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I recently played a very grueling 2 hour (combat patrol) game with a newbie. I did my part to help out but you can only do so much. Then I played with a very experienced player and we played a combat patrol in exactly 40 minutes! The second game had more flavor and felt like 40k should move pace-wise. I found in the first game I had to hang back, help out when I could and try not to get annoyed or over-bearing. I only have 3-4 hours to game so I want to get at least 2 casual games in. The second game my opponent & I were "leaders" of the setup and our own turns. We worked together to get the game moving fast, I will give examples below.

What are some tips you guys inhibit to make the game go faster? I really interested in making the game move faster! I want to walk-in, say hi, and begin deployment in 10 minutes.

Womprat's Simple Tips to Make the Game Go Faster:

PRE-GAME
1. Say a brief hello to the group. Just keep moving and go through the motions to start gaming. You will be able to chit chat ALOT later on AFTER or DURING your game.

2. Start to UNPACK YOUR ARMY immediately and place your models on a "borrowed" Burger King food tray. This will give the signal to the group that you mean business today. Then keen gamer will ask to get a game going. Then you...

3. Hand over a printed copy of your army list to your opponent. Grab your BK food tray to the game table.

4. If your opponent is lagging behind you can organize the physic power cards, templates, counters and terrain features. You can even be a swell guy and grab 2 can's of soda from the vending machine. Open up the rulebook to page where it lists the missions etc.

5. If your lucky your opponent is ready for deployment at this point. If he is not then you immediately start SETTING UP TERRAIN.

GAME-ON
*note* the best place to get the game moving faster is during your opponents turn. A keen player will get the hint and do the same during your turn. Your not really doing much anyways...

1. Plan your next moves, rather obvious. Do some pre-measuring, but not so much as to be annoying.
2. If you are being shot at, have your armor save or link dice in your hand ready to go.
3. Get counters ready and place them for your opponent if he rapid-fired, ran, jinked- whatever.
4. Put your casualties back on your BK tray or in your army box if this is your last game.
5. Look up rules. A keen player can ask you to look BEFORE he really needs it. "I might do a dual-charge, can you look into that please".
6. Put a pair of dice next to a unit that needs to make LD checks.

What else can you guys think of- really appreciate it!

Main one I've found is to cut out any and all talk not related to the game while playing, by which I mean you only to your opponent, and only along the lines of declaring what you are about to do

 statu wrote:
Main one I've found is to cut out any and all talk not related to the game while playing, by which I mean you only to your opponent, and only along the lines of declark g what you are about to do

The solution is worse than the problem in that case IMO.

 Eldarain wrote:

 statu wrote:
Main one I've found is to cut out any and all talk not related to the game while playing, by which I mean you only to your opponent, and only along the lines of declark g what you are about to do

The solution is worse than the problem in that case IMO.

Suppose it depends on the conditions, I used to play in a shop where you had to setup, play and pack up a 1500pt game in an hour, so any idle chat meant your game would end turn 2.

My usual thing is
Pick points
Claim table
Request 3rd party table set up
While table is being set, roll all the things and exchange lists
Deploy
Should take about 10-20 min depending on game size

Play wise dont get mondo distracted. dont let the peanut gallery in unless you really want to

Know the fethin rules. talk during set up about wonky things that might come up and agree. also agree on terrain interaction. sweeping 5+ cover is easiest

Also When doing blast type things let them count the hits and just give it to them no point arguing that the template is over the base while you have caffeine hands wobbling around.

Pick up fails instead of successes.

Roll the fething Scatter dice close to the place you are using it (fething hate people that roll on the other side of a building across the table)

But most importantly dont take it so seriously
nothing slows the game down like an argument

Of course this is for le pickup game.

sounds.... like.......... a fun... place....

Play at 1000 points or less.

 statu wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:

 statu wrote:
Main one I've found is to cut out any and all talk not related to the game while playing, by which I mean you only to your opponent, and only along the lines of declark g what you are about to do

The solution is worse than the problem in that case IMO.

Suppose it depends on the conditions, I used to play in a shop where you had to setup, play and pack up a 1500pt game in an hour, so any idle chat meant your game would end turn 2.

Yikes! Makes for excellent Tournament prep I suppose.

