Stigma on the Game

[Hive]

This is an honest post, meant not to offend anyone so no flames pls.

I used to love WH40K with a passion. I was SO into it. Unfortunately, I never felt I fitted in with the average player of my age (13ish i think i was) or even those who were quite older. Most seemed too geeky to me, real trainspotter types. In the end, I couldnt stand the social circles I had to be a part of to get a challenging game, so quit :(

Now im not accusing all TT gamers to be zit-faced loners but you get my point. Whenever i mention my old hobby, i get funny looks off people, its very hard to convey that its basically an elaborate version of Chess. Most people think its really sad, whereas my fiancee just thinks its really cute (again, in a geeky sort of way) *sigh*. Given up explaining that we dont 'play with the toys ffs!'.

Regardless of this, I find myself feelin the urge for another game. Are there any sites where i can check out local groups of players with the possibility of me joining? Its important to me to be on the same wavelength as those im playing with, as at the end of the day, a game can last a few hours, & if you dont like the other guy(s) its not going to be the greatest of atmospheres is it.

All opinions/help appreciated.

[mpjesse363]

its to bad you live in london man its the same way here in the us. im a united states soldier military police i played sports in highschool and i love to hunt, im far from a geek but it seems that to the majority of the planet anyone who likes rolling dice or painting minis is a dufus

any way to answer you gw has a listing of clubs on there main site under warp gate network it should help you

[Hive]

Ive just been checking out the models on sale at the mo & all the Tyranids have changed! My models are all huge mofos that use larger square stands while these new ones seem smaller & slot onto standard stands. The basic Tyranid warrior/Carnifex is plastic now too. Are my old ones still valid? Would i still be allowed to use em?

Having to buy (stupidly expensive) new ones & paint em all over again would be a right pain...

[BossThraka]

Older models are just fine. In fact, I use an old Ork Stormboy Captain with the Comissar hat as the special character Boss Zagstruk. My friend likes using older models of Rhinos for his Chaos army too, since Chaos is supposed to be using the same model Rhino from ten thousand years ago. (Hard to get the latest model Rhino when you're in the warp). Hope that helps.

[Cailet]

As long as they're good models I don't care. I really hate the really old 'nid warrior models though, no-one best use them in a game with me.

[Chaos Lord]

Cailet i use a lot of old SM models...
does that mean if we ever got the chance to play each other youd refuse over something as stupid as that?

any way Hive:
a lot of people i know think that people who play 40k etc are 'freaks' in my area, as far as im conserned, beeing able to pass a skill-at-arms test with a broken arm dosnt qualify me as being a 'freak' my cadet leader gave me a determiation award for it!
thats why awnser with the simple reply "go freak power" :D
sorry if i sound like im boasting but it did happen

BTW: good luck with your fiancee hope every thing go's well :)

[Estocade]

Hive I feel exactly like you do! OMG you should live next door :D

Last week, my friend and I went to some rogue dealer who has the best WH40K products in Montreal and there were many tables with a lot of guys playing. Now they saw we were noobs at this and invited us to watch a game, so everything was cool until we got to know them a little better. I won't go into details but just to give you guys an idea, at some point the whole room (50 ppl) got into some big verbal brawl to see who knew the most about Star Trek? Then they started telling stories about what they would do to a girl if they were ever alone with one on a date (my god the horrors...)
Then they said they were the biggest WH40K community in Montreal!

WTF! :argh: We just got the hell outta there
Again I don't want to insult anybody but they all looked the same, talked the same, and behaved the same which quite frankly was ridiculous. This is why ppl think everybody that plays WH40K or other miniatures are geek. I wanna play 40K, and I'M NOT A GEEK, I'm young man with a successful life.

Damn, I just wish we could meet some cool players so we can "connect" and have fun.

[Civik]

Some people are like that, some aren't... I'm not much of one for cliques but I mostly gave up playing because of the tournament scene. It is mostly full of powergaming tards and is less fun than it really should be, so I gave up on it. May get back into it later... but I'm waiting on the new rulebook.

not exactly a geek, but I like to have fun ya know? ;)

[rknZ]

Hopefully DoW will rocket to sucess and bring in a whole new wave of 'hip n happenin' youngsters into the TT game :p :D

[PluviusNacht]

Hmm, the last time I played a REAL game of 40k was..oh, in 8th Grade. That was nine years ago at least. My two friends and I used to play at each others houses. I used to go to my local (which wasn't very local) Rogue Trader and it was wierd. Lots of people that just looked freaky to me. So it was more fun just to play with friends. I remember still I had Chaos Marines, one of my friends had orkz and another SM. I seem recall we always lost to the Orkz cause a lot of em seemed to have lascannons that would vaporize my termies. Oh well.

