New Blood! How Do I Get My Buddies to Play 40k?

My fellow LoC member Joel is on a new general gaming podcast called The Dice Decide! 

Check them out here!

One of us! One of us! One of us!

I still feel like it was some type of divine providence that I got into this crazy hobby. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, my junior in high school self stubbled upon the old GW message board. I quickly fell down the rabbit hole and asked my dad to take me to Gamer's Realm, my LGS in New Jersey. I walked into that musty store and immediately saw my object of desire. Eldar guardians.

My first 40k purchase.

It was all downhill from there. Fourteen years later, here I am writing about this beloved game of mine. I'm one of the lucky ones. But how can bring this joy to others? How do you get your non-wargaming buddies to play 40k? Well, this weekend I tried just that. My buddy Brad came over and played his first game against my good buddy Joel. We all had a great time, and Brad is already looking to buy the Space Wolves codex. Here are some steps that I took, and I think they would work well in your conversion teaching games.

1. KISS (Keep it Sweet and Simple)

40k is a rules heavy game with a rather heavy learning curve. When you start out, you really just want to focus on the main tenants of the game. Try to avoid most of the special rules and really hone in on these four aspects of the game:

1. Stats [WS-BS-S-T-I-LD-S+]
2. Movement
3. Shooting
4. Assault

These rules are essentially the game. All of the other USRs and special abilities add the flavor and variety to 40k, but those can't be enjoyed without a strong understanding of the aforementioned rules. Make sure to explain these each before the game begins, but focus mostly on reinforcing them as the game moves along.

2.  Start Small

A quaint battlefield (only 24"x18")

40k is best played at high point levels, but avoid starting out there. For our scenario, we had two 200 pt lists on a 2ft x 1.5ft table (damn Magic took up all the tables at both Games of Berkeley and Endgame). Brad, the neophyte, controlled ten generic Space Marines against Joel's Dire Avengers. The mission was Purge the Alien, and Brad set his Astartes up in the trees while the Eldar controlled the base and supply tanks at the bottom of the board. 

The game went on for a coupe turns, and ended up with the Space Marines smashing face in close combat. Having the books open to the reference charts helped a lot. By the end of the game, Brad was able to reference these basic rules without much thought.This was a learning game, but both Brad and Joel still had fun. When thinking about the missions and theme for your teaching games, make sure to start small. Still focus on your favorite aspects of the game (fun combos, great weapons, or cool psychic powers), but don't try to introduce too much too quickly.

3. Get them Started

Who doesn't love dreadnoughts?

Starting a Warhammer army is a huge investment of time and money. So, if you can, help out your buddy with some old minis or kits from your bits box. In my opinion, a squad or two and an HQ is a great place to start the game. Help the newbie create a list around 500-750pts, and let them find out what they enjoy most about the hobby. Do they love playing, but hate building models? Offer to put everything together so they can get in some games. Do they hate painting? Setup a hobby day and show them some of your tips and tricks. That, or just buy them a pot of Agrax Earthshade. 

In the end, everyone plays this game differently. Let your friend find out how they want to play, and be there as a positive ambassador for Warhammer. Introduce them to your gaming group, and make them feel like a part of the community. Blogs (::wink::), podcasts, forums, and YouTube tutorials are all great resources available to the modern gamer. Share them with your buddy! Then watch as they spiral into a nest of grey plastic sprues and Black Library books. One of us, one of us, one of us!!!

Until next time!