A long year...a long year of no games

[chapter master 454]

So it has now been well over a full year due to Covid that I have been unable to play any games and due to that, I wager any who have even known of my oath would notice that thread has gone rather quiet. Ultimately, no games means no real feeling of desire to paint as part of painting models to me is showing them off.

 

I am wondering how all my brothers (and sisters if any) are faring currently and who has been lucky enough to be able to still play games. My lack of ability to is my wargaming club has remained closed for safety (and I prefer to have no games until truly safe to play again) so how are others faring and what have your games been like? I have had to actually re-read rules and check stat-lines of things to remember stuff.

...not even Nurgle would want this on his tally-man lists...would take up too much space on the paper!

[Rik Lightstar]

I've had exactly the same issue, I'm usually pretty productive with my painting. Not all of it is for gaming. But without gaming to keep me working on those things all of my routine and motivation has just completely disappeared over the course of the last 12 months :(

 

Rik

[Azekai]

I hear ya. A lack of games can really rob a hobbyist of their joy de vivre. Most of my painting and basing has been motivated by my wanting to be ready for specific gaming events, tourneys, ect.

I have played a couple games over the last year, mostly against my wife. Only one in a socially distanced shop while both me and my buddy wore masks.

Given any thought to tabletop simulator? It is somewhat kludgy to set up and play, but if you are really jonesing for a game it can scratch the itch.

[Jings]

Big mood here. I've only had one session where I got a good game in in this past year, with another two or three games with friends who are largely unfamiliar with the gaming side of the hobby or the hobby itself, so they've been simplified (little/no stratagems/reduced combos) 500 point games where I effectively have to manage both armies as a small introduction. 

 

It's sucks, I really miss it and the hobby side of things has really fallen flat too given my lack of motivation and dealing with lockdown uni. If only the compulsive eBay purchases followed suit hahaha. 

[Schurge]

I moved from TX to TN in July and I didn't even bother to unpack my models. I was out in the boonies, dependent on others for transportation, and didn't know anyone so I wasn't going to be playing any games despite caring very little about COVID. I moved back to Texas this Christmas and have had a game practically every week with a group of 4-6 people. We usually play in an open air garage, but have also met up in apartments and at a local game store a few times (most businesses are open down here, just operating at reduced capacity and less efficiently).

 

We arrange the games ahead of time and rotate opponents so every week everyone is getting something different. Last week I faced a super competitive Salamanders and brought a mean 1600 point list designed to make his life hell (and it did, I tabled his gunline with Daemon Engines) after losing to him a few weeks ago. Next week is a 2000 point game against a fluffy Black Templar player against whom I will be bringing a much more friendly list that I think will put us on more even footing. He isn't a bad player (he has beat me with Tyrannids) but I know what he owns and I know he can't deal with a list full of Berserkers and Daemon Engines or a Bloodletter Bomb with the marines he's got. 

 

Between the six of us World Eaters (me), Black Templars, Tyrranids, Salamanders, Necrons, Death Watch, and Ad Mech are represented. Our group may double in size in the coming months with some new first time players as well. I also plan on going to the game store for pick up games on weekends like I used to in a few months, but right now I need to work weekends. Even though our economy is open, money is still tight down here and work can be hard to get because of the destructive change COVID has wrought.

 

I haven't really been painting though, I'm not sleeping well (half the week I work overnights, the rest I work days) and don't have the energy. Thankfully, most of the stuff I tend to bring is already painted though. My opponents aren't facing a lot of bare plastic.

 

=][= OFF TOPIC & REMOVED =][= BCC

Edited February 28, 2021 by battle captain corpus
OFF TOPIC

[chapter master 454]

I hear ya. A lack of games can really rob a hobbyist of their joy de vivre. Most of my painting and basing has been motivated by my wanting to be ready for specific gaming events, tourneys, ect.

 

I have played a couple games over the last year, mostly against my wife. Only one in a socially distanced shop while both me and my buddy wore masks.

 

Given any thought to tabletop simulator? It is somewhat kludgy to set up and play, but if you are really jonesing for a game it can scratch the itch.

 

Sadly I don't find that idea too appealing. Part of the joy is the use of models, the rolling of actual dice and the like. Really, while I am someone who advocates for a digital version of the tabletop game, it would never be the same as playing physical as part of it is the social aspect and being able to show models you like, wandering around and seeing other armies and games.

[ThePenitentOne]

I terms of playing, I'm lucky, because my partner can occasionally be talked into playing; we live together, so we're in the same room together whether we're playing or not.

 

My partner is not up to date on recent versions of games, and was never a huge fan of full 2k point battles in the first place, so it does take care to find the correct scale and game to make it fun for both of us. We played a custom Space Hulk scenario at the beginning of the month, and it was great. It was also a game that launched a GSC Crusade, and determined which models from the pile of shame needed to painted first.

 

Blackstone Fortress is a game that can even be played solo, so when I NEED a game, and my partner is not interested, I do have a go-to option. I have played a handful of solo games; it isn't anywhere near as fun, but as you can see from my description of how the Space Hulk game worked, I'm the type of guy who plays games to figure out how the story unfolds.

 

Just as my Genestealers had to earn their paint by escaping the Hulk and making planetfall, it is possible to make Blackstone miniatures earn their paint even without an opponent. The experience of playing solo isn't as fun as playing with a person, but it's just as effective at progressing a narrative through game play and selecting models for painting.

