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Hello Dakkafriends,

My friends and I want to start doing batreps an this got me thinking.... Why do you like to read/watch batreps, which do you prefer and if you have experience what tips would you give to some one that is new to batreps.

I like to read them to see other people;s lists and tactics that i might have missed or not thought of. Also if they add some fluff it makes it a fun narrative. Its nice to see how armies perfom and pics make it even more enjoyable as i get to see how people paint their armies as well.

I like to get tricks and tips and entertain myself at work.

Along the same lines, who do people like watching? I personally like Team0comp, miniwargaming and BlueTablePainting, as well as others.

I read them a lot at work and such.

I prefer pictures, because videos are often badly done (even if the actual content is good).

I like batreps because they're entertaining. I've seen people question why people like watching starcraft games, too, and the answer for that and this is the same as "why do people enjoy watching any sport".

Watching a game unfold is fun, seeing nicely painted armies is really cool and if I happen to pick up some new tactical tricks or painting/conversion ideas that's a bonus.

With regards to which I prefer, I find jy2's batreps to be a great example of how to do picture batreps right and for videos I think Reecius and the Frontline Gaming guys are terrific. Both examples clearly show what's going on, explain their reasoning as they go but also have a lot of fun with it.

Edit: I also check out batreps at work while bored.

Largely I just watch/read them for entertainment and fluff. On the whole, I prefer pics and text (preferably a mix of narrative and tactical, rather than one or the other) as videos, unless done at least semi-professionally (MWG, Frontline Gaming) are a bit hard to follow.

As for tips, I have recently started my own batrep series, so I can give some advice. Firstly, when playing, write down everything if possible. You probably won't end up using a good 60% of it in the final writeup. but having info you don't use is easier than sitting there when writing it up and trying to remember how squad A was in position do do Action B to unit C. Similarly, make a note of both lists (preferable get the opponent just to give you theirs after the game so you don't miss anything) and things like warlord traits/psychic powers ect.

Secondly, when writing the rep, consider what the most important information is, and try and make sure it gives a good idea of what happened. While the movement of Squad X may not seem important, if that same movement put them 1" within range of a target, then it's worth putting it in.

Bear in mind that what doesn't happen is often as important as what does. For example, if an IG squad failing an order check meant it couldn't take out the approaching nid swarm, then mention that failure, rather than just ignoring it.

Finally, the style is important. You don't need to be a great writer to write a good report, but only do what you feel you need to to covey a point. If you are good at writing fluff and characters, but not so hot on tactics, then make fluff the focus of the report and tactics just as notes and vice versa. Whichever you choose to focus on (and doing both is fine), make sure you are clear and concise. There's no point saying 'I killed a few guys from this squad', as it doesn't help convey the point, but on the other hand, listing every dice roll is going to cause people to lose interest.

Good luck, hope that helps.

Thank you for the tips and advice so far... In the next few weeks I hope to have one finished for both X-wing and 40k

I like to watch battle reports and read the campaign/background (if there is one) because I can't play as often as Iike with family duties.

My favorite part is the pre-game setup and the good pictures of duels and stuff.

I hate video batreps.
Picture ones are soooo much better in every way.

Like everyone else. I like to watch battle reports for info in tactics/army combos I may have missed of which their are a ton haha. It also gives me something to do while I'm bored at work.

I prefer to read reports with numerous pictures, like the old school ones in White Dwarf. I try to pick up tactics that might work in my armies and tips and tricks to defeat specific opponents.

I like to read them when I'm in between builds at work. I like the pics, and to see what happened, and what people's thought processes are that led them there.

I also like the analysis at the end of JY2's stuff.

I don't like to watch them at all. I really dislike video reports.

I watch/read them to keep up with the meta, and devise counters using my most common builds, to see if they are up to snuff

Also, helps serve as play testing for armies and units I don't play, or otherwise am not familiar with, due to not playing/seeing those armies often

 Redbeard wrote:
I like to read them when I'm in between builds at work. I like the pics, and to see what happened, and what people's thought processes are that led them there.

I also like the analysis at the end of JY2's stuff.

I don't like to watch them at all. I really dislike video reports.

QFT

I like to write them because I have aspirations of one day possibly writing some science fiction. No joke.. though not currently being pursued. When reliving my battles it helps me learn my mistakes and my accomplishments as I write them up. In addition, I like to share my games and experiences with others. A large part of the report is done for the sake of the readers. It would not be worth writing if no one was there to read it.


I read reports because I like seeing how other people play the game. Also to understand other peoples short comings or things that didnt go according to plan in games as I can totally relate. In most cases I like to think people read reports to gain knowledge on the table while also passing the time between games. Kind of getting their fix in if you will.

Added Note: I also like to show that some units that are considered below average are in fact very effective if used correctly.

 xXWeaponPrimeXx wrote:

 Redbeard wrote:
I like to read them when I'm in between builds at work. I like the pics, and to see what happened, and what people's thought processes are that led them there.

I also like the analysis at the end of JY2's stuff.

I don't like to watch them at all. I really dislike video reports.

QFT

haha this sums my thoughts up pretty well too.

In 4th ed WD did really awesome and exciting battle reports, and I strive to replicate that style in my own.

Video reports are decent, of which Reecius' are the best. I prefer pictures usually though, of which Jy2s are the best. The reason I watch BatReps is, simply, to see the most competitive tactics and lists I can without actually playing that many games. I really can't hope to see every good list before a tournament, so I want to know as much as I can in preparation. Plus, it's interesting to see the top players in other parts of the country.