Counters for rapid firing? o.O

Well, to fasten gameplay:

1. Know your army. Know REALLY well. Spend some time reading the rulebook and your codex/dataslates, memorizing whatever you can. Write down lists, copy attributes, special rules, wargear. With time you'll start to remember exactly what a model is supposed to have.

2. Be sure your friends do the same. New players are ok, but experienced ones have no excuse (apart time, if he/she works/studies).

3. Have someone place terrain while you guys unpack and exchange lists.

4. Meet up before games and decide house rules/view on unclear rules. Or just decide for the 4+ roll. Arguing over urles mid-game will only take more time. Have someone to judge rules queries (probably the terrain person again).

Want to speed up 40k?

1. House Rule that owning player removes any models of their choice as casualties, rather than mucking about with "closest first". Then you can move faster, shoot faster, and fight faster. Plus, the more dangerous models stick around longer.

2. House Rule back to Area Terrain rather than TLOS. This also goes faster for shooting, and speeds up movement / cover.

In other words, play something more like 3E / 4E / 5E, rather than 6E / 7E!

 statu wrote:

Suppose it depends on the conditions, I used to play in a shop where you had to setup, play and pack up a 1500pt game in an hour, so any idle chat meant your game would end turn 2.

I wouldn't play under those conditions. I'd rather play elsewhere, or just BS with some gamers instead.

 Desubot wrote:

Pick up fails instead of successes.

This is a pet peeve of mine. People who snatch up all the "successes" really quickly, then act like they don't know what you're talking about when you say, "Hey, that was a 3, not a 4". I just always do this myself, and politely ask my opponent to do it as well. If I'm in a tournament and my opponent refuses, I will then simply ask that they don't remove any dice until I've had a chance to confirm them as being successes. If they still don't comply, I'll call a TO over. I've never really had it go that far, but I suspect most TOs would just tell them to remove failures instead of successes. It's the most logical way to handle it.

Outside of a tournament, if someone refused the first polite request to pick up fails, I'd just pack up. It's not worth the headache, and someone who refuses something like that is either 1: In FAR to great a hurry, or 2: Is already in an argumentative state of mind. Either way, unless forced to by tournament rules, I'd rather not spend time attempting to enjoy playing a game with them.

Well it just makes sense to pick up failures and move them aside. Then you can roll the successes if you have to.


As to the topic and the OP I feel you man. I can't tell you how many games have ended on my opponents top of t5 waiting for my turn that have lost me the game. Its frustrating, but I have a hard time NOT talking to my opponent.

Suggestions I'll give though: 1st, plan out our moves ahead of time.
2nd know your codex and your rule book for minimum reference.
3rd if you come across a difficult rules question don't spend 20minutrs looking for it.... Just roll of on it and continue your game.

Keeping a note pad to quickly jot down the rule issue can help you make a cheat sheet with the answer for next time (assuming it's not one of the rules quagmires without a clear answer)

The last two games I've played against CWE had such long psychic phases both games could only reach up to turn 4....

So if you're gonna play a big 2000 point list with lots of psykers, remember that's a whole extra chunk of time to make it through.

I almost forget that there's still a Shooting Phase I have to survive too...

 Eldarain wrote:

 statu wrote:
Main one I've found is to cut out any and all talk not related to the game while playing, by which I mean you only to your opponent, and only along the lines of declark g what you are about to do

The solution is worse than the problem in that case IMO.

Why ? It is not like talking about non game related stuff is needed to play it.

Suppose it depends on the conditions, I used to play in a shop where you had to setup, play and pack up a 1500pt game in an hour, so any idle chat meant your game would end turn 2.

Same thing here, there is always people waiting for free tables and little love between people playing different systems, makes the one hour cap very important. Otherwise people would try to have infinite play time, while others would had to wait for hours.

Makumba wrote:

 Eldarain wrote:

 statu wrote:
Main one I've found is to cut out any and all talk not related to the game while playing, by which I mean you only to your opponent, and only along the lines of declark g what you are about to do

The solution is worse than the problem in that case IMO.

Why ? It is not like talking about non game related stuff is needed to play it.

Because for some of us the game isn't the whole experience. We like the social aspect. Beer and pretzels, you know?

 womprat49 wrote:
Start to UNPACK YOUR ARMY immediately and place your models on a "borrowed" Burger King food tray.

This is the BK food tray where I live. You'd have to play a small scale game to fit your models on it

Paint it red.

