This new 40k Wargame Player Rankings site is a cool idea, but it’s off to a rocky start and a little confusing as of right now.
As we said, Wargames Rankings is an interesting concept, and we’re not trying just to bash the idea. We just feel it could be a bit better with some refinement. We already have the very definitive ITC rankings, whereas this is a much more subjective idea on ranking what looks to be just 40k players so far.
Wargame Rankings provides content creators, tournament organizers, and regional leaders the opportunity to collaborate and discuss the best players in your games’ current meta.
New 40k Rankings Off to a Rocky Start
Let’s start with their response to feedback already.
First up, they are really trying to break things down into regions to help recognize lesser-known players (but for the first one was just the USA and Canada in one ranking).
However, this is done through votes, making it harder for new lesser-known players to get to the top. As generally, the more known you are, the more people will put in for you. This also then brings up a second issue.
The committee also has input (as they don’t release votes, which we’ll talk about later), so if they are putting lesser-known players at the top, that sort of makes the voting unimportant, which is what the system is based on (we’ll talk about this more later).
With that in mind, it could easily become too subjective and not show off true wargaming skills and who the committee wants at the top. We’re not saying they will do that, but without such little transparency, we just don’t know.
As we said, there is a chance the next ranking is much better; however, without any public criteria, how do we know how anyone is actually ranked?
A Lack of Transparency
It is cool to have more ways to rank how players are doing and bring another level of professionalism to the hobby, but the big issue is transparency.
As you can see above, they say they will not publish the votes, so this basically gives them full control over what actually happens, and we don’t really know what went into it.
Without that, and the fact this is subjective just really leads to a lot of issues. Especially since we already have the ITC rankings, we’re just not a hundred percent sure what this is supposed to accomplish.
One last thing, there are plenty of players on this list who are also listed as contributors as well. To us, this seems like just a very big conflict of interest. Not saying they would put themselves above where they should be; just something to think about.
If you are a contributor, it would make more sense not to be included in the rankings. Especially considering it is subjective, we could see where that may look a little suspect.
Either way, we are looking forward to the October rankings, as they might consider the community feedback and change things up a bit.
Do you like another Wargames ranking system like this? What would you like to see them do differently?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