[Cailet]

I'm not saying I wouldn't play Chaos Lord, its just far better to play against cool models (I don't give about the paint job though 'cos mine are crap). I mis-worded the original post though.

[Chaos Lord]

oh ok then its just ive met some people who are like that, just because they are on a losing streak they blame their oppenet for having classic models...
sorry i misunder stood

[Cailet]

I like most of the classic models its just the old 'nids that get me. I actually prefer a lot of those models to their current forms and bemoan the loss of the Zoats and Fimir ad infinitum.

[CobraCommander]

at some point the whole room (50 ppl) got into some big verbal brawl to see who knew the most about Star Trek?
same thing in my area. its pathetic. at the end of that arguement whoever did know the most about startrek was still the loser.

anyone live in toronto?

[Cailet]

Got to Eldaronline/40k.ca its Canada based so you'll find a few.

[Hive]

Ok guys,

The urge isnt going away, i wanna play again :beer:

Ive heard that theres a new version of the game coming out? When is it due? Should i not buy any rulebooks until then? What about the army codex books? Can i buy the tyranid/eldar ones to start my army or will they too be replaced with the new version?

All help appreciated :)

[Lord Maugan Ra]

THe new rule book comes out sept 2004 but the armies arent changing so you can buy the army books ( 'nids and Eldar thats the same thing i play :beer: )

[Cailet]

The 'nid book is redone and released by Halloween. The Eldar by Xmas or in the first months of 2005 but you may as well get started.

[Hive]

THe new rule book comes out sept 2004 but the armies arent changing so you can buy the army books ( 'nids and Eldar thats the same thing i play :beer: )

Thanx for the reply. I will now see what models ive got left from when i played 10 years ago & buy the codex! I will be asking u for some tips seeing as we got the same guys :up:

[Lord Maugan Ra]

alright cool :beer:

[Sanguinius_nz]

Love these types of posts just shows how narrow minded some ppl can be.
I am a geek I admit this and there is nothing wrong with it my entire g/fs family think I play with dolls (thats what the call the minatures) cos I play 40k and I honestly dont give a rats ass. I play computer games, d&d read fantasy novels get in stupid pointless discussions/arguments about who would win out of star trek vs star wars.

Now there is no difference between me and the guy next door who is really into cars and gets into discussions/arguments about if rotary engines are better than turbos or what the best car is and why, to me its a stupid argument as I have no interest in that a car is something to get me from a to b.

People have some very set ideas about what is stupid and what isnt having a totaly pointless argument about completly fictional things is fun as long as you dont take it seriously.

I would also like to point out that you are all talking about a table top game involving little minatures posting on an online forum about it and also play computer games........

[rknZ]

OoooooOOOOOOOOO!

[senor_kickass]

GO FREAK POWER!!!!!!! :bandit:

[Estocade]

Love these types of posts just shows how narrow minded some ppl can be.
I am a geek I admit this and there is nothing wrong with it my entire g/fs family think I play with dolls (thats what the call the minatures) cos I play 40k and I honestly dont give a rats ass. I play computer games, d&d read fantasy novels get in stupid pointless discussions/arguments about who would win out of star trek vs star wars.

Now there is no difference between me and the guy next door who is really into cars and gets into discussions/arguments about if rotary engines are better than turbos or what the best car is and why, to me its a stupid argument as I have no interest in that a car is something to get me from a to b.

People have some very set ideas about what is stupid and what isnt having a totaly pointless argument about completly fictional things is fun as long as you dont take it seriously.

I would also like to point out that you are all talking about a table top game involving little minatures posting on an online forum about it and also play computer games........

