Exploring Warmachine

Marw came down for a quick game of Warmachine (Battlebox/Quickstarter Rules), and once again we had a good laugh pitting Magnus the Traitor against Coleman Stryker with new and surprising results, We both had to adjust our tactics due to learning new nuances from re-reading rules rules, and were both surprised by the effect of using new spells and abilities we hadn't tried before.

I ended up with the win this time, but had I not killed Magnus when I did, Coleman would have been toast the following turn. We wrapped up with a little chat regarding our experience and impressions of the game, as usual; and that leads me to the theme of this post: Exploring a game.

There are others who play Warmachine in my area, and my opinion of those people is really good. However, I know I'll be avoiding playing with them for some time because they are experienced WM/H players who focus on tournaments. There is nothing wrong with that, but I know I'll be avoiding them because I want to "protect my innocence" as a fresh WM/H player.

It's been years since I first started looking into WM/H - 7 years to be exact. There are two reasons why I didn't  take the plunge earlier. One was my commitment to 40k at the time, but the other - and far more important reason - was the impression of a community that was to heavily focus on competition. 

Now, competition is The Game! However, all games are competition - it is sort of a given fact. The choice to play WM/H (for instance) instead of another game has to be based on additional factors than the competitive aspect - such as the style of game, the narrative element, the game's visual (hobby). All these elements that are absorbed by the "Rule of Cool" that makes you pick a particular game are in my opinion important to pay attention to.

This doesn't make the competitive element a bad thing, but it seems like playing to win the game tempts so many into allowing other aspects of the hobby to fall behind. At best reading fiction, building and painting models, and exploring various other aspects of the game and game setting become something to do when one is not able to play "properly" - at worst it becomes a necessity to be rushed if it cannot be skipped altogether. However, isn't that sacrificing a lot of what makes a game cool and attractive to begin with?

Right now I am lucky to be playing the game of Warmachine with friends who are equally newbs - and that means we play with innocent eyes that find everything fun and exciting! Each model, each rule, each ability is something that is potentially awesome until we get to explore it and evaluate it for ourselves. Each game is an open book of anticipation because it can go either way at any given time - but it is still competitive in that we're both trying to do our best with what we have.

If I'd be playing with the more experienced crowd I'd be getting my rear end handed to me while being tild what I need to do to win... and that would influence my choice of models, tactics, painting - perhaps even what I decided to read (rules might become a better "investment" than fluff, etc.). They wouldn't be wrong to share their advice - it is a friendly gesture to share their experience. However, I would loose that innocent view of the game as the need to be competitive with those guys would take priority.

However, I didn't pick up the game and fall in love with it because I wanted to beat some friends in a competition. I fell in love with the imagery, the models, the stories - the entire package and the mystery that it represents to me.

The sensation of being rushed, that I have to hurry to buy, hurry to build, hurry to paint, hurry to read, and hurry to play... that has become a sensation that I'm very tired of in regards to my gaming/hobby. I only have myself to blame, of course; but therefore it is nice to focus on taking my time and exploring this game (and other game). After all, as an old 40k player the idea of getting started after 4 models - and to know that every single model I paint will make a major difference to how this game is played - is amazing! It's like I suddenly have all the time in the world - time to enjoy painting, time to work on other projects and not just rush for the "next big thing in the current game/meta", time to work on scenery, and time to do other things without feeling that my miniature wargame hobby will suffer because of it!

It might seem a bit excessive, but these are struggles I've had with the miniature wargames hobby - trying to balance all that passion and desire with the sense of actually getting something done to a level of satisfaction. SO why give that up?

The moral of the story...  therefore; is to consider what it is that attracts you to your game and your hobby. What is it that makes you excited? What makes your particular game of choice come alive for you?