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The Hook Most of us have an interest in getting someone else involved in our hobby. That might be because we just want more people to share it with and more potential opponents. (Certainly true for me.) It may be that you want someone specific, such as a significant other or a best friend to share in the hobby with you. (Also true for me) Ultimately, there are a lot of reasons to want someone else to play the games and paint the figures and talk about or write the fluff and do all that great stuff that we do. The question is, how to go about it. How do we get that person interested in 40k (or Fantasy, for that matter.) Well, there are many different ways, just as there are many different aspects of the hobby. Different things interest people about the game. It may be the modeling opportunities and cool figures, it may be the painting, the fluff, the abundance of other gamers (compared to many other systems that have few players), the openness of the universe, the tactical planning and army building or customization of forces, etc. All of these are valid reasons for someone to be interested in our hobby, we just have to find the right one to draw them in. Modeling and converting and customizing figures. There are many people who are happy to leave models just as they are out of the box. There are many other people, however, that really get excited thinking about all the neat things that they can do to a model that leave it somewhat different from the original. This converting may range from a simple pose change or head swap to a total change from the original figure. The sort of carte blanche GW gives us by recommending conversions and showing use conversions on a regular basis, plus requiring Wysiwyg models, is heady stuff. If you think that your target friend is interested in the modeling aspect of it, make sure they get to see some of your conversions. Heck, take out a recently finished or still in progress piece and tell them what you've done so far and what you are wanting the final product to look like. Maybe even ask them what they'd do. Also let them see some of the neat conversions other people have done, like the ones in White Dwarf or the Troll magazine. If you are trying to get a group of people involved and they seem to be interested in modeling and converting, give them each a figure and some bitz or have a central bitz box and set up a modeling challenge. "You have one hour to customize your Imperial Guardsman figure and may use anything in this box. Gentlemen, start your cutters." The Visual Appeal. GW models tend to spoil us somewhat. While I know that there are a few lines out there that also have a range of beautiful models, most of the stuff that I've seen pales in comparison with the bulk of the GW model range. This is another thing that brings people in. I know people that originally picked up a model or two to paint, and became inspired to get more, eventually deciding they might as well give the game a try since they had so many models! There are rich details to bring out and different textures to try, as well as the subtle or bold shading and highlighting and inks to be used. If you have a friend or friends that might be interested in the painting side, show them some of your best work, let them see some of the pictures of Golden Daemon Winners or 'Eavy Metal painters. When you are just hanging out with them, paint up a figure while you talk. They may decide it looks like fun and give it a try themselves. Have them join you when you go to the store to pick up your next purchase and look over some of the blisters. If they seem to like one, pick it up for them and tell them you'd like to see what they can do with it. If it's a whole group of friends, you might pick up a boxed set or use some spares that you have and challenge them to a painting competition, like the modeling competition I mentioned above. The Fluff. Warhammer 40k and Fantasy have rich backgrounds and tons of material for storylines, some of it fleshed out and the rest simply alluded to, leaving room for additional storytelling and characterization. This is a great thing that can draw people in and is something that most games do not have. Tell them the story behind your army, tell them things about the Horus Heresy or the Inquisition. Tell them about the goofy things that Orks (or Orcs) do. Leave some of the books lying around so they can see them (whether it's a rulebook, which is filled with fluff, or one of the Novels or whatever, leave it for them to pick up and look at it.) You might even find your particular favorite story and have them read it. If you tell these people about a game you played, make sure you include story elements, like naming the characters and objectives and explaining motivations. (It's not just a Rescue Mission, Pilot Severus ejected when floating spores destroyed his Thunderhawk. Captain Abnett and the Fighting 104th came to his rescue even as the slavering Fiends of Xylos 7 were bearing down on them.) If they are watching you play a game, ask them about reasons your forces might be fighting each other and what the goal might be. The Abundance of gamers. While it may not always seem like it, 40k has a very large following. Compared to other games, it is fairly easy to find more players. The folks interested by this will already be gamers of some sort, just not in the Warhammer Universe. Treat somewhat like the other groups, but a little more low key. (ie: let them see the cool figures and the neat paintjobs and treat them to some of the fluff, but don't really work any of them, just let them see it and decide on their own.) You can also offer this group a demo game to get them started. Demo games. Keep it simple, keep it fast. It's gotta be short to hold their attention, and it's gotta be simple so they don't get bogged down in rules. The scenario or armies may not be entirely balanced, unless you've got two people to work on. (Not too unbalanced, just enough that they have a good shot at winning, not so that they think you're letting them win.) I would recommend leaving out vehicles and Monstrous Creatures and Independent characters at first so they can concentrate on the core rules. 1-2 squads per side. Let them work with movement, shooting and assault, plus a few heavy weapons maybe. Heck, you could maybe use the Kill Team rules for some extra interesting scenarios. If you decide to go with the Kill Team angle, after you get a few demos under their belts, either give them some models or suggest they get some. This is where you can really get them involved, since they'll be personalizing their own forces. In addition, you might also try writing up some scenarios for Kill Team that give added bonuses for modeling work, like in the scenario with the Firebrands. Give them stuff. If all else fails, give them some models. That's actually how I was dragged into this. A friend of mine had introduced me to 40k a long time ago, but there just seemed to be too many models and too many rules (He played Rogue Trader) and I decided I didn't have the time for it. Much later, another friend picked up the boxed set and gave me the Dark Eldar models that come with it. They sat in my car for a couple of months, but eventually I got them out and put some of them together. They looked pretty cool, so I picked up a copy of the Dark Eldar Codex and started trying to figure out what I had and what I could do with them. Shortly after that, I picked up a few more models and started playing. So, if you've got someone in mind that you'd like to see join the hobby, see what it is that interests them and try to find it for them. As a side note, if there is someone that already enjoys part of the hobby and you'd like to see them develop another part of it (like painting well, for instance!) you might try some similar ideas to the ones here. If they express some interest, make sure you find something good to say about their first efforts (Err, that's a very bright paint scheme for that Ork Boy!) and ask them how it is progressing from time to time, so they can keep showing you their work and you can help them improve. (Note, try to keep the "teaching them" part to a minimum, just give a suggestion here and there and let them know how well they did each time. If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know |