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Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Lebanon NH


Greetings everyone,

I'm just going to go ahead and say it: I have had a difficult time getting in games during the era of Covid. I went from being able to reliably get in a game every week to... well, huh, I think it's been more than a month since my last game. It sucks.

I don't think I'm the only one having troubles with this, so I was wondering: what has everyone here done to help with that? For a little while some folks at my FLGS had a garage league, but even THAT has stopped now (I'm also in a red zone as far as infections, so there is that). It's getting so that I have a hard time even working on my modeling projects or painting because, frankly, I don't play all that often.

Help me almighty dakka! Share your wisdom!
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran






TABLETOP SIMULATOR!!

It's really been a godsend - so much so that even when COVID concerns were at a low point and we could meet in person, many in our group ended up using TTS anyway.

We've been developing ProHammer over the past couple of years, and have a workshop mod we've been updating that work with that. But it can be used for any other 40K games too.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2681913244

Can see the link above for the workshop item and some fun screen shots from our games.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/21 19:54:03


Want a better 40K?
Check out ProHammer: Classic - An Awesomely Unified Ruleset for 3rd - 7th Edition 40K... for retro 40k feels!
 
   
Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





Foldable table makes for easy gaming table. Then just find some opponen's who wants to come. So far 7 games this year and tomorrow 3 more. Monday yet another.


2024 painted/bought: 109/109 
   
Made in gb
Automated Rubric Marine of Tzeentch




dorset

leerm02 wrote:

Greetings everyone,

I'm just going to go ahead and say it: I have had a difficult time getting in games during the era of Covid. I went from being able to reliably get in a game every week to... well, huh, I think it's been more than a month since my last game. It sucks.

I don't think I'm the only one having troubles with this, so I was wondering: what has everyone here done to help with that? For a little while some folks at my FLGS had a garage league, but even THAT has stopped now (I'm also in a red zone as far as infections, so there is that). It's getting so that I have a hard time even working on my modeling projects or painting because, frankly, I don't play all that often.

Help me almighty dakka! Share your wisdom!


short answer, for me at least, was to play at someones house, lockdown permitting.

I (re)started collecting over the 2020 lockdown, and basically didnt get a game until january 2021, when a chance discussion with another customer at the local GW about lack of opponents lead to us swapping details and making arrangements to play at his (he had terrain and space to play, plus a partner intrested in the hobby), so i've been playing at his house when our (somewhat hectic) schedules permit. i know the local GW is still not hosting games, however, and im about to move for work reasons to another area so im hoping to find new opponents once i get their.

To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be relearned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

Coven of XVth 2000pts
The Blades of Ruin 2,000pts Watch Company Rho 1650pts
 
   
Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





Incidentally while TTS certainly has risen in popularity I'm getting impression home games are getting bit of a resurface as a result. FLGS's were popular enough before but feels like more people here are figuring out some sort of gaming method to their homes.

Myself need bit more terrain for 40k use. AOS I'm fine, for 40k not enough LOS blocking terrain. Terrain requirement is pretty different for games. For AOS it's more about movement blocking and creating narrow frontages. 40k more of LOS blocking.

2024 painted/bought: 109/109 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




My buddies and I have a table and tons of terrain, we play in the basement. We can still play at local stores too, as they haven't been closed since the beginning of 2020.

Basically just play at friends houses if stores aren't an option.


 
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran






Also .....

For those wanting to play homehammer, basement hammer, garage hammer, etc...

You can get a pretty manageable able setup the following way:

(1) Go a big box home improvement store and buy a 4' x 8' foot sheet of particle board (it's cheap - but get it at least 1/2" thick). Ask the store employees to cut it down to four 2' x 4' panels (they usually will do this free of charge).

(2) Buy a small cheap can of green or drab paint and just paint the boards. You can paint or ruler in different board dimensions if you want.

(3) At this point, you have boards that are reasonably light and portable. You can drop an old sheet on top of someone dining room table or whatever (so it doesn't scratch) and then use your portable boards.

Want a better 40K?
Check out ProHammer: Classic - An Awesomely Unified Ruleset for 3rd - 7th Edition 40K... for retro 40k feels!
 