I almost always make run moves during the movement phase if the opponent doesn't mind and it wont effect the game too much. Speed things up a lot if you're playing horde armies.

 pumpinchimp wrote:
Paint it red.

Exalted!

 Alex Kolodotschko wrote:
I almost always make run moves during the movement phase if the opponent doesn't mind and it wont effect the game too much. Speed things up a lot if you're playing horde armies.

This is a good idea too. Although, if you're playing a TFG, they probably won't let you do this for no good reason. So that brings us to the next point to speed up games:

Don't be TFG.


EDIT: Also, for the record, another method to speed up games is: Enjoy the experience. Take time to enjoy socializing with your opponent. Make some jokes. Laugh a little. Live a little. In the end, maybe you only play 1 game instead of 2. If you had fun playing the 1 game, but you'd have had to been a stone-faced super serious tryhard to get 2 in, doesn't that make playing the 1 game the better option? No one here is winning the world series of 40k, and if they are, the prize will inevitably be worth less than the army you used to win it. So just relax.

Good timing on this article, as my mate and I are having our 'first' game of 40k on Sunday (his first ever, my first in a couple of years).

500pts, Skitarii (him) versus my Eldar. Looking forward to it, and these tips should help us not get mired down in the dull stuff!

 monders wrote:
Good timing on this article, as my mate and I are having our 'first' game of 40k on Sunday (his first ever, my first in a couple of years).

500pts, Skitarii (him) versus my Eldar. Looking forward to it, and these tips should help us not get mired down in the dull stuff!

Interesting. I feel like the Skitarii force, if it focuses solely on Vanguard, would be incredibly strong at 500 points. He brings 2 Calivers just in case the enemy brought a vehicle, and he's gonna be one tough opponent to meet.

 statu wrote:
Main one I've found is to cut out any and all talk not related to the game while playing, by which I mean you only to your opponent, and only along the lines of declaring what you are about to do

That fits smoothly with the "forge the narrative" and "beer and pretzels" slogans, yup

Some good advice here.
I do agree in part from experience that the "chat" can slow things down unless you train yourself to keep doing stuff while you talk.
Many people stop dead to talk.
That is killer on time.
I like talking but find it kills a game if you cannot "walk and chew bubblegum".

 Purifier wrote:

Interesting. I feel like the Skitarii force, if it focuses solely on Vanguard, would be incredibly strong at 500 points. He brings 2 Calivers just in case the enemy brought a vehicle, and he's gonna be one tough opponent to meet.

Hmm, he is a gamey SOB so I'm expecting some dreadful stuff.

I have:

Karandras

2 x 5 Dire Avengers

5 x Rangers

5 x Scorpions

I'm half tempted to swap the rangers for a War Walker (Star Canon, Scatter laser) for a bit more punch...

edit - My apologies OP, I realise these is taking the thread off topic. I'll stop now.

 BetrayTheWorld wrote:

 statu wrote:

Suppose it depends on the conditions, I used to play in a shop where you had to setup, play and pack up a 1500pt game in an hour, so any idle chat meant your game would end turn 2.

I wouldn't play under those conditions. I'd rather play elsewhere, or just BS with some gamers instead.

 Desubot wrote:

Pick up fails instead of successes.

This is a pet peeve of mine. People who snatch up all the "successes" really quickly, then act like they don't know what you're talking about when you say, "Hey, that was a 3, not a 4". I just always do this myself, and politely ask my opponent to do it as well. If I'm in a tournament and my opponent refuses, I will then simply ask that they don't remove any dice until I've had a chance to confirm them as being successes. If they still don't comply, I'll call a TO over. I've never really had it go that far, but I suspect most TOs would just tell them to remove failures instead of successes. It's the most logical way to handle it.

Outside of a tournament, if someone refused the first polite request to pick up fails, I'd just pack up. It's not worth the headache, and someone who refuses something like that is either 1: In FAR to great a hurry, or 2: Is already in an argumentative state of mind. Either way, unless forced to by tournament rules, I'd rather not spend time attempting to enjoy playing a game with them.

I get why you prefer to always pick out the fail dice. I usually do that myself. However, I tend to pick up successes when I have more fails. It's faster to pick out the 5 hits made by shoota boyz than it is to pick out the 15 fails. It's not like I roll the dice then rush to claim hits before anyone can see what I rolled. It's just faster that way.

