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Having moved back to the South Florida region (where wargaming is RARE to say the least), working evening hours and a dozen other reasons, have all combined to limit/negate my ability to play 40K! My darling wife suggested that I set up 2 armies and have at it, by myself. Her logic on it is that it would keep me up on the rules (cause we all know that if you don't use 'em, you loose 'em), and would also, hopefully, allow me a means to vent my aggressions! I have the armies, the table, the terrain, etc., so I am wondering if anyone else has resorted to playing against themselves, and if so, any tips? My concerns are that I will know my battle strategy for each side, which will result in it all coming down to dice rolls (although it is a GREAT excuse to knock the dust off of ALL of my armies!!). Thoughts/comments?

A friend of mine used to play against himself to learn the rules, but that's about it. I can't say I'd enjoy playing against myself, and I'd find it pretty lonely.

It would help you to keep up with the rules, but I doubt it would be much of a tactical challenge, and winning wouldn't be very satisfying.

Not as much fun as playing with yo[purged for obvious humour by the inquisition]

I am planning on playing with myself to get the hang of the WHFB rules before I start playing at my GW, just to be courteous to the other guys there, I don't want to keep looking the rulebook 20 times a phase, y'know?

As for just for fun....eh...

I do this on Vassal to playtest new builds / etc. exhaustively before investing money in them ... you have to be able to do so with integrity; too easy to "re-roll" those dice that just had poor luck.

I think it would not be very fun on an actual table w/ actual models ... you could use craig's list, various forums, etc., to find some nice fellas lookin' for games and able to play at your whacky hours / location?

MVBrandt wrote:I do this on Vassal to playtest new builds / etc. exhaustively before investing money in them ... you have to be able to do so with integrity; too easy to "re-roll" those dice that just had poor luck.

I think it would not be very fun on an actual table w/ actual models ... you could use craig's list, various forums, etc., to find some nice fellas lookin' for games and able to play at your whacky hours / location?

Ive done this. You get all the time in the world to reference the codexes, without putting another human through that.

And yeah, you have to be disciplined so you dont reroll dice, but really I dont do it to win agaisnt myself, hehe, its just to memorize new rules. I cant learn rules by just reading the book I have to put them to use, and like I said I dont want to put another person through me flipping through the book every time a model does something.

I've done it with small armies to test out new units before I buy them. Basically a 40k in 40 minutes type setup with no real restrictions.

I do it on Vassal very frequently. I never batrep ICB vs himself, though

I do it in Vassal to look at things like unit-interaction and what combinations that "look good on paper" are actually effective.

Of course, not knowing the nuances of how to play every race, it limits the types of games I can play. That and if I'm playing both sides, nobody can be Guard. Too much stuff to keep track of.

Weird was wondering about this myself today

And glad of the careful phrasing of the question btw

As it is not easy for me to get to the FLGS I need to get more aquainted with the rules.

4M2A, I would appreciate the winning to be honest,
Possibly my only route to the sweet taste of victory is autoludism ( I may have just invented a word! )

I solo-playtest frequently, especially before a big tournament. Knowing the battle plan for both sides is a moot point because that allows me to find out which units best to counter other units, etc, which is the main point of playtesting. Plus it is fun to get the models on the table once in awhile, relax, and just roll some dice for fun.

It seems when i play against myself i never have any arguments concerning the rules. Lol. wish that happened more often against real opponents.

I thought about the idea, (had a thread about it a while ago) but never considered using Vassal to do it.

I've played a few games against myself; it was good to get to test out some the 5th ed rules; and it's also useful as a way of learning how new units handle prior to a real match.

I've playing one or two full games against myself. Never again. I'm always bored by turn 3.

I played a game against myself. We had a big fight and called the game off.

I try not to play against myself.

It's really hard for me to win the game - so I just concede.

Ask your wife to play with you.

Oh, I do - it just doesn't get to the mandollies stage.

Wife's not a gamer.



(Married, not dead).

I can't - that guy's a cheater.

Isn't it possible to use Vassal to play against other people?

Also, kudos to Chibi Bodge-Battle for "autoludism".

Your best bet is to try and get a friend into the game or maybe even the wife.

Playing against yourself doesn't work and the common misconception is that it helps you learn rules and/or keep up on the rules. Quite the contrary... If you have misinterpreted a rule, you will continue to misinterpret that rule. If you have forgotten a rule, you will in all likelihood continue to forget that rule. It allows one to fall into a doldrum of repetition of only the rules that apply to the armies being used and possible poor gaming habits.

Brother SRM wrote:A friend of mine used to play against himself to learn the rules, but that's about it. I can't say I'd enjoy playing against myself, and I'd find it pretty lonely.

I tried playing against myself to save my cousin some head ache before playing me.

It doesnt really work... since i didnt realize i was playing wrong , the mistakes doesnt get fixed :/

There's ways to do the checking that an opponent would normally do, it's just a lot of dull clerical work checking checklists, taking notes, and going through every rule. Basically if you don't know the basics of coaching over people, don't bother trying to coach yourself.

I find that setting up particular situations and then carefully playing through them can be useful in understanding the rules and some tactics.

However I try to use my hobby "alone" time for things like painting and making terrain.

I'm not sure it would help you to keep up on the rules any better than spending the time rereading the rules and codices, but yeah, it can be helpful in seeing just how two armies stack up against each other.

Certain armies play certain ways no matter who's in charge, so knowing the strategy isn't really an issue. You should have a general feel for an average opponent's strategy anyway.

Also, setting the models up and having a go, even if just between two units, can help keep track of things if you're running a Math-hammer scenario.

Have done it, will continue to do it. It's fun to me, and how often do you really not know your opponent's tactics? "I bet those berserkers are going to charge!" It's a great way to play out the rules to stay fresh and it helps you see multiple sides of your armies. I've never gone to a tournament for any game without playing a number of test games against myself with my army/deck.

Well, I dont play games to my self, but I do however play cards like Magic and some time ago while I was still into Yu-Gi-Oh.

I dont consider it wierd at all, although it might get sorta lonely. And boring since you can read your opponents mind, but you are the opponent, but you'r against another army.. wait, what was I writing again?

I've done it to playtest various armies, either before tourneys and before buying them.

When you are playing against yourself, it is an even tactical match, so the deciding factor should be army and luck.

I don't wargame (yet) but that seems really boring. From what I know, one of the most fun parts of wargaming is conversing and spending time with fellow wargamers.

DarkAngelsRK wrote:I don't wargame (yet) but that seems really boring. From what I know, one of the most fun parts of wargaming is conversing and spending time with fellow wargamers.

As much as I actually do love the game, the social aspect really is tops. If it were against a computer, I wouldn't enjoy it anywhere near as much.