I'm a High Elf Player!

That's right, boys and girls. After over 2 years of asking, I finally consented to play my first fantasy game. And I really enjoyed it - enough to begin building a High Elf army. I'm not sure if you are aware how shocking this news is. I swore I had no interest in ever playing any tabletop game. Ever. But Nate played the patience card, and got me hooked, little by little.


Now, I know I've been MIA for awhile, so I have some stuff to catch you guys up on. Like, you know, how I won my first game. :-D And, of course, how this miracle even came to be.

Nate actually convinced me to try the game out, by playing one of his Dark Elf units in one of his Sunday games, a few weeks ago. Two weeks ago, I made my debut by playing his crossbowmen (and sometimes his shades). The whole group was awesome, and understanding about my learning curve (thanks guys!). I was totally intimidated at first, and had no clue what was going on. But playing the crossbowmen was easy, in that I didn't have to worry about movement or anything. I sat on a hill and shot at Lizardmen. And as I watched everyone playing around me (there were 2, 2v2, 2000 point games going on), I really began understanding some of the basic rules. I could even answer some seriously basic questions when Nate wasn't paying attention!

That night, I agreed to start playing. I don't know who was more excited, me or Nate. After much discussion, we decided I should play High Elves. Seriously, there really was a lot of thought put into this decision. And several times Nate has questioned it. I was willing to pretty much start playing anything, but Nate said I should play an army that I really like the fluff (backstory) about. And I love the High Elves! I could go on about tons of characters, and the books I've read recently, but I'll save that for another day. So in the end, it wasn't so much about which army was the toughest or strongest, but which ones I genuinely like.

Setting the game up

All of this leads up to my first full game. Nate and I broke out the tables in the apartment this week and played a 1000 point game. My High Elves (represented by his Dark Elves, as I haven't built my army yet) against his Chaos Warriors. And yes, I won. Completely. As in I wiped all of his units off the table, minus his lord. He killed 4-5 of my guys. However, I can't really take the credit. He was teaching me, and so he was advising me of the best moves to make, and why.

Maya was learning too. Though I think she was waiting for her chance to steal something.

So yes, it is time for me to eat crow. Not only did I make the jump to the fantasy world (used to be I was only interested in 40k fluff), I actually became a player. I play tabletop games. Well, I play fantasy. I'm not making any promises about anything else yet. Let me learn this game first, guys!

Right before my guys run down those Chaos guys and wipe them out.

So what happens now? Well, Nate and I have another game planned for tomorrow. And then I am playing Sunday! Thank goodness the group is prepared for my total n00bness. Because I have a feeling I'm going to forget everything I learned. Ahh!

Do you remember your first game? Tell me about it! I love to hear your comments!




Happy New Year from Girlfriend

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! Santa brought me a bunch of knitting and sewing supplies (shameless plug, I have an online shop here ), along with some great new 40k and fantasy books. I'm reading Fear to Tread now. I'm a huge Sanguinius fan, so I'm really enjoying it. It makes me so sad that he dies eventually. Or as Nate puts it, he is totally annihilated. Ah well.

So last Friday night, Nate and I were at our local gaming store, checking out Infinity stuff, and I had a scary moment. Nate was talking to a friend about the game, and I was basically zoning out, picking out which figures were the cutest. I'm a girl. It's what I do. When suddenly, Nate's friend says, "Next we will get you playing." I quickly look around to see who he's talking about. Ahh! It was me! Making some face that looked like a deer caught in headlights, I made some non-committal sound. Hah. I have said, for over 2 years now, that I have no interest in playing any tabletop game. I'm immersed in the world (reading, painting, resin casting, all that jazz) but I just can't make that step to actually playing. The reasons have changed over time. And Nate has tried just about every trick in the book. I even accused him of trying my own advice (from Girlfriend of a Gamer ) to try to get me to play. Well, I think he has finally won.

Yes, I'm ready to try out a fantasy game. Not a full game mind you. Nate has offered to let me pick out my own troop, and to have full command of that troop, in one of his games. He's been playing Dark Elves, which I wouldn't play on my own, but I know enough about their fluff to be able to pick something out. Really, it was a genius argument that he made. And it worked. I don't have to worry about remembering all the rules and abilities, or playing some stranger that keeps looking at my boobs (well, that might happen, but Nate will be right beside me). I haven't decided what I want to control yet, but it probably will involve female figures. Because, well, I'm a girl.

So all of this got me thinking about my list of ways to get your girl to play games. And I realized I left out 2 important items of persuasion. Bribes and guilt. But, beware, both can come back to bite you in the ass.

Bribes are great for many things. Women like bribes. Hell, everyone likes bribes. But, you have to be careful. First, we aren't stupid. We know you are bribing us to do what you want. We may play along. Or we may get mad that you would think we can be bought. It depends on both what the bribe is, and what your girl is in at the time. Also, your girl may get to where she will ONLY do things for bribes. Not a good situation.

Guilt is even more dangerous. Women are masters of using this weapon, and we will not hesitate to turn it back on you. But, it is a great motivator. We don't want to seem like hypocrites, so if you mention how you did something WE wanted to do, we will probably go along with what you want to do. But we will not let you forget it, either. This tactic may haunt you forever. Think this through before using.

You can combine the two tactics. Take her to a movie she wants to see, then remind her of it when you want her to go with you to the next tournament. But, results can be varied, even with the same woman. My best advice? Know your girl, and ask her at the right time. Timing is everything.

Good luck! Hopefully the next time I sit at the table, I will see a few more women around me. And wish me luck on my first game! I think I'm excited...