 

As for the feeling of "showing off," that's where B&C has helped me tremendously. That 12 Months of Hobby Challenge is just about the best thing I've encountered for motivation. What makes it so great is that every month, you can set your own bar as high or as low as you need it to be in order to succeed. And this forum is just so supportive- seriously, compared to y'all, I'm a poor painter, but no one here has ever made me feel anything but good about my often meager achievements.

 

Linking small scale games with family members and solo games to a larger narrative and sharing it on B&C has kept me going, and allowed me to conquer my fear of painting. If I can keep it up for the rest of the year, I think my skill level might improve. I haven't yet completed my second February challenge, but two of the four models will be done tonight, which leaves all day Saturday and Sunday to finish the other two. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it.

 

I'm already looking forward to my goals for March; I have four ultra small Kill Team mini-games that I'm hoping to fight the weekend of March 12. Each of my four painted stealers vs a small, 4 person Kill Team of Threshers*. I expect each game to last 15-20 minutes, so the plan is to play all four back to back to back. Whichever Stealer infects the highest number of Threshers will then begin to evolve into a Patriarch, and all infected Threshers are added to the GSC Crusade's Order of Battle as Brood Brothers.

 

* For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Chronicle of Saint Katherine's Aegis, Threshers are the Imperial Nobles of the Imperial Agri-world Orison's Wake. They are represented on the table by mixed gangs of classic metal Necromunda models. 

[Stofficus]

My local group has tried to stay at least social through facebook and such, doing monthly painting competitions and whatnot, but yeah, my hobby throughput has certainly suffered. 

 

In my case though, unlike a lot of people around here my work hasn't slowed down at all, so with lots of long days and no games to motivate me, I might maybe get a single unit done over a month. Video game catharsis and such tends to be more what I'm looking for, as that can also often be a social exercise, unlike just painting. 

 

To be honest, my biggest motivation to paint is when there's something 40k-ish on youtube I want to watch - I'll do bits and pieces of some of the models on my desk while I watch/listen to something. 

 

Though at this rate, even at such a slow pace I'll have a fair pile of newly painted stuff for whenever the post-covid world becomes a reality. 

[Leonaides]

Likewise, work has been longer hours and I've been unable to meet anyone in person. My gaming buddies and I try and do a weekly zoom/whatever for a couple of hours of painting/modelling gaming related activity and random chat. I'm nearly thru 10 intercessors since mid Jan but it at least keeps the painting/hobby stuff ticking over.

[mughi3]

Fortunately it wasn't as bad for me. i had no games for about 3 months in the beginning. i took the time to get absolutely everything painted i needed for gaming minis.  then we managed to get some limited private gaming group time up and running for about 5 months...then we were shut down again for about 2 months or so. i ended up finishing off my old gundam master grade kits i never got around to. 

 

Now were are mostly re-open at the game shop with 25% capacity or around 10 players. so yeah it was tough but i am super glad to have my gaming time back near normal levels, even if i managed to get by better than some locations. 

[sairence]

I was able to get a couple of games in in my local shop last summer after the first lockdown, which was very nice. Nothing in person since then.

 

I've run two local TTS tournaments since November and played some games through that and while it's nice to get to play around at least a bit it's not as good.

 

My painting has compeltely dried up (no pun intended) in the last half year. I've had 6 half-finished Custodes bikers in front of me, staring at me in judgement for months now. Just can't work up the motivation to pick up a brush. :(

[Emicus]

Sounds like we have all had good practice for round 2!

[Sugarlessllama]

I have not played a single game in the new edition. And at this rate, I think they next edition will drop before I get to play any games. COVID-19, plus my FLGS switching to a Patreon model for access to gaming tables has really taken the wind out of my sails in regard to anything Warhammer.

[N1SB]

Regarding painting motivation, which is probably the biggest opportunity cost here (less playing time = more painting time), I just came out on the other side of this.

 

Early on during the lockdown, I got a few projects finally done.  This included my Bat-themed Nurgle Daemon Princes.  Then with plenty of models to paint yet no games to use the models for, as well as how video games were being given away for free, I played those for awhile, further drawing me away from painting.

 

Then recently, in my region, pandemic restrictions were gradually loosened...and I also just got my 1st vaccine.  We started playing a non-Warhammer tabletop game (the Heroquest-like Gloomhaven...it's really fun btw), I just started painting 2 character miniatures.  They weren't even mine.  But a deadline to get them done for a game got me back into the saddle.  Now I'm just working for a few half-done projects, slowly ramping up back to my productivity levels from pre-pandemic.

 

Having come out the other side, in the spirit of being helpful I share this insight if it helps you get back into the mood to at least paint:

 

• Go back to the projects you were painting for reasons other than games, like a mini you got just for fun, some AoS thing maybe
• Start small, just a character model
• Maybe paint something for someone else, your motivation is to help that person
• Finally...shake your paints thoroughly, as they might've dried from inactivity

 

I've always felt there was an inertia to painting; it's hard to start up again but once you do, it's hard to stop.  The above is just to build up momentum again.

[Xenith]

Feeling for everyone that's not been able to game or get that social contact that we, as humans, need. Mental health is super important, even more so now. I've found that sharing models with the frater here provides enjoyment and motivation for me. I'm sure there also might be digital painting sessions amoung your hobby group, to keep one anothers spirits up.