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Warhammer is a nerdy game. I'm sure we all know there's a stereotype associated with wargamers, whether true or not, it's there.

I was just wondering if I was the only one who keeps any wargaming I do on the 'down low' among mates? I know I'll probably get a load of replies saying 'don't be ashamed of what you do!!' 'If they think it's gayy then they're not real friends F*@% them!!11!!!1'

But c'mon, lets be honest here I do the things most 18 year old's do: Go out, get pissed and try(fail) to pull girls I also cycle to keep fit, rock-climb and ride motorbikes. It just so happens that every now and again I'll play with some toy soldiers lol
Surely I can't be the only one whose friends and family think it's pointless, expensive, 'gay', lame, nerdy etc? It's narrow minded and not true, but there's no-way I'd be able to convince them. So until playing with fantastical toy soldiers is considered as normal as going out and getting drunk among young people I'll be keeping my gaming a bit of a secret...I suppose this makes me shallow, but the sh*t I would get if my mates knew...XD

Am I the only one?

Warhammer is the least nerdy of all the possable things we could be doing.

Compared to Magic, Yu-gi-o, Pokemon, and D&D, table top wargames are down right classy. Plenty of perfectly normal people play 40k.

The real "nerds" of the wargaming crowds are all the noobs that tend to flock to GW stores. If you get away from that, the Warhammer(and other wargame) crowd is pretty normal.

Grey Templar wrote:
The real "nerds" of the wargaming crowds are all the noobs that tend to flock to GW stores. If you get away from that, the Warhammer(and other wargame) crowd is pretty normal.

Unfortunately, I live in the sticks a bit and the only place around me to game is a GW store. Unless there's a club I don't know about. :p

I agree with OP, Playing 40k is a bit dorky. Just accept that you have a hobby that is a bit dorky, but that does not make you a dork. I'll tell people I play if they ask but other than that I keep it to my self because just like in evryday life I try and talk about something both people will find interesting. I don't let anyone make me feel bad about my hobby because it's my hobby and I don't need any one elses approval how I want to spend some of my down time.

WetAndCold wrote:

Grey Templar wrote:
The real "nerds" of the wargaming crowds are all the noobs that tend to flock to GW stores. If you get away from that, the Warhammer(and other wargame) crowd is pretty normal.

Unfortunately, I live in the sticks a bit and the only place around me to game is a GW store. Unless there's a club I don't know about. :p

Check around, you may be surprised.


Or form your own group with some friends who also play.

You have never seen a group of live action roleplayers. You know not the horror of true nerds.

Same with sports fanatics. Some of them are borderline crazy.

The difference is the fanatics are accepted more than the live action roleplayers.

Me and a good friend of mine got into 40K at about the same time, I started an ork army and he started a BT army. We aquired about 1000 points of models, some new, but mostly used and were in the process of painting and converting them for play. About a month goes by and he mentioned that he played 40K to some of his co-workers (we worked construction BTW), he was then barated and picked on for playing such a "nerdy" game. He soon after that sold all of his models and never went back to the hobby. I for one enjoy 40K, finished the ork army and is in the process of building a BA army now. I guess some people let others opinions affect them differently.

Luckily I do have one or two friends who play 40k, if it wasnt for that I am not sure I would be that much into it anymore... the nearest flgs is nice enough, and does discounted minis, but the people in there that I have seen are some of the worst kind of stereotypical power-nerds lol, and I just cant cope with it for more than a few minutes at a time!

However there is a fairly local place that has multiple gaming tables and suchlike, and soon I shall start going there to play some games (soon as my army is less than 50% proxies lmao, I do have some pride!) so I am probably luckier than most.

Short answer... I dont generally advertise my 40k collection, not as much from shame as that I dont like pushing my nerdiness onto people who dont want to hear about it.

I'll leave that to the powernerds! *shudder*

WetAndCold wrote:Warhammer is a nerdy game. I'm sure we all know there's a stereotype associated with wargamers, whether true or not, it's there.

