Objective Secured

Unfortunately, humans tend to get competitive in all aspects of life to some degree. The need to prove our worth against those around us is so ingrained and primal that it was always inevitable that even the humble tabletop game would find itself wrung through the wringer of the competitive circuit. Fortunately, a lot of fun can be had at tournaments and other organised events if you go in with the right mind set and your expectations set.

Competitive 40k has always for me held a special place in my gaming roster across a year. Ever since I went to my first Rogue Trader event in 2002 (supported by GW no less) I was hooked. I had a fantastic 2 days and made many friends who I still have to this day. I still recall a couple of the key moments of those 2 days with fondness now (feel free to email luke@worldsendradio.com and ask him about his game against my eldar on day 1!) and the fondness stems not from winning the games (which I did 6 out of 7) nor winning the event overall (which I did much to my surprise!) but because the whole process of getting the army together and writing a list to play against a bunch of people I did not know was so exciting to me.

The best part is – I still get excited to this day when I know I can go to the next event that’s announced.

To be clear, I am not, in my humble opinion, a WAAC gamer who min maxes every list for events and goes in aiming to squeeze the rules to the limit against my opponents. I would go so far as to say that I have eased off the throttle in recent years in terms of how seriously I take these things. I still go in and play hard but fair and I don’t hold back. The difference is that my lists are very much what I feel like taking at that time regardless of the local meta or what is the new hotness of a codex.

You see – I have my expectations met when I get to go and hang out with my mates, make some new ones perhaps, and play a game I have played for years.

I think this is key to any event attendance and part of it has to come from the organiser(s). Their players pack is ultimately like a brochure for buying a product. Like the features? Like the availability? Like the cost? Like the limits? You will probably like the event. When one of these things gives you pause (or any other for that matter) its up to you if that change/issue/limit/whatever is enough of a negative that you will give up going. For some, these have no bearing and they will go regardless. For others – not having limits in place for detachments, lords of war or formations can end an event for its prospective attendees before it starts. Locally for me – events with a comp score (that is an artificial penalty score applied to a list based on how hard the list is on the table) were almost unheard of in the last decade. Its only as 7th edition has rolled up that we have felt the need to say, enough – and start applying limits so that the events are more accessible and, more importantly, more fun for everyone.

So you have gotten past the whole players pack thing – the next step is to set your own mind frame. Are you going to be happy placing middle of the pack? Dead last? These are very real possibilities as dice are fickle things! If you are not ok with that then I would say your best to not attend. Even the best generals have their bad days and don’t podium every event. You have to be mentally prepared for what ever outcome of the days games. In my experience most players are not that fussed with the final scores (save as bragging rights over their buddies!) but if winning means that much to you then you could be up for disappointment.

I know plenty of gamers write off tournies thanks to the internet and the veritable volcano of competitive haters but witht he right frame of mind and a clear understanding of the event – you should have fun.

In the end – that’s why we play the game