Game time for any tabletop game can be contentious – but its even more so when you are at an organised play event. With some of the controversy surrounding the Warhammer Fest GT on the weekend just gone, I saw this post from a good friend of mine and wanted to share with our readers… take it away Difsta!
So if you are on Facebook today and follow pretty much any 40k page or group you will see people complaining about an ork player slow playing to win the GW finals. For transparency I believe he actually did complete 5 turns in the final round, can’t speak for the other games. But to say he didn’t get past turn 3 in any game is just incorrect (AFAIK). I have no idea if the games didn’t complete cause he slow played or because his opponents were like deer in headlights.
That being said it brings me on to my thought for the day about players not completing their games.
If you can’t finish 5+ turns with your army, regardless of model count in half the allotted time then you shouldn’t bring that army to a competitive environment.
Horde is absolutely NO excuse for not completing your games.
If you do play a horde army and know that you can compete with half the allotted time, even if the TO doesn’t enforce a chess clock/death clock format, chess clock your games anyways. Because I have seen many games where the horde player gets blamed for slow play and it was the other players fault because they were deer in headlights, “oh my god, so many models, what do I kill first?”. But without proof it is “obviously” the horde players fault.
It is simple, at the start of your game, simply say “I wish to chess clock our game so I can make sure I am keeping a fair pace. It can be easy to lose track of time with this many models, and I don’t want to rob you of a full game. I’ll keep control of the chess clock, so no need to stress about it.”
It may not be used for enforcing anything, however it can at least be “evidence” if people complain about your games not finishing.
Also, during play testing chess clock your games. Work out how long it takes you to play your turns.
– difsta
You can find more from Difsta HERE
He does raise a very good point and its one that most players who casually attend events likely never think of… If you can’t finish a game naturally with your army, regardless of model count, in half the allotted time then you shouldn’t bring that army to a competitive environment.
I know that sounds harsh and I know that the hobbyist in my rails against this for some of my armies. The reality is though – its 100% true. A lot of this comes down to simple practice and actually keeping track of your own games. It doesn’t need to be intrusive for you or your opponent, but keeping an eye on your own time usage will keep you on track for events where time is a resource best not wasted.
If you happen to have an iOS device, you can download the Objective Secured iphone app (found HERE) to just this – its a chess clock, game timer and score tracker in one cheap and easy app. It works on tablets as well.
I know that this part of the hobby is a game and games are meant to be fun – and adding time constraints can hamper that but its a small price to pay to ensure both players get a fair crack of the whip in terms of play time. There is nothing fun about 2+ hours of game and only 2 turns to show for it!