Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I am facing a really awkward dilemma at the minute. Me and my mates attend this wargames club where they have scenery and tables. Its the only time and place during the week that we can actually play games. However, only half of my mates have 40k armies and I am essentially the only one willing to GM. Basically, if I don't GM then a load of people don't show. The few times I have put my foot down and said I am going to do 40k then even the people with 40k armies don't show up. Either they don't like the game anymore, or they'd rather paint stuff, or they come up with convenient excuses even though they 100% attend Pathfinder. So theres been a number of times that I 've went there thinking that I'd have at least three people to game with only to find that all or most of them have bailed at the last minute. Plus, I am anxious for my mates to keep coming to the club so I can see them. But I don't particularly enjoy GMing Pathfinder and having invested hours of time and hundreds of pounds into the models I kind of want to have a chance to game with them.

You don't need a GM for 40k...

Really, all we can tell you is to tell your friends they're frustrating you. If they're not willing to be, y'know, friends and play games with you, then there's not a whole lot we can do about it.

Uk based? I've found there are quite a lot of game clubs around. Have a google and meet new people

DarkLink wrote:You don't need a GM for 40k...

Really, all we can tell you is to tell your friends they're frustrating you. If they're not willing to be, y'know, friends and play games with you, then there's not a whole lot we can do about it.

Captyn_Bob wrote:Uk based? I've found there are quite a lot of game clubs around. Have a google and meet new people

I GM Pathfinder, an RPG game. Basically they want me to do Path with them and not play 40k.


I can only really justify spending a few hours on a weekend going to a wargames club. Two is too much. There are other people at the club who play Heresy and 40k, but they're very inconsistent and its impossible to guarantee that they will bring their armies; especially for Heresy. PLus most weeks they pretty much pressure me into playing Path or RPGing something or other.

Running Roleplay and wargaming simultaneously is a grind.

Then the third thing is having a social life.

Doing 2 is hard, I found doing all 3 impossible. RPGs got dropped.

But just sounds like you need to do a bit more pre-arrangment for games. maybe set up a club calender or something.

I've been in a similar situation; I ran a local group for several years, providing space/boards/terrain (well, cardboard boxes for the most part, we were cheapskates!) for my friends and I to play, and about this time last year, the group did disintegrate as the guys either lost interest, didn't have enough time to play ect, and I ended up waiting on them for as many sessions as they actually showed up for. Since then, I've been doing a lot more painting and experimenting with rules writing than actual gaming, only actually playing on the odd occasion family or friends-of-friends were up for a game.

Sadly, I've found there's not a lot you can do about it to be honest; you can't make them spend time/money on the games, nor should you try, and if they want to play other stuff or not at all, then that's their call. Here's a few suggestions, though:

- if there are others at the club that you know well-ish that still play 40k/HH, perhaps see if you can get a way to contact them before the day to see if they're coming/what they're bringing and arrange games beforehand. If 'Bob' has a 40k army, then see if you can text/Facebook/email ect him a few days before and ask if he's going to the club that week- if so, arrange a game (points, armies ect) then just show up and play rather than waiting for an opponent, if not then don't go or plan something else.

- Have you tried playing a character rather than GMing the RPGs? Perhaps see if you can try that, and if you like it, set up a rota to share GM duties around. GMing can be fun, and though it's often less enjoyable than PCing (unless you really get into the GM side), someone's gotta do it for the RPG to work. If you can share the role, the other players may be more keen to swap around (GM duty once every few weeks is far less daunting/more enjoyable than doing it week in week out)


Hope that helps!

Captyn_Bob wrote:
Running Roleplay and wargaming simultaneously is a grind.

Then the third thing is having a social life.

Doing 2 is hard, I found doing all 3 impossible. RPGs got dropped.

But just sounds like you need to do a bit more pre-arrangment for games. maybe set up a club calender or something.

Through almost all my college years, I did Monday night wargames and Wednesday night RPGs. For a couple of years after it came out, lunches and other evenings were frequently MtG. Eventually, I did drop RPGs, because RPGs have to be the least time-efficient entertainment ever invented. I absolutely love RPGs, but you can spend 6 hours doing absolutely nothing, and success is heavily reliant on an incredible GM and a great story, which isn't easy to find.

That still leaves a whole bunch of nights for other social activities, though, by the way On the other hand, I now consider my 40k nights social activities, as it's 75% gaming with buddies (that I usually haven't seen for a week or two) and 25% competing to win. I mean, obviously, I want to win, but the main thing is getting together with friends, playing the game, seeing what other new stuff they have painted and such, and talking about new things coming out in the 40k universe.