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it definitely has to be the background of the universe. Many people overlook it, but I honestly think 40k has one of the best and most detailed sci-fi universes of all time. The fact that no collecter's army or collection needs to be the same as the next, and how you can find a whole article about the types of shells that a boltgun fires really testifies how good it all is.

I also massively enjoy the models; I genuinely think that GW makes some fantastic miniatures, and they are an absolute joy to paint. And coming from a player who has to paint dozens of Guard minis, that's saying something

I think it's a shame the game lets all of this down, but I often find a way around it. And even if I quit playing, I would never dump my collection.

G.A

Definitely the fluff and the overall look for me. No other universe do I love as much as 40k, and talking about fluff and building and playing with a fluff based army is super fun. Even when the game mechanics and balance make me mad, I always come back because of the awesome universe

The general look is pretty awesome too, being a huge fan of the gothic architecture and look, and most of the models look absolutely stunning as well

The biggest pro of 40k is its crazy value for money.

I buy a model (or box thereof) for, say, $50. Then I go home and assemble and convert it, say for an hour or two. Then I paint it, once again for a few more hours. Then it gets included in many games over many years for several more hours a pop. And it strengthens my connection to other things, like the fluff I read, the armylists I make, and my time on dakka. Put it all together, and that $50 gets me hundreds of hours of entertainment. I'd like to see movie tickets or alcohol come anywhere close.

But, as mentioned, that's for mini wargames in general. True, but 40k does this even moreso. 40k has a large community, which means I get more value from easier to find games, and a larger, more diverse group of people to talk to on the internet. 40k has a lot more minis that they offer, and a LOT more written content, which means there's more stuff to enjoy and talk about - it's just a lot more developed. It also has an amazing contiguity. If I bought confrontation or AT43 or heroclix, or any of a very, very long list of failed game companies, then purchases I made years ago would no longer give me value, unlike 40k, which keeps chugging along.

The cost-per-content over time is very favorable for 40k compared to everything else. As other games start providing more content, and show that they can last for longer than 5 or 10 years, then 40k will start having some serious competition, I'm sure, but 40ks' competitive advantage is pretty well entrenched for a reason.

Doesn't warmachine exist for more then 5 years?

Privateer press was founded in 2000.

Don't know when the game was first launched.

i bought my first Warmachine minis in 2003, so the game would have launched around that time, as pretty much only the starter boxes were available when i first saw them in the stores...
so, yeah, over 10 years ago now...
maybe even 12...

of course, i've been collecting Space Marines for almost 30 years now, so that is some serious longevity...
i still enjoy the 40K universe as much now as i did when i first cracked open the Rogue Trader book, all those years ago...

the Horus Heresy stuff has made it all seem fresh and new again, too, which is awesome...
i can see myself having enough dream painting projects to last me the rest of my life...

cheers
jah

I've always loved 40k for its fluff. I love many of the models. It's great that 40k is so widespread and you always find people in new areas who will play 40k. Hell, due to the computer games there are many people who are interested in playing.

I played a lot of other wargames in all the years and 40k just is the best total package for me.

Great universe and background, nice models with lots of options for modeling, and a fun game. Huge community that generates tons of content daily.

Customisable models with lots of extra bits to make them really unique are a huge plus. That´s pretty much the main issue I miss in other games.

I really like the variety offered. Even the Space Marine big chapters (BA, DA, SW) are very distinct from each other, let alone all the other armies you can choose from. There are so many options to choose from for armies. Yes, you might not always have the most competitive army, but damnit, you sure as heck can make it unique before you even apply your first coat of paint.

And seriously, Space Egyptian Doom Robots, anime fan Mecha Space Communists, Fungus Physics-screwing Soccer Hooligans, Space Elves, Dominatrix Space Elves, and Nuns with guns!

The fluff man, without a doubt. No IP ever even comes close to being as alternately hilarious and brutal as 40k does. I love it. It's pretty much the only thing keepin me in this game

 casvalremdeikun wrote:
And seriously, Space Egyptian Doom Robots, anime fan Mecha Space Communists, Fungus Physics-screwing Soccer Hooligans, Space Elves, Dominatrix Space Elves, and Nuns with guns!

The models as a whole are second to none.

The weapons are the best of any miniature -- for example, I love Privateer Press models, but their scifi weapons look so dinky compared to Citadel models.

There are some fantastic vehicles, like Ravager/Raider, which are inexpensive relative to their complexity. There are some incredible large monster models, but though these are more WHFB than 40k (like the new Glotkin). Who doesn't like Ven Dred though?

The universe and fluff is compelling.

Availability is generally good in most major cities in North America.

