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So, there's a thread in the forum about who you'd refuse a game with and why, and I was wondering about the counterpoint to that. What makes you enjoy a game more than usual? Is is the player, the army or the board? The atmosphere or the setting? Discuss away.

For me, there are a few things that take a game above and beyond the normal level of enjoyment:

Playing a fully or mostly painted army, especially if done to a good standard. My favourite games are always between 2 nicely-painted armies battling over a cool board.

The player is always a big factor. If I'm playing a person who is polite, friendly and as eager as I am then it's always a good thing.

I like to see lists or collections with a strong narrative, be it home-made or official.

I also love seeing Forge World models or models from older editions, anything different from the norm adds to my experience.

So Dakka, what makes you really enjoy a game?

What puts it "over the top" (as it were) for me:

1) As you say, fielding a great, fully painted army. I'm proud of my armies, and although I'm not a Golden Daemon painter, I'm proud to field an army that I can truly say is mine in every way. If the enemy army is painted too, that's a great bonus!

2) The player for me is less of a factor - I've found that if I am polite, most other people are polite as well. Even the WAACers loosen up once they realize that I'm not there to challenge their ego, only their skill. What does fit as #2 for me is the fluff. I love coming up with all sorts of reasons for different matchups, and I love seeing how each of my individual tanks performs in the battle. Just look at my Armored Regiment's thread for some clues as to how I feel about fluff. So like your Number 3, basically!

-First of all, my number one wish is that during every turn, you have a moment where you look at the table and the forces arrayed there and think "Wow, that's cool". This goes all the way from the terrain, to the painting on the models, to the armies involved being well-thought out and imaginatively themed/converted. Sorry, no bland Tau-Eldar ally mash-ups just to get all the advantages of both codexes. I want to see visual reasons as to why those two armies are working side by side.

-Second, I want a game where both people are engaged and entertained. I don't want a game where I sit there and watch my opponent's superpowered list remove everything I have before I even get to do anything, all the while they are boredly going through the motions. A game of 40K (or anything) serves the same purpose to me as going to a cool movie with a friend.

If I can get both of those things I frankly don't care if I win or lose (though at least I hope I make a good showing if I lose!)

There are two I can think of from the top of my head:

1) The person I'm playing against needs to be kind for me to enjoy a game. I'm usually too shy to go to an FLGS (well, that and there's only one table there). If the person has good sportsmanship and looks like he's having a good time, I'll be a lot less shy and I'll enjoy the game more.

2) This one is not as important but is still something I look for. If a game has a memorable moment, whether it's awesome (Captain running up to a tank and slapping melta bombs on it) or ridiculous (getting tabled on the first turn by forgetting to shoot). Then I will remember the game and will enjoy it all the more.

#1 - Painted models. I like tabletop gaming for the spactacle of it, and love looking at the armies painted up on the board. Our gameclub has a "better than basecoat" rule for this reason.

#2 - An opponent who also enjoys the game, knows their codex pretty good, and is a decent human being.

#3 - A good campaign, or at least some back story to answer "why are these armies fighting".

1. Models dont have to be painted but they MUST be from GW and be the correct model. Scratch builds and proxies ruin the experience.

2. A decent human who is plays for enjoyment of the game.

3. Winning comes last as I like to experiment and play wacky unorthodox list. Vespid spam anyone

Cool terrain and well painted armies do it for me.

I like to see painted forces. Not necessarily high-quality, but enough to get at least a grainy image of what's going on (all my painting is a bit hack 'n' slash anyways).
I regularly find that if you have a close and crazy friend who you would normaly be laughing with all day anyway, 40k games are the purest form of comedy (Oh damn! How the hell did the battlecannon scatter 3" behind the gun? Imagine what must've been going on there! *one of us draws out the supposed path of the shell into the air with a finger* [both players imagine such a spectacle] *laughing our faces off*)

It's also great fun when you manage to get a storyline in the game. And when you've had several games in which you've fielded your favourite model/character, and in a final battle, they both duel (Typhus vs Lysander is yet to happen, but 5th ed saw my DP, murderer of hundreds of IG models, duelling Lysander for about 4 turns, until finally dying).

Well painted models, lovely scenery and having fun with a friend!

I enjoy gaming with someone with an army thats at least 75% painted. (basing I'm not too fussed about) I like seeing some variation in their lists from time to time if I play them often.

