Something that gets talked about frequently in Kings of War is the use of soft scores. Just go search through a few of the Facebook pages and you will find a number of discussions about this. When we talk about ‘soft scores’, we mean sportsmanship and paint. A lot of tournament include these alongside your battle score to award overall. All tournaments will give prizes in their own ways, but a number of US regions now use overall score for Masters Qualifications. Because sportsmanship is scored in your overall, I am going to talk a bit about ways to improve your sports game.
I regularly hear of the sportsman person being very extroverted or popular. The guy (or gal) who laughs loudest, always has a smile and cracks more jokes than a comedian. And on the same end of that, people have concerns about placing well because they are quieter, simply introverted, or perhaps have mental health/developmental challenges. Looking at keeping such a niche game accessible to all types of people it is important not to miss the other aspects of being a good sport that are not just being everyone’s best friend.
One of the most important aspects of a good game is clean, fair play. What do I mean by that? I love an opponent who marks their units before making moves, especially with fliers or in situations where half an inch makes a big difference. By doing this, if you could visualize your units placement before committing to it. If you start to move it up and go: “Oh no, that will get me flanked” or “that would put me in your dragons line of sight”, you have the ability to put the unit back where it was and reevaluate things. Both you and your opponent have no concerns that you may have joggled your base in to a more advantageous position.
If you want a “take back” it is important you and your opponent are clear about what you both our comfortable with. A good rule for yourself is not to ask for a “take back” if you wouldn’t allow your opponent to do the same with a similar situation. Example time. You should have done the combat for an inspiring source first, but made the error and already rolled the wounds on a unit nearby. You could ask, ‘Hey do you mind if I roll out the inspiring combat before we finish up the combat against the unit?’. Everyone has their own take on if this is okay or not, so make it clear what you are comfortable with. In the example if your opponent says ‘yes’ that is all good. Now, if one turn later they ask to do the same thing and you deny them… not so sportsmanly. So I say again, don’t ask for what you wouldn’t be willing to grant your opponent.
When rolling dice, pick out misses rather than hits. Now when you are rolling 10 dice hitting on 6’s, grabbing the 1 hit isn’t so bad. Rolling 30 dice hitting on 3’s and picking out hits is another thing. By picking out the misses you opponent can confirm all the dice left are indeed hits. Often people see that I haven’t seen a miss and I am happy to have someone double checking for me. Everything is clear.
State your intentions. “I am trying to stay out of your charge. Do you agree that I am out here?”
Simple. Easy. Effective. It saves arguments about charges, or non charges, on both of your turns. If you have a flank or rear charge on your opponent (especially one that is tight or tricky), I like to tell them what I am doing before I move the unit. This gives your opponent a chance to confirm that it is a flank/rear charge, double check LOS or unit arcs, etc.
If you or your opponent do not understand how something works, rule or otherwise, explain it. You don’t learn this game overnight and teaching someone about your special rule in a non-condescending way is important. Not all of us get to play all the armies on a regular basis and some special rules remain unknown or forgotten. I had never even played against a herd army until I was at the US Masters.
As it is a dice game, luck plays a huge part in the game. Yes, we talk about “average hits/damage” but that isn’t always going to happen. If it was, why the hell bother rolling the dice. So, try not to act as if the world is ending when the dice fail you. Most of the time the dice even out. Sometimes it doesn’t and that is okay too. I had an opponent once roll 6 dice, wounding on 2’s, and roll all 1’s in a critical combat. He laughed it off and took a picture. We can’t all take it that well, and you can be upset, but throwing models, slamming fists and genuine anger aren’t really necessary and make me extremely uncomfortable. If my opponent starts throwing things, or saying things like “well fuck this, you have already won, I hate this fucking game”. Your sports score just plummeted.
Some of the things I mentioned sound like not just not cheating right? Most of us don’t cheat and I do not expect my opponent to cheat, however simple things like picking out misses, not hits and marking units keeps everyone happy and the thought of cheating out of everyone’s heads.
Simple things that play a big role such as: shaking my hand at the start and finish, saying “good game”, smiling occasionally, and being involved in the game. If you like this game and let it show, it makes everything more immersive.
If you struggle with sportsmanship, ask your opponents or those around you how you can improve. Think how you can be a better sport when you lose or when you are winning. You work on your tactics, lists and paint techniques so why not work on your sportsmanship?
You may not win the “best sports” award but you will give more people good games. Hell, we can’t all be Kevin Spear.