If you're really going to split hairs and/or rage quit over my dice removal methods in a pick up game then you probably have poor prioritization.

 Talizvar wrote:
Some good advice here.
I do agree in part from experience that the "chat" can slow things down unless you train yourself to keep doing stuff while you talk.
Many people stop dead to talk.
That is killer on time.
I like talking but find it kills a game if you cannot "walk and chew bubblegum".

Good point, I've noticed me and my gaming buds tend to chat whilst moving our dudes (or in my case, taking them off as casualties).

lustigjh wrote:

 BetrayTheWorld wrote:

 statu wrote:

Suppose it depends on the conditions, I used to play in a shop where you had to setup, play and pack up a 1500pt game in an hour, so any idle chat meant your game would end turn 2.

I wouldn't play under those conditions. I'd rather play elsewhere, or just BS with some gamers instead.

 Desubot wrote:

Pick up fails instead of successes.

This is a pet peeve of mine. People who snatch up all the "successes" really quickly, then act like they don't know what you're talking about when you say, "Hey, that was a 3, not a 4". I just always do this myself, and politely ask my opponent to do it as well. If I'm in a tournament and my opponent refuses, I will then simply ask that they don't remove any dice until I've had a chance to confirm them as being successes. If they still don't comply, I'll call a TO over. I've never really had it go that far, but I suspect most TOs would just tell them to remove failures instead of successes. It's the most logical way to handle it.

Outside of a tournament, if someone refused the first polite request to pick up fails, I'd just pack up. It's not worth the headache, and someone who refuses something like that is either 1: In FAR to great a hurry, or 2: Is already in an argumentative state of mind. Either way, unless forced to by tournament rules, I'd rather not spend time attempting to enjoy playing a game with them.

I get why you prefer to always pick out the fail dice. I usually do that myself. However, I tend to pick up successes when I have more fails. It's faster to pick out the 5 hits made by shoota boyz than it is to pick out the 15 fails. It's not like I roll the dice then rush to claim hits before anyone can see what I rolled. It's just faster that way.

If you're really going to split hairs and/or rage quit over my dice removal methods in a pick up game then you probably have poor prioritization.

You're assuming he is a TFG for ragequitting, he is assuming you're a TFG for using dicey (see what I did there) removal methods. Who is right? Who knows.

I don't like it when you pick up successes. You might be the best guy ever at not making mistakes, and you might be the most honest person ever. I don't know that. I think it's a courtesy to leave the successes on the table so that others can keep seeing it until we are completely agreeing on what's hits and what's not. I might also be wrong. "no, you hit on a 5+, not a 4+." Oh, you're right. How many of the things I picked up were 4s?
As your opponent, it's easier for me to allow than to try and take back. IE; "no, it's a 5+. You picked up three fours, please remove them from the pile" feels a lot more douchey than if it happens to be the other way "no, it's 3+. You picked up four threes, those were hits, you can put those back."
And it's a courtesy to use the method that best benefits the opponent in case something goes wrong.

Plus, if you pick up hits, and I know some people do this really fast after rolling aaaaall the way over on their own table half, it's easy to snag a few misses as hits. You may not do that, but if I'm standing on the other side of the table and I see you snagging up a two as a hit, you can't in any way prove to me that it wasn't a two, because you've ruined that chance. I might be wrong, but I will never think I was wrong because there is nothing to prove me wrong. Instead I will assume you're a cheater, based on me seeing something that wasn't there.

tl;dr Pick up misses.

Here's a movement tip from someone who plays Orks. Fielding 60+ infantry can take a long time to move them. So whether you're playing Orks, Nids or IG this can help when moving that huge blob.

Measure the movement of the model in the front and move him. Then turn him around backwards. Then measure and move the guy in the back and turn him around. Then you can set down the tape measure and just fill in the infantry in between the front and back guy. You turn them around backwards so you dont lose track of who the front and back guys are.

If it's an especially big blob or it's spread out, Measure the guys in the corners and move them first. Alternatively you can run your tape measure around the edges of the blob dropping dice or markers of some kind at the edge of their maximum movement. Then just move them all up trying to keep the same spacing and not going past those markers.

 Icculus wrote:
Here's a movement tip from someone who plays Orks. Fielding 60+ infantry can take a long time to move them. So whether you're playing Orks, Nids or IG this can help when moving that huge blob.

I would not hold it against you if you used weird movement trays like this: