Your boy Max is here with 4 tips for a better tournament experience! I.E. How to not drink too much and make friends in the process…
Very few of those have to do with actual games. In fact, there are so many aspects of a tournament that one can enjoy. From crushing people and drinking beer to showing off nice models with no hope of winning. It’s impossible to give a “one-size-fits-all do this at tournaments to have fun” guide.
This is, after all, one thing so great about tournaments. Bringing all kind of hobby fanatics together. If you only want to play Bob in your mom’s basement, that’s all fine. But you’re missing out on so much. However, attending a tournament can be a daunting prospect and rookie mistakes can be easily avoided.
4 Ways to Enjoy Life & Have Fun at Tournaments!
1. Print Lists in Advance.
(Like 12 of them.)
A good number is however many rounds you are playing plus 2. This way you can give one to the tournament organizer early on and one to each of your opponents while still keeping a copy. This saves you time and trouble as you never have to ask for list back or show your opponent your list. It also ensures you have somewhere to write your spells, powers and mission bookkeeping.
This should go without saying, but please type your list. Nobody wants to see all those scribble lines on a wet cocktail napkin.
2. Keep Track of Points.
Speaking of bookkeeping, keeping track of the mission points is a great thing for your game. It keeps you focused on the goals at hand ( rather than just Waaaagh across the board ) and will avoid most disputes and discrepancies throughout the game. Especially with kill points, summoned units and progressive ( turn by turn ) objectives.
It’s also good to check every so often with your opponent if he’s also tracking score to ensure your numbers match. And if your opponent is not keeping track, more power to you; let him Waaaagh across the board and remind him later how you scored a bajillion points.
3. Know Your Booze.
Now, no man should be told how to drink or what for that matter ( except pink tequila, don’t drink that ). However, I am somewhat of an expert at drunk-hammering. My theory is this: There are two ways to approach drinking and playing.
- Coasting: Staying lightly buzzed throughout the day. This should be everyone’s method of choice, as there is no real downside. You won’t really be hungover and you can start fresh the next day.
- Smashed: Either you are trying to forget you lost to that Dark Eldar/ Sisters army or you are in bracket tinfoil at 1-3 on day 2. Mistakes were made. You played battleshots and you’re drunk.
Now when you reach this step, there are two things to avoid:
- The point of no return. (wetting your pants, falling, breaking models and puking is the point of no return).
- Sobering up. Sobering up will make you crash and feel terrible about everything.
Pace yourself in that regard also. There is a time to sober up and its called the night of the plane ride home.
4. Have Fun.
It sounds stupid to say something your mom would tell you, but so many people set unrealistically high expectations and become sad/angry/disappointed. They end up missing out on all the fun.
I’ve been in both the 5-0 and the 0-5 brackets of tournaments. Besides roughly 3 cases through 15 tournaments, I’ve enjoyed every single game and made new friends regardless of the game results.
Keep in mind that regardless of scores, results, and outcomes, you are spending your weekend drinking beer and playing toy soldiers. Life could be worse.
If you enjoy these tournament talks, be sure to tune in on my blog
