strong.[3] Their quintessential opposition is the Chaos Space Marines, who betrayed the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, led by Warmaster Horus (who was eventually killed by the Emperor). Much of the Milky Way galaxy is controlled by the Imperium [4] the Tau, a young and technologically-sophisticated civilization of aliens that work for the "greater good" of their empire and its inhabitants; the Necrons, soulless, living-metal constructs tricked into slavery by space entities; and the Tyranids, an all-consuming, all-organic, bio-engineered, extragalactic hive-swarm.[5] Each of these races have playable armies. Other playable armies include the Witch Hunters and Daemonhunters, organizations within the Imperium, as well as the fallen Dark Eldar and the capricious Daemons of Chaos.[6]

Warhammer Gameplay

Games are held between two or more players,[7] each of whom fields a group of units they have purchased, painted and assembled. The size and composition of these groups, referred to as armies, are determined on a point system, with each unit (figurine) assigned a value in points roughly proportional to its worth on the battlefield (a better unit or model is worth more points). Before a game, the gamers agree on how many points will be used as the maximum army size and each assembles an army up to that maximum limit. The composition of these armies is usually constrained by rules contained within the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, as well as in several army-specific rulebooks called 'codexes'. These rules and preparations are generally taken seriously among players.[8] Common game sizes are between 500 and 2,000 points and played on tables four feet in width and four to eight feet in length, but it is possible to play much larger games given the time and inclination (larger point battles tend to be played by multiple gamers on larger tables).[9] At the onset of each game, a set of rules and goals is determined for that battle. These are collectively referred to as the scenario or mission being played. Players are assigned basic goals which range from the defense or capture of sections of the board to the destruction of enemy units. Additional rules may represent conditions for fighting at night or in environments that affect troops' abilities. These scenarios may be straightforward, taking only an hour or so to complete, or they may be quite complex and require several hours or even days to play out.[10] A series of scenarios may be organized into a campaign, where two or more players fight against each other in a number of battles. These campaigns may feature their own special rules, and are typically tied together by a storyline that can evolve based on the results of each scenario.[11] Many scenarios and campaigns are designed by Games Workshop and printed in the 'codexes', rulebooks or White Dwarf. Alternately, gamers may design their own scenarios or build new campaigns from premade scenarios.[12] A ForgeWorld Tyranid Trygon resin kitPlay is divided into "phases" where each player moves, shoots, and/or engages in close combat with various units. In the movement phase, a player determines the direction and distance individual units will travel, unless a special rule states otherwise. Some units can travel further than others in a single move, and terrain may inhibit movement. In the shooting phase, the player has the opportunity to make long-distance attacks with units that are within range of the enemy. In the Assault Phase, units may engage in close-quarters fighting with enemy units in close proximity. After one player completes all three phases play is turned over to the opposing player. Contingent events such as weapon hits and misses are determined by the roll of a six sided die (note that the rulebooks use the word "dice" to refer to a single die) and unit characteristics.[13] A specialty die called a scatter die is used to determine deviation for less accurate events such as artillery barrages or reserve units deploying onto the battlefield through irregular means.[14] Unlike some wargames, Warhammer 40,000 is not played on a hex map or any kind of pre-defined gameboard. Instead, units can be placed at almost any physical location on the table. Range between and among units is important in all three phases of play. Distance is measured in inches using a ruler. Determination of line of sight, is made at "model's eye view"—gamers may bend down to observe the board from the specific model's point of view.[15] Victory is determined by points, awarded for completing objectives and/or destroying enemy units.

Saturday, 1 May 2010

Wargaming ASKEW: Don't Let the Soft Scores Get You Down


I know you have trained your whole life for these moments. You just cannot get enough of that competitive smell. You know the kind of funk reserved for Moroccan bathrooms and Thai hostels. It is day two of a five game tournament and you wonder to yourself, "Was I fake enough to get the max points on the soft scores"?

If this was Ard' Boyz you would have already made a few 12 years old cry, but not this tournament. Faced with soft scores (sportsmanship and composition) you have no choice, but to keep everything under control. Keeping the inner douche in check is hard because some judge had a bad day and thinks Eldrad is soooo overpowered.

Why can't you be yourself? You want to yell at your opponent when they dare make a few good rolls. You just want to quick play-- avoiding the inane chit-chat that actually might make you feel guilt for being a tabletop tough guy. You just want your three of the three same units to do there job and have the game over by the end of the deployment phase.

Sadly you're once mighty Netlist is forced to take things like Swooping Hawks and Ogryns to appease the comp gods. This is the horrible burden every win at all cost player (WAAC) has when soft scores are involved. Why should his list and your list be hampered by soft scores?

Let me tell you why we need these soft scores. Running tournaments for me feeds both my love of math and love for judging the subjective. Making things more complicated is fun for everyone anyway. My goal is never to make a simple tournament, instead one that requires late night trips to Kinkos and have meetings making sure I didn't miss a broken unit combination by searching forums.

Why would I want to keep track of only battle scores? I mean if all I had to do was sit and count the points of who won and loss it would be pretty dull for everyone. I can also tell players love filling out convoluted score sheets to feed my spread sheet fetish.

If I don't have these soft scores it means the WAAC player doesn't spend that extra hour finding the loop holes in my system. Isn't that what we want: the illusion of a fair system that really doesn't keep the WAAC player under control.

You know what else is great about my patented soft score system is? It is easy to hide behind the system itself. Instead of confronting a WAAC player and setting them straight, I have the system to take blame away from him (and me) while puting all the responsibility on everyone else.

I am all for judging if I can use my beloved Excel spreadsheet, I rather avoid human contact. Oh, precious Excel spreadsheet how I just love how you get when you sort all those different scores. Not only does my system wash my hands of bad players it also makes sure that his opponents are too scared to speak up.The WAAC player has no problem calling me over to make a ruling, his opponent on the other hand is bound by some weird "benefit of the doubt" notion. Hmm, or is he afraid that if I am called over the WAAC player will give him a zero sportsmanship. I really don't have time to police games, I am too busy having an intimate conversation with my spreadsheet. Should I either use paint scores or comp scores for tiebreakers?

Another problem with ditching soft scores; you are left with doing the unthinkable-- playing by the actual rules. I know I should get an enema for even thinking it. It would require putting my purely subjective and untested system against the professionally play-tested system.Who would want to play with rules they are familiar with, when you can play with rules I made up after a few too many beers? I am glad that no one wants to blame me because often I am the only tournament in town and as long as I put the word tournament in the title, then at least we can all pretend it is competitive.

The eternal question, what if any do soft scores have in competitive play? Come on over to Blood of Kittens for even more puzzling questions.
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