The Average Gamer

Aaaah Bisto!

2012-01-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

As I find myself getting longer in the tooth, I find that my gaming habits are tending towards what I can only define as a midlife crisis. We all suffer from nostalgia every now and then and we will always remember our first love. But to me these two things have decided to combine forces in a single massive assault.
Now many people of a certain age will constantly moan at the rest of us about the 'Golden Age' of 40K. They go on about how much better Rogue Trader and Second Edition were. There are of course wrong as the overly complex rules have been improved and simplified into the game we now know. However I can understand how they feel as I find my self returning to my start point. I seem to regularly pick out my old codices looking through them dreaming wistfully of armies I have owned or have always wanted, and this is where the attack came. The usual drunken stupid idea creeps into the mind, books and miniatures are bought in secret. The heart races and the pulse quickens as you realise the Wife will come home first and find that dirty little secret lying in the letterbox and before you can spell divorce courts you have all the old Codices that were ever printed and more little soldiers than you could ever field. Of course Crooked Dice 'Time Lift Security Detachment' would make great commissars, wouldn't they?
Anything to justify the end result. But what is the end result? What you don't know? Oh well it's all gravy

A New Love

2011-10-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

As predicted I have fallen in love with the new shiny thing, Gripping Beasts Saga rules have really floated my boat. Historic wargaming has always fascinated me, yet the large amount of figures and the overly complicated rulesets always put me off. Now howevwer I have a skirmish based wargame allowing me to best the Dark Ages best heros against each other.......

On that note anyone want to buy a job lot of Space Marines lol =)

Out With The Old In With The New

2011-09-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

So four months without posting anything is a long time, yet in this time my gaming life has completely changed. Following various items issuing from GW I have completely given up on wargaming, I haven't played a game since February, I have also slowed down on my purchases, yet despite all this I do find that the mountain of lead doesn't get any smaller, I seem to have purchased vast quantities of USMC and the Third Reich are threatening to takeover my painting table. Perhaps I should have blogged this all sooner but like being caught in the doldrums, it has taken a while for my mind to reach normality and realise there is more to life than toy soldiers, yet maybe a break is all I needed as last weekend I played a game of WHFB and it was like slipping on a pair of comfortable slippers. Yet I am aware of its overwhelming power, to drag you in and suck the life out of you, its ability to sacrifice you on the altar of the Dice God. Perhaps now I stand stronger, or perhaps not, I am aware that the next big thing will undoubtedly draw me in. I WILL fall in love with a new army or new system, and yet a sense of calm settles over me as I realise that I am not alone. There are thousands like me across the globe and like me they I will just have to shoulder the burden.

To Beer or not to Beer

2011-05-21T12:11:00.001-07:00

Now most gamers will freely admit to beer being a large part of their gaming experience, but how much of it? Is it limited to a few drinks between games or do you ritually have a beer with every game? Or does it go further, do you go for a 'session' with the lads afterwards? I know I fall in the latter category, my clubmates would probably say I even go above and beyond that, however that's another story. Lately however recently I have found that it maybe effecting my homelife side of the hobby. Now I would be the first to admit I suffer from that awful disease known as 'shiny thing syndrome' I am not alone in this I know but how many of you find that it's effects magnify when you have a drink or two on a Saturday night? The Sunday morning is like the proverbial walk of shame, you come down the stairs head pounding and all you can think is 'what the fuck did I buy/bid on last night.' or is it worse than that, do you suddenly have models turn up in the post you have no recollection of buying? No oh well it must just be me. Anyway it's all good until my darling wife looks at the bank statement.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:My Ma's

Why do the Dice Gods hate me?

2011-05-20T09:40:00.001-07:00

So I played my brother in law again, now he has a limited amount of eldar so I changed the points limit to 750. Guess what I lost again. Now don't get me wrong I'm not moaning about it, it really was a great game a real close match at times. My two terminator squads chewed through three of his five units. I even thought things were going my way when he fluffed most of his 'to hit' rolls in the shooting phases but it wasn't to be. Now a fellow club mate described me on a public forum as the unluckiest man alive, however I'm not sure if this is exactly true. Maybe there is some sort of divine being who watches over all the dice being rolled, but how do I appease him? Is he a loving God who reacts to dice being treated with love and kindness? Or his he a vengeful God who thrives on acts of violence? Should I carry out a ritual sacrifice before each game and slaughter a single D6. Hmmmm that would be an interesting conversation before each game.
Opponent: Why do you have that hammer?
Me: Oh I am going to carry out a sacrifice before we start.
Opponent: Really in that case I forfeit.
Me: Awesome I win.

