Drafting an Army

Abstract

Multiple recent works have emphasized the contribution that nondigital game scholarship can make to the study of games and gameplay. Warhammer 40,000 is the market dominator of the nondigital tabletop wargame genre. In this article, we perform a ludological analysis of the process of preparing, or drafting, an army for a competitive Warhammer 40,000 tournament. We find that there are four interrelated categories of resources that influence this fundamentally playful process. Our results indicate that this process of preparation constitutes a core component of the appeal of Warhammer 40,000. This emphasizes the importance of understanding the diverse activities that go into gameplay that often exceed the computer game ''client'' or board of play. We suggest the category of engagement pastime to encapsulate these extended, ongoing elements of Warhammer 40,000's appeal, which we define as a collection of interlinked and associated activities that serve to occupy one's time and thoughts pleasantly.

The Interplay of Two Worlds in Blood Bowl

“…The age of interviewees varied between 22 and 39 (median 32). All of them were all male, which is in line with another study on miniature gaming culture [2]. In general, the participants had a lot of experience playing both the material Blood Bowl and at least some digital adaptations of it.…”

“…It can be understood as a collection of separate but interlinked activities i.e. as a pastime [2]. In this case the pastime also contains playing the digital version, as it offers a way to practice tactics and offers the opportunity to play in different ways than with only material version of the game.…”

“…Activities, such as painting and modelling miniatures, engaging with game fiction, and building an army list, are all important parts of the Warhammer 40 000 hobby as a whole [2]. The enjoyment, and the experience, are intimately linked to the interplay of these activities, which can have temporal distance between them.…”

“…The enjoyment, and the experience, are intimately linked to the interplay of these activities, which can have temporal distance between them. In this context Carter, Gibbs and Harrop [2] use the concept of pastime to describe the collection of interlinked and associated activities that serve to occupy one's time and thoughts pleasantly.…”

“…Cyanide also hosts an official Blood Bowl forum. 2 The last official release of the material game was the third edition (1994, GW). After that the rules have been available online as a living rulebook.…”