I was just wondering if I was the only one who keeps any wargaming I do on the 'down low' among mates? I know I'll probably get a load of replies saying 'don't be ashamed of what you do!!' 'If they think it's gayy then they're not real friends F*@% them!!11!!!1'

But c'mon, lets be honest here I do the things most 18 year old's do: Go out, get pissed and try(fail) to pull girls I also cycle to keep fit, rock-climb and ride motorbikes. It just so happens that every now and again I'll play with some toy soldiers lol
Surely I can't be the only one whose friends and family think it's pointless, expensive, 'gay', lame, nerdy etc? It's narrow minded and not true, but there's no-way I'd be able to convince them. So until playing with fantastical toy soldiers is considered as normal as going out and getting drunk among young people I'll be keeping my gaming a bit of a secret...I suppose this makes me shallow, but the sh*t I would get if my mates knew...XD

Am I the only one?

you probably fail on the pulling because one of them walked passed and saw you in there, then word spread lol.

lets be real, it's pretty bad. its worse than playing computer games.

maybe use a hood and sunglasses? lol

I just refer to it as my "hobby" when talking to people who aren't familiar with it.

kb305 wrote:
you probably fail on the pulling because one of them walked passed and saw you in there, then word spread lol.

lets be real, it's pretty bad. its worse than playing computer games.

maybe use a hood and sunglasses? lol

Haha, I don't fail all the time! It's probably more down to the fact that when I'm drunk I think I'm the best thing that happened to dancing since Michael Jackson XD Moonwalking across the club like a boss hehe.

WetAndCold wrote:

Haha, I don't fail all the time! It's probably more down to the fact that when I'm drunk I think I'm the best thing that happened to dancing since Michael Jackson XD Moonwalking across the club like a boss hehe.

Yehhh.... I'm pretty sure this is the reason lol

Niiru wrote:
Yehhh.... I'm pretty sure this is the reason lol

Sarcasm: the lowest form of wit

Niiru wrote:Luckily I do have one or two friends who play 40k, if it wasnt for that I am not sure I would be that much into it anymore... the nearest flgs is nice enough, and does discounted minis, but the people in there that I have seen are some of the worst kind of stereotypical power-nerds lol, and I just cant cope with it for more than a few minutes at a time!

However there is a fairly local place that has multiple gaming tables and suchlike, and soon I shall start going there to play some games (soon as my army is less than 50% proxies lmao, I do have some pride!) so I am probably luckier than most.

Short answer... I dont generally advertise my 40k collection, not as much from shame as that I dont like pushing my nerdiness onto people who dont want to hear about it.

I'll leave that to the powernerds! *shudder*

lol powernerds. that's a good way of describing it.

my gw is in our mall so sometimes if i need to pick up just a single pot of paint, i'll go in there(usually i buy even my paint online). i try to be as fast as possible. lol
my fiance cannot handle to listen to the conversations going on in there for longer than 5 seconds. debates about astartes and such make her very uncomfortable.

*Niiru walks into game store*
*Nerd sees Niiru*
*Nerd wins initiative*

*breathe...pant...breath...pant...*
"Oh youre getting some of those are you those are pretty cheesy why would you collect those guys you should get these these are much better i have these and i never lose unless my opponent is cheating or using something cheesy like that stuff youre looking at you would get kicked out of our games if you turned up with stuff like that everyone would hate you my stuff is painted perfectly i think i spent months on each individual model luckily i have my own place its above the garage so my parents cant stop me doing what i like so i can paint and play games all the time you should really get this army instead its so much better...."
*breath...pant.....pant...*


*Niiru fails his nerd save*
*Niiru is defeated*

You'd be suprised how many people play warhammer. 1in 5 people at my school play it but don't tell anyone.

If it was one day "discovered" that you were into Warhammer, you might get a lot more flak for it because it would seem more obvious that you were actively hiding it.

Among people that wouldn't think twice about ripping into you for being a "nerd", the fact that you hid it would probably give them much more teasing ammunition.

I do. ITs really hard to explain i have 5000$ tied up in a single hobby. especially when im among students who work their butt off.
ITs the money the make mes apprehensive. While i dont find it wrong to spend that much others do.

TheSinheizer wrote:If it was one day "discovered" that you were into Warhammer, you might get a lot more flak for it because it would seem more obvious that you were actively hiding it.

Among people that wouldn't think twice about ripping into you for being a "nerd", the fact that you hid it would probably give them much more teasing ammunition.

Good point, but I would rather take a gamble of getting caught and having the sh*t ripped into me double than admitting it and still having the sh*t ripped into me regardless.

Not worth actively hiding it lol.... I just wouldnt go around with an "I heart Nurgle" Tshirt, shoving painted minis up peoples noses.

Besides, a surprising number of people, when actually looking at the models, will say "Actually they look pretty cool, nice detailed painting". Another reason to make sure your colour scheme is up to scratch!

Same with sports fanatics. Some of them are borderline crazy.

The difference is the fanatics are accepted more than the live action roleplayers.