I certainly enjoy playing against FW and converted units and some scratchbuilt units too.

I mostly just play against a friend of mine who swaps between Necrons, which is always a nice challenge as I play guard, and DKK.

The only thing that matters is the attitude of my opponent and team members. A good attitude means a good game.

A fun and friendly atmosphere.
An opponant who shares my enthusiasm for the game along with my view that it is only a game and not worth getting excited over.
Good Munchies and drinks.
Well painted mdels and a themed terrain table done well.
A challenge. No getting my rear handed to me and not walking over them either. A good close game with lots of "key story points".

crushing someones will to play the game.

Watching the Promethium burn them to a cinder

Shenanigans. This is in no way a serious game. I WANT shenanigans to a new level. I WANT to see flamers popping tanks, guardsmen beating bloodthirsters to death I WANT it to be full of this stuff.

Getting into close combat and tearing their spines out with my spehss mehreens.

The other player! If we are having fun, the game always shines!

 namiel wrote:
I WANT to see flamers popping tanks, guardsmen beating bloodthirsters to death I WANT it to be full of this stuff.

Oh, the mental imagery! In my mind I saw an IG holding his lasgun by the barrel, sitting on the Thirster's face, smacking it repeatedly with the butt of the gun, yelling "I've fking had enough of you!"

1. Painted armies. I won't refuse a game solely because it's grey, but the better the paintjob, the higher my respect for the army (and its owner).
2. Fluffy lists. I do like the fluff and if the other player prefers to pick something fluffy instead of something "optimised", it's real appreciated.
3. Laid-back attitude. I myself am pretty easy-going and openly laugh when something silly happens to me (like failing a single 2+ saving throw). If the opponent does the same, the game becomes pure entertainment.

The main things for me are:

Nicely set battlefield with a good amount of terrain

A close game, its always more fun is you don't know who will win or a small action can win it for you (in my last game a drop pod killed 2 gaunts and won me the game in KP)

A good percentage painted, you cant always play with a full painted army but whatever is painted looks good

 Selym wrote:

 namiel wrote:
I WANT to see flamers popping tanks, guardsmen beating bloodthirsters to death I WANT it to be full of this stuff.

Oh, the mental imagery! In my mind I saw an IG holding his lasgun by the barrel, sitting on the Thirster's face, smacking it repeatedly with the butt of the gun, yelling "I've fking had enough of you!"

Exalted. That would be the best thing ever.

Fluffy Armies - Thematic Battles - Friendly Players (I left the tourney scene awhile ago.) Nuff Said

Fluffy, painted armies and playing other players that realise that skill in 40K is very, very minimal and therefore are much happier in accepting bad rolls with humour

Simple: a game where my decisions matter. 40K is rapidly failing in this metric.

Minimal rules arguing.
I have no issue losing because of dice. but losing after arguing for about 30 minutes ruins the game forever.

 Desubot wrote:
Minimal rules arguing.
I have no issue losing because of dice. but losing after arguing for about 30 minutes ruins the game forever.

I expect rules arguing in GW games. For my decisions to matter, I have to have a clear interpretation of the rules of the game.

I like to play against painted armies but it doesn't make the game any more enjoyable for me.
I like playing against people who aren't going to be grouches.
If they are smiling and laughing and saying NOOOOOO!!! (in a fun sarcastic matter) at bad dice rolls its a good game.
I don't mind playing over powered lists, spam lists, or unconventional lists its all fun.

Flipping through the rules is always going to happen and if there is a disagreement on an unclear rule I just do a rolloff...makes it fair I find

I like minimal rules arguing as well. I also like when my opponent treats it as just a game, and isn't too heavily invested in the outcome.

I like the unexpected heroes that appear. Like the one tactical marine who survives the heldrake, obliterators and havocs to consistently throw frag grenades into a bulding for 3 turns, finally killing 10 cultists and capturing it. Or the one penal legion trooper who takes on a whole mob of hormagaunts and consistently passes his morale checks for the whole game

Wackiness. I.e the pair of ratlings that manage to shabe the last wound off of a wraithlord in CC before it can swing. The valkrye that misses every single shot at a target 8" away or the clumsy leman russ gunner who scatters a shot that nukes his own ADL gunline. That kind of stuff makes for awesome, memorable games.