D-Company 40K BIG GAME 2017 Coverage Part 1

This past weekend my gaming group, D-Company, just had our annual BIG GAME!!

We had at one point during the weekend 28 people playing in the same room at the same time!

Here are some pics of the tables and armies:

The format this year was different from past years.  Basically the year leading up to this Big Game was a massive campaign.  There was a map where three different factions fought each other for control throughout the year and by the Big Game it was the final showdown.

The organizers of the Big Game also made the campaign happen.  At the Big Game they had 9 tables set up with different themes.  They created matchups for two or three games per player ahead of time that would be played on a specific table.  These matchups did not have mission rules or point sizes.  The organizers recommended several point sizes before the big game but it was up to the players themselves to determine the size of their games.

As long as each person played at least three games over the weekend then they had fulfilled their obligation to the big game.

This is a departure from the past where we always tried to get everyone on one table playing in one gigantic game.

My Thoughts:

POSITIVES:

It was nice to be able to play more than one game and to complete each game I played.  In the past many times the big game would not go beyond 5, or 4 or even three turns.

I liked that they gave size recommendations (5,000; 3,500 and 3000pts per player) and then also set up certain matchups.

I liked the Skulls.  When you killed an enemy Warlord you would get a plastic skull about an inch in diameter at the end the person with the most skulls got a prize.  (I ended up with 4 after starting with three and I played 3 games.)

The hotel was fantastic.  It was clean it wasn't very expensive the room was large and well-lit.  The hotel staff were nice and they wanted us there.

We had a fish fry on Friday and pizza on Saturday catered by the hotel.  We also had a bar and bartender in the gaming room on Saturday.  I liked the fish fry so much I had it in the hotel restaurant again on Saturday night.  The bartender made a great Old Fashioned so I had two and tipped him well.

NEGATIVES:

I wish the organizers would have scheduled more than two games.  I had some difficulty determining who I was going to play for my final game.  In the end it worked out well but I like structure probably more than I should sometimes.

I set up a projector and screen so we could watch sci fi and fantasy movies during the game.  The projector I brought wasn't very bright and its built-in speakers were not very good and blew out after the first movie.  Next year I will do better if we do it again.  I will bring separate speakers and hopefully a brighter projector.

The food and drinks were a bit on the high side but not too bad.  I have spent more for a mix drink in the past but I still felt some of the prices were a bit too much.

The special mission cards were too specialized and didn't really reflect the type of situation the Big Game was this year.  Since we had already come up with our own scenario for the missions we played, the additional missions  (which doubled as report cards for the missions) just added a layer of complexity to reporting that was unnecessary IMHO.

The Big Game is actually no longer a Big Game.  If everyone was playing in one game then it would be a Big Game.  It is more of an event, or a Narrative Event Weekend.  


Wrap up:

Overall the Big Game was a success I think.  It allowed people to play multiple games and really interact with the rest of the group on their downtown when in the past it wasn't always possible because so much was going on and people's breaks never lined up with certain people.

I enjoyed it and I am excited for next year's Big Game.

My next post will be all about my first game from the weekend.  It was 10,000pts per side. It was EPIC!!

Until next time...