"Bolt Action - What is this PowerGaming thing Anyway? " Topic

"I have been playing Bolt Action for around four years now and this has been the only game system that I have actually played competitively in events. During this time I have been an active member of not only the Australian community but also the international one, primarily through ye old Facebook. I blog about the game, I podcast about the game and I talk about the game with people around the world on most days. A consistent point of contention through-out my time in every forum of communication has been the dreaded PowerGamer (dramatic music Dum Dum Daaaaa).

From almost the very moment I became engaged outside of my small group of garage gamers this PowerGamer, this beast, this monster, this horrible destroyer of all things fun, has been thrown around and whispered about in dark corners of dank and smelly conventions and chat rooms. At the start I was given pretty good guidance on how to spot a PowerGamer, they would be the ones frothing at the mouth whilst stomping some poor kids face and brandishing the winner trophy in one hot dog stained paw.

Officially a PowerGamer was described by those less prone to exaggeration as myself as someone who took all the best units and exploited loopholes in rules to win at all costs, almost exclusively ex -40k players or so I was told (I have never played 40k so I am sorry if anyone is offended). I was a little confused by this when I first started. Were they not operating within the rules as written? Are they bringing unlawful units? The answer to both those questions was no, the explanation given by all the wizened elders of the community was that it was not in the spirit of the game as if that was an end to the debate…"
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Amicalement
Armand

It's living vicariously through miniatures! Unfortunately, competition has a way of bringing the worst out in some, especially those with severe insecurities. We've all seen them.
I enjoy gaming but do not engage in competitive events, to avoid what you have described. For me gaming with a few like-minded historical enthusiasts is a nice diversion from the day to day routine.
There's someone in in this area that was caught using loaded dice! What kind of looser must one be to pull that off????
BTW Armand, I really enjoy your posts!

Wasn't the Herr essentially power gamers in '39 / 40. Using the best units to exploit loopholes?

I appreciate Tango too!

Can one power game solo? Also appreciate the big Tango1 helps keep ther forum hopping I say.

> Can one power game solo?

Oh yes, I've read a couple of accounts of such things. In this case the "power" part is expressed as making one side win while disparaging the other. Then going on to "prove" something about the sides in real life based on the game.

Not a competitive gamer either. Some of my best gaming experiences were loses.

It's not the power gaming that bothers me, it's more the completely ahistorical units that people use that come across as that. It makes it far less a WW II game and more a 40K with different uniforms sort of thing. 8)=

Nazrat: +1

Thanks guys!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Power Gamers are like the mark at the poker game – if you can't spot him, he's probably you.

Some of the best games are Historical and unbalanced. I don't imagine warfare was designed to consist of fair and evenly matched sides

I agree.

The most brilliant General is the one that finesses things to be as one sided as possible.

The issue is that Generals who finess thing to be to their own advantage don't know pretty much exactly what the enemy will have and can pick and choose their forces down to a man.

Using game quirks to leverage an advantage isn't finess