Gamers Anonymous

In the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Eleven, I Stewart Young, of supposedly sound mind will,
A) Attempt to get through my backlog of wargaming miniatures, with as few purchases as possible.
B) Finish my Mid-War German Army and my Sisters of Battle.
C) I will read more books than I purchase, in a vain attempt to 'mine' my way through the mountain that inhabits my study,bedroom,living room,attic.....Well you get the idea.

All this will be recorded here in this blog, along with details of any games I play so that I can increase my expertise.


Well that's the plan anyway :)

Out with the Old in with the New

When I started this blog it was supposed to be just the ramblings of an old dejected gamer, however I have realised they have just become a moaning session. No more though, as I stand here christmas music blaring from every available speaker, I am reminded that the new year is just around the corner. A chance to begin again to change the person who I am.SO come the new year my blog will change, no more moaning, from now on I will post my blog as a year in the life of a gamer. I will recount the highs, the lows and more importantly the drinking as I game my way through life and be they bad or good the experiences I have will always be uplifting as only I can be the man that I am.

One Small Step for Man......

So after 15 years of playing games I have decided it was time to up the ante, I have decided against my better judgment to try and organise a tournament. Now it is only going to be a small BloodBowl tournament but who knows, from little acorns and all that....

Perhaps this is a new chapter in my life, maybe a step away from the gaming scene itself or maybe just a 'coming of age', to prove I have what it takes to be more than just a player. Only the future will know. I will say this though taking up the challenge can only be a good thing.

THE MEANING OF LIFE

God I hate life it seems to get in the way of everything, I have just realised its been a month since my last post which is unfortunate. Yet in the meantime I have attended an excellent 40K tournament and have plans to attend a Fantasy tournament as I try to work my way to Switzerland. But I shan't go on this is just meant to be a wee blog to let all my loyal followers know I haven't forgotten them and a new blog will go up in the next few days, it might even possibly, maybe, lean away from my ramblings and moanings of an old dejected gamer

No more Mister nice guy

I don't tend to be a very outspoken guy, I prefer to keep myself to myself and I will avoid conflict at all costs. However there is one subject, to which I will stand up and make my feelings known. Tournaments. In particular my reaction tends to be against people who moan and berate the competitive attitude players take to tournaments. Yeah I don't get it either, but they are out there. Now when I butt heads against these types my usual response is to tell them to go home and whine to their mummies about how unfair the world is. Yet a recent experience at a tournament made me even more sure that my stance is right and just. I was at a tournament last weekend which just so happened to be my first ever 'Fantasy' tourney and even with my complete ignorance to the system and army with which I was playing I couldn't have had more fun with such friendly people.
To make matters even better (or worse as it will become clear) I happened to be the only player who had a game with the 'buy ball', which unsurprisingly I lost. However I was offered the 15-5 win to add to my score which for some god awful reason I turned down. AGGGHHHH why did I do that? Oh wait its because I am an honest gamer playing friendly games at friendly tournaments. So to all the naysayers stick that in your pipe and smoke it

Size Doesn't Matter

For as long as I can remember I have played my wargames with large armies, but it hasn't always been that way.
I originally started gaming in the days of second edition 40K, so skirmish games have always been there but for some reason big armies took over and became the norm. However after countless years of wargaming I can't give up, or so  thought. A sudden 'shift' in the local scene has seen an uprising of small scale games and I find myself being dragged kicking and screaming into the fashionable set. Yet I feel dirty, so so dirty. I look ove my shoulder to make sure no-one is watching whilst I order an new plane or new blitzer. Maybe I should get a mistress, perhaps then I would feel clean, or maybe skirmishing is my mistress. Is that why at the end of the day I go crawling back into my hobby room, pick up my army case and without a word I play with my Skaven or Space Marines. That only leaves one question, when my 'mistress' turns and begs me to be with her and her alone will I be man enough to do the right thing or will the vicious circle start over again? Only time will tell . For now though I must go, I hear my beloved calling........ Where did I put that BloodBowl pitch

So much stuff So little time

My first skytrex planes arrived today,this bought a sudden realisation that I have an addiction. No not a bad one but I am addicted to 'Plastic Crack' (or metal as the case may be.) A quick perusal of my man cave will reveal countless unfinished projects, a veritable aladdins cave of miniatures. Is this normal? I know I am not unique in this wierd behaviour there are plenty of other gamers who though they may not admit it, have too many models sat awaiting the loving care and attention they deserve. The wierdest part has to be the fact that even though I will never get them all painted, I still buy more. I even buy different systems, maybe thats why I have hit breaking point, why the fog that has obscured this monstrous pile has been lifted. So my fellow gamers I stand before you today and declare that I will break this habit. With that in mind I pledge that I will not buy anymore miniatures and use my time to give all those poor insignificant toy soldiers the TLC the need. ther is one wee clause to this declaration, I have stated that in a previous post that I intend to try and qualify for this years ETC, for the time being I will be using Skaven, but there is a chance that nearer the time I will need to change my army selection to suit the needs of the team. Oh my God I am addicted, already I am making excuses so that I can get my fix.
 And now for the obligatory picture

Geneva here we come.

I have decided in the coming year to try and qualify for Northern Irelands ETC fantasy team,as this is a whole new game system for me I will be keeping a blog on my progress and experiences. This blog will be posted over on Wargaming Ireland.Give it a look and follow me on my path to the biggest and greatest Tourney in the world.