MPP miniatures are just great for modelling! As much as I miss metal miniatures, being able to pose and kitbash is fantastic. For example, every Borka or Bradicus (PP) will look the same, whereas virtually every non snapfit model can be built into a number of options (like weapons and heads) and many, many poses.

I love the extra parts you get out of sprues!!

The thing I like most about 40k is the Variable fluff. I can read something and say "that's awesome, I want to build an army around that!" or I can say "that's stupid, I'll ignore that" and I could be correct either way for the most part. For instance, I see the fluff behind space marines and they way they speak annoys me to no end. It's so dramatic it's like a terrible movie. I just imagine that anyone who meets a space marine probably feels the same way after not too long, but hey when the guy is 600 pounds heavier and 3 feet taller you should probably just keep saying "yes milord". Whenever I hear about a battle where space marines come to save an imperial guard force I just imagine the imperial guard commander saying "oh...great...."

I love that one person can model their orks as bloodthirsty savages and someone else can model them as idiots enjoying their version of valhalla.

I love that the fluff talks about a whole planet being wiped out in a day or 50% of a population being drafted but at the same time I can't help but wonder "so who makes the toasters and what does that guy/gal have to deal with each day?"

The fluff is huge, but it leaves so much open to take and leave whatever you want.

Couple this with the vast selection of models for each faction and the different poses they have. It's relatively easy to say "I like this about tau but not this part" and you can do that, model-wise.

I also like that I can make a small army of 500 points that actually looks like an army, or I can make an army of 5000 points and play huge battles.

The Fluff - just love it
The artwork
Much of the BL novels
Most of the People I play against

Background is amazing, but the thing that sets 40k apart is the ability to invent your own background/fluff/scheme/chapter. That's the reason I can't get into other games e.g. LOTR. There's a guy with dub step tau with a topless female tau in a hot tub and who's to say he's wrong?

 tyrannosaurus wrote:
Background is amazing, but the thing that sets 40k apart is the ability to invent your own background/fluff/scheme/chapter. That's the reason I can't get into other games e.g. LOTR. There's a guy with dub step tau with a topless female tau in a hot tub and who's to say he's wrong?

Yeah, this is a very big selling point. The vastness of the background coupled with the fact that GW has never tried to nail down the universe to any rules has allowed for some insane creations. Even in WHFB, the realms and rules of the universe are rather set, so the ability to "go nuts" isn't there as much.

I enjoy the setting, the aesthetics, the models, building 40K themed terrain, and playing the game.

While there may be similar games to 40K, and I've played a few, none have the sheer number of armies and models available the 40K has

Yeah, it's a lot easier to have the planet of hats effect when they're literally separate planets.

Great response guys. It s great to see two pages (so far) of people who obvisly realy enjoy it.

It seems we all love the universe 40k is set in along with art work and creavtivity that goes into making it.

Its interesting to see people say its value for money too, when you consider just how much use you'll get out of the kits. It did make me think oh yea, my other main hobbies are rock climbing and mountain biking. These are so far from cheap!

The interesting background.

The aesthetic of the model designs.

The 'Eavy Metal painting guides.

The ease of finding other players compared with other wargames.

I like this thread!

40k is the best wargame for the following reasons:


It has the best models
It has the best story
And is the most fun and scenic to play.

It's that simple!

 Ailaros wrote:

The cost-per-content over time is very favorable for 40k compared to everything else. As other games start providing more content, and show that they can last for longer than 5 or 10 years, then 40k will start having some serious competition, I'm sure, but 40ks' competitive advantage is pretty well entrenched for a reason.

I had a similar revelation when 7th came out and I was arguing with a gaming mate about the cost of the Hardcover rulebook. $85 over the course of the next couple of years I'll get use out of it is less than a $1 a week. We were both paying $15 a month for MMORPGS, that when they were closed, left us with nothing but fond memories. We've been raiding our closets and attics for buried treasures and unearthed 40K models from all the way back to the RT Era. Fond memories and models to boot, conveneinetly with a game that lets us get use out of them.

But 6th edition 40k only lasted less than two years.

And when Battlefront upgraded their 2nd ed rules for F.O.W. they gave a free upgrade to third edition rules to players with a 2nd full edition rule book.

Like I said higher up in this thread, 40k gives players the same pros as many other games and companies do.However, some other games and companies give far more pro's than GW plc and 40k do.

