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I suspect we all like at least some of the models and some of the lore (everyone has a bug bear), but what of the game? Without saying what you don't like what are some of the things you do? Why do thousands enjoy playing it? Don't bother with generic stuff like its tactile, visually pleasing etc, this is stuff that as a game you or others enjoy. Obviously one persons joy is another's torture, but just say stuff you or others you know definitively enjoy.

To start off I think the sheer amount of options means many people spend many a happy hour planning army lists (and planning model load outs and purchases around them). Few wargames do this, most have far more straightforward list design, so for the many people who enjoy obsessing over that detail they can spend longer doing this and dreaming of battlefield success than actually playing! It certainly gets people invested in the game more.

A more chalk and cheese thing is the lethality (mentioned elsewhere at length), but the reality is a lot of people enjoy being able to have a very visible effect on the oppositions army and blowing away whole squads through coordinated use of aura, stratagems, rules and perhaps a little luck is fun. This links into people like to see more rules and special cards for their armies.

While I rarely play full on narrative campaigns, I really like getting into the narrative of a game. It's a game with enough lore that you can kind of be thematic in the decisions you make, I'll often do things that I think a model would do instead of what's the most tactically sound decision. Character on their last wound charging into melee against a superior foe because they're known for their bravery/stupidity. Faction/character rivalries coming into play. Playing games to the end, or if I'm going to be tabled but there's one more fight I want to resolve just doing that before we end. Just chilling out and rolling dice and maybe drinking a beer.

Sheer amount of option is good as long as bloat is avoided. I mean I hate having multiple profiles/datasheets for the same thing, like multiple kinds of bolters or orks buggies/planes, but absolutely love that each klan/regiment/obession/order etc... has a bunch of dedicated rules, regardless of how good they are; the only important thing is that they allow you to play the army in a fluffy way. I certainly would have loved that in the past.

To list something completely positive without even the slightest bit of a complaint, I like that a 40k army, even a 40k army that is the exact same faction and subfaction, can be completely different. I think that's pretty unusual for a wargame in general, and something all the 'This Game Will KILL WarhammerRRRRrrr!!!' games consistently fail to deliver.

To pull an example: three players have Ultramarine armies where I play. same faction, same subfaction. Two of them don't share even one single unit in common, and even the two that are both playing all primaris have very different unit compositions.

That's just not the case with most other game systems, and it's really cool.

While not always successful I've always like that each faction tries to make each of their subfactions (Necron Dynasty, Ork Kultures, SoB Orders etc.) distinct and playable. I also enjoy how the same faction can play very different by unit choice and subfaction choice.

I'd say my favorite part about 40k is when you have a very goofy or an overkill weapon and it's actually fun to use. The Deff Rolla for instance when it jumped from fom 7th to 8th became infinitely more fun. I also enjoy the Traktor Cannon & Fire Prisms although they are not always as consistently fun as the Deff Rolla.

The highly customizable nature of load outs and options means its still really easy to express your own head-canon, "your dudes," etc on the table top and see it reflected in-game.

This is something that's extremely rare in other sci-fi/fantasy games and means that the game mechanically rewards and incentivizes conversions, coming up with your own lore etc in a way that allows you to reasonably play out those fantasies within the game itself.

I love Crusade- particularly the bespoke stuff which I feel really communicates the motivations and background of an army.

I love that all factions now feel as spoiled with sub-faction content as marines have felt since 2nd edition.

I love that small, under-represented factions still get some attention, even if I wish they could get more. Inquisition and Rogue Traders are problematic, sure, but they are still here and that's something.

First off, I love the whole idea of Crusade. The execution needs a little refinement, but this is their first crack at it and I am so happy that there is a dedicated "casual" format to the game now.

Also, I really like the change to multiple wound models to give certain units more durability. Have they dialed in the right amount of damage ratio to be used against that yet, I don't think so, but I'm hopeful that we'll get there.

Huh, I just now realize those were both a little double edged, maybe I've been on the forums too long. XD Something I unequivocally like, at the casual level, it does to me feel like you can really play anything. Put together whatever mix of units and strategies you want and have a solid chance of winning against an opponent who is doing the same. The sheer flexibility of what you can do in each army to get the look and feel that you want is staggering and really gives you a sense of ownership and pride in your force that has kept me coming back over and over across the decades.

I enjoy the penetrating hits chart and how the power of the weapon affects both its ability to penetrate armor and its beyond-armor effects....

...wait sorry that was my 4th edition game last night.

Um...

... I really like that tanks can move and shoot their full distance with no penalty, finally. They maneuver in space like tanks really should!

I like how gloriously convoluted and messy it is.

40k on the tabletop is an amalgamation of model design, sales tactics, official rules design, and community pressure from players. The game constantly breaks down in fun, unexpected and amusing ways.

I think you have to embrace the chaos and hilarity of it all. We’re riding in an Ork Trukk here, not a Rhino.

The models. It's always been about the models for me.

After that comes varying degrees of the art & lore.

Rules-wise? Hmmm....
1) My favorite part of 8th/9th has been the detachment system. And the ability to soup things together via Keywords provided I don't mind sacrificing some special rules. This gives me a great deal of flexibility in how I can build armies.

2) The Crusade system.

ccs wrote:
The models. It's always been about the models for me.

After that comes varying degrees of the art & lore.

Rules-wise? Hmmm....
1) My favorite part of 8th/9th has been the detachment system. And the ability to soup things together via Keywords provided I don't mind sacrificing some special rules. This gives me a great deal of flexibility in how I can build armies.

