Some GW stores have been notorious for trying to implement over the top standards as of late, and it just happened again recently. Take a look at this.
Several Games Workshop stores have been getting a little hobby drunk lately with their standards that seem to keep causing an uproar in the community with some of their expectations. Recently down under in Australia, a GW Store rolled out an interesting new way to score bonus points at their events.
From the response on Facebook, the community was not pleased.
GW Store’s ‘Pay to Win’ Scoring Backfires
Spotted on Spikey Bits Hobbies from a user:
One of our local GW stores here in Oz tried to institute a “pay to win” program by giving points for using GW accessories at comps. Understandably, the local community was rather upset and thankfully it got shutdown….
Photo cropped from page 2 of the event Players Pack….
Take a look at this “what to bring” list for a GW store tournament. They’ve essentially told everyone to bring ALL GW brand equipment. Right down to citadel measuring sticks, dice, and GW carrying case. If they met all the criteria, they’d earn an extra four points in their final score.
Now, you could argue that anything in a GW game is ‘pay to win’ and that can be true for any game (because things cost money). But giving certain players an advantage for bringing something that will be staying outside of the game you’ll be playing isn’t the best strategy.
Bringing a Castellan vs. an Imperial Guard Tank column may be a good strategy. However, bringing your GW carrying case against your opponent’s banker’s box shouldn’t sway the game in anyone’s favor.
From the post, it seems like this was shut down pretty quick as the people in the tournament were upset (and rightfully so).
Like we’ve said before, GW has tried to pull some bizarre hobby stunts as of late. The last uproar they caused was not allowing people to go on camera during streams if their models were not 100% GW...Right down to the base the model is standing on.
But that’s not to say this happens at all GW stores, or that going to your local GW is a bad thing at all. Just sometimes the folks running them or in control of areas of them seem to get a little zealous in their sales and marketing approaches it seems perhaps.
Do you use any other brands besides GW when it comes to hobby supplies? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
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.
