Mariel Hurd had a lot to say about 40k players on Post Desk, and some of it may be pretty accurate…
Most of us have been there, weather it’s at a tournament or at the local game store, some people just can’t turn it off it sometimes.
No, I’m sure you moved them six-point-two inches!
Heads turn. Eyes roll. Some poor bastard is about to lose her game to a twenty-minute argument over six millimetres. (Or, as the aspiring rules lawyer will be happy to lecture you, 5.08mm.)
The point of Mariel’s article however isn’t the whys and hows of people’s need to win, it’s geared towards the havoc these type of players can do.
Negativity is infectious, and can alienate and eventually destroy a community and or a tournament/ event series if left unchecked.
Mariel seems to conclude with this point that really puts into words just how these players can really wreak havoc on a community, or event.
By tolerating bad gamers we lose good ones, either to other, less enabling hobbies, or to becoming bad gamers themselves.
What do you think? Is it good to remember that when you step up to the table you’re not just playing a game, you’re entering into a social contract to interact with someone you may have just met for the next two or three hours?
Where does line between a game, and being a human start to blur for some people?
Maybe think of it like this, a pro NFL football game lasts about the same amount of time we take to play an average game of 40k, and at the end of that most of them shake hands (or pat each others bottoms), and move on as friends.
What makes OUR game so much different sometimes?
Read Mariel’s article.
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.