Now perhaps that is the way forward. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wetherspoons

Funhammer the Sequel

2011-05-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

So I went to my brother in laws for another game of 40k, however this time I upped the points limit to 1500 as it was just the two of us. Big mistake...... To paraphrase Darth Vader the pupil has become the master. Perhaps it is my fault, the first rule of combat is never under estimate your enemy, yet I took a soft list. I may as well have taken a knife to a gunfight. That and the dice gods turned there back on me yet again. (Damn you, you fiends.) Anyways back to the game, it was Seize ground with three objectives and the standard twelve inch deployment. As for lists I took
Belial
5 man Scout squad, Heavy Bolter, 3 Sniper rifles
Two Terminator Squads with Assault Cannons

Dreadnought MultiMelta, Droppod
Two Devastator squads with 4 Missile Launchers
Predator Las-Cannon Sponsoons
Landspeeder Heavy Bolter and Assault Cannon
Like I said a soft list.
Now my oppo took an unexpected foot slogging Eldar list, which had a liitle bit of everything.
Farseer and Warlocks
3 units of Pathfinders (God I hate these when they have a 2 up cover save.)
5 Fire dragins with an Exarch
5 Banshees with an Exarch
5 Dark Reapers with an Exarch and Maugen Ra
Wraith lord
there were various liitle extras for each unit and I hate them all equally :) Now as far as an actual battle report goes that is still beyond me, I still get to involved in the game to take down notes, but the things that stick in my mind are the failure of my Ternies and Dreadnought to come down till turn four, and Pathfinders that would not DIE.........................
Oh well s**t happens, next time I will take a harder list. The gloves are well and truly off.

Funhammer

2011-04-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Now as a gamer I usually play 1750pts using the ETC restrictions, as that's what we use in my local club. Recently though a Friend asked me to teach him to play as he had been given an Eldar army. Now I am no teacher as I have the patience of a....... well something that doesn't have a lot, yet for my mate I agreed. To make my life easy I dragged my brother along and we played a three way 500pt game and what fun it was. It was like finding the game all over again, many people talk about cinematic experiences when they play yet until this game I had never witnessed one yet I laughed out loud when my brother decided to charge a lonely guard sergeant into a unit of warlocks, well if that isn't awesome I don't know what is!!! So we have decided to do it again, it really is what the game is about funhammer here we come

For Sale One Life

2011-03-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

I saw a thread over on 'The Overlords' (check them out ) the other day, it was an eBay link that seemed to be for one persons lifetime collection of miniatures. Now this made me think. I have over the last fifteen years or so accumulated a lot of lead of which I have sold a few items here and there and lost a damn site more, yet I still have 4 complete 40k armies 2 fantasy armies a mid war FoW army and 4 blood bowl teams, as well as a number of smaller armies and forces for up to a dozen other systems. I also have almost fifteen years of various related magazines. So how would you get rid of it all? Now obviously I don't mean physically but how do you let it all go?
Last year I had a crisis of faith, I looked at my life and realised I was knocking on thirty yet I still played with toy soldiers and toy guns. (I airsoft as well. ) Yet even then I couldn't bear to part with any of it. I just shut the door of my man cave and went about my life. Perhaps it's just as well, as just like a bad penny my hunger and passion for the hobby returned which meant I didn't have to go and buy a whole new army or three. Maybe that's why I didn't let them go, perhaps in some small part of my mind I was thinking about the costs, I am pretty sure my wife was :).
So could you get rid of everything? I know I couldn't, even if I had to get rid of it all I am sure that somewhere in my house maybe lurking in a drawer or behind the sofa, would be a single lone space marine, who would eventually reappear just to reignite my love for the game.

