I have had many a discussion with my fellow club members lately on attitudes towards a wargame. As a player, what is it that you are trying to achieve when you play. There are many answers, none of which are wrong, it all depends on the individual. Some aren't even of the same category, or can be achieved simultaneously.
There is the need to win, the meta-gamer if you will. This is not neccessarily a bad thing, as long as your opponent is in agreement that this is the goal, it can still be enjoyable for both opponents. Trying to win a game by finding the best interpretation of the rules, but not breaking them, can be a fun past time. The best example I can think of for this is competitive collectable card games like Magic the Gathering. Trying to find a great game winning combo is part of the fun and is applauded in some circles. Always using that same unbeatable deck every week at a friendly, non competitive club meetup however is probably going a little far.
Regular readers will know I like to play a wargame to tell the story, I like to think I don't mind if I win or lose and most of the time that is the truth. Of course there are occassions when an unfair loss still gripes me, I'm only human after all. These occassions are worse though when the opponent wins by insisting on playing outside the spirit of the rules. No ruleset is completely full proof, especially if it is a first draft of those rules and sometimes the author fails to account for a situation the players find them in and this can be exploited. If the exact wording of a rule does not cover every situation, some people have been known to try and exploit that. I like to think that my fellow players would like to play fair however, agree what is the most fair result in the spirit of the game or what should be the most likely outcome if this were a real life situation. Failing that, a dice roll off should sort it out. Arguing for the sake of the win does not a fun game make. I would rather lose the game and continue than get stuck in an evening of flicking through a rulebook trying to find precident.
At our club we have been playing a lot of Warhammer the Old World. Now warhammer fantasy is an established ruleset with plenty of previous editions. You would think that would mean the authors have plenty of reference to get a perfect, unflawed ruleset. It still however, does have some rules that are not fully clear and open to multiple interpretation. There are also flaws that mean the game can lose some balance. Having two different armies with exact same point values does not neccessarily create a fair balanced game reliant only on tactical generalship. There is still an advantage to be made on your choice of army list. Now, some may say that is part of the fun of the game and I would agree to some extent. Getting the best combinations of units and magic items is a lot of fun. But, just like the above games of Magic the Gathering, once that killer combination has been found, it is not neccesarily fun to play against. As a group we do try and "play fair" otherwise what is the point.
Temptation has become a bit too great though sometimes. We have got stuck in some kind of arms race. Every week one of our players will add a new gribbly beasty to their army in response to the previous weeks game. Myself included, I did succumb to temptation and solely for the fun of it I did field a chaos army list containing two dragons. I did prewarn my opponent and it is definitely not something I would do regularly, these multi-wound, flying, combat specialists are just too much of a game changer and take away the fun if they are not countered by a different tactic (if someone knows a good solution let me know!)
We rarely tot up victory points in these games, mostly games are declared a draw due to the fun that was had and the story that was told. On the occassions that there is a clear winner I like to think no grudges are ever held. (Apart from the compulsory fictional entrants to the book of grudges held by the Dwarf Lords, obviously.) Sometimes decisions in game are made even because they create the most fun.
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| It might not have been the best tactical decision, but we all wanted the dragons to get stuck into combat |
All of us need reminding sometimes why we are playing a game, myself included. Next time you are finding yourself rolling dice, take a second to notice how the game is fairing for your opponent as well as yourself. You may be having a great time wiping out their entire existence on the table, but that may not be as much fun for them.
Unless you are playing Monopoly, in which case, they knew what they were letting themselves in for when you started. Put those hotels on Mayfair and finish that game as soon as possible so everyone can go have some mulled wine and watch Doctor Who.
