[vanquishermg]

OK, for me, starting tabletop gaming is a no-brainer. This looks so cool, I can imagine no better hobby then building up an army and battling. Only problem is, none of my friends are interested at all, and I don't know a single kid in school that plays. Should I just go to game places and try to make new friends?

 

[theyak]

Going to hobbygame shops is one way to just meet people to meet people to game with.

I've had a similar problem in the past where my friends thought the hobby was "cool" but wouldn't commit due to various reasons. The way I ended up getting them involved was to start using the miniatures in other games we played together(like D&D and such) then I would bring in figures that I had taken time to paint up "right" they eventually caught the "cool enough that I want to try" attitude. Otherwise, just find a group to play with, and take a few of your friends down there with you when you play and show them how much fun you have, let them control a unit or two(while you guide them with the rules) and let them get a taste of what its like.
In the end though, just consider whether your friends might eventually catch interest.

As far as people at school that play, well, I know when I was in school it was an "UBER GEEK HOBBY" so anyone that played kept it on the low. You may find that when you go to the local stores, there may just be some kids there that you recognize.

hope this helps.

 

[vanquishermg]

all my close friends all say warhammer is too nerdy, and i don't even know any nerds that play otherwise i would! (im mainly interested in warhammer fantasy or 40k)

 

[theyak]

It may just be that you will have to acquire another "group" of friends. Its fine to have different groups of friends interested in different things. Who knows, eventually, your two groups of friends my learn to coexist and introduce eachother to different hobbies.

 

[vanquishermg]

i dont think i made it clear, i don't know a single soul that plays warhammer. how can i enlight people i know to take up arms?

 

[theyak]

Well, I told you in the first post, it just may take time and patience. Do you not have a hobby shop or game store that carries and plays warhammer(40k)? Go frolick among other geeks the like the hobby, and maybe your other friends will come around.