Schizophrenic’s Guide: Ready for Adepticon

I, Dalton Lewis, want to attend Adepticon this weekend. It’s the biggest miniature wargaming convention in the country, or at least one of the most significant ones. I attend every year and compete during the years in which I feel up to it. Last year I won two games and lost two games and felt that I did fine. I feel like I probably will be up for it this year. I am glad to say that I am well and only have problems waking up in the morning. Everything else seems fine for me — the mental health issues are all manageable right now.

I will play in the Warhammer 40k Championships as I do most years. One year I won the first two games and then played in the top tier of players for a game — which I lost but should have won. I want to repeat that or win three games — I don’t think that I can win four games, but I will try my hardest and see what happens. The competition at these events is brutal. The lists people bring are frightening. The players use the most extreme lists and tactics, and everyone there is smart and hardworking and experienced at the game.

Working hard at hobbying? Adepticon is a place where everyone can show his or her work to everyone and get judged by excellent artists. I know because I see models that have been beautifully painted by artists who will never be famous but who deserve to be known for their brilliant work.

Why do we compete so bitterly at these competitions? I don’t know, but the pressure to win builds and builds as the days pass. I worry about the competitive nature of the games. People really, really want to win these games and take them a little too seriously. They spend countless hours preparing for these games — which is good. They also spend countless hours trying to defeat other people. That isn’t as good. I don’t like the way people like me often have to lose to the same people year after year. It’s frustrating.

I know that anyone has the capacity to succeed at any number of endeavors. I just feel like certain people always figure out how to win at these games, regardless of edition or current rules. They try out every matchup for their armies and min/max correctly to give themselves the best matchup.

Why don’t I do that? Why don’t I try every conceivable combination of units for every matchup for my space marines? Why do I switch armies when I begin to get good with something? I don’t know.

I am not the worst at strategy games, but I need to think more about the game as it happens. I am 90–74 or so at Starcraft 2 at terran this season and that’s pretty good. I need to play more games in order to learn how to anticipate and counter my opponent’s strategies. That seems to be a key facet of strategy gaming. I need to see what my opponent will do and stop it somehow. That sounds simple, but I have trouble executing it in practice. I don’t know why certain people are super smart and the rest of us are kind of bright. It’s frustrating. I still like my list and my chances and look forward to seeing everyone in the 40k community in one big room.

Thanks, and take care, friends.