2) The Crusade system.

Yeah, I do like that we're back to things being relatively simple without being overly restrictive when it comes to how you're allowed to construct your army. People who want to run all fast attacks/all heavies/all something can do so, but they pay a reasonable penalty for doing so and it isnt the utterly crushing "you start with 20CP, I start with 3" that it was in 8th while also not being the no-brainer 'i took the bike HQ because its the best way to run a captain and as a bonus I can just spam bikes as troops now for free" that it was in older editions.

I like the minis and the terrain

Subfaction rules,
Amount of units and options
Crusade
The craziness of it all.
40K might not be as tactically pleasing as other games, but there are robots fighting Rambo, Space Goblins fighting Space Elf flyers, Space Marines riding giant Wolves against Zombies, it's all pretty hilarious.

When you play with like minded people without going for netlist meta optimization(which turns games repeative and easy to see result) its fun.

The only idea in all of the 9e core rules that I liked was Matched Play mission selection, and the execution was so shoddy the end result is probably more of a neutral for me.

40k has a range of options that, in some special cases, do make how each army plays feel unique and different.

The 40k range is, for all its bad figures, legitimately colourful and varied the range is - meaning that (if you play with the right people) you can produce fantastic looking tables and encounters.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
I enjoy the penetrating hits chart and how the power of the weapon affects both its ability to penetrate armor and its beyond-armor effects....

...wait sorry that was my 4th edition game last night.

Um...

We really need some kind of boomer/grog containment thread for those select posters whose primary contribution to discussion in every thread (regardless of topic) is the same 'witty' comment about something from 3rd, 4th, 5th (or whatever older edition) was much better. It'd be easier than repeating it ad nausem every thread.

 blood reaper wrote:


We really need some kind of boomer/grog containment thread for those select posters whose primary contribution to discussion in every thread (regardless of topic) is the same 'witty' comment about something from 3rd, 4th, 5th (or whatever older edition) was much better. It'd be easier than repeating it ad nausem every thread.

That's called "being on a forum instead of on discord/reddit/insert social media platform from this decade here"

This is the boomer containment unit. You're in it. We're basically communicating via telegram right now.

 blood reaper wrote:
40k has a range of options that, in some special cases, do make how each army plays feel unique and different.

The 40k range is, for all its bad figures, legitimately colourful and varied the range is - meaning that (if you play with the right people) you can produce fantastic looking tables and encounters.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
I enjoy the penetrating hits chart and how the power of the weapon affects both its ability to penetrate armor and its beyond-armor effects....

...wait sorry that was my 4th edition game last night.

Um...

We really need some kind of boomer/grog containment thread for those select posters whose primary contribution to discussion in every thread (regardless of topic) is the same 'witty' comment about something from 3rd, 4th, 5th (or whatever older edition) was much better. It'd be easier than repeating it ad nausem every thread.

1st thought:
Children should be seen & not heard....

2nd thought:
There's 9 editions of this great game & nothing indicated by the OP as to wich edition they're asking about.
So question asked & answered.

I like that my army is done and GW has nothing to offer me anymore.

I've generally been quite impressed with Crusade, the missions are balanced and your dudes feel like your dudes. Some of your own storytelling is required, but it's a massive improvement on Open Play from 8th.

I quite like the matched play missions (reprint missions aside from 20 to 21) and the secondaries for the most part now feel pretty good as a competitive player without a 9th edition codex. Obviously codex secondaries are a little iffy but generally it has created an enjoyable and more interactive game compared with ITC which was either kill more or hold more.

The spectacle of armies. No other game comes close, imo.

The shear OTT - ness of it all. I love how in some games a valid tactic is for my warlord to run over to an enemy tank and hit it with his axe!

For 9th Edition in particular, I like how my Death Guard army now plays on the table how they are depicted in the fluff, like a mailed fist slowly choking you.

 Insectum7 wrote:
The spectacle of armies. No other game comes close, imo.

I thought this was the only reason for the game's existence.

 Fergie0044 wrote:
The shear OTT - ness of it all. I love how in some games a valid tactic is for my warlord to run over to an enemy tank and hit it with his axe!

Ork Warboss with DKK in a nutshell.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Or I guess if we're talking about axes, Eadwoppa's Killchoppa instead of Da Killa Klaw.

I love that 40k it has been around for so long and is more popular than ever. The setting also. Monstrous.

I like how clean a game is. Rarely have rules disputes or have to look something up. No tedious arguments about line of sight/cover like I encounter in games like Flames of War.

And of course the models and lore.

 Insectum7 wrote:
The spectacle of armies.

QFT

Echoing others, the models and the lore.

The setting is gravitational in its pull on me, and it has brought me great appreciation and enjoyment of the various sources that have influenced it - some of which I enjoyed before noticing them in the "hobby" itself!

The beauty of the raw miniatures (in general) are a real delight, as are the painted forces and the works of art that, in some cases, others have created with them.

I love these aspects of the game.

TangoTwoBravo wrote:
I like how clean a game is. Rarely have rules disputes or have to look something up. No tedious arguments about line of sight/cover like I encounter in games like Flames of War.

And of course the models and lore.

Erm… I won’t say you’re wrong, since that’s an opinion, but I will say you’re quite lucky if that’s been your experience.

I like the customization. Not every faction gets it, unfortunately, but I like being able to make the army my own.