   
Made in us
Preacher of the Emperor





St. Louis, Missouri USA

 Mezmorki wrote:
Also .....

For those wanting to play homehammer, basement hammer, garage hammer, etc...

You can get a pretty manageable able setup the following way:

(1) Go a big box home improvement store and buy a 4' x 8' foot sheet of particle board (it's cheap - but get it at least 1/2" thick). Ask the store employees to cut it down to four 2' x 4' panels (they usually will do this free of charge).

(2) Buy a small cheap can of green or drab paint and just paint the boards. You can paint or ruler in different board dimensions if you want.

(3) At this point, you have boards that are reasonably light and portable. You can drop an old sheet on top of someone dining room table or whatever (so it doesn't scratch) and then use your portable boards.
How do you put the boards on the tables? Like hershey's bars, or like kit kats?

 
   
Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





I have similar idea though foams(since I had sheets lying around). Simply have suitable size board and lay over. Doesn't have to be exact size especially with foam as foam is light though light sheet might be same. Maybe with wood put some padding between.

If you don't have any board close enough folding table like I have is good. I don't have any table that's regulary in that would fit 6' in 2' sections...but I got suitably wide but bit too narrow foldable table. It's bit too narrow but the 40cm or so that's hanging(20cm by side) isn't issue and as it's foldable setting it away is breeze so I don't have my bed room totally dominated by the table all the time

2024 painted/bought: 109/109 
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran






 deviantduck wrote:
 Mezmorki wrote:
Also .....

For those wanting to play homehammer, basement hammer, garage hammer, etc...

You can get a pretty manageable able setup the following way:

(1) Go a big box home improvement store and buy a 4' x 8' foot sheet of particle board (it's cheap - but get it at least 1/2" thick). Ask the store employees to cut it down to four 2' x 4' panels (they usually will do this free of charge).

(2) Buy a small cheap can of green or drab paint and just paint the boards. You can paint or ruler in different board dimensions if you want.

(3) At this point, you have boards that are reasonably light and portable. You can drop an old sheet on top of someone dining room table or whatever (so it doesn't scratch) and then use your portable boards.
How do you put the boards on the tables? Like hershey's bars, or like kit kats?


Each board is 4-feet long by 2-feet wide. You'd want to just line up in a single row with the long (4-foot) edges touching. So, for example, lining up three boards kit kat style would net you a 6' x 4' board.


Want a better 40K?
Check out ProHammer: Classic - An Awesomely Unified Ruleset for 3rd - 7th Edition 40K... for retro 40k feels!
 
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Lebanon NH

I might have to give that a try! Thanks for the tip!
   
Made in gb
Preparing the Invasion of Terra






We did TTS for a bit but it was clunky and a pain to set up so we eventually just waited until we were allowed to get together again.
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka




NE Ohio, USA

2020:
With everything closed & locked down, a very select small group & I just played at each others houses (we all have gaming tables, terrain, etc). We took turns hosting. Sometimes it was a minis game (40k/AoS/WWII/etc), sometimes a board game day {we played a lot of Axis & Allies}, sometimes an(other) RPG session.
This was NOT an open invite group. We're all around each other, or around via close proxy (kids/SO's/siblings), 4-5 days a week anyways. Our risk of catching something from one another isn't any greater rolling dice together Thur evening than it was earlier in the day working together....
Actually, with everything closed down, we were probably safer than before. Because we weren't going to movies, out to eat, vacations, ball games, school events, the FLGS (other than for curbside pick-up), etc. Contact with randos was quite reduced! Other than gaming, & some work (with each other), the most exciting/dangerous thing was shopping for groceries every 3 weeks.
Of course the usual caveat from pre-C19 times applied - if you're not feeling well, stay the away. If there's reason to think you're contaminated? Stay the away.
This worked quite well throughout 2020. One guys GF did come down sick (he didn't & she's recovered just fine) so we didn't see him other than via Zoom for a good 3 weeks. Another person had to do some unavoidable traveling - to Florida of all places :( - so when they returned they were absolutely quarantined from family, friends, & even pets.

