Have you ever had that tournament let down feeling?
You know what I’m talking about, right? For weeks on end you feverishly paint and play-test your list for the “big event”.
Undaunted by sleep deprivation, wife/girlfriend/significant other aggro, you press on just to get your army ready for the big event.
Then the day arrives, and after traveling either right down the street or several states away, you get to the event only to let down by the very thing you so had just devoted everything too.
The reasons for suckage vary. I’ve personally show up at repeated national tournament qualifiers only to see a barren wasteland in place of terrain, and no one sufficiently qualified to field rules questions.
I’ve seen “home rules” ruin an event as well, such as rhinos being allowed to pivot their rear hatches forward allowing rampaging Bersekers to come changing out- assaulting everything on turn one.
I drove halfway across the state one time with a group of friends just to find out that White Dwarf published a date wrong, and the tournament was the next day….grrrr.
How about store owners that like to play in there events and alienate thier customers by smashing them to pieces? I’ve seen a few of those in my time, and the stores they ran never made it very long either.
Heck I’ve even been followed into a restaurant next to an event one time by someone I called out for cheating.
Getting confronted someone in a family establishment over a questionable toy soldiers encounter will always be a highlight of my tournament career.
Here at my store I start setting up for an event hours before registration starts. I try to make sure each table has enough terrain, and that the are enough tables set up for the registered participants.
I also do not play in my events. Playing in your events is one of the quickest ways to alienate your customers that I can think of IMHO.
Magic the Gathering actually prohibits tournament organizers from playing in their own events even, so why should Warhammer be any different?
So the other day as I prepared for our first Sixth Edition tournament here at FTW Games (the home of Spikey Bits), I made a little video showing some of what I think goes into getting ready for a good event.
Enjoy the video! What are some of your terrible tournament horror stories? -MBG
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 the Las Vegas Open, each of which attracts thousands of 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 2011 Adepticon 40k Team Tournament. He was even featured for his painting in issue #304 of Games Workshop’s White Dwarf Magazine.
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.