I am Gamer hear me ROAR!

As gamers it seems we are always labeled as Nerds but are we? I have always been a firm believer that I know what I am and where I came from, nerd has never featured in that picture. Maybe I am though. I mean, I read a lot of sci-fi, I read comic books (well 2000 AD) but that's where I draw the line. Perhaps there is a scale of nerdetry, maybe I am a small nerd in a big pond, There are always the big questions like,"Who shot first Han or Greedo?" (Now as I grew up in the 80s to me it will always be Han who shot first, but to be honest I couldn't really care I just want to see dogfights in space.) These will always cause massive debate and perhaps this is where the true 'nerd' will come to the fore. Recently I had a crisis of 'faith' OK that's probably not the right word but it will do for now. Anyway, during the last game of a tournament I was losing badly when suddenly my tray full of models fell onto the floor and scattered everywhere, that's when it happened, that was the moment when it occurred to me that I might possibly be a nerd. As I surveyed the damage close to tears I suddenly realised that they were TOYsoldiers. It was a moment of illumination, that I was a 27 year old man playing with toys, and as I looked around the room I saw other grown men and women playing with toys.
Descartes said "Cogito ergo sum" or "I think therefore I am". This may or may not be true. As I said at the beginning I have always believed I Know what I am, therefore it is more apt to say "I game therefore I am Nerd"

I see what you did there

WYSIWYG. (What You See Is What You Get.) It isn't hard to understand is it? So why do some gamers think it's OK not to adhere to it? I would understand if it regularly required obscene amounts of GS work, or vasts amounts of scratch-building, but 99% of the time it doesn't. There is nothing more irritating than ignoring an enemy unit you believe can't do any harm, just to find out that at the critical moment it has an Icon or Locator Beacon allowing that unit to deep strike and mash your Land Raider into the ground. AAAARGH. Now don't get me wrong I'm not some kind of rules lawyer, when you are playing practice games in a local club environment proxying units is OK. No one wants to spend money on units they later realise they will never use, but when it is competitive surely even the worst gamer can understand the common decency in WYSIWYG. Or maybe I am playing the game all wrong? Maybe it is all about the win? In my next game maybe I will fore go all of the moral obligations that make me not only a compassionate gamer but also a decent human being. Win at all costs will be my catchphrase and then again maybe not, as I know deep down it is not who I am. 9 times out of 10 I will give my opponent a buy when they forget to roll for reserves or when they declare an assault I will let them shoot the unit they forgot.

Looking at the above it becomes startling clear why I sometimes don't do so well at tournaments, but of course I am a nicer person because of it.

Tournament feedback

So the tournament went well, me and my team mate came 7th with 2 wins and a loss. Despite the promise of a cash reward it was one of the most laid back tourneys I have attended. I had 3 great games with 3 great opponents and I hope Lisburn gaming club have more in the future.

Its only a game, so put up a real big fight.

Tomorrow I am going to a local doubles tournament and for the first time I am aware of, the prizes will be cold hard cash. I really don't know how to take this, is it a good thing or is it the route of all evil? We are all aware of "Nerd Rage" a week does not go by when there is a thread of some sort on the myriad of forums, that incites an unnecessary or angry response. Why is this? As gamers we are an intelligent and artistic bunch and interaction with other people isn't just an optional extra, so why do some of us resort to anger? Is it because we are intelligent and artistic, that we are more emotional? Is it because we become so immersed in our own particular wargame that we become the Space Marine or Werhmacht Infantryman? Maybe that is the answer but how is that relevant to the interwebs? When you are a million miles from the original poster perhaps you dont need inhibitions, I know I dont, I quite happily argue my way through a thread, I will slate other peoples decisions and wherever possible I will troll other users to the end. Yet I don't succumb to "Nerd Rage". Some people blame it on the 'Big' questions such as, Did Han fire first? (I know the answer) or Which is better Star Wars or Star Trek? Others blame it on the actions of the manufacturers (as that is what they are), maybe because they increase prices, maybe because they change rules, who knows? The question still remains will tomorrow bring out the "Nerd Rage" in people when they realise there is cold hard cash up for grabs. Only tomorrow will tell and no matter what tommorow brings I will take it as it comes, as we all know it is only a game.

Why do I game

15 years ago a friend introduced me to the world of WH40k and I was hooked. Maybe it was because I was dragged up in a world of Asimov and Tolkien, but the idea of a world where, rayguns and aliens could be acted out on a tabletop was to much to refuse as well as seeming cool. (At the time.) My parents refused to support my chosen hobby so I funded it alone, maybe that is why I am the gamer I am today.
 But back to the original topic. Why do I game? I have always seen it as a sociable hobby, a hobby where interaction with other people is paramount and a hobby that is artistic and requires a certain amount of intelligence.Yet it is always the social part that springs foremost in my mind, I go to my local club to game against other people, I go to tournaments to play strangers and always it is sociable, not always freindly but always sociable.However as I have grown up I have found that whenever I game alcohol seems to play an increasingly more important part, culminating in the recent ETC where drinking seemed to start well before the first game, yet seemed to continue well after. Maybe it is an age thing but nowadays drinking is as much a part of  gaming as rolling dice, perhaps I could be just sat in a pub yet it is still all sociable and maybe thats the point.