2021:
Come spring & vaccinations gaming resumed at the local shops to varying degrees. Though the group I talked about above continued to keep an eye on the local ebb & flow of contagion. If things rose we just faded away from public gaming. Our own tables are still here. The only reason to play at the shops is to play with those you wouldn't invite home.
Once again, this worked well. One guy got mildly sick & those of us that had been around him the day or so before all quarantined. Gaming wise that caused some of us to miss a game or two of Kill Team 2.0 (wasn't a huge loss IMO) & we chose to run our weekly RPG over Zoom.

2022:
So far only 1 person has missed a few RPG sessions. They went out to a local NY Eve party/event, started feeling poorly that Sat/Sun(Mon?), tested +, & spent the rest of the week sick as a dog (despite being vaccinated).
The next week, once they were back working they had to cancel because they were working OT trying to make up some of the difference in the paycheck from the week before.
Unfortunately play in the RPG had reached a point where it was important to have the whole group together - so the game was called off two weeks running. Great way to start the new year!
This week? When things were back to normal for them? We all got to tell them "We told you so..." concerning going to that NY Eve thing.

I predict my 2022 gaming will be very similar to my 2021 gaming.

   
Made in us
Master Engineer with a Brace of Pistols





washington state USA

This isn't the first time the topic has come up. it really depends on where you are and and what your group chooses to do.

The FLGS was shut down for 3 months (march-may 2020) and we got no games in, then restrictions were relaxed to the point we got small "invite only" groups together to play, that lasted until jan 2021 when we went full open again, and we have never stopped playing normal game night. So i think we were pretty lucky as far as game availability goes.


I think at this point all the regulars have had one form or another of covid-19 over the last 2 years. symptoms varied from none at all to mild, everbody has since recovered and we are gaming normally like it is 2019,

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/22 07:47:10






GAMES-DUST1947/infinity/B5 wars/epic 40K/5th ed 40K/victory at sea/warmachine/battle tactics/monpoc/battletech/battlefleet gothic/castles in the sky,/heavy gear 
   
Made in de
Ork Admiral Kroozin Da Kosmos on Da Hulk






1) TTS. It's not completely like playing 40k in person and is difficult to learn for non-technical people, but it's a decent replacement and there are some really great looking boards to play fun games on. It also allows you to play stuff without buying it.

2) My dinner table is big enough to fit a 44"x30" board, so I slapped a pair of GW boards onto it and got some cheap MDF terrain plus some scratch builds. Total investment of max 80€ and zero skills required besides enough patience to build MDF terrain .
Me and a few friends used it to play combat patrol games at first (those got dull eventually) and later incursion games. Incursion does feel like playing a proper game in most game modes, so I suggest giving it a try. Be aware that the meta is completely different from 2k points though, you need to rethink the game a bit.

3) When the weather was good enough, we did games in people's gardens with the gaming boards far apart and trying to keep the distance when possible and putting on masks when not.

4) Since the vaccines have been readily available, our club is doing meetings in person again, but you need to be fully vaccinated (all the shots) and do a test before coming. However, quick tests seem to no longer work reliably with the omicron variant. I caught it from a family member with a negative test, and my own tests were negative until I was really, really sick already and had already infected my wife and daughter. Therefore, we put the club back on hiatus currently and are waiting for the infections to go down or being able to test reliably again.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/22 10:10:13


7 Ork facts people always get wrong:
Ragnar did not win against Thrakka, but suffered two crushing defeats within a few days of each other.
A lasgun is powerful enough to sever an ork's appendage or head in a single, well aimed shot.
Orks meks have a better understanding of electrics and mechanics than most Tech Priests.
Orks do not think that purple makes them harder to see. They do think that camouflage does however, without knowing why.
Gharkull Blackfang did not even come close to killing the emperor.
Orks can be corrupted by chaos, but few of them have any interest in what chaos offers.
Orks do not have the power of believe. 
   
Made in us
Trustworthy Shas'vre





Cobleskill

 Mezmorki wrote:
 deviantduck wrote:
 Mezmorki wrote:
Also .....

For those wanting to play homehammer, basement hammer, garage hammer, etc...

You can get a pretty manageable able setup the following way:

(1) Go a big box home improvement store and buy a 4' x 8' foot sheet of particle board (it's cheap - but get it at least 1/2" thick). Ask the store employees to cut it down to four 2' x 4' panels (they usually will do this free of charge).

