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Played a friend I haven't seen in ages yesterday, smart guy but proud and stubbourn as all hell.
The armies were Space Wolves and Eldar.
I nabbed the initiative, got Alpha Hunters, Dropped Murderfang and an artillery Dread and proceeded to kill all his Psykers - I was sitting on Slay the Warlord, First Blood Shooting and First Blood Melee before his first turn even started, clearly his gameplan was trashed because his face fell like a tonne of bricks.
His first turn started and he clearly wasn't interested.
Luckily some friends of mine entered with the Firefly boardgame and his face lit up - I got off the hook by yelling out to them to see if they wanted extra players and offered him a draw and claiming I've always wanted to play the Firefly game.
Here's the rub, if they hadn't come in I have no idea how I could have escaped that game. My mate doesn't surrender and doesn't complain but he clearly wasn't going to enjoy the next five or more turns.

How do you offer an easy out to someone like that?

 Dakka Wolf wrote:
How do you offer an easy out to someone like that?

I just ask them if they want to continue the game. If they're too stubborn to accept the easy way out I'll finish slaughtering them until they take it.

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakka Wolf wrote:
How do you offer an easy out to someone like that?

I just ask them if they want to continue the game. If they're too stubborn to accept the easy way out I'll finish slaughtering them until they take it.

Am I over thinking this?

 Dakka Wolf wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:

 Dakka Wolf wrote:
How do you offer an easy out to someone like that?

I just ask them if they want to continue the game. If they're too stubborn to accept the easy way out I'll finish slaughtering them until they take it.

Am I over thinking this?

not really, you managed to have a gracious way out without making him feel he was taking your pity.

 Dakka Wolf wrote:
Am I over thinking this?

Probably. It's a pretty basic thing, if they're stubborn enough to fight until the end no matter how miserable they are they're probably beyond saving. All you can do is let them enjoy their misery. Most people, in my experience, will take the easy end when it's clear that the game is over in all but name.

Not at all. Sometimes, stuff just really goes down bad. Personally if I am offered an easy out, especially after a tau first turn stomping, I'll take it; the games tend to be unenjoyable. That said, there was a time I was playing a guard player who had over 100 conscripts with a million spe ial rules and shooting at bs4 on the field and baneblade, I just had 30 sisters and a few vehicles- I almost quit just seeing the setup but I stubbornly remained because I'd driven an hour to get to this place for what would be the only game I'd get in for the afternoon. Wound up winning that game by 8vp and we both had about 500pts left on the field by turn 6. So stubbornness paid off there.

As for dealing with a stubborn fella, I'd make your own out; just say you can't see him coming back from such a devastating first turn ( an inherent problem with how 40k is right now- also why a mate of mine and I are eventually going to trial Lord of the ringst style turns).

Or you could bribe. Offer pizza or something in place of a reset. Who in their right mind will turn down an offer of free food and a chance to hit the reset button?

Especially games with fluke first turns, some times it’s good to just start over.

Seizing the initiative, lucky shots, and the like, can end games before they start. Or if they don’t realize the impact of some things initially (like drop pod alpha strike). Resetting gives them a chance for the dice to be a little nicer, or to reserve/bubble wrap a little so they don’t get wiped out before they get to go.

Thanks guys - I appreciate the help.

Thing to point out - there seems to be some sort of taboo against people conceding. I literally got called up on it. Apparently conceding 'causes others to have less fun.'

End of the day if I have no chance of winning and don't want to have a crappy 4 or 5 turns of being fish in a barrel I will concede. Just wish you'd get the other end of the spectrum not being sore winners cause they didn't get to shoot fish in a barrel.

I've called mulligans on games after turn one before; sometimes other people let you preemptively do it for them (it's less embarassing when the other guy says "shall we start over and have a proper game?", apparently). That said it's usually a result of either a mistake building the table or a serious matchup problem with the lists, so whether it works depends on your explanation for doing so as well as who you're talking to.

 Dakka Wolf wrote:

How do you offer an easy out to someone like that?

"Hey, I think I have this game in hand and I can tell you're not having fun. We can play it out if you want, or we can reset the board and start over."

Sometimes, even if the game plan is sound, the dice gods frown on you.

 DarkStarSabre wrote:
Thing to point out - there seems to be some sort of taboo against people conceding. I literally got called up on it. Apparently conceding 'causes others to have less fun.'

End of the day if I have no chance of winning and don't want to have a crappy 4 or 5 turns of being fish in a barrel I will concede. Just wish you'd get the other end of the spectrum not being sore winners cause they didn't get to shoot fish in a barrel.

