Despertaferres

Wargamers: is competition play for you?

It was agreed “ a no-holds barred competition list.”I was in the mood then. Fast forward to the allotted evening and I couldn’t be bothered to figure out an über-cheese list. My lift was outside and I went for what was in the two nearest boxes: Visigoths! So, I duly arrived with three commands of…

redcaer1690
1–2 minutes
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Visigoths triumphant!?

It was agreed “ a no-holds barred competition list.”I was in the mood then. Fast forward to the allotted evening and I couldn’t be bothered to figure out an über-cheese list. My lift was outside and I went for what was in the two nearest boxes: Visigoths!

I felt like Piglet!

So, I duly arrived with three commands of immobile deep warriors and a command of Roman deserters and cavalry. My plan, my only plan, anchor one flank and an echelon attack. Throwing axes 🪓 would win through….. wouldn’t they?

The opposition smell blood!

I had been debating taking part in tournaments again, this game was to decide it. My opponent brought the well used wall of Greek spears and once again he wanted a ridge across the table. Refusing to lend me any terrain, set the tone…

The Visigoths stop at a hillock!
Thankfully my sub commander had three units of horse to hold up Sid’s elite Spartan host on the flank!
Could the warriors break through!???
The allied Greeks head at full speed to outflank my right!
One of my two skirmish units actually clear away the hilltop!
Oh dear, the Visigoth mounted arm race away from the skirmishers!
Outflanked and assailed from the front; ouch!
We switched to “ just go for it” mode! warriors versus Spartan general!
The spaces in the Visigoth line tell the story!
Collapse!

Lessons were learnt! Were the Visigoths a decent choice? Probably not but I do love the period and army. Could I a) devise a strategy and then b) want to repeat it four time in a day of tournament? Again probably not! A ridge of warriors and a flank match/ flanking force would be an option but I do think narrative play is more to my liking.

Magnesia

The Christmas mega game is set to be Magnesia on the 30th December. Do I care who wins or loses? Again probably not but then I have learnt something valuable about which type of game I enjoy. 😉

Lessons were learnt!

14 responses to “Wargamers: is competition play for you?”

  1. John@justneedsvarnish Avatar
    John@justneedsvarnish

    My only contribution to competition play would be to ensure no other competitor came in last! 🙂 So I prefer narrative games where I can justify losing all the time! 😉 That said, I’ve won the last three games I played in, but that means I’m heading for a massive defeat! As long as I enjoy the game, so what!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. redcaer1690 Avatar
      redcaer1690

      Wise words John! The more I think about it, the less inclined to go to tournaments I am! Do you think we should start a league against anything that can be regarded as competitive play!!! We used to regularly run tournaments and the prima Donnas spoilt those!😪

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. John@justneedsvarnish Avatar
        John@justneedsvarnish

        I think as far as prima donnas are concerned, karma always catches up with ’em at some point! I think the best we can do is enjoy the games we play and learn from them. You can at least take quite a bit of pride in having top notch figures in your armies! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. redcaer1690 Avatar
        redcaer1690

        Yep- agreed. Avoid at all cost players are to be avoided! Merry Christmas!!!

        Liked by 1 person

  2. John@justneedsvarnish Avatar
    John@justneedsvarnish

    Yep! And a Merry Christmas to you! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. TinyPaintedHeroes Avatar
    TinyPaintedHeroes

    While I enjoy friendly competition with my buddies, I have never had any burning interest in playing serious competition wargames against total strangers. Just not my thing. I feel some (but by no means ALL) of the people who play in tournaments are win-at-all-cost min-maxers and playing with them is never enjoyable.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. redcaer1690 Avatar
      redcaer1690

      Roger that: as always it’s down to who you play with. List building and terrain maximisation leaves me cold!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  4. Guru PIG Avatar
    Guru PIG

    Great battle report. I use to both play and organise a lot of tournaments. I do neither now. Is it that I am just to old and grumpy? Yaybe! Lack of patience with the unwashed? Definitely! I just couldn’t be f’d about the detail, nit picking and a-holes of tournament play. Just makes a grumpy guru even grumpier!

    These days I prefer narrative games, skirmish action, and fun scenarios. The rules I have been writing of late reflect this.

    In saying this I played in a Bolt Action v3 tournament in Thailand in October, as a mate invited me, and I had a ball. Great guys and despite the language issues (their English was poor and my Thai was even worse). They treated it as an “event” to get together and have fun. The 750pt maximum meant that “cheese” was to expensive to be on the menu and armies that are normally not competitive (like my Dutch East Indies) at the standard 1250pts worked.

    So I guess I will never say never, but I will be choosy.

    Thus endeth the rant!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. redcaer1690 Avatar
      redcaer1690

      Thanks Guru! Not a rant! You were very considered! I agree with you whole- heartedly! Themed tourneys seem an option. I think I’d consider SAGA or tts tourneys again but getting a whole weekend is rare and too be honest six games in two days can be a little too much !
      Look forward to hearing from u again

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Guru PIG Avatar
        Guru PIG

        Thanks, Ihzve been playing “Brethren” a lot lately and am finding it a lot more enjoyable than the Saga battle boards and power creep. If you like Saga you would enjoy Brethren.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. redcaer1690 Avatar
        redcaer1690

        That sounds interesting, I’ll look it up. SAGA really split my club. Half love it and half hate it- a real marmite( Vegemite) game!!!!
        Barons War seems promising!

        Like

      3. Guru PIG Avatar
        Guru PIG

        Saga has really polarised the Melbourne club scene. There are those that love it and those that don’t. The more discerning our club (those that don’t just play GW stuff – the heretics that should be purged!) much prefer Brethren. It has some interesting games mechanics. See the following posts to give you an idea:

        https://gurupig.com/2025/05/30/brethren-skirmish-rules-a-review/

        https://gurupig.com/2025/05/28/brethren-battle-report-4-february-2025/

        https://gurupig.com/2024/12/05/game-of-brethren-3-december-2024/

        https://gurupig.com/2025/01/06/anglo-saxon-army-for-brethren-skirmish-rules/

        They also have a WW2 skirmish set coming out soon:

        https://gurupig.com/2025/01/02/brethren-skirmish-ww2/

        https://gurupig.com/2025/02/15/54mm-ww2-australian-250pt-army-for-brethren/

        There website can be found here:

        https://www.brethrentabletopwargame.com/rules

        Hope this helps.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. redcaer1690 Avatar
        redcaer1690

        I’ll have a look tonight!!! Always good to see the options!

        Like

      5. Guru PIG Avatar
        Guru PIG

        Saga has polarised clubs in Melbourne as well. Saga was never popular in our club, but Brethren has began to gather a following except for those GW heretics of course! I have posted on Brethren a few times that might give you an idea:

        https://gurupig.com/2025/05/30/brethren-skirmish-rules-a-review/

        https://gurupig.com/2025/05/28/brethren-battle-report-4-february-2025/

        https://gurupig.com/2024/12/05/game-of-brethren-3-december-2024/

        https://gurupig.com/2025/01/05/battle-report-for-game-of-brethren-17-dec-2024/

        There are more if you want to search my site.

        They are also developing a WW2 system.

        https://gurupig.com/2025/01/02/brethren-skirmish-ww2/

        There rules and downloads can be found here:

        https://www.brethrentabletopwargame.com/rules

        You will notice they are also developing a campaign system that you can download.

        Hope this helps.

        Liked by 1 person

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