In less than 48 hours new Space Marine Codex is going to arrive and bring its joy to the new and old fans of Warhammer 40k. Excited, yeah? By this moment in time I've spent more hours than I'd expect doing this hobby, and less hours than it is reasonable for any mundane folk with wife, kids and mortgage. (unless they are hooked on this as well). Though people who build Games Workshop's marketing strategy probably knew what they would do to the lives of their customers, we poor geeks can seen only the shiny side of this (more new shiny things, cool heroes, grand games and conversation in circle of friends).
So how does Path of the Gamer looks from the receiving end of the bolter?
Phase 1: The Cool stuff.
Yep. The stuff you buy is cool. It makes you feel great, its new, its exciting and nice guy in blue (or black) T-shirt have gave you enough time to praise your painting skills. In fact you never knew you could paint at all, before that. Each of minis give you a personal attachment, as you practise your painting and stories of Heroes battles ring as promise of great victories for you, personally.
This stage lasts from 2 days to couple of months, depending on temperament and surrounding. There are other forms of entertainment, which are more brain damaging but less demanding in terms of time, money and dedication.
Phase 2: Tip of the curve
Oh yeah! You made it to your first big victory over another fella who had even less knowledge of the game than you. Your victorious army is still half painted but somehow after all this dice rolling and pushing models over the table something happend, and you won. Rejoice!
The greatest danger of this stage is meeting the Professional (see below), who plays not only game,
but who understands the game and can play your psyche for his benefit as well as executing battle plan. Result of this meeting could be quite demoralising, as opponent will mop the floor with your battle plan, laugh over army tactics and shovel your pride up your gaming bridge. Those who survive that, and still able to paint, buy and play may proceed to next phase.
Phase 3: Revelation
The rules start to make sense, numbers gain meaning and in debate over which unit is "cheesier" you can add your profound opinion. Models become just another one to paint and put in a box, but perception of the game itself changes into strategy and dice luck. What unit to choose as damage dealer, which relic or upgrade works better and how to write a winning army list. Some even go further and attempt to criticise authors of the rule book, on a basis that player knows better.
To drop out of hobby on this stage is difficult, but not impossible. Life commitments like work or personal life are among prime suspects. Even so, the wargaming virus has been planted deep and have left significant effect in terms of social life and mental ability to categorize and analyse combinations of probabilities and options. Useful life skill if it ever gets a chance to be used in real life. Taking decision in the heat of battle is probably useful as well.
Phase 4: New shores
After a while (in some cases couple of armies and hundreds of £ later), Gamer is going for something new and even more shiny. Great! Now he has got experience, he can compare, he knows how to spend money and leave toys unpainted for many months to come. The game system is much easier to understand, especially if new shore is just a different army of the same game. This is the time when Gamer finally enjoys himself as he is just playing it, the biggest difficulty here is an opponent. If opponent is as good as you then it all comes to dice luck. If opponent is even better than you, that's where dirty tricks are coming into a play with full swing. (it's not like you didn't do that before, of coarse)
Dropping out of the habit on this stage is plausible to lack of challenge (you know game system far too well) or opponents (nobody want to play with you). All usual suspects are still here: women, booze, work, money, not bothered anymore.
Phase 5: The Professional
You are cool. You can teach the game to those youngsters who just got their first box. Or you can finally satisfy your Dark side and beat the crap of everyone who fields the army on the table. You can quickly adjust to any new rule set, codex or update. Your army is painted to perfection, you dice love you and there few people on the planet who dare to challenge you. Wargaming is not a profession, pastime or a lifestyle - it is a part of your body.
When you ascended on this Path so far, you may stop playing the game anytime you want. The problem is you don't want to.
Sincerely yours,
Mark-Paul Severn
on the eve of 7th Space Marine Codex arrival
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