It's pretty gakky to give someone a guilt trip for conceding. If someone's had enough, they've had enough.

That said, I've often run into people giving up way too early. I've even had people concede the game to me when I was pretty certain that I was in for an ass whooping.

If you didn't have the out, I would have just ask the other player if he wants to concede and just start over.

I've played games where my IG were up against GK, and literally half the GK's army was destroyed by bad mishap rolls by the 2nd turn. The GK player conceded on the top of the 2nd turn and we both restarted. It just would have been no fun to continue with half his army missing.

Now.. if the other player won't concede when you've actively offered it to him, I wouldn't feel any guilt pummeling the remainder of their army into the ground for 4 more turns.

Well, if it was me, I might say something like, "Well, okay, this game's basically over on the first turn. Let's start over, because it'll be more fun when you have a fighting chance and I'm not really into playing a game where my opponent's not having fun too. Sound good?"

 Pouncey wrote:
Well, if it was me, I might say something like, "Well, okay, this game's basically over on the first turn. Let's start over, because it'll be more fun when you have a fighting chance and I'm not really into playing a game where my opponent's not having fun too. Sound good?"

While i (hopefully) understand the intent, that still comes off as a bit condescending and insulting.

I've just flat out asked for a restart/rematch from both ends of this scenario. Sometimes the dice just hate you right off the bat. Though not in tournaments.

Oppressor wrote:

 Pouncey wrote:
Well, if it was me, I might say something like, "Well, okay, this game's basically over on the first turn. Let's start over, because it'll be more fun when you have a fighting chance and I'm not really into playing a game where my opponent's not having fun too. Sound good?"

While i (hopefully) understand the intent, that still comes off as a bit condescending and insulting.

I've just flat out asked for a restart/rematch from both ends of this scenario. Sometimes the dice just hate you right off the bat. Though not in tournaments.

I, unfortunately, am rather socially inept. I also suffer from saying exactly what I mean without any bullgak, which many people misinterpret as being rude or harsh when it's not intended to be since I don't try to soften my words. I also choose my words very carefully, which can cause problems when people try to mentally fill in gaps in my sentences that were left empty on purpose.

I can see how my phrasing would be interpreted as you did though. Just try to read all of that as though the person saying it is simply stating facts without judgement, and is unfortunately unaware of how their words sound to others. Also, this part I want to be clear about because I think it's the biggest offender, the part where I say, "because it'll be more fun"? When I didn't add, "for me" after that, it wasn't because I wanted to avoid revealing it, it was because I thought it would be more fun for both of us, so I simply didn't specify whose fun I was talking about because I was referring to everyone's fun. One of those things where I say exactly what I mean and people fill in words that were left out because they weren't intended.

Basically what I'm saying is that one-sided games aren't fun for anyone, a strategy game whose outcome is decided on the first turn isn't fun for anyone, let's just start over. I wouldn't ask them if they want to concede, I'd just ask them if they want to start over.

 Pouncey wrote:

Oppressor wrote:

 Pouncey wrote:
Well, if it was me, I might say something like, "Well, okay, this game's basically over on the first turn. Let's start over, because it'll be more fun when you have a fighting chance and I'm not really into playing a game where my opponent's not having fun too. Sound good?"

While i (hopefully) understand the intent, that still comes off as a bit condescending and insulting.

I've just flat out asked for a restart/rematch from both ends of this scenario. Sometimes the dice just hate you right off the bat. Though not in tournaments.

I, unfortunately, am rather socially inept. I also suffer from saying exactly what I mean without any bullgak, which many people misinterpret as being rude or harsh when it's not intended to be since I don't try to soften my words. I also choose my words very carefully, which can cause problems when people try to mentally fill in gaps in my sentences that were left empty on purpose.

I can see how my phrasing would be interpreted as you did though. Just try to read all of that as though the person saying it is simply stating facts without judgement, and is unfortunately unaware of how their words sound to others. Also, this part I want to be clear about because I think it's the biggest offender, the part where I say, "because it'll be more fun"? When I didn't add, "for me" after that, it wasn't because I wanted to avoid revealing it, it was because I thought it would be more fun for both of us, so I simply didn't specify whose fun I was talking about because I was referring to everyone's fun. One of those things where I say exactly what I mean and people fill in words that were left out because they weren't intended.

Basically what I'm saying is that one-sided games aren't fun for anyone, a strategy game whose outcome is decided on the first turn isn't fun for anyone, let's just start over. I wouldn't ask them if they want to concede, I'd just ask them if they want to start over.

No worries man, and well said.