Hey everyone! Adam, from TFG Radio, here to talk about 40K and why i am right and you are wrong!
Well we all saw the hints and made wild speculations about the table size. Many of us didn’t think it was going to happen. We thought maybe it was just someone trolling us or maybe it was a table size for a new version of some side project the developers had. I was surprised when it was confirmed about the new recommended size of the table for the new Strikeforce size of games. Then I had a thought of what Games Workshop should have done instead. Games Workshop should have brought back the 8×4 tables.
Back in the before time we actually played on 8×4 tables. This was mainly 3rd and 4th edition of the game. In the beginning there wasn’t a lot of tournaments to be had. They were few and far between but as time passed more events started showing up. These events were run by Games Workshop and their Outriders and they used 8×4 tables. To keep up practice, I also had a 8×4 table at home to play against my friends and teammates.
There are a few benefits to having a larger tables. First off, ranges will actually matter. If the tables get smaller, then it almost doesn’t matter what the range of your guns are. You could easily be in range of your opponent without even trying. By having a bigger table, you are better able to take advantage of the units that have a longer range. What’s the point of having a 120 inch range if you can’t use it? If you like terrain, then a larger table is best for you too. The larger table would allow you to really showcase your terrain building skills. You can really go to town by building a larger fortess or part of a hive city. Thirdly, having a larger table lets you also bring even larger armies or models onto the table. You no longer have to worry about fitting your 300 model count army in the deployment zone. Now you can fit that large Forgeworld model on your table since it will now fit in the deployment zone at the start of the battle. If you’re a treadhead you could also fit more vehicles onto the tabletop. Oh the possibilities!
Now I know there are a few downsides. The size itself can be an issue. The board can take up a lot of space and can kind of get in the way. You could make a foldable one but you still have the same issue. Depending on the material the table is made from, the weight of the table could also be an issue. If you do a little research though, you could easily find some light material to make your table out of. For tournaments the size could be an issue in that you may not be able have as many tables available to play on for the event. Although this lower attendance seems bad, it is actually a blessing in that you don’t have to worry about more people, or more importantly, feed those extra people, if you provided lunch. So you can easily see that it’s all positive all around if you just make it a 8×4 play area. Anything else cannot compare, so get on the 8×4 hype train and bring out those giant boards!
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Well, you could run an event with 8×4 no problem.
You also could in 8th, where 6×4 equally was just a recommendation.
One of the most puzzling phenomenon in 8th has been that people looked at that box of event recommendations in the rule book/FAQ (which comes with an explicit prompt to modify and experiment) and simply adopted them as hard and fast rules (with no variations) for all tournaments all the time.
While there will always be a „standard“, I hope TOs in 9th will be a bit more experimental in the areas where GW does explicitly opens up room for flexibility.
A truism I have learned about this game (and many aspects of life) is this: people want to be told what to do but they also want to be able to complain about it. It’s bizarre but I see it repeated over and over and over.
The article states clearly you can use what you want, we reiterate it, but people still act as if they’re being led to the gallows with no alternatives. It’s odd.
So again, anyone out there that wants to continue to play on your 4×6 realm of battle board (or whatever) you are absolutely free to do so. You do not have to change.
Honestly, coming from such an influential person in the community this is just a bad take. Of course you can play on a 6×4 table. You can play 2nd edition if you want to. You can do anything. But since you are adopting this change to your tournament circut (and you can say all you want that tournaments can choose themselves, most serious ones will follow suit) you are in essence forcing all tournament players to play on this new table size. It’s not voluntary by us, it’s forced by you and GW.
