In my experience most new players are like kids in a candy store when it comes to their models.
While a select few will get an immediate grasp of the rules to a degree that they can pick their models solely based on performance and synergy a lot of new players pick their models based on taste and visual aspect.
Gentle reader,
Allow me to share a recent experience that occurred in the slowly growing Warmachine and Hordes area where I live. About 1.5 years ago Warmachine and Hordes were almost unknown here. Now there is a slowy growing group, and they were looking for a taste of competitiveness. Denying them this would only result in a posse coming to my home so I took the hint, and got to work.
Last week I organized a small tournament for the local players who, up until now, only played casual games. Most players heard about the different style of Warmachine and Hordes tournaments but since many of them are quite a bit away and looked intimidating in size nobody but myself frequented them.
So after negotiating with the local gaming club on a date and the use of their equipment I had 6-8 players willing to give it a try. The format was a 15pts Mangled Metal/Tooth & Claw , 4 rounds and Caster kill/ wiping out the battle group as victory conditions.
It was an enjoyable day and it was fun to see ppl deal with situations they had not encountered before as well as armies they had not faced or not frequently encountered before.
Now as much as I enjoy glorifying my efforts, TLC is about experiences and understanding new players, and seeing, or helping them grow.
So let me share my observations from the day with you. Read the rest of this entry »
Hello everyone! Welcome to the latest installment of The Learning Curve.
People arrive at the Warmachine and Hordes game systems in many different ways. Some of them are brand-new; they just caught a glimpse of the models and finally passed through the threshold to start their first miniatures game. Others have several years of experience under their belt and have tried many other games before they turned their attention to something new, or just something in addition to their normal gaming menu.
Whatever brought them over to this game system – they all have one thing in common to get past; The Rules.
Learning a new rule system can be a daunting prospect. After all, they contain a large amount of information that needs to be processed.
Players new to the game and inexperienced at wargames tend to be intimidated at first. They have to learn new concepts for moving pieces/models, get a feel for judging distance, and they have to get used to a number of other concepts related to wargaming.
Experienced players face another challenge.
They arrive with a certain “baggage of rules” that is lodged in their mindset. This, of course, comes from previous experiences they have had with other game systems. They have a certain ease with which they pick up the rules, but they are likely to assume they know or understand a certain rule before they actually arrive at a ‘true’ understanding of it. The new game may have a familiar feel, and it’s easy to assume that a rule just works the way they think. This is true, especially if they come from another game that has similarities in the rules or rules system.
Of course players are more complex and diverse than what I just described, but many , if not all of us, will find a little of ourselves in the above.
Welcome to the word of tomorrow!.
And with that reference to Futurama out of the way I indeed wish you all a good day and welcome you to my article series.
What is this all about, you must be asking yourself?
Well let me introduce myself and make my goal clear as day.
I’m called Search by most people who know me and for the last 2 years I have been the local Pressganger of a coastal town in rainy Belgium.
In that time I have, as a Pressganger should, introduced people to Warmachine and Hordes and watched them grow in experience and discover many aspects of the game which we all enjoy.
That bring us to The Learning Curve. I’m here to share experiences with you all.
Read the rest of this entry »
