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My goal was to have the entire Leviathan box painted by New Years, and I didn't come close. But everything is assembled and I want to start playing. My plan was to bring friends to the Warhammer store to play our first games together under the supervision of our really nice store owner. We got one and a half turns of Combat Patrol in before the store closed, and those guys do not seem interested in playing again. So I've read the rules and I've watched an hour of Auspex Tactics rules videos, but there are just so many rules and abilities. I know I'm going to be super slow.

I have bought paints from two other stores here in Las Vegas that I see have weekly events. Do most people just show up with armies at those game nights, like pick-up basketball? Or do people arrange games ahead of time? I'm fine with talking to strangers, I just hate feeling like a lost freshman on the first day of school. Thanks for any advice that will get me started playing.

Well, in response to the 2nd part of your post?
I'd say the best thing to do is talk to people at the shops your looking to play at.
Ask THEM how things work at those places.

And by "weekly events", what do you mean?
Weekly tournaments?
Or just something like "Wed is WH40k night"?

Oh, and find out if the shops have a FB page, Discord, etc.

The_ODB wrote:
My goal was to have the entire Leviathan box painted by New Years, and I didn't come close.

Yep, welcome to the hobby buddy!

Can't advise on the playing - I just have one or two close friends I play with, never played in a store or tournament setting...

Just accept that you will omit things and make mistakes. Don't make it stop you from playing. You're not playing your first games to win, you play to learn how to play. Experiment, push the buttons to see what happens. Re-read the rules after your battles and spot moments where you played something wrong or forgot about something.

A lot of places have FB/discord groups, and also game nights for random pickups. Check with your FLGS and see what their set up is.

If you are open about being new I suspect that you should be able to find a few teaching games. Start with just the basics, and work up to adding more layers of the rules, and have people explain and walk through turns. We all want fresh blood in the game, but not everyone has the patience to teach, so be up front when asking.

Welcome to 40k!

The_ODB wrote:

I have bought paints from two other stores here in Las Vegas that I see have weekly events. Do most people just show up with armies at those game nights, like pick-up basketball? Or do people arrange games ahead of time? I'm fine with talking to strangers, I just hate feeling like a lost freshman on the first day of school. Thanks for any advice that will get me started playing.

Well that obviously depends on the playing group. There's no law regarding that obviously

Here MOST of the games are pre-arranged(generally by asking in whatsapp somebody app for a game?) because nobody likes to go out of their way and find nobody shows up or showed up but already have a game. However there's reserve player(most of the weeks) so if people show up without pre-arranged game they can get game. 1 shows up? He plays reserve player. Multiple show up? They arrange suitable pairings.

But if group doesn't have reserve player then there's no way to really quarantee opponent. If 3 shows up 1 is left unless they talk some 2-1 game.

Nobody can say how it works for your group unless they are playing in that group.

The_ODB wrote:
My goal was to have the entire Leviathan box painted by New Years, and I didn't come close. But everything is assembled and I want to start playing. My plan was to bring friends to the Warhammer store to play our first games together under the supervision of our really nice store owner. We got one and a half turns of Combat Patrol in before the store closed, and those guys do not seem interested in playing again. So I've read the rules and I've watched an hour of Auspex Tactics rules videos, but there are just so many rules and abilities. I know I'm going to be super slow.

I have bought paints from two other stores here in Las Vegas that I see have weekly events. Do most people just show up with armies at those game nights, like pick-up basketball? Or do people arrange games ahead of time? I'm fine with talking to strangers, I just hate feeling like a lost freshman on the first day of school. Thanks for any advice that will get me started playing.

Each Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS) group will have it’s own way of operating, so my advice is to visit those two stores and ask the staff. There might be an on-line message board (discord, WhatsApp etc) that folks use to arrange games. If so, these are a great way to break the ice and arrange a game. You could also show up to one of those weekly events and introduce yourself. This can be a little intimidating but my experience in several such groups (The military has moved me quite a bit) is that gaming groups are welcoming of new players. The store staff should be happy to make introductions as well.

If you ask for a learning game I am sure that someone will be happy to run you through one. Play a simple mission (the one from the core rules) without any Secondaries. Don’t worry about playing slow at first. If you are clear up from their about being a new player looking to learn people will be happy to walk you through.

Welcome to 40K!

Yeah. Just ask and talk And remember that generally standard is 2k using the leviathan mission pack BUT generally you can find other game sizes and even other missions. You just need to mention it ;-)

If you just ask for game they will come with 2k list. That's the good thing about having standard for games. No need to hash things out.

But if you only have 1k army then that's less useful. But don't feel you NEED to have 2k before playing. While some people prefer to just play 2k plenty are willing to scale down.

But showing up with 1k list and hoping for opponent is more likely to fail than asking ahead of time for 1k game.

But haven't met person yet who dislikes idea of new players to group ;-)

tneva82 wrote:
Yeah. Just ask and talk And remember that generally standard is 2k using the leviathan mission pack BUT generally you can find other game sizes and even other missions. You just need to mention it ;-)

If you just ask for game they will come with 2k list. That's the good thing about having standard for games. No need to hash things out.

But if you only have 1k army then that's less useful. But don't feel you NEED to have 2k before playing. While some people prefer to just play 2k plenty are willing to scale down.

But showing up with 1k list and hoping for opponent is more likely to fail than asking ahead of time for 1k game.

But haven't met person yet who dislikes idea of new players to group ;-)

When I got the Leviathan box I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything else until that was completely painted and I was playing regularly. Then the Christmas Tyranid box came out with the Norn Emissary and its for a LIMITED TIME, so obviously I had to buy that. Then after that dam was broken, I ordered Marneus Calgar, Aggressors, and Hellblasters last week. So I'm not at 2000 yet, but I know that's a big deal.

I joined a few Facebook groups a while ago and they seem very dead. I guess I can give them a shot. I have a Discord account but don't do anything on there. I'll look more into that. Thanks everyone.