Here is how to stop WAAC or Win at All Costs Warhammer players from ruining events and tournaments for the rest of us, and make them more fun!
While tournaments are inherently about winning, the hobby, in our opinion, should always be front and center! This makes WAAC (Win At All Costs) players be more friendly, actually have a well-painted army, and maybe not bring the latest and greatest broken meta lists. It also becomes more rewarding for the more casual players, as their attitude and hobby skills would make a difference in their score and where they end up.
Long War Doubles Army Displays
Obviously, we all want to compete, but if it’s not fun and you’re not playing against cool armies, then it’s just not as cool!
Hobby Scores are basically a WAAC CAPTCHA
When you prioritize hobby scores and social interactions, it acts like a CAPTCHA for WAAC players and makes games like Warhammer more fun!
In our series of Long War 40k Doubles tournaments, it makes the event super fun every time and the scoring split is actually 70% hobby 30% Battle Score.
So, why would this be a good idea? Well, it will make people focus on the hobby and actually be nice! This also forces the WAAC players to work on the hobby side of things and not just chase the meta with a 3-paint minimum. Then, you could give out different prizes counting to different top players. It could go something like this:
- Best Overall Score
- Best Hobbyist
- Best General
- Best Painted
- Most Friendly Player
This really would let players who aren’t the best at playing the game still get something awesome for their efforts. Plus again, this would act like a CAPTCHA for WAAC players who don’t really care about the actual hobby side of it.
Here’s an idea of how you can structure any similar event, and what we do for the Long War Doubles.
The hobby score is pretty obvious. If you have an awesome army, you get a better score!
This would have to be adjusted for a normal tournament, as in the doubles it’s really focused on having fun. So while this wouldn’t work perfectly, it is a good start to getting tournaments into a more fun and friendly space.
With a 70% hobby score, players are forced to embrace the hobby and social side of the game, and not be as WAAC!
Do you think this would make tournaments more fun to go to?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