The Directors Cut

2011-02-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

So here I sit three day after my first tournament of the year, the meat and alcohol have finally seeped out of my body and I am capable of coherent speech. So my thoughts on Dominion Day IV 'The Directors Cut' ItWasFuckinAwesome.(Oops looks like I haven't quite recovered) I am not going to bother you with in-depth reports for all of my battles because they are available else where but mostly because I can't remember :)
Anyway the tournament was fantastically well run, yet I expected nothing else from the Northern Wasters, they seem to excel at the little things. Sausage rolls on arrival along with copious amounts of Coffee,tea etc, the perfect hangover cure. Then the gaming began So I was lucky with my first draw John Stowe a man I count as a Friend and the master of whiskeyhammer a very easy game to sip at and slide my way into the tournament. Then came lunch.Hmmmm I dread to think of the calorie count that constituted a whole fry wrapped between two slices of soda bread, delicious.So with a full stomach I dived back into the gaming against the bye buster my tourney drinking partner and the only man I know who can play with any army you give him Ivan. My third game was against another guy who I have played before Luke however he decided to play 'Nids as opposed to the Blood Angels I last met. This meant the end of the first day and unsurprisingly I was last on the table with three losses, but Meh who cares it was great craic.Then the festivities began, Beer, Chinese, Beer, I end up in a strange bar with more alcohol then I get deserted by mate briefly before his return, all the while getting my accent mocked by a woman I have never met, followed by a ride home to a wife who isn't to keen on letting me in. Surprisingly though I wake in the morning with just a sickly feeling that will come back and bite later in the day.So the second day starts and I start against another club member Row who in annihilates me with his Thunder Puppies. Now lunch was served and my Hangover kicked in with avengence, have you ever had a mixed grill? I bet you've never had a Wasters mixed grill, Edmund Hilary would have had trouble scaling it, It was massive and lovely all at the same time, a total paradox.(BTW I finished mine) So with a satisfied quiet hall we all entered the last game. I was fighting for the wooden spoon and was worried when I drew another chaos opponent in a kill points game. Luckily my sorcerer couldn't have hit the wide side of the barn. From the inside. and I suffered my last loss of the weekend against Richard Willis, and that was it game over. Congratulations to all the winners and especially to Jonny who came third but demoted himself to fourth for an unpainted army. The Northern Wasters proved themselves again as the experts in running a tournament and I can't wait till DDV where I can defend my title.

The Year so far

2011-02-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

So two months into the year, and how is my hobby progressing? Welllll I have played one game of 40k I so hope the year doesn't continue like this. I have also painted like a maniac including 16 completed miniatures and 29 half finished although I have bought 52 hmmmmmn not a good record, oh well I do hear that you cannot die until you have painted everything. As far as reading goes I got stuck on Fallen Angels, not a great read and not by a long shot the best book of the Horus Heresy oh well plenty more books on the shelf. On a plus side my local gaming group has decided to start playing GorkaMorka so the boyz have come out to play once again.

The Impossible Dream

2011-01-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

I have attempted to try a new direction with my hobbying, I love painting yet for some reason I find it almost impossible to paint an entire army, unless I have a deadline to work to. So I have decided on a new route I am going to paint over one hundred space marines from completely different chapters. Of course they aren't going to be to a Golden Demon standard as that is way beyond me, but hopefully they will look OK. SO here goes and if anyone is interested this is the picture I am following.

The Female of the Species

2011-01-24T11:53:00.000-08:00

The female of the species, quite probably the single most deadly thing known to man. Take my wife for instance she isn't a gamer by any stretch of the imagination, even to the extent that she will quite happily ridicule my toy soldiers even to go as far as to suggest a strict regime of genocide against them, but recently she has found out that she likes Wings of War and it truly is scary to behold. When she takes control of that tiny little Bi-Plane it is like the Red Baron has risen from the dead. However the competitiveness I can deal with, it is the complete randomness I find hard to grasp, how can you think two steps ahead when your opponent doesn't even know what they are going to do. Aaaargh. Oh well I can forgive anything if it means I can get some more gaming in and perhaps it will lead to something bigger and better. Oh well as long as she doesn't ask for any female space marines.

Fluffhammer

2011-01-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

How much are you involved in the game you play? Have you ever actually read your codex? This may seem to be a strange question but it is a relevant one, six weeks without playing any games has given me time to look at the hobby as a whole and I have became aware of the massive amount of 'fluff' there is. This may seem odd coming from a man who has been gaming for too long and who has read a lot of the BL novels but there it is, maybe it is the scene in which I play the local gamers are very tournament biased so there is little to no place for 'fluff' but I have found a new lease of life and a completely different perspective to gaming. I have decided to go back to my beloved Dark Angels and now the game is all about what I want to use, not what is most effective!

Gamers Anonymous

2010-12-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-01T12:06:00.000-08:00

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......

2010-11-23T12:13:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

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

2010-10-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-09-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-09-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-08-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

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.