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How do!

So this topic comes from two inspirations. Firstly, the Eldar v Dark Eldar battle report on W+, and my own lack of experience actually playing the modern game.

See, in that battle report, it goes all the way to turn 4 with CWE firmly in control, only for a pretty dramatic turn around in favour of the DE. The CWE then concedes as whilst he still had some forces left on the board, he had no real way to score VPs. So beyond some petty revenge killing DE models, the outcome was pretty much set. So one can understand it wasn’t a rage quit or anything negative, just an acknowledgement of when you’re beaten.

Thinking back to when I used to play regularly, and actually knew all the rules better than most, it was kind of rare for me to concede. I was by no means a great player like, I just preferred to spin it out. Of course back then I got VPs for just killing stuff, so unlike the example above, there was always a chance to force a draw, or squeak a narrow victory. The only times I’d concede was when it was clear I’d angered the Dice Gods, and just couldn’t roll for toffee as they shunted all my luck to my opponent.

Yet from my casual browsing on Dakka, I understand the game is a good deal more deadly these days, and you can lose a fair chunk of your own army before it’s had a chance to do anything. And this has lead to me have at least a perception that an opponent conceding may be more common as a result. After all, if you lose your synergy in a game which rewards synergy and stacking, you simply may be faced with a hopeless task beyond a forlorn hope.

For clarity, this is not intended or to become a thread to bash folk who concede at any point. I’m simply trying to figure out if it’s become a more common resolution to games over the editions.

Given my example of someone conceding, and that case’s specific circs, I think I’d count games where you conceding wouldn’t have changed the outcome, but you played it out for the joy of rolling dice.

Right, off you go! As ever, keep it respectable, keep it on topic.

There has been a concession in all games of 9th that I've played in my memory.

I dont know if I've ever played a game of 9th in which turn 5 was a turn in which any impactful scoring occurred.

How early do the concessions come? That’s…probably a question I should included in the OP now I think about it!

I think it's really a lot more frequent to concede now a days. The way the missions are scored means you can get behind, and have no possible way to catch up. Doesn't really make sense to play out another hour or two when the game it already decided really.

Generally speaking, I won't concede, because I want to see how much I can scrap together by the end, and conceding does kinda cheat my opponent out of the "full victory experience". Granted, that's in a fairly casual setting, and I might just quit earlier in a tournament or something just to have a break or get something to eat.

Turn 1 concedes are not unheard of.
Turn 2 isn't uncommon
Turn 3+ plus is frequent.

I dont concede games.
I will accept yours, and I might lose very badly, but I'll never concede.

Back in 5th, which is where I started, it was extremely rare to see a game conceded in my group. We nearly always played the game to completion. I didn't play all that much of 6th or 7th so can't comment there. In 8th, which I played quite a bit, almost every game was conceded by the bottom of round 2. Some went a round or 2 beyond that. I cannot think of a single match that actually went to completion.

I've only played a single game of 9th so my experience there isn't worth relating.

I have never ever played a game of 40k to the end of turn 5 thru both 8th and now 9th edition.

We talk it out after round three generally, and every game we didn't was decided on turn 4 anyways.

6th and 7th until Daemokin came out/when I started playing R&H just before Traitor Legions. Playing Orks and CSM when those armies were bottom tier, single viable list trash was not a fun time and against things like Tau, Eldar, Marines, and Grey Knights for some reason, I conceded so many games and it was without a doubt my lowest point in the hobby.

ccs wrote:
I dont concede games.
I will accept yours, and I might lose very badly, but I'll never concede.

That's how I play card games.

And I'm somewhat of that attitude in 40k-I like to fight to the bitter end, even if it's foregone. That being said, due to how gosh-darned long a game of 40k can be, I'll concede if it's foregone and someone else wants to snag the table for their own game. I don't want to be rude to the other players.

Historically, I almost never concede. I’ll hold on to the bitter end. Sometimes that last stand turn 5 heroics, while irrelevant to the victory, is epic in its own right.

In 9th the only games I’ve played are crusade games. Unit kills are important, and can lead to battle scars or experience. So even if victory is a forgone conclusion, the details matter.

I never concede(d).

For around half a year now we switched to Crusade where conceding makes less sense, as your units still can get XP even if you could not win the mission anymore.

Never.

I conceded a handful of times in previous editions, though it was rare, because even before there were rules to support the storytelling aspect of the game, I always wanted to know what happened to each unit in terms of the story of the game.

Now that we have Crusade, I never concede. Being hopeless about winning doesn't matter, because a handful of survivors might still achieve Agendas for XP.

I might have conceded a game at some point, but I don't remember doing so. I tend to play to the bitter end, because playing the game is fun. I don't play 9e though at the moment.

If my opponent had somewhere to be, or was clearly bored by the game, and I was losing badly, I might concede just to let them be on their way. But I'd rather play it out - that's what I showed up to do after all!

I tend to concede when the game won't be fun anymore.

If the remaining turns of narrative are "huddled survivors are systematically hunted down and butchered" there's no reason to take the time to play that out - I can easily write that outcome down.

I only concede if the game is very obviously dead in the water. I've had three recent games where I've been alpha struck turn 1 and found that I can't come back from it. One was fair and square and I conceded bottom of turn 2, another was bottom of turn 1 due to the lack of terrain and the third was bottom of turn 2 due to playing poorly.

I do find myself playing all the way to turn 5 as my list likes to net primaries in the late game which have swung a good few games in my favour.

For tournaments where scoring matters, I don't concede.

8th edition games I didn't concede often as my army was on a pretty good power level where I had a good chance regardless of what happened.

From 5th to 7th I've conceded various times, but again, only in forgone conclusions.