Firstly, 6th ed was anomalously short. Secondly, if you have the rulebook, you can still play 6th ed 40k. You can't, as mentioned, play a mmorpg whose servers have closed down.

i didn't really specify in my earlier post, but it has always been the art that inspires my painting...
i've always had a thing for Sci-Fi art...
Star Wars was my first inspiration, then came Battletech, then Shadowrun, and finally Rogue Trader and Adeptus Titanicus seemed to turn it all up to 11...
back in the day, 40k was the first setting with art that was completely in-your-face and out-of-control, and yet on a grand scale too...
between the close-up look at the universe in Rogue Trader, and the epic scale of Adeptus Titanicus and Space Marine, i was hooked from day one...
artists like Mark Gibbons, Kev Walker, Paul Bonner, and Stephen Tappin, among others, have really inspired my imagination for three decades...

as for Lanrak's comment about other companies giving you more pro's than GW, that depends entirely on what you are after...
for me it is the art, fiction, and models, and not the ruleset...
the closest thing to the depth of 40K would have to be Battletech...
while i love big stompy Mecha packing big guns, it does not inspire me like 40k...
i've read a Battletech novel or two, but i've collected almost every Black Library book, rulebook, White Dwarf, and codex through every edition of 40k ( and Warhammer) because it inspires me more than any other brand...
a few art pieces from Battletech have been awesome, but nearly every piece of GW art has blown me away...
the same goes for the models, where a few 'Mech minis are cool, i love almost every Space Marine that has been released since the first RT minis...

as for value for the money, i feel i get great value for my money...
i can paint a $20 character model and get $200 for it...
i can sell an unpainted RT marine i bought for $2 for $20...
so, for me, there is great value for the money, especially considering that models i bought 25 years ago have a higher market value today than they did when i bought them...
compare that to my surf boards, which cost between $800 and $1200...
like a car, as soon as i wax up my board and take it out for a surf, it drops by at least half in value...
not only that, but sometimes i break a board on the first wave of the day (or any wave in a session), and there goes $800 out the window...
i drop a mini, and it explodes into five pieces that i can fix, and nobody can tell the difference...
a broken surf board can be repaired, but it is never the same again, and can only be sold for $100-$200...
so, yeah, GW minis have always worked out as a good investment for me...

to keep the comparisons in the realm of minis, people look to spend about a quarter of the price on an Infinity mini painted by me versus the price of a 40K character model, and PP minis only make up about 5% of my commissions versus Space Marines, and i even used to paint for PP...
you think that would bring in more commissions, but people want my Marines...
there is just something about a GW mini's appeal to people that most other companies don't have yet...

cheers
jah

@Ailaros.
How do you know how long any edition of 40k will last?
Can I find out what is happening over the next year on GWs official forums?


Flames of War 2nd ed rules were release in 2006.(£20)
Battlefront updated the rules in 2012,and gave owners of the 2nd edition hard back rule book a free upgrade to 3rd edition.
(The majority of players approved of the changes as they improved game play, or at least understood why the changes were made because Battlefront discussed the changes with players on the official Flames of War forums.)

So £20 for a rule book ,(that has lasted 8 years and still counting), with free to use PDF army lists on the official forums, balanced well defined rules, and excellent tournament /event support.

These are all the EXTRA pros of F.o.W. that I get.(On top of inspiring background,tons of detail and models I find appealing.)

 Accolade wrote:

 tyrannosaurus wrote:
Background is amazing, but the thing that sets 40k apart is the ability to invent your own background/fluff/scheme/chapter. That's the reason I can't get into other games e.g. LOTR. There's a guy with dub step tau with a topless female tau in a hot tub and who's to say he's wrong?

Yeah, this is a very big selling point. The vastness of the background coupled with the fact that GW has never tried to nail down the universe to any rules has allowed for some insane creations. Even in WHFB, the realms and rules of the universe are rather set, so the ability to "go nuts" isn't there as much.

Agreed, for me that might be one of the biggest pros about 40k. The openness.
The models used to be the best but are still dang good. (Especially Nagash...holy gak.)
The fluff is awesome but has become somewhat stagnant. Still good though.

 Godeth wrote:
Hi all,

It seems to me that 40k and GW in general are not well liked on this site at the moment.

It is still well liked. it is only a select few VERY vocal members. Despite, their words to the contrary, they do NOT speak for the majority of us. Most of us simply have them on ignore. So dont feel discouraged.
The fluff and the models that go with it keep me going. I actually like the newer rules that have introduced a greater level of tactics. Not that they are perfect but that they are better than what we had before. It is actually worth it to have a 'gun" now and flyers have added a new level.

i wont go into the company itself because that would not be much positives lol.

I also like the books. So glad they have started doing the horus heresy. My gaming group have been clamboring for that since well, since the horus heresy was concieved and let out to us.

40k PRO: gives me an awesome hobby to build, paint and socialize within. The fluff is awesome too.