This was supposed to be my 700th post but the excitement of new Eldar stuff got the better of me. So if we can focus on the 700th post landmark rather than my over eagerness that’d be great.
As it is/was a landmark I thought I’d write about something very important. The Chaps.
The Chaps, you see, are a big part of why I love my hobby so much. Whether it’s writing campaigns for them, getting them into new games or just having huge amounts of fun playing games and generally acting like complete children, you won’t find a finer bunch of…um…chaps anywhere else.
The Chaps and I meet once a month for games night. We try and meet up more than this but it’s usually in a pair or a three. games night brings us all together so we can catch up, cock about and play games the only way blokes can.
It’s something I look forward to immensely.There’s few things better than spending an evening with your 5 best mates, rolling fistfuls of dice eating far too many snacks, drinking far too much coke, staying out far too late on a school night and generally messing about.
They each bring different qualities to the group in terms of gaming experience, gaming preference, faction choice, insight, painting method, snacks etc. But they share the same desire to play a game, have a giggle and not take it too seriously. We’re long past the point of worrying where we buy our models from, as long as they look the part. We’re also beyond arguing over an eighth of an inch here or a whisker out of charge range there. We play to the spirit of the rules and always try to put the narrative first.
Basically we’re in it to have as much fun as possible, not field broken lists in an effort to beat the sweaty middle aged fat bastard that tends to appear at every Wargaming club in the world.
The other thing that never fails to amaze and humble me is their willingness to trust me. Not just when I talk about new games but when the group has grown. Lee has only been a part of of the group for about a year and a half, but the others trusted my judgement that he was a good guy and would fit with our dynamic. And equally when I introduced them to prospective Chap, Mat, a couple of weeks ago they were equally trusting of me but, more importantly, welcomed Mat and made him feel at home.
It sounds like a snobby, exclusive, club and I suppose, in some ways, it is. But for me it’s more than that. The Chaps are family and I’m very lucky to have them. If there’s anyone out there with a similar group of friends then they’ll know exactly what I mean. If you don’t: go find some awesome Chaps to game with and your wargaming will never be the same.
To that end, this post is dedicated to Ian, Neil, Jeremy & Lee. You’re all awesome and long may our shenanigans continue.
