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After about 2 games at 2k points I'm tired. Then again I'm not exactly in shape and the focus can push me mentally (or not, depends on the month/quarter)

Auxellion wrote:What gets me, isn't the APOC games/all day tournaments...

It's the "Drive two hours there, play in the tournament, drive two hours back"

This. After Conflict GT this year, I was whipped for the next week. Drove 5 hours up, played 3 games at FNG, played 3 on saturday for the tourney, played 2 on sunday for the tourney, drove 5 hours home.

I find I can combat this to some extent by just making a conscious effort to sit periodically during my opponents turns, and make sure to keep a snack/bottle of water on hand throughout the day. I used to get splitting headaches at GT's, then it dawned on me that I drank water when I woke up...and when I went to bed, and was likely just dehydrated like an idiot.

Edit: Mind you, it's still worth it.

2 games @ 1750 - 2000pts and i'll usually sit out the 3rd round and enjoy watching a game.
Not due to being drained but due to my back being not what it used to be! :(

Skarshak wrote:2 games @ 1750 - 2000pts and i'll usually sit out the 3rd round and enjoy watching a game.
Not due to being drained but due to my back being not what it used to be! :(

Although I have a bit of an edge (still young, 25), I find even myself having back pain at a big event with ~8 hours of gaming, and I think thats mostly due to standing up straight, legs locked, on typically a hard floor. Now that i periodically sit/stand during games, I don't have the issue anymore. But it took an awful lot of conscious effort (which I admit is pathetic) to get over my routine of standing so i can peer around all game.

Sometimes when I play my opponents are REALLY SLOW when playing. Games stretch out to 6 or 7 hours, especially with lunch. I get SO BORED. A few games like this and I definitely burn out.

Thats exactly how I feel. When I go back home, my wife always wonders how I can be so tired from playing a game. I tell her that I have the fate of my chapter in my hands, its not as easy as you think! Around the end of turn 4 is when I start feeling it. Then I start to question if im even having fun, because I find myself yawning and growing bored with the game by that point. I dont have a short attention span, just the game and all of its rules can be taxing.

That's mental fatigue.

There is obviously a little physical fatigue mixed in, but as you observed, you are physically fit and it isn't hard to stand up for a few hours.

I play in tons of tourneys, some really long days in there and i have observed mental fatigue in action in me and in my friends. By the end of that 4th game people get euphoric and light headed sometimes.

My advice is to design a very straightforward list and play the hell out of it. The more familiar with your armies special rules, and the more experience you have with your units interacting with the many other units in 40k, the less you'll have to mentally exert yourself.

Drink water, and try to find a quiet corner to sit in peace for 5 minutes between games.

Yup. For competition, nothing beats practice.

For general physical well-being, avoiding exhaustion and soreness:

Drink water. Eat enough; including granola bars or other moderately-healthy snacks during the day if needed. If you just stuff yourself at breakfast and dinner you'll feel bloated after, and hungry between. Sleep a decent amount. Sit down between games and during your opponents' turns when you can. If you drink alcohol, taking a little B vitamin complex before bed and/or when you get up can really help. Bringing some ibuprofen is also a good idea if your back or legs tend to get sore.

I tend to get tired after 2-3 games

1 Im normally good for!


I notice it can sometimes depend on your opponent and how much effort you have to put in

If I have a really annoying opponent who is a rule-squirmer or pedant OR if Im running a big apoc game with kids in it that it drains me much faster than a 1vs1 with a friend!

The human brain is an incredibly inefficient organ, and getting use does, indeed, burn up calories and drop your blood sugar. I work in tech support and there are some days I go home feeling exhausted because of the mental gymnastics I'm forced to do on the job, but there are ways around it...

Eat. No, seriously, your brain needs glucose to function, and you'd be amazed at how much a handfull of animal crackers and some b12 can do for your mental state. Paintball is the same way, you need to keep yourself fed and hydrated to be at the top of your game physically or mentally.

I have ADHD, so by the end of a game, I start to loose focus, but I find walking around the table while playing helps quite a bit. After each game I just need a short break, and then I'm back into it. The same thing would go for playing D&D, or other RPG's, I can play for 8 hours(even longer when I'm the GM), but I need a bit of a break every hour or so, even if just go go get a drink or snack.

Mannahnin wrote:Yup. For competition, nothing beats practice.

For general physical well-being, avoiding exhaustion and soreness:

Drink water. Eat enough; including granola bars or other moderately-healthy snacks during the day if needed. If you just stuff yourself at breakfast and dinner you'll feel bloated after, and hungry between. Sleep a decent amount. Sit down between games and during your opponents' turns when you can. If you drink alcohol, taking a little B vitamin complex before bed and/or when you get up can really help. Bringing some ibuprofen is also a good idea if your back or legs tend to get sore.

Agreed with all of this, and Shep's too. In fact, gaming is a lot like taking one of the big-nasty standardized academic tests (the SATs, GREs, boards, etc. here in the U.S.- not sure what the euro ones are but you get my drfit). Thinking can burn an ungodly number of calories. So nutrition tips that help with those tests apply here too. Some smart-food tips

The things that can be added to the above good advice:

Vitamins are important, and not just the Bs. Take a powder or liquid mulitvitamin twice, once one hour before gaming starts and once halfway through the day.

Eat readily-available calories, like fruit, balanced with healthy fats like nuts. Apples get me through local tournies without getting dumb. And yeah, space it all out. No huge meals: save half your lunch, eat the rest of it during an IG shooting phase

Caffeine is not actually your friend in long periods of mental effort. Stick with your regular intake in the morning or whatever, but don't use short-term stimulants to prod yourself (well, maybe in the last hour or two). The crash and the blood-sugar effects aren't worth it. If you have to drink a bit to stay awake, drink green tea.

Move around: go for a quick walk on your breaks. It's just as important as sitting down enough, maybe moreso. Oh, and wear good shoes. Sounds girly, but lots of dudes have blown-out sneakers that make standing for over 8 hours suck.

I get a headache everytime I play 40k

Drink more water.