:wtf2:
You missed the whole point.
No activity/hobby/sport/job is geeky in itself, it's the WAY YOU ACT ABOUT IT that makes you look weird. It's only a game and some people behave like their lives depended on it. So they get into those tight little groups which has to know anything and everything about it and they set themselves apart from everyone else. Not the other way around. Most of the time they are the narrow-minded. In my last post I said I wasn't going to go into details, but just to show you, at some point music and movies were being discussed and they asked my opinion about it. I replied I like rap music and war dramas and then they looked at me with daggers in their eyes and never to talk to me again because Metal and Sci-Fi weren't my first choice. It's called being obssessed, and it isn't good.

Oh, and those guys don't tolerate any form of constructive criticism and are always on the defencive. A bit like you did in your post.

[Lord Maugan Ra]

:clap: :clap: :clap:

[Sanguinius_nz]

:wtf2:
You missed the whole point.
No activity/hobby/sport/job is geeky in itself, it's the WAY YOU ACT ABOUT IT that makes you look weird. It's only a game and some people behave like their lives depended on it. So they get into those tight little groups which has to know anything and everything about it and they set themselves apart from everyone else. Not the other way around. Most of the time they are the narrow-minded. In my last post I said I wasn't going to go into details, but just to show you, at some point music and movies were being discussed and they asked my opinion about it. I replied I like rap music and war dramas and then they looked at me with daggers in their eyes and never to talk to me again because Metal and Sci-Fi weren't my first choice. It's called being obssessed, and it isn't good.

Oh, and those guys don't tolerate any form of constructive criticism and are always on the defencive. A bit like you did in your post.

1) I wasnt specificly targeting you. I was reacting more to the general fact that the word geek was being chucked around as if geeks are a bunch of retards and that it was a bad thing to be a geek.

Its called human nature, we form our little groups based upon if the others have similar intrests or think in the same way, it doesnt matter if your are a petrol head, geek, jock , goth etc if you dont fit in with the group your going to get strange looks. But then that is group mentality it happens every where a group of like minded people gather. Take those ppl on an individual basis and you will probably find they are just as normal about their hobby as you are.
When Im with a group of TT buddies we talk and argue about lots of stupid things even branching into star wars and star trek as it is all sci fi based (I play 40k)
When Im with a group of computer gamer buddies my whole language base shifts I use different phrases and we generally discuss mainly computer based stuff.
Its not that Im narrow minded or the ppl Im with are its more due to the fact that we share a common interest that we enjoy very much and are passionate about it.

[Estocade]

1) we share a common interest that we enjoy very much and are passionate about it.

Ok now we're talking. That's the key phrase because nothing heals the mind like a good hobby :D
Only there is a fine line between passion and obsession, something that many forget.
Be it WH40K or alcohol :(

[MetalMilitia]

I certainly think that you could find crowds that play but still arent that "geeky" I used to game with some pretty geeky weird people, but I met some new people started playing at new places and most of the people I play with are just off duty military, painters, and kids that are fairly.. well normal. Before I was playing neck deep in people who liked anime, star trek and thought they were vampires. Of course we still get these people in where i play now, but Ive found that most of them if you get to know them a little they are fairly nice, and if you give them a strange look they shut up. Of course most people I game with have been alone with girls, or, if old enough, are married so I have never had anyone strange enough to talk about what theyd do if they were alone with a girl. Anyone else find a good gaming group of people you fit in with/ are fairly normal.

OH but I am not saying Im not a geek, I dont think that every hobby isnt geeky, I think anyone who could argue over anything from rules to whos going to win the super bowl, is quite geeky.

[EdCase]

I have so far found all the bandying of the word "geek" ....well frankly amusing.
You are who you are, if others choose to label it...so be it.
Being just a tiny bit older than most here (I'm 39) all I can say is pursue your interests, have fun. The labels are meaningless....Its how you enjoy YOUR life that counts.
For those that are interested...I'm a happily married man with 4 children and the words they use for me and my hobbies are "he's mildly eccentric but fun to be around"

[Triceron]

Well I'd consider myself a geek. A city boy who dwells on the internet shying away from physical activity and the sun and relying on electronic equipment to keep me entertained. However, as much interest as I have in Warhammer, I always feel that's just one step too far into geekdom because that stigma is JUST FAR TOO GREAT.

It's not that I don't think the game is uncool or think other people will think I'm uncool, but it's knowing the type of people I will have to play with considering this isn't a widely commercial hobby. It's also a hardcore game to follow with so many nitpicky rules, albeit it's half the fun. And the fact it's such an expensive hobby getting rulebooks, the armies themselves, the paints and that's all before you really get into the game...