I remember conceding in a game of 7th where '(as usual as CSM vs Necrons at them time) I killed very few things and then, when my army was already pretty much beaten, the Necrons got a Bloodthirster on their side due to a roll on a Daemon World table Looking back I probably should have let the game go on not least because the Necron player wanted to see my Balrog Bloodthirster in Action
Conceding happens every now and then, not more or less than earlier imo. In 6th and 7th we used to play either narrative missions which could turn a little onesided or Maelstrom, where you could easily count your points and realize you fell behind, similar to 9th scoring system.

My group does a good bit of prep work upfront to design games that we anticipate will make it to turn 4 without a clear winner. We generally avoid setting up lists and terrain set ups that allow for strong alpha strike potential. As a result, we rarely have a situation were a concession prior to playing through a full 3 turns arises. When it becomes mathematically impossible for one player to win we do usually talk through the remainder of the game to get an idea of final scoring.

I find conceding isn't a bad thing if the game is a forgone conclusion. If it's impossible to alter the endstate of the game, might as well wrap things up and save time. If it's an event though, where every point matters I'll play to the end, if it's just a one off game with a friend, there is no need to waste time while the other person gets curbstomped.

When I play Underworlds, my opponents and I will often concede if there is literally no way to close the glory gap (bad card draws, luck, warband wiped etc..) as it lets us reset and play again.

If by turn 3 or 4 it's just matter of rolling dice and time is getting issue concede.

9e makes very easy to see winner early up and turn 4 it's just margin left to decide most of the time. If i have to choose between seeing margin or getting on last train home resignation is easy decision

9th has definitely seen an increase in conceded games that I've been involved in and seen locally. The general increase in lethality and the possibility for a runaway scoring turn seem to have combined to make it less palatable to play a game out to the end of turn 5 in many cases. I think the sheer mechanical busywork of playing 9th may have contributed as well. The noting down of secondaries, the overlap of so many strats, relics, WL traits and faction bonuses and the endless buckets of dice tend to leave players a little more fatigued than in previous editions and less willing to play things out.

In short, the game isn't quite as fun to play any more, IMO. That leads to more players being willing to bail out early.

Every game. More often as time goes on.

No conceding.....no matter what (unless I have to leave early or something, but not out of losing). I'll find something to go after, whatever that may be. I've seen games turn really unexpectedly so conceding doesn't make sense to me.

Conseded a couple of times in 6/7, mostly with "just starting" games against veterans who had me smashed by turn 3.

Can't remember any in 8th, they've been nail biters to the end, but we also played 1K point games so there wasn't a lot of killing on each turn.

 JNAProductions wrote:

ccs wrote:
I dont concede games.
I will accept yours, and I might lose very badly, but I'll never concede.

That's how I play card games.

Absolutely. You want to claim victory in a card game - MTG, etc? You gotta go through all the motions. Even if it is just a 5 second formality. And especially in a tourney.
This actually finished me a tier higher in a large MTG tourney with serious cash prizes ages ago & got me a decent payday.
We were 1-1 & game 3 was absolutely going to be a loss for me. No way out of it. I had no cards in my hand, I had no way to block/prevent any type of damage, & anything hostile the opponent could do was more than my current life total atm. It's his turn & all I'm doing is sitting there waiting for him to officially beat me.
He's all cocky & pleased with himself and says "Well, I think we both know how this'll end."

And then, before I could say anything, he promptly DQ'd himself by scooping his cards. In front of plenty of witnesses.
My deck is still sitting there. My cards are still in play. I've NOT conceded.
My response? "That is not what I was expecting."
And then I grabbed the score sheet while the witnesses laughed their asses of at him.

Of course the judge was called, the situation was explained, etc.
Judge listens to both of us. Listens to the witnesses (who'd somehow not died of laughter). Looks at my deck/cards/etc still sitting there exactly as the were. Looks over at the guys completely cleared side of the table.
And tells the guy "I've got some bad news for you...." {cue more laughter from the witnesses} & rightfully awarded me my very unexpected win.

Yes. Yes I will take my victory, thank you very much.

 JNAProductions wrote:
And I'm somewhat of that attitude in 40k-I like to fight to the bitter end, even if it's foregone. That being said, due to how gosh-darned long a game of 40k can be, I'll concede if it's foregone and someone else wants to snag the table for their own game. I don't want to be rude to the other players.

Table shortage isn't a problem where I play.
At home? No ones going to snag the hosts table.
At either of the shops I play at? There's no shortage of table space.

Very rarely. We tried an off the wall list once with a friend and it clearly was too one sided, so we reset. Maybe 3 or 4 times when its been late and obvious which way it's going to end we'ver verbally run through the rest (last train syndrome), but mouch more frequently gone for the epic dies gloriously route, usually attacking....

If there's something fun still to achieve (killing the warlord, taking a specific objective) then I think it's fun to keep playing even if the result has been decided.

Related question, does any one ever play Only War - ditching objectives and playing to the death?

I concede when the game is unequivocally done, no matter what happens next.

I think I've done it a couple of times in 9th, several times in 8th, and pretty much everytime in 7th .

 dreadblade wrote:
If there's something thematic still to achieve (killing the warlord, taking a specific objective) then I think it's fun to keep playing, even if the overall result has been decided.

Related question, does any one ever play Only War - ditching objectives and playing to the death?

I conceded a couple of games in 7th-8th where it was an absolute turn-1 washout. Basically it was "There is no way I can even pull it back to a draw, so can we restart". Sounds bad but it really wouldn't be fun for either player; one example being having 3/4 of my Admec force either dead or tied up by Genestealers at the end of Turn 1, with more Genestealers ready to charge next turn.

Haven't conceded any games in 9th yet however