The COVID19 situation around the world has impacted our lives in many ways this year. Some places have had a significant flattening of the curve, and others not, and with that, some people in our community have wanted to get back to playing Kings of War.
Here is the thing, I am not here to criticize the response of any government or policies that are in place in any areas. And a disclaimer, I am a nurse who worked with active COVID19 patients for a few months at my hospital, so I have seen it first hand. However, this is not to be taken as medical advice. I am not here to be a judgy mom… more a “stay safe but have fun” aunt.
Now, we know GT’s have essentially been off the table this year. I know I was very sad to miss out on Orc Town back in June, but safety first. So I am here to help you look at ways to get your gaming fix in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.
Reducing risk while in-person:
1: Social distancing
Social distancing is all about staying 2 meters (or 6ft) away from others so that we can limit the spread of the virus. How do we do that with KoW?!? Well our tables already separate us from our opponents by 4 feet, so when your opponent is doing their turn, step back a bit from the table to allow for more space. If you are planning to have more than just you and your opponent, try to ensure tables are well spaced and limit any awkward butt touch moments that come tables not being well spaced.
2: Limit touching
A year ago I said to shake all your opponents’ hands to show good sportsmanship. While 2020 has changed everything, so it has changed this as well. No more handshaking. No hugs. No butt touches (you know who you are). Try not to touch your opponent’s minis, dice, tape measuring tapes, etc. It has never been more important to show up with your own stuff. Practice your head nods and air high 5’s cause that’s what we are doing now folks.
3. Wear a mask
As someone who has worn a mask all day at work since March and lived to tell the tale, I highly recommend this. Mostly the mask stops you from spreading the virus to others, along with reducing your chance of getting the virus. People who have no symptoms can still spread the virus and we don’t want to see our buddies sick with this virus. Get creative with what mask you wear. Let’s see your nerdiest masks.
4. WASH YOUR HANDS
Don’t be gross. Wash your hands.
Honestly, I hope you were washing your hands before this…
5. Go outside
I have seen people posting pictures of gaming outside in their backyards and damn, that looks like an amazing setup. Being outdoors limits spread and allows for easy social distancing. As a bonus the sunshine just makes you want to BBQ and have a cocktail… or is that just me? It seems like a great way to embrace the summer and get in a game of KoW. As people are already seeing the odd friend or close group of people, playing a game of KoW with your 1 or 2 buddies should be relatively low risk.
Online and Virtual GTs
Many around our community are using Universal Battle 2 in order to get in games during this pandemic. Some tournaments have moved to online already and it will be interesting to see if that continues into the fall tournament season. There were tournaments such as Vanguard and Bugeater that ran as 2 days GTs following a normal(ish) GT-like schedule. If you aren’t really sure if you could sit at your computer for 2 days playing an online game (… ametuer ) then maybe a tournament like Call to Arms would be more your style. These style GTs run over several weeks and allow plenty of time to get your games in. If you would like to see what kind of fun stuff came out of the last Call to Arms, you can check out our Dash28Live coverage here. If you want to play in one of these tournaments keep your eyes peeled on the many facebook pages and you’ll find one to play in. There is literally a whole Facebook page called Kings of War – Universal Battle 2, dedicated to finding UB games, and news about online tournaments can be found there as well.
My favorite part of these tournaments has been seeing people from all over the world play in the same tournament. In a time where community building has felt tested, we have seen it grow in a unique way. People are making connections across their countries and across the world, and that feels good. It gives me hope for our post-COVID19 Kings of War scene.
Other community engagements
If you aren’t feeling comfortable playing a game in person, and aren’t going try Universal Battle, why not check out the abundance of content that has been produced during the pandemic. There are blogs and websites, online battle reports, podcasts, and tons of hobby photos floating around. If you are looking for a place to start, may I direct you to the Dash28 resource page? My favorites tend to be podcasts as I listen to them while doing chores or walking to work, but there are plenty of different options for everyone’s preference.
In conclusion beautiful humans,
Don’t go play games in-person at all if you have symptoms of COVID19 and be safe. I want you all to be around and kick my ass on the table in a year.
Stay safe and roll box cars.
