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Tired of playing with yourself? Well, you need a partner to give you a hand because it's just so much more fun with someone else...
Now get your mind out of the gutter, because we're talking MESBG of course!
"But!" I hear you cry, "No one in my area plays SBG!"
Well there's so many ways to change that, and with the release of a new starter set by Games Workshop, now is almost certainly the time to do it. When I restarted playing SBG a few years ago I found the enthusiasm for the game was there among lots of people I spoke to at my local Warhammer shop, FLGS and local gaming club, but the comment from everyone I spoke to was something along the lines of "I would love to give it a go, but don't want to start a new system only for it to fade out of popularity and be a waste of money." It's a fair argument. I've been involved in gaming groups starting on a huge number of systems they've abandoned, from Wild West Warhammer to Blood Red Skies & a very brief dalliance with a game called Catapult Feud which involved flicking real boulders at each other's plastic walls.
But the solution to this problem is to lead the charge into a system yourself, and don't look back.
The best ways to do this are to get your club or shop owners on board, encourage them to stock the products (being loyal to them can help!) and tell them you're willing to play tutorial games with folk interested.
But the number one way to do it is to start a Slow Grow League or series of store events. When I was kicking off my local community it was an essential way of growing our player base and ensuring everyone was on an even footing. We started at 200pts and went up by another 200 every fortnight for around 10 weeks. The rules were fairly straightforward, but I gave players extra incentives to build their armies in ways that would help them realise how certain game mechanics work (see below). It was a riproaring success, Lincoln now has a thriving MESBG scene and has recently held an 80 person tournament which attracted players from across the country.
Ideas for making your Beginners Slow Grow League:
Things you can do every game:
3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, 0 for a loss.
Having your army fully painted and based = 1 pt
Things you can Only do once per league:
Have a Banner Survive a Game = 1pt
Kill a banner bearer when they can't pass it on = 1pt
Trap and Kill a Monster = 1pt
Use a Brutal Power Attack = 1pt
Kill a Model's Mount in Combat = 1pt
Resist a Spell = 1pt
Cast a Spell = 1pt
But of course some communities are sparser and hard to pull together - perhaps you live in a remote place, or in a country where gaming venues are few and far between. That can make it harder.
But it's not impossible.
Earlier this year the Great British Hobbit League put out a call to people living in Northern England to try and fill a geographical gap in the league - hoping to unite disparate Hobbits in the common purpose of SBG.
The response was incredible, not only did we have dozens of people saying they would be interested in an event in the North of England - or the Borders - but Jake Robson volunteered to host an event at a Brewery in Newcastle.
The Great North Rhun (fantastic event name) brought together hobbyists from the immediate area, and showed locals there is a keen national community to get involved in.
"What this tournament's done is brought a lot of people together who wouldn't have usually met through their usual communication channels," Jake says.
"I'm hoping that this brings together a bigger community so we can have more tournaments in the future."
It's heartwarming to see how with some determination, a community can be brought together and help people unite around a common interest. Jake put an awful lot of effort into The Great North Rhun, and now the community is reaping the reward - already two other people in the area have expressed interest in running an event there (big shout out to Si Dean and Brian Farries).
Jake is over the moon for his event to be so inspiring "It worked out really well," he says, "I've already seen people exchanging numbers and hopefully they get games again after this."
The same is true of Lincoln where I got the fires of SBG burning a few years ago, the community is about to finish a Battle Companies league hosted by one of the first Slow Growers Harry West, and is about to enter its third Slow Grow run by another early adopter Tim Elwess (who's also gone on to host his own events raising money for charity).
In a niche game system like The Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game it will always be a bit harder to find someone to play a game with, but with a bit of hard work and enthusiasm, there is always hope.
If you want to get involved in the league or host an event, check out the calendar of events here, or Host an Event with assistance from our League reps, click here.
Until Next time, may this hobby be a light for you when all other lights go out.
BURARUM - HARRY - GBHL Marketing CoOrdinator
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