I prefer a good write up with diagrams and pics..mabey I can learn from others mistakes or brilliant ideas

As a video battle report maker I strive to do quality battle reports (because as you can see here, most people dislike them) with a video, I find making it short 10-20 mins is key as too long means people won't watch all the way through. Also, players love the tactical analysis, usually missing in videoreps, and therefore things like a tactical breakdown gets added to the end of my video battle reports.

For more competitive videos, frontlinegaming.
For more fun videos, myself, or miniwargaming, or the dorklords.

As for written reports, I used to write up many. But they do take up more time to write up. Make sure you take a good number of pics and anotate them while you narrate the report. I do like arbitor-ians batreps, as they are always fully painted and look awesome, of course for more competitive jy2 is great. Although proxies and unpainted happens.

Last but not least! I love all forms of batreps, the celebration of us rolling dice and having fun, and kicking tail.

I love the spectacle of games.I love seeing two well-painted armies fight over a painted and modeled battlefield. They've always been one of my favorite things in White Dwarf, and I'm striving to recreate that in the battle reports I make, one of which I just spent an inordinate amount of time working on! I don't give a damn about competitive stuff, I just like seeing people play the game and present it in a cool way.

Video reports are usually one or two people with zero screen presence or speaking skills going on about this and that and making awkward forced banter or shaking around the camera too much. Said awkward forced banter is one of the reasons I can't stand MiniWarGaming's videos.

I read and watch.
Read needs pics of each player turn and brief description of what happened.

Videos need to be NO MORE than 30MINUTES and have a good camera.

When I read reports it's to see cool pictures of painted models fighting it out over fantastic terrain. I'm more interested in entertainment/story and recreating what I want from a game.

I never read battle reports for tactics/tips, or to see which lists are most competitive. I never read battle reports which are just walls of text or have pictures that are hard to follow.

For the same reason, I like the idea of video battle reports, but rarely find any I can watch. Because of the time constraint, they lose a lot of the fun of watching a game unfold and have to be narrated in a very 'gamey', non-narrative way - "So, here's my army. I've got three squads of Grey Hunters with Melta, two Dreads and a Wolf Lord" CUT "Ok, top of turn two and my Grey Hunters killed his Cultists, his Predator destroyed a Dreadnought and my Wolf Guard failed his charge" CUT "Ok, top of turn three...."

When we make reports, we try to do the old White Dwarf thing and make pretty, clear pictures the main point, so ideally you can follow the battle just by scrolling down the pictures at your own pace.


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I read batreps; and I especially like the ones from Mercer, Jy2 and the team from the mandulian chapel (heavymind, calypso ...), Ailaros (though they can someone be harder to follow) and of course those from Panic/ArbitorIan.
The interesting part to me is to be able to follow the global trend of the game, and the crucial decisions when they are made, to understand / weight the motivations behind it.

I used to like those from Reecius, but he switched to video.

I don't like video batreps at all; I find it really hard to follow, often poor quality, and less tactical input/visibility.

The only video report I ever followed and really enjoyed are those from Vidhammer Fantasy/Spudlow (fantasy reports as you can guess). Basically they set up a recorder along the table and record the full game.
The report is made afterwards; the author comments the video of the full game, which goes in fast forward speed.
Probably more adapted to fantasy though, since the big blocks can be followed quite easity. Also, having such comments made afterwards enable the player to comment his moves, which I find interesting.

I usually only read batreps. I'm from the south and some of the British or northern US video batreps I can't understand. I love to read hyv3mynd, jy2, Panic!, Arbitorian and mercer's batreps. hyv3mynd in particular has some beautiful armies and really makes his batreps in an easy to read manner. I make my way over to his blog pretty often to see what kind of shenanigans he and his buddies have been into.

I used to love to read Dashofpepper doing batreps. That was more for the drama than the content though

Although video BatReps can be entertaining I actually prefer the photos and a nice fluffy description of the action.

I prefer to read bat reps over video reports on the whole.

I like the idea of video reports but unfortunately the ones worth watching are few and far between.

EDIT: ok so I re-read the question.

Why? I don't get to play as much as I would like. I enjoy the "atmosphere" and imagining the story line/ fluff etc.
I like to immerse myself in the fiction.
Also like seeing how people respond to situations as they develop.


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I read and watch reports to stay current in the game. Reece and them usually run some stuff from the newest book so it helps to not be surprised playing at shops when you have already seen it in action. I like to play at larger tournaments but only once or twice a year and my playing in between can be sporadic at best for local events. Seeing what is nasty in the current new books and meta can be helpful in tweaking a list when you haven't been to the shop in a while. There is no substitute for getting games in though.

I watch Batreps because I like seeing two armies throttle each other because its always going to be an interesting match.

I create Batreps, (http://www.youtube.com/user/TypicalArgonian) and one thing I've learned is that you keep your content short and snappy, straight to the point, don't wander off whilst on topic or people will only get bored and all you will get is a whole load of complaints, if you have one section on your Batrep for example then keep it to the point, speed can be quite a big factor, but don't go all speed freekz though as if you do go too fast you end up with a blurry video and that also puts people off your vids, just be short, and straight to the point

i love em because of storyline and fun of other people

its very useful for tactics too

The only way that I can paint is by at the same time listening to something, and I've found that Miniwargaming's batrep videos do the trick quite nicely.