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I know realized I have many things to thank Warhammer 40k for. In the short time I have played it it caused me to lose my fear of social phobia, talking to people is no longer an issue for me.
It also caused me to become more assertive and not deal with other peoples gak or them lying.
Im able to look forward to something to do every week. It also has caused me to have something to relieve stress and the woes of the day.
How about you guys? What do you have to thank Warhammer or wargaming in general for.

I have to admit, playing 40k back in the mid 90's helped me get over my social early teen awkwardness. I only gamed with friends, and usually D&D and whatnot. Going to a game store to play 40k meant getting out of the house and meeting new people, eventually conquering my social awkwardness. I met some older gamers (GWAR members played at the game shop that I played 40k at), got into the industrial music scene, DJ'ed for 7 years along the East Coast, and now I'm an IT Director and engaged to a model. So, thanks 40k!

I will admit, my wallet is much lighter and easier to carry. Thank you, Warhammer!

Well 40k got me into table top gaming, and let me to great things beyond GW.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I know realized I have many things to thank Warhammer 40k for. In the short time I have played it it caused me to lose my fear of social phobia, talking to people is no longer an issue for me.
It also caused me to become more assertive and not deal with other peoples gak or them lying.
Im able to look forward to something to do every week. It also has caused me to have something to relieve stress and the woes of the day.
How about you guys? What do you have to thank Warhammer or wargaming in general for.

Do you know what hotsauce, that's exactly how I feel.
Since I've started wargaming with GW I have become more, well, me. I don't put up with people's crap and I am more assertive when it comes to people shoving their gak in my face. I have no problem talking to the homosapiens that call my school their own and yes, they ARE homosapiens, they are braindead sheep. I look forward to the things I like and I've been getting some games in of 40k 6th ed and god do I look forward to those, despite having to use the lousy CSM 5th ed 'dex which preety much leads me to flop haha. 40k and my reading of BL novels of an evening has also helped me to loose stress, well, that and a bit of heavy metal Oh and saying goodbye to being friends with one extremely extremely mentally challenged person. I have to thank WHFB and 40k for everything, all of my life is structured around it now. I live and breath it. Thank god GW is around.

What kind of gak in your face and lying are you guys talking about, exactly? Bullying? I've never had problems with people that couldn't be handled by either not associating with them or just ignoring them. I've been told I'm intimidating though, so who knows. And what do you do about a liar? Slap them? Liars will be liars, you can't change them, and everyone knows who they are.

 Lt. Coldfire wrote:
What kind of gak in your face and lying are you guys talking about, exactly? Bullying? I've never had problems with people that couldn't be handled by either not associating with them or just ignoring them. I've been told I'm intimidating though, so who knows. And what do you do about a liar? Slap them? Liars will be liars, you can't change them, and everyone knows who they are.

I would imagine learning how to deal with people that are trying to cheat or intimidate you into doing things their way. That, or just not putting up with idiots and telling them to shove off.

I know I can thank 40k for giving me a hobby that is quiet and can be done at night. I work as a stagehand and often come home when the family is asleep. Having a hobby besides music let's me do something while the family is in bed. It's also helped me reach a lot of new friends that I would've never met, and given me something to do every week. I'm starting to slightly learn how to paint (slightly) so who knows, maybe I can even add artistic to the list of things someday

I do not think that i would have lasted without WHF and 40K. GW showed me what it was like to control an entire army and lead them to victory. I have now progressed quite beyond GW but i still play both warhammers.
Painting and modelling has been a great way to release stress(alongside some hard-core moshing ) and recently pent up sexual energy/lust(My GF has a habbit of winding me up via phone and text)
It has also taught me patience and fine control as well as contributing alongside my training with the bastard sword to teach me self control.
I also ow it my ability to escape reality when in the past life has become to hard and enter a fantasy world where i can be what i want to be.
Gaming also gets me out of the house and into a large community.

The hobby got me out of blowing ridiculous amounts of money on go-fast car parts and 93 octane. Instead I paint tiny plastic men. Thanks GW!

In all seriousness, I do love having a proper hobby. Not too happy with the game itself, but I never grow tired of building and painting.

Im glad my friend brought up us all playing WH40k. Gone through a few armies, finally found 2 that stuck with me. Love the whole hobby, building, painting, playing, all of it. I really needed a hobby. Having PTSD from Iraq and Afghanistan, this game gives me something to focus on and keep me sane(within reason) I guess I really like this game more than the average person. Having a fun hobby to look foreward to daily is a huge thing for me. I Play sisters and Chaos marines.

Helps me be creative, which with the usual 9-5 grind is very important I think - whether it be kitbashing something, writing a short story about 40k, doing a bit of painting or working on some scenery.

I find it almost theraputic in a way; after a good game to refelct on it, or paint a unit thats been sitting on a shelf for ages and review it the next day or simply read some good fluff and havea think.

Thanks Warhammer!

It helped me make room in my wallet, and got me a few new freinds along the way

 crimsonfist832 wrote:
I have no problem talking to the homosapiens that call my school their own and yes, they ARE homosapiens, they are braindead sheep.

Thanks for keeping me entertained painting while it lasted... and taking up shelf space I guess.

Thanks for helping me forge long lasting friendships.

Of my two oldest friends, both I only really met because I played 40k. In my frist high school, one of them got into GW games with me. At my second high school, I found out one of the people I kind of knew there played because he has some figs with him one day (teacher asked us to bring in toy soldiers to re-enact a battle, he brough his Catachan).

Both of those people are still very good friends after about 15 years.

Probably my oldest and best friend is the one who got me into Warhammer. I still remember the day I went to his house for the first time and he was painting Epic Eldar Falcons and a Warlock Titan.

And because of 40K I can say that I am a published writer.

40k was also one of the main things that got me into writing, and I too am published now as a result (although mostly just short stories and nonfiction at the moment, although hoping that will change over the next few years).

It was also where I met most of my best friends - many of whom I'm still close to today. Some still play, others have dropped out - although several have expressed an interest of returning at some point.

I thank 40k for getting me off the 'magic' back in the day. I mean if I still had all my old magic cards I'd be rich and who wants that.

Well apart the whole creativity bust, Warhammer prevents me from being sucked in the digital world. You know I really like the fact that Im building something real with my hands. No screens, no wacom tablets, no adobe suites. Just me, a little figure, my tools and paints. It kinda clears my mind the same way fishing does. It helps me clear my thoughts. I especially enjoy modelling and painting on a rainy day.

Reading some of the posts here I would like to comment on something I long had in my mind. Wargame demographics. What characteristics have the gamers from country to country. We are used to hear about the stereotyped antisocial geeks that escape their miserable lives through games. This is an iconic caricature that you can see through any popular media. Being comics, tv, movies etc. How true is that?
Im asking because here in Greece there is an almost opposite stereotype. Usually the gamers are die hard metalheads that crossed their paths with wargames. They are not kids, but older teenagers (over 17) and adults (up to 40 years old). The percentage of real iconic geeks is very low. Yesterday I went at my LGS and there was the owner (about 40) with 3 of his friends (from 35 to 40) assembling some tanks. It was an almost funny image seeing people who looked as if they escaped from a metal videoclip, glueing parts of basically toy soldiers
To tell you the truth Im not that far different . There is nothing antisocial in the wargamers I know. Most of them have also other hobbies, from music to bike races. They were never the kid with no friends or girl.
I think that it has alot to do with how wargaming was introduced here.

Well, considering that Varg Vikernes used to play RPGs (and apparently one of the first things he bought when he left prison was D&D 4th edition) that doesn't surprise me at all. But Greek wargamers sound like my kind of guys - whilst assembling Rhinos we can discuss the latest Rotting Christ album or how bad Mayhem have become

Well, I think that Warhammer has given me something creative to do and has made me think tactically. Plus, it's better to do that than play some Paradox strategy game for life!

Thanks to 40k for being a great gateway drug into the world of miniature wargaming almost 20 years ago. I can't think of any other game that would have captivated my 12 year old mind the way 40k did and I still get great satisfaction out of the 40k universe. Also, it led to my discovery of the great sub-hobby of terrain building.

Despite largely leaving 40k gaming behind, I've continued to enjoy a broad array of wargames. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly my current gaming group has been where I met some of my very good friends.

The list of things war hammer has given me is long. Just a few are: an escape from the difficulties of my bad late teenage years, an alternative to video games (I consider video games predominately time-wasters), an means by which I can make new friends quickly in virtually any developed country, an artistic outlet, the satisfaction of seeing a long term plan come to completion. There are lots more.

Thank you w40k for giving me something to do with my fingers. I have a need to do manual labour and to accomplish something, being a substitute teacher leaves me dead inside at the end of each day.

Thank you for opening my eyes to other companies and their offering as well. Warhammer taught me the difference between liking an IP and the products generated by that IP.

Also, thank you for acting as a filter of worthwhile people. If anyone judged me for playing wargames, then I knew right away that I did not need to put up with them any longer.

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
being a substitute teacher leaves me dead inside at the end of each day.

It's a fun game. Cool models, too.

Thank you GW for clearing my wallet from time to time. Thank you for meeting some nice guys but also the opposite ones.

I suffer from psychomotor difficult which affect my fine motor control. I can barely write by hand due to it being so messy so I have to type everything for school.

By painting and working with my hands with small parts has helped me improve my fine motor control.

When I'm sitting around painting I'm not just painting I'm also overcoming my physical disabilities.

for me, it has done all the same as the OP, and then the painting helped me rehab my hand after i broke most of the bones in it and it would shake uncontrollably, it no longer does that, so me and MrFlutterPie are somewhat in the same boat, except my motor control problem was due to being a teenage idiot

 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
Well, considering that Varg Vikernes used to play RPGs...

And that a convicted eugenics loving murderer has the same interests as you is meriting!