(2) Buy a small cheap can of green or drab paint and just paint the boards. You can paint or ruler in different board dimensions if you want.

(3) At this point, you have boards that are reasonably light and portable. You can drop an old sheet on top of someone dining room table or whatever (so it doesn't scratch) and then use your portable boards.
How do you put the boards on the tables? Like hershey's bars, or like kit kats?



Each board is 4-feet long by 2-feet wide. You'd want to just line up in a single row with the long (4-foot) edges touching. So, for example, lining up three boards kit kat style would net you a 6' x 4' board.



Alternatively, you can make any shape board you want, or any variant. Admittedly nonstandard, but there's nothing stopping you from doing random stuff like I-I, I--I, I I I I rather than IIII. Try Islands. Have flying models? Cool. Have Range? Even better. Fail a random movement and leave the 'rooftop'? it's either destroyed or enters strategic reserves while it humps its way back to the rooftops\out of the water\lava.

'No plan survives contact with the enemy. Who are we?'
'THE ENEMY!!!'
Racerguy180 wrote:
rules come and go, models are forever...like herpes.
 
   
Made in us
Veteran Knight Baron in a Crusader





What part of the country are you in? Here in Florida nothing really changed because of the pandemic. Stores were closed for 2 weeks, then opened back up. We don't have any mask mandates at our stores and there seems to be a normal amount of people playing. The Warhammer store is closed while they hire/train a new manager and several people have stepped in to host games at their houses until it reopens.
   
Made in us
Master Engineer with a Brace of Pistols





washington state USA

Toofast wrote:
What part of the country are you in? Here in Florida nothing really changed because of the pandemic. Stores were closed for 2 weeks, then opened back up. We don't have any mask mandates at our stores and there seems to be a normal amount of people playing. The Warhammer store is closed while they hire/train a new manager and several people have stepped in to host games at their houses until it reopens.


Yeah, but you live in the free state of Florida where your governor is actually sane, and not a power hungry authoritarian who needs a crisis to use as an excuse.

I am in the opposite corner of the country and we still technically have a mask mandate, but nobody cares about it anymore.





GAMES-DUST1947/infinity/B5 wars/epic 40K/5th ed 40K/victory at sea/warmachine/battle tactics/monpoc/battletech/battlefleet gothic/castles in the sky,/heavy gear 
   
Made in us
Member of a Lodge? I Can't Say





Philadelphia PA

 aphyon wrote:
Toofast wrote:
What part of the country are you in? Here in Florida nothing really changed because of the pandemic. Stores were closed for 2 weeks, then opened back up. We don't have any mask mandates at our stores and there seems to be a normal amount of people playing. The Warhammer store is closed while they hire/train a new manager and several people have stepped in to host games at their houses until it reopens.


Yeah, but you live in the free state of Florida where your governor is actually sane, and not a power hungry authoritarian who needs a crisis to use as an excuse.

I am in the opposite corner of the country and we still technically have a mask mandate, but nobody cares about it anymore.


I think you meant "you live in the let 'er rip state where the body count doesn't matter".

--

My LGS has a mask and vaccine requirement for tourneys, and they have a nice courtyard out back formed from the oddly shaped neighboring buildings so snacks and lunch can be taken out in the fresh air without too much trouble.


I prefer to buy from miniature manufacturers that *don't* support the overthrow of democracy. 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka




NE Ohio, USA

Toofast wrote:
What part of the country are you in? Here in Florida nothing really changed because of the pandemic.


There's around 63k dead that I'm sure would disagree.
   
Made in us
Master Engineer with a Brace of Pistols





washington state USA

 ScarletRose wrote:
 aphyon wrote:
Toofast wrote:
What part of the country are you in? Here in Florida nothing really changed because of the pandemic. Stores were closed for 2 weeks, then opened back up. We don't have any mask mandates at our stores and there seems to be a normal amount of people playing. The Warhammer store is closed while they hire/train a new manager and several people have stepped in to host games at their houses until it reopens.


Yeah, but you live in the free state of Florida where your governor is actually sane, and not a power hungry authoritarian who needs a crisis to use as an excuse.