Lol. Sorry, I don’t mean to disrespect but the fact that you think we (FLG) and GW are on equal footing in regards to instituting this change is comical. We are being told what is hapenning just like everyone else, we just learned about it a bit earlier than you all are. We are choosing to switch to the new sized mats (along with NOVA, Adepticon, LGT, and many of the other big events) because it makes sense to do so logistically. We all have to replace our mat inventories too, it’s a big pain in the butt for all of us as well, more so for us at FLG specifically because we have a ton of 4×6 mats in inventory that are now less likely to sell than they were 3 days ago. The #1 rule of the ITC is and always has been: each event organizer is the captain of their own ship. We have never tried to force anything, ever. We provide guidelines and support. If you think I have the ability to “force” anything you are frankly being silly. How can I possibly make anyone do anything? It’s so weird that people think I wield some form of authority when I don’t, and actively try and empower others to run their own events the way they want to, lol. Any ability I have to make you do something exists only in your mind. Us choosing to go along with the new standard set by GW simply makes sense long term to do so, there’s no other reason for us going along with it than that. It’s a good idea. Annoying in the short term? Yup. But change is often hard to accept at first, however, you can’t let that prevent you from making good long term decisions.
I think it’s a little silly to pretend like lvo isn’t the most influential tournament in the North America. If LVO played 8×4 then so would 90% of events in NA. All rules are just recommendations, but accepted practice is what ITC events are all about.
I have no opinion on board size, other than to observe that boards get smaller and figures get bigger, at some point we’re going to have a real space issue.
But I think you should step back, take the complement, and acknowledge that itc can’t have it both ways. Being influential is also a responsibility.
I appreciate your stance but the other comment was hardly a compliment. I suppose it just gets frustrating at times to be assigned blame for things we have 0 control over. I get it to a degree, I am here, present and approachable compared to GW game devs so at times I think we catch flack people actually want to aim at them but end up just being targets of convenience.
Trolling aside, the new “recommended” table size seems to punish armies who use on-table maneuver as part of the game, and rewards the point blank to mid range army builds. losing 4 x 12 in. might not like it should be a big deal but this literally is a game of inches. It might have been nice to hear some experiences from the playtesters of how it effected different armies when they made this announcement. Just getting their impressions (such as Reece’s big models are looking boss in 9e) would be better than nothing.
I am very curious how a smaller table interacts with the new reserve and terrain rules. It would “seem” that while it makes it more accessible, it is also easier to box out those units from arriving on the table? There is still so much to learn and how it all works together, but the things I’ve seen recently appear to warrant the title 9e as opposed to 8.5 🙂
There’s a lot still to see but what we have found is that the early game is still very bloody as it was in 8th but with the alpha strike not being as decisive due to new terrain rules and especially reserves. But mid to late game, we have found maneuver is emphasized for reasons that will become evident as you play. If anything, strategic level movement is more important than it was in 8th while tactical level model positioning is less important because of some of the rules changes that will become evident in time.
Three clear observations –
(1) MINIMUM table size is given – with dimensions from the centre for objectives and deployment zones;
(2) “back in the day” GW stores and Warhammer World use 6’x4′ tables for most games – I played hundreds of official games !! And we made our 6’x4′ table back in 2001;
(3) the interview with Stu Black clearly stated you can use the remaining edge of a 6′ x4′ table to keep your cards, casualties etc on. This is on the Warhammer Twitch channel and is worth watching rather than simply getting things third hand;
**** I tried out the “Combat Patrol” mission last night on two KillTeam boards (laid out on the 6’x 4′ so I didn’t need to clear away my painting station etc). It worked well but I hope GW update the scoring dials as 5 points per objective is more than anything they’ve sold before/given away.
*** Later this week I’ll try out the “Strike Force” mission on a 6′ x 4′ board
My hopes for the future-
one game, one set of rules, one set of mission packs, one set of scoring systems
GW write the game, it’s their IP
It was mentioned several times on various podcasts that this new size correspond to common kitchen table sizes such as those sold by Ikea. Really?
Can someone link a table that is at least 44″ x 60″?
Thanks!
It’s the width more so than the length from what we were told.
Yeah I can’t find a single dining room or kitchen table that approaches 44″.
A 60″ length is common.
It’s the width that is uncommon (nonexistent as far as I can tell).
To level with you, I didn’t do an exhaustive search (although a quick look at Ikea I saw a few that were 43″ and change wide), we were told this and that is why we keep saying: as we’ve been told. I would be willing to bet the decision makers at GW did their research though.