- Take It Like A Man
Ok ladies and gents, I was inspired to write a small rant today by the Confrontation tourney,
which, although I was stomped a couple times, was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
The guys in the tourney really made it fun, both when I was winning and when I was losing.
For those of you that have not had the privilege of playing me in a Warhammer Fantasy
game, I am the king of ‘taking it like a man.’ That is to say, I lose an awful lot. I can’t help it, I
get distracted by units and characters that kill my favorite units. So, I’d like to point out that I
still play, and that I still have fun when I’m getting my teeth kicked in. The secret lies in taking
pleasure in the small things, and enjoying the game for what it is, a game.
I have had the opportunity to play in places outside of our Momma’s Boyz community, and I
have to say, the guys around here are much more fun to play that back home. It takes all the
fun out of a game when your opponent pouts every time something good happens for you,
and gloats every time something good happens to them. In a game ruled by the ‘luck of the
dice,’ that is the road towards not having fun, and preventing everyone around you from
having fun as well.
Taking pleasure in the small things means laughing at the fact your giant got killed by a
swarm, your Avatar got dragged under a mass of Grots, or your 300 pt Wolfen character got
double-sixed by the Wartoad. Funny things happen in these games, both to you and for you.
The first time you make eight 5+ invulnerable saves, the first time you have your massively
point-heavy command squad deep strike into Burger King, and the many times that your
force commander rolls continual ones with his plasma pistol, all these things make the
game more fun, the element of chance.
Now, I will be the first one to admit that there are much more tactically minded players in this
group than myself. That being said, taking pleasure in gaining that sought after win or tie,
after a hard fought game, is one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. If luck was
on your side, and you finally beat Chris Birkenhagen (someday, at some game, it will
happen!), feel proud, do a happy dance, but do the same thing when that lucky newbie
stomps you into the dirt. We all have good days and bad days, things we’re good at, and
things we aren’t. If everyone helps everyone else, and makes sure each player has a good
time, then we only improve the hobby. No one wants to play that guy, that makes you feel like
crap when you lose, and everyone wants to play the guy that will laugh with you when his
most expensive unit fails their morale check against a group of goblins, and gets run down.
Be the guy everyone wants to play, don’t be the one that everyone tries to avoid playing.
Ok, enough about the being a good loser, now onto the really good part, the part where you
plan your revenge! Like I said before, we are all good at different things, some of us are
great at playing, some are good at painting, and some are good at a little of both. What you
should be doing, every time you get that pants around the ankles game, is keeping track of
what you did, what they did, and why your strategy didn’t work. Then adjust. After a few
games, the margin of victory will start to get smaller, and smaller still. After working on your
army and its strategy long enough, that’s when the game comes down to dice. And when
you can see that great player sweating across from you, worried about your next action, that’
s when you have arrived. When a lucky dice roll decides the game one way or another, that’s
when you know you are the true winner, because you have gone all the way from whipping
boy to general, and your opponent knows it. There is no better feeling than finishing a game
with your greatest rival, shaking hands, and knowing that you are every bit as good a player
as he is.