I couldn't possibly agree more. There's hardly anything more childish and, when looked at objectively, irrational, than professional sports and organized religion. I like playing sports, I train muay thai and occasionally play football and FOOTball, and I liked playing hockey in high school, but watching other people play it on TV, buying their jerseys, arguing over who's best at kicking the ball, and paying insane amounts of money (sometimes more than you would for 40k) to go get drunk and see these people play, that is taking your nerdy obsession to the limit. Also fantasy football, the DnD of jocks.
Practically anything you pick up as a hobby, be it wood carving, warhammer, sports or dog breeding, is a/ an artificial and more often than not, useless endeavour from a strictly practical standpoint, and b/ totally worth your time, because everything is worth your time, since it's your time so you can do as you please with it. Being concerned with labeling certain things Important, Masculine, Feminine, Meaningful, etc (or Useless, Timewasting, Nerdy, Gay, etc), that, in my opinion, is TRULY an irrational waste of your time.
That being said, people love labeling things they don't like or understand, so yeah, just deal with it. I talk about 40k indiscriminately, fully aware that most people don't care, and others will instantly start wasting air with their commentary on my perceived failure. A funny thing to do to people like that is to confuse them by doing something contrary to the image of you they have automatically established in their minds, like hit on girls or know sports scores. Total mindlock ensues.
And that's where servitors come from.

I think it is a age thing, I am in my second half of 30s got a wife and kids and I dont care if anyone say I am a NERD. Remember:

All Nerd Triumph as Men.

I really don't care what my friends think or even fellow classmates think. They see me all the time reading 40k blogs when I get a break between classes or even looking at models themselves. Most people are curious and shrug it off as if its normal, but something they are not interested in. People usually tend to go out of their way to ask about it. I've always been surprised by these reactions since I haven't heard a single person call it, "Toy Soldiers."

What I say to people that actually give me flak about miniature wargaming (Still waiting for the first person), in a nutshell: "Feth you!"

I learned a bunch of my friends were into it junior year of highschool, about 4 years ago, it slowly peaked my interest, and I finally gave in and started getting into it a year ago. Since then I have slowly yet steadily gotten to know more fun and interesting people in the area who play.

Honestly, I can't say playing has injured my social life even in college in any measurable amount, on the contrary, I think its grown.

Grey Templar wrote:The real "nerds" of the wargaming crowds are all the noobs that tend to flock to GW stores. If you get away from that, the Warhammer(and other wargame) crowd is pretty normal.

I don't understand how "noobs" or newbies are the real nerds. Aren't they still learning and most importantly absorbing the fundamentals for fitting in?

I think the real nerds are the fan boys. For anyone that have visited and seeing /tg/ , would agree.

PeterPotamus wrote:

Same with sports fanatics. Some of them are borderline crazy.

The difference is the fanatics are accepted more than the live action roleplayers.

I couldn't possibly agree more. There's hardly anything more childish and, when looked at objectively, irrational, than professional sports and organized religion.

... you can't be serious.


On another note, I actually think the people at my local GW are way more "normal" than at the local independent retailers. Then again, at GW you have to deal with the 10 year old children running around everywhere...

The people I play with usually won't discuss 40k in public, because they don't want to seem nerdy. I love bringing it up in all contexts, and showing off pictures of work, and I have never gotten a poor reaction to it. The trick is to describe the modeling as art and play up how it is an outlet for your creative impulses, and not focus so much on the actual game itself, I find people usually respect those who spend their free time creating art more than most other forms of recreation. It also helps that some of my best work is terrain, almost anyone can appreciate a good landscape.

Well I'm 20, soon to be 21, and I dont make a big deal of it. If someone asks, I usually say "Well its like chess, except more than 2 sides and you bild and paint the pieces yourself". That either A) satisfies their curiosity, or B) they want to know more, and I'll give them a slightly more indepth explanation.

However, unless someone brings it up, I don't really talk about it. Not out of shame, just because I'm sure they don't care. It's the same with video games or rock music (if I'm a nerd for anything its that ) if someone asks me what I'm doing and I'm painting, thats what I tell them. It works fine for me, but bear in mind I'm not in school at the moment, and many of my friends have known me for years, so i doubt this comes as a surprise to them . If I was in college or something talking to someone I barely know, i would probably be more discreet about it, but unless it was a beautiful woman I was trying to talk to, i probably wouldn't care if they know or not

Pretty much at my age, I don't hide it at all. I'm getting close to forty, it really has come to the point that I'll tell anyone who asks what I'm up to that weekend, what I'm actually up to.

If they recoil in horror, or actively avoid me for playing with wargamers, feth em, haven't got time for anyone that judgemental anymore.

On saying that, I think I can count the number of people who reacted that way in the past twenty years on one hand, and two of those came around to the idea of it not being odd, or really that weird over time.