Too many factors come into play for me, and it doesn't help when GW is so protective of their liscences to become more commercial.

[Hive]

Yeah as said above, i could never fit in with those local to me playing WH40K. While my other hobbies were watching/playing football (soccer to u yanks) & sports cars they were all star trek/star wars/heavy metal fans.

Im hoping the people of my age NOW are going to be different & obviously more mature so i can get back into things :)

[Chaos Lord]

funny because most of the guys who run my local GW are goth's not geeks and some of my friends who play the game are some of the most popular kids in their school, we often go down there to play, laugh at each others terrible painting, try out new tactics and try to help the beginers a bit...

[Hive]

Yeah thats true, were quite a few goth/heavy metal followers round mine too

[IllustriusChen]

I got into warhammer a few years ago, I went to one gaming afternoon event and was totally put off by the way the shop guys went on,they were all really loud and more or less "geeky" about the thing.

The big problem was the in your face way they tried to get you to do stuff (even when you just want to look at the shelves.) it just seemed really intense. Im not fond of that sort of situation so I just left after that and stuck to playing against my brother.

Also my mates just took the piss out of me non stop for it so I just kept to myself about it and didnt get into the community of it. I really hate that kind of attention. ( being harrassed by people.)

Also its really expensive, which when your 13 (at that time)
is a really tough thing to overcome.

[NightBringer]

personally i love fantasy, i love sci-fi, i love all kinds of music (except rap) i love the warhammer universe, i love RTS games.

basically i lvoe everything and anythign todo with it, and i dont care if people call me geeky, thats what i like and if people dont like it they can go FCUK themselves for all i care. theres nothign wrong with getting serious about your hobby, even if it is something that is completely fictional, to me it jsut proves you have a passion about what you do, like hardcore footyfans have bedspreads, curtains, wallpaper, posters and all that shit, they have a passion and so do i.

when i went inot GW when i started i was so relived that the staff members were so into the game that they roleplayed with gamers in tutorial games. but when i went back after not playing a while, they had new staff who really didn't care about the game, or the interesting conversions/rules people had invented/made. and i was so pissed off i walked out.

society is like skool, its "clicky" by that i mean there are groups who like one thing, groups that liek another etc, and they all diss each other coz they dont have the same interest. and if people are pathetic enough to diss others, or if people are actually bothered enough to care what others say, then you both have problems.

geeks, jocks, stoners, townies, skaters, goths... guess how many of those groups i belong to. nearly all of them (except townies) but other people only put me in one of them.

so all i can say now is:

IF YOU LIKE SOMETHING, DO IT and stop giving a shit if people object to it or tell you its "geeky", fuck them!

[Drunk-Spleen]

yeah, im in a similar situation, ive dropped into my local GW store for a game before and everyone there was either really loud and obnoxious or geeky (its the easiest way to explain it) and pedantic about everything. the biggest examples of this i had was this one guy i was allied with (it was like a 4v4 game i was in) was playing eldar and decided that the eldar were just double crossing our side half way into the game (at which point we were behind) and began rampaging through our own lines killing everything, this just really pissed me off because he didnt want to lose so ruined the game for 3 of us. Another example was this one guy who had to explain everything, often demonstrating by doing it himself he would say things like 'so the railgun hits my commander and hes all like' *pretends to be hit by a railgun* 'man imagine how bad that would hurt, well probably not much because its a hypervelocity bullet going at like mach 5 or something'

This really made me fall into an exclusive gaming group by which i mean Me, My brother, My friend, My friend's brother, and my friend's brother's friends. and while its fun when we get in a game or two, its a bit of a problem because you know everyones army, i know that if im playing one person he will be iron warriors and will camp his whole army around his basilisk. i know that if im playing another he will be biel tan but will be mainly striking scorpions and banshees so i just need a strong firebase. it gets repetetive and while i would like to game with some new people i just dont want to have more experiences like my previous ones.

