BoLS logo Tabletop, RPGs & Pop Culture
Advertisement

WFB: It’s Time to Play – Part 1: The Switch Over from other Systems

8 Minute Read
Mar 29 2014

I thought before I start going through rules and semantics that I would first try to talk a little about the switch from one game system to Fantasy.


Wargaming has been around since the first wars in history: generals frequently used maps and toy soldiers and toy cannons to simulate and track real wars. They didn’t have rules that dictated troop movement or roll dice to determine if they were strong enough but they did have to move things around, guestimate distances, etc. Wargaming continues to be popular in this era only now it is very different. I would even say we are lucky that we can choose the wargames best suited to ourselves out of the vast array that exist: Warhammer Fantasy or 40K, LOTR, Malifaux, Relic Knights, Dreadball, Blood bowl, Warmachine, Flames of War, Infinity, X-Wing….there are lots that I have never even heard of either. Like ice cream, there is a flavour for everyone.

What is your Flavor?
Right now, at this very moment, if you had to link yourself to one game system which would it be? I would love to hear everyone declare Warhammer Fantasy as their preference but I know that is not the case as many of you have told me that as I have written other articles. I started with Warhammer 40K, flipped over to Fantasy, jumped back to 40K and now can confidently say I play both. I had a stint with LOTR, learned Blood Bowl, and play X-Wing but for me that is about where I draw the line. For others that is not the case, you might be involved with five or six different war games. No matter what game system you prefer there are similarities and there are differences and you will always have one you play more often than the rest.

For me that is Fantasy.



First I’m going to address those people questioning why they should switch and then I’m going to talk to those people who are already in the process of switching.


Questioning why?
To Switch or Not to Switch
Some of the comments I have seen on my own articles as well as others are “I was hoping this article would convince me to change” and others have said things like “nice try at pulling players from other systems to Fantasy” and it has taken me a lot of thought and time to figure out exactly what to say about those kinds of comments.

Part of me (the indignant side) really wants to say: “buddy, if you expect me to convince you to suddenly like Fantasy I ought to smack you. Either you want to do it or you don’t, no one else can make you play.” The more practical side says that’s a little on the rude side and I might want to consider saying something else. Opinions and preferences are easy to offer, but finding that one thing that will pop for you is a little harder since what draws me won’t always draw other people (especially those of you who have been reading my past articles and commented as much).

Why Switch?
  • The Fluff: The story behind each army and the game as an entirety is incredible. Historical background, individual backgrounds, items, scenarios and games developed around the history. There is a great love in Fantasy groups for the fluff.

  • The People: whether casual game night or weekend tournament Fantasy players tend to band 
    together for a drink, meals, socialization, and enjoy developing a bond and community where they are friends with their competitors.  You are never simply treated as another competitor: you are high fived, laughed with, joked with and teased.

The first year I attended a local multi-system convention there was roughly 40 Fantasy players, and the same for each of several other systems; after the day 1 games 20 Fantasy players converged upon a pub together: pulled the tables together and sat down involving as many people in the conversation as they could. When players arrived from other systems I observed that they were in groups of 2 or 3, nodded at other small clusters of gamers and found a seat somewhere in the pub where the two or three of them could talk. When more Fantasy players came in room was made with the large group. It was awesome, it did not matter that I was the only girl there, it did not matter that some of those people had never met each other before that morning, they accepted everyone into the circle of friends. 

In my opinion the people we game with are the absolute best reason to switch over to Fantasy. After a recent local multi-system convention occurred and a couple of the comments from non-Fantasy players makes me think a few other people are starting to see this too:

“The Fantasy players sounded like they were having a lot of fun and the Warhammer Fantasy armies looked fantastic. With the majority of armies 100% painted and to such high standards it was enjoyable to just walk around looking at the armies. The 40K community could learn a lot from the Fantasy players both in terms of painting, display and approach to the game….makes me wish I had bought Fantasy all these years instead of 40K”

Advertisement

 “I noticed a lot more fun going on in the Fantasy room compared to the 40K room.”

This may be different in different areas and with different gamers, as I know I have seen some beautifully painted 40K armies as well.

Vern’s Daemons

Ryan’s Lord on Disc

The Choice is Yours…
As I have said over and over, I love playing Fantasy and I would love for everyone else to play to but not everyone is as interested in the game as I am and I completely understand that there are a lot of things I do not know about other game systems and why people might want to play those games.

I just have two things to say to those who keep saying they are hoping for someone or something to convince them to play Fantasy:
  • If you want to play just do it already. If you’re not already playing Fantasy but you want to then do it: stop waiting for someone to convince you (because we have already tried) and just do it. The game changes with every edition, some changes you will like and some you won’t, the models might change a little but mostly they`re going to stay the same, and the price of models I can`t do anything about but if you really want to play you just need to do it.
  •  No one says you have to stop playing other systems. Perhaps the biggest misconception people make is thinking they can only play one system. There is no reason you can`t play 40k, Flames of War, Malifaux, Warmachine or any other game system AS WELL AS Fantasy. No one says you must play tournaments with them all or that you have to give them up altogether to play Fantasy. That would be like saying if you like Chocolate ice cream you can’t like Tiger or Strawberry Ripple or if you play Monopoly you can’t play Catan or Risk.

Advertisement
Already Switching?
You have found a reason…now what?
If you are like me the idea of switching between game systems is almost like changing socks: you reach in a drawer and pull out a pair, then sit down and put them on. I have Fantasy, 40K, and X-wing currently and play all three fairly regularly. Now that you have found a reason to play Fantasy it can sometimes be intimidating or challenging to break into the Fantasy groups.

The Rules Difference
When I first started to play and decided I was going to actually learn to play 40K (I might have started out with a 40K army but I hadn’t learned to play choosing to start with

the Fantasy rules) I found that the hardest part was keeping the rules straight. The turn in 40K is movement, shooting, charges, combat whereas Fantasy is charges, movement, magic, shooting, combat. Remembering that difference took some time but my opponents were always quick to correct me or understanding. The comment of “sorry been playing round bases and forgot” is a commonly heard statement after not playing Fantasy for a few weeks. The biggest advice I can give is: don’t be daunted by it, it might seem overwhelming at first but in most areas Fantasy players are just glad to see you playing square bases so prefer to help you along than to expect you to know everything right off. And worst case there are the last few pages of the rule book to help you along with a nice summary of the key rules.

Finding Opponents?

Hopefully before you started playing Fantasy you already knew a person or two in the Fantasy circle in your area but if you didn’t I think that it is pretty easy to do–especially with this world of technology. 

Our little Island has Facebook groups, twitter, and easily found forums where we post and can find each other. We don’t have game stores or hobby shops in every community so we have set up game nights that we discuss publicly but are hosted at people’s homes. The same is probably true for most gaming areas. If you do have a hobby shop/game store in your area that the best place to start because the shop staff will know people that play.


To everyone:
Get On With Playing

Whether you decide to start playing Fantasy or stick with the game systems you already collect I hope you will enjoy yourself and have fun because that is really what playing any game is about. It is less important what game system you enjoy so much as that you enjoy one and play it.

Next time I will be discussing the Basics of Game play and then we’ll get into some more in depth discussions of 8th Edition Fantasy Game Play.  Stay Tuned!


Advertisement

Jen A
Author: Jen A
Advertisement
  • Brent: A Bias About Background (WarmaHordes and 40K)