Wednesday Game Night: A Tale of Learning

This is Kent: Beautful! ... but rural

So this past summer I moved from my comfortable existence in Waltham, MA to Kent, CT.  If you are not aware, Kent is pretty much the middle of nowhere.  Don't get me wrong!  It's a great community and the school is wonderful, but it has severely limited my gaming experiences as I no longer can drive out the the LGS to play some games.  One of the big "cons" to moving out here was the fact that I would likely be too far away from a good game store and I would be left with no way of dealing with my stress.  I. Need. To.  GAME!  What was I ever going to do!?


I was fortunate enough during one of my first parties with my new colleagues to discover that one of my peers was actually a "beer and pretzels" gamer.  Turns out he really enjoyed board games.  We did the whole "What kind of geek are you" dance, careful not to reveal the full extent of our nerdiness.  I decided to go for it.  "I play miniatures games, like Warhammer 40k," I excitedly uttered.

He had no idea what I was talking about.

*sigh*

Awesome fun card game!

At least he liked board games!  We talked more and discovered a common interest: Race for the Galaxy!  Awesome!  We played some games and since the start of school have sorta set up Wednesday nights as our Game Night.  I taught him how to play Ascension and he taught me how to play some other card games.  One night, he finally asked, "So what is Warmachine anyway?"  I had mentioned the game to him before, as subtly as possible, without seeming pushy.  Well, off we went!  I chatted up about the universe, the story, the nations/races involved, and how the game played.

Fortunately, I have my own Warmachine table now!  Sure enough, the next time he came over, he wondered if we could play a game.  I was more than happy to oblige!  Over the last couple of weeks we've played small games, usually battlebox-sized.  I discovered that, although I had only ever purchased one battlebox (when PP had that great deal over the summer), I actually had the models for a couple of the battleboxes.  He has been playing with the Cygnar box, which consists of:


Stryker1 (+6)
-Ironclad (7)
-Charger (4)
-Lancer (6)

We have only played a few games up until this point, but so far I feel pretty bad.  I'm not playing particularly hard, but I'm also not throwing the games - it's not really in the spirit of Page 5.  I'm trying to help him develop a better sense of the game and the tactics but it has been challenging with Stryker, who seems to be such a toolbox that he does not have much of a win condition.  I have played with the Circle and Legion starter boxes, and last time I even tried a Baldur list at about the same points, with a Woldwarden and a Woldguardian.  Each time, he struggles to keep his stuff alive and/or kill stuff of mine.  His most successful attempt was playing against the Legion battlebox, but in the end, Lylith's bow was too much for him.

I feel bad that he hasn't had much luck, but I think that this time I will try handing the reigns over to him, and I will try my hand with Stryker.  Maybe that will get him a little more excited about the game.  I also feel bad because the only factions I have are ones which I enjoy playing.  I emphasized last time that there are over 100 different casters in the game, so there is bound to be someone out there who better fits your own playstyle.  It would be really great to have someone on-campus who plays Warmachine as much as I do, and I don't want to discourage him when I only have so many casters.

I have since decided to purchase the Two-Player Battle Box.  This way, I will have a greater variety of models to present, as well as some different playstyles.  Plus, it's a pretty awesome deal!  I don't have any qualms about ordering products online anymore because I don't really have a LGS that I regularly visit, so I was able to pick it up for $75.  $75!!!  That's barely a little more than a brand new video game!  The Menoth forces are: Kreoss, Vanquisher, Crusader, Repenter, Cinerators (full) and the Khador forces get: Sorscha, Juggernaut, Destroyer, Wan-o-war Shocktroopers (full).  Pretty sweet!  Can't wait for it to come in!

THIS IS GONNA BE SWEEEEEEEEEET!!