Edit:: i forgot to mention that some people just totally ignore the rules, for example, someone wanted to play me with 6 wraithlords and nothing else, i said what about the force organisation chart, to which he replied, 'well maybe GW should have thought of my 6 wraithlords before making it' (he wasnt using a iyanden ghost world army either)

[NightBringer]

Edit:: i forgot to mention that some people just totally ignore the rules, for example, someone wanted to play me with 6 wraithlords and nothing else, i said what about the force organisation chart, to which he replied, 'well maybe GW should have thought of my 6 wraithlords before making it' (he wasnt using a iyanden ghost world army either)


those were the days... wheni'd go into GW and play 40k and all you did was put what u wanted to use on the table then the staff in charge would point to what you ahd to take off.

now i go in and its jaut all 1v1 games of pointed battles (which to me is crap, i dont care about point values)

[Lord Maugan Ra]

personally i love fantasy, i love sci-fi, i love all kinds of music (except rap) i love the warhammer universe, i love RTS games.

basically i lvoe everything and anythign todo with it, and i dont care if people call me geeky, thats what i like and if people dont like it they can go FCUK themselves for all i care. theres nothign wrong with getting serious about your hobby, even if it is something that is completely fictional, to me it jsut proves you have a passion about what you do, like hardcore footyfans have bedspreads, curtains, wallpaper, posters and all that shit, they have a passion and so do i.

when i went inot GW when i started i was so relived that the staff members were so into the game that they roleplayed with gamers in tutorial games. but when i went back after not playing a while, they had new staff who really didn't care about the game, or the interesting conversions/rules people had invented/made. and i was so pissed off i walked out.

society is like skool, its "clicky" by that i mean there are groups who like one thing, groups that liek another etc, and they all diss each other coz they dont have the same interest. and if people are pathetic enough to diss others, or if people are actually bothered enough to care what others say, then you both have problems.

geeks, jocks, stoners, townies, skaters, goths... guess how many of those groups i belong to. nearly all of them (except townies) but other people only put me in one of them.

so all i can say now is:

IF YOU LIKE SOMETHING, DO IT and stop giving a shit if people object to it or tell you its "geeky", fuck them!


:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[NightBringer]

i thank you :D

[Fat Bhoy Tim]

Without reading this thread, sorry lads ;)

I feel the same way as the topic starter, I always had that problem except when i lived in the Middle East (93-01). Whilst i was there i played with a lot of non-geeky people, but back in the UK it's hard to find people that aren't.

As he said, neither of us is painting anyone with a wide brush but it seems to a be trend. But then as I'm not a normal sci-fi/fantasy fan etc I always found it hard to fit in. I just got into 40k as i liked Space Crusade/Hero Quest and Space Hulk on the pc.

[Ruskins]

whats the difference between a guy with a Trek shirt on and a guy with a football shirt on ?

nothing.


well the guy with the trek shirt will probibly have paler skin.

[CobraCommander]

the guy in the startrek shirt will be assumed to watch tv and movies all day while the guy in the jersey (assuming he insnt a lard-ass) will be assumed to play or follow sports.

look, its ok for people to like startrek, sports, 40k, etc, as long as you dont obsess over it and let it control your life... unless you get paid for it (like being an artist, announcer, etc)

[mpjesse363]

i think i can simplify this

it is not geeky to play watch do anything

it is geeky
to sit in a room all day on your butt obssessing over anything weather it be sports star trek or warhammer.

your skin gets pale, your gut covers your belt all the way around you dont shower you fantasize about cartoon pr0n,
your goal in life is to see every secret in x video game,or you see warhammer as a way of existance not a game that is just cool.

note:above does not apply to people that own work in or profit from any of the above listed items or there retailers.

warhammer is a cool game lots of fun. to some people other things are fun but you gotta do other stuff like exersize every so often so you dont get out of breath walking around the game table thats geeky

[CobraCommander]

amen.

[NjalStormcall]

GEEK AND PROUD OF IT.

Honestly, I could care less about what tags people title upon me because I appreciate the good background and storyline to Warhammer40k. And as far as "geeky" things, wargaming is easily extremely social.

So if anyone complains about a geek, I'll just tell them:

GEEK AND PROUD OF IT.

[CobraCommander]

wargaming is easily extremely social.

i know. some of my friends bug me about playing 40k, but then i remind them about how im socializing and interact with humans while they are playing madden by themselves on ps2. "MAN! you see that pass?..... oh wait..."

[Estocade]

the guy in the startrek shirt will be assumed to watch tv and movies all day while the guy in the jersey (assuming he insnt a lard-ass) will be assumed to play or follow sports.

look, its ok for people to like startrek, sports, 40k, etc, as long as you dont obsess over it and let it control your life... unless you get paid for it (like being an artist, announcer, etc)

I agree with CobraKommander and MPJesse :beer:

[Crested_Ones]

The big problem was the in your face way they tried to get you to do stuff (even when you just want to look at the shelves.) it just seemed really intense. Im not fond of that sort of situation so I just left after that and stuck to playing against my brother.

Aye! Aye! I hear ya man... I just wanna browse and do my own thing, I KNOW where the paints are geez...

Yeah, I'm nothing like the avg. 40k gamer so I pretty much keep the hobby to myself and my brothers (who dont collect, call me a black sheep if you will :duck: ), I'm satisfied painting and making scenery myself, eventually building several armies so I can just face my buddies (who are interested but put it off due to price).

[Drunk-Spleen]

yeah, ive got a local game shop and it isnt a GW one, but still stocks all the GW stuff, its so much nicer to be in, theres generally one guy working there at a time and half the time they are not really working, they are painting thier own minis, and $hit like that, you can just look around but if you want they dont mind talking to you about what specific sub-army lists restrict and the like, its good to be in. but you go to the GW shops and they always seem to be screaming and yelling and telling you to collect what they do cause thats what gets em off

[Thanos]

I agree with a lot of the things that have already been said.

I feel extremely uncomfortable going into games workshop. The only GW game I played to any length or detail was blood bowl. I feel totally unable to penetrate the exclusivity of the 'fan-boy' worshippers of warhammer 40k.

I love the imagery and the idea of the game, the detail of the units. A lot of work has gone into this game over the years, which is reflected in the cost, but how can somebody like myself hope to learn how to play this game to any standard when I don't necessarily fulfill the stereotypes of the 'generic' player?

I find it hard to get served at most GWs as the shop workers are too busy whupping some 10 year old kid on warhammer.

I don't believe that the stigma that surrounds the game should actually put anybody off. At the end of the day, we only have 80 odd years on this ball of mud, and i dont intend to spend that time worrying what a few trendies or chavs think about me.

Id rather collect models than trainers.

[Lord Maugan Ra]

but you go to the GW shops and they always seem to be screaming and yelling and telling you to collect what they do cause thats what gets em off
:agree: :agree: :agree: :agree: :agree:

[Deathwing]

I just started a Dark Angels army after years of playing Space Crusade. In this time, while playing Space Crusade, I read a lot about the WH40K universe and got into the background.

I've convinced a friend of mine to start an army by himself and he agreed. So I got the rulebook, studied it and we played a game just for trying. Now I'm telling him about the background, but he is too lazy to decide for an army.

But there is no one else I know who plays WH40K. When I went into a Games workshop i saw the employees painting their models or beating up kids on their terrains.
Plus, they seem to be some kind of snobs. ( "I am a games workshop employee! I know the rules! On your knees, customer scum!" ) <- Sorry, not interested in this sort of gaming.

Everyone else says about WH40K, that it is for children only and that I should grow up. They see only the models and not the strategy behind it. Although they are playing these kind of games on their comuters. Fools !!

So I guess I have to wait for my lazy friend. Then gaming will be fun again.

[NightBringer]

warhammer is jsut for kids huh? if thats the case then why do you have to be 8 before you can even buy/ paint the models, and 14 to be able to play in a GW store (or at least thats how it was when i started out, and think its the way it should be, thus removing all those annoying little shits who think that jsut becasue they play space marines, no1 can beat them)

[eat pie]

hey, im new to the site, but ya i agree alot of the people that play this game can be assholes/big geeks (not that geeks are jerks or anything but they can just be annoying) but at the same time you can meet alot of nice people. And at the same time i have never had problems with GW employees all the ones i've meet are really good guys. And frankily to anyone who says im a geek because i play this game i say well man guess what well your sitting at home alone, i'm out actually intarcting with other people. And you know what theres nothing i like more then drinking a cold beer on a hot day well playing a good game of 40k (or fantasy for that matter)

[BossThraka]

Gotta agree with the Pie man. Booze and 40k make for interesting strategies too. hehe.

[eat pie]

ha ya (ever tried it stoned?)