I am in the opposite corner of the country and we still technically have a mask mandate, but nobody cares about it anymore.


I think you meant "you live in the let 'er rip state where the body count doesn't matter".

--

My LGS has a mask and vaccine requirement for tourneys, and they have a nice courtyard out back formed from the oddly shaped neighboring buildings so snacks and lunch can be taken out in the fresh air without too much trouble.





You obviously have not looked at the actual numbers. Florida has maintained a per capita death and hospitalization rate roughly equal or less than the hard lock down states like New York (comparably same population size with Florida's being generally older) and California without restricting the rights of its citizens, and unlike the former governor of NY they have not purposely killed 10-15k old people via the governors dictate.

If you want to make points, it is best you research them first.






GAMES-DUST1947/infinity/B5 wars/epic 40K/5th ed 40K/victory at sea/warmachine/battle tactics/monpoc/battletech/battlefleet gothic/castles in the sky,/heavy gear 
   
Made in us
[MOD]
Solahma






RVA

Please save the political debates for other websites. Thanks!

   
Made in be
Malicious Mandrake




Nada. Painted and forummed (is that a word?)
   
Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba






 aphyon wrote:
 ScarletRose wrote:
 aphyon wrote:
Toofast wrote:
What part of the country are you in? Here in Florida nothing really changed because of the pandemic. Stores were closed for 2 weeks, then opened back up. We don't have any mask mandates at our stores and there seems to be a normal amount of people playing. The Warhammer store is closed while they hire/train a new manager and several people have stepped in to host games at their houses until it reopens.


Yeah, but you live in the free state of Florida where your governor is actually sane, and not a power hungry authoritarian who needs a crisis to use as an excuse.

I am in the opposite corner of the country and we still technically have a mask mandate, but nobody cares about it anymore.


I think you meant "you live in the let 'er rip state where the body count doesn't matter".

--

My LGS has a mask and vaccine requirement for tourneys, and they have a nice courtyard out back formed from the oddly shaped neighboring buildings so snacks and lunch can be taken out in the fresh air without too much trouble.





You obviously have not looked at the actual numbers. Florida has maintained a per capita death and hospitalization rate roughly equal or less than the hard lock down states like New York (comparably same population size with Florida's being generally older) and California without restricting the rights of its citizens, and unlike the former governor of NY they have not purposely killed 10-15k old people via the governors dictate.

If you want to make points, it is best you research them first.



Just did. You're wrong by a factor of about 33%, it seems, comparing to California. Youre correct comparative to the state of New York, which contains the single most population dense point in the USA. That extends to New Jersey.

Without making any political statements, it is interesting examining the list of states with extremely high per capita covid deaths and comparing them to the size and density of the urban population centers contained within those states.

Mississippi
Arizona
New Jersey
Alabama
Louisiana
Oklahoma
New York
Tennesse
West Virginia
Arkansas

Certainly the proximity to NYC helps to explain 2 of the entries on that top ten, NY and NJ...but many of those states are near the bottom of a list of the most population dense US states. As this is an apolitical space, I have no metric which I could use to understand this information.

"Got you, Yugi! Your Rubric Marines can't fall back because I have declared the tertiary kaptaris ka'tah stance two, after the secondary dacatarai ka'tah last turn!"

"So you think, Kaiba! I declared my Thousand Sons the cult of Duplicity, which means all my psykers have access to the Sorcerous Facade power! Furthermore I will spend 8 Cabal Points to invoke Cabbalistic Focus, causing the rubrics to appear behind your custodes! The Vengeance for the Wronged and Sorcerous Fullisade stratagems along with the Malefic Maelstrom infernal pact evoked earlier in the command phase allows me to double their firepower, letting me wound on 2s and 3s!"

"you think it is you who has gotten me, yugi, but it is I who have gotten you! I declare the ever-vigilant stratagem to attack your rubrics with my custodes' ranged weapons, which with the new codex are now DAMAGE 2!!"

"...which leads you straight into my trap, Kaiba, you see I now declare the stratagem Implacable Automata, reducing all damage from your attacks by 1 and triggering my All is Dust special rule!"  
   
 
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