[BossThraka]

Can't say that I have. I don't do that personally but that doesn't stop my friend. Either way, it's a good time at the table.

[eat pie]

oh ya with my post about the GW being fine it might be because the GW i go to is a battle bunker store so gets alot more advantages over mall stores (which depending on the store are somtimes overworked) the store i go to has cool campigns and alot of extra models and stuff (also because its right beside the Canada HQ)

[Ulrik]

When I started gaming back in 1996 it was the same way. A group of elitist Games Workshop employees at a GW store in Fairfax VA, that kind of scared off potential clientelle. It didn't help the IMAGE of the store that the Store Manager Sean Forbes (now on the GW Mail Order Team) was pushing to have more kids join in. While it was good in business practice for GW, it pushed the adult business away because the store was full of yuppie parents and pre-teen -14 year old kids. Hopefully they stayed with the hobby but man it sucked, no more store visits. (The store closed btw)

I don't consider myself 100% geek like my brother heh, but hey Im a computer contractor who likes war strategy and outdoor sports. (like hunting.. fishing.. hiking..) I don't fit the GW customer mold it seems which is what the original poster was talking about I think. But in the end at my age now, 25, I don't think I'd care much who's in the store. Now its about challenge, if I don't like them all the better. Thats the sports side of me coming out, crush your enemies!

[FeloniousPunk]

The GW employees who come visiting in the Battlewagon peddling Bitz seem to be much better behaved.

[mpjesse363]

im in the process of opening a rogue trader store with a veterans loan i recently got. and to tell you the truth i have experianced the gw pressures so when i do finally open doors i hope to have a staff that is well versed but not pushy and an atmosphere that is comfortable for anyone because unlike the gw train of thought
i feel that the target audiance for gw games is not 12-14 its more like 18 -25
that means we are all adults and should be treated as such

[Dimension]

so how would i get rebate from you? :D

[mpjesse363]

lol well i do need a new computer.......lol

but in all seriouness gw automatically marks up there products 40% or more so i intend to sell most of the minis i will have at 20% off still allowing me to make a 20% profit of course this does not apply to certan minis that are ltd ed or extreamly low priced minis but i think that the result of me doing this will enhance my clientel.....

now i just gotta finish my buisness plan and get a location

[eat pie]

i donno it seems that most of you live in the states(i have nothing against you but this might just be whats happening) im in Canada and EVERY single GW ive been to all of there staff have been welcoming they'll leave you alone if you want to be left alone, they'll answer all your questions, and there not some guys that sit around thinking abouw the game all day, if you go in and talk to them about politics or movies are almost anything then most of them will be happy to talk to you about those issues. I have never had any problems with the GW staff.

[Dimension]

well, canadians ARE happier people by and large than their southern cousins. its like all scandinavians who enjoy a good time left for canada so as not to have to endure their depressed kin back on the continent. finland has like the second highest suicide rate in the world, right?

anyways, in my perception, people that play here are those with a decently paying job (or decent pocket-money) and a daily schedule that is not cluttered up. most people i know who play warhammer started at age 17 or so (pocket money raise), then carry it on till they're in their mid-late twenties and get tied up in their job and start a family.

however, i don't actually know many 40K players (and of those, only one lives close to me), so my perception may be skewed.

[Hellscream]

lol i havent been in any GW shops, but as for gaming shops, eat pie is correct. They leave you alone if you want to be left alone. (Electronic Boutiques are the exception)

Dimension: I think is has to do with us drinking beer, eating donuts, and playing HOCKEY!!!! all the time :)

[Jono]

Damn, I can't believe I bothered reading this whole thread....

Anyways I am geek when it comes to comes to computers and stuff but I don't get all worked up about 40K and neither do any of the guys I play against. We are pretty good to new players and will accept any one (Although it does look a little odd when you see a hard out Punk plying 40K). When I play I am there to have a good time and so is everybody else. Starwars and Star Trek don't come up very often (But DoW certianly does), we just talk about whatever.

I do get hassled a bit by some of my friends but they are usually geeker than me (Magic the Gathering is worse than 40K imho), and even they are mostly only put off by the cost.

Any of the GW stores I have been to here in New Zealand have been busy but the staff are fine and arn't pushy.

As for those who don't have a group to play with try running some demo games for your friends. Thats how I got hooked. We went from 1 guy with a few armys to 16+ players with their own armys with a year.

btw we range in age from 19 to about 35.

[eat pie]

ya i dunno i guess the pushy staff must be an amercian oddity (no offence meant) its just i feel in the states most companies are more about getting people to buy their product (and then dont care what you do) but i feel in Canada sure they want you to buy their stuff but if you dont want to its not like there gonna treat you like shit then.

[Ulrik]

In defense of the american stores, specifically my singling out one store, the staff wasn't too bad. For a long time you could sit around the store and learn to paint or watch the scenery guy do his thing. Learn and talk, etc. When the marketing shift went from adults to kids is when it went down hill. Then you couldn't hang around the store (because now you don't want kids with NO MONEY looking at these easily concealable blister packs. Theft) so everything suffered in the end. The shift simply backfired and they're out of business for it. There are other stores in the region that are still open thought.

MPJesse I wish you were in Charles TOWN not charleston, I live 30 minutes from Charles Town. Good luck with your venture. Oh and as I'm sure you've been told, DIVERSIFY!

[NightBringer]

For a long time you could sit around the store and learn to paint or watch the scenery guy do his thing. Learn and talk, etc. When the marketing shift went from adults to kids is when it went down hill. Then you couldn't hang around the store (because now you don't want kids with NO MONEY looking at these easily concealable blister packs. Theft) so everything suffered in the end!


that is exactly what happened over here int he uk... well southampton store specifically... except without the kicking you out if you hang around bit... when i started playing the staff were really into the game and really friendly, they looked at your conversions, gave you tips on rules etc (notble example was my m8s tangerine marine chapter master, who had wings) they'd have a laugh, then at 10am and 2pm, they gather anyone who wanted tp play, around the table and gamed, and got involved and everything.

then when they changed everything, and started focusing on sales, and the younger audience, the new staff they hired, most of them were real arseholes, one i even made a petition to gt him fired (:evil:). so i jsut quit the hobby. i came back and they did't care, they were still arseholes, but now when i go in, they are friendlier, but if you want to come in and do some painting, you can jsut go in, you have to reserve a seat on a certain day.

and the tutorial games,a ren't jsut games anymore, they are courses where you learn to play, learning all the rules etc, but you cant jsut join it anytime, you have to start fomr the beginning with everyone or wait til the next course (like some kind of school). and the normal games, its all pointed battles and 1v1 games, no huge games with like 8 players a side :(

[BrianGeneral]

I think GW should decrease the prices of their products in order to attract more people to play......Toooooo expensive even in Hong Kong:p

[Hive]

Im happy with my store so far. They have been friendly and helpful. They hold:

Mondays - Over 16 ONLY beginners nights (tuition battles)
Tuesdays - Over 16 ONLY battles

Excellent! Wont go to any of the other stuff as i can stand kids ;)

[NightBringer]

I think GW should decrease the prices of their products in order to attract more people to play......Toooooo expensive even in Hong Kong:p


sure if you want to go back to having the 2nd edition space marines and orks models

[mpjesse363]

see we had a gw store in kenova w.v. not far from where i live that went out during the marketing shift a few years back.

that specific reason is why i dont want a gw franchise store but want to just buy product from gw and resell as a rogue trader. from a gamers point of view i would want a one stop place so i intend to sell console and computer games the whole gw line maybe not lord of the rings and a few tcg's i also plan on carrying the major rpgs
and inquisitor.

plus you gotta have a food area man tt munchies=$$$$
but the staff i hire and i already have 2 in mind will first have a good background in computers and video games and then be casual wh40k players i dont want my staff to be anything more than a gameing buddy to the people comeing in.

[eat pie]

ya this marketing shift you all talk about, Canada may have been told to do it but i dont think it happened(there are alot of kids that come to my store but the staff perfer the vetrans that arnt annoying little kids that say they cant be beat because they CHEAT) sure they're happy when some kid comes in and buys a bunch if stuff but thats because it makes the HQ nextdoor think that there actually focusing on the kids. Honestly the GW staff where i am are ALL great guys if you need a ride home when the store closes they'll give you one. :bandit:

[Lord Maugan Ra]

i can stand kids ;)
dont you mean cant stand

well i cant really stand them either

[Hive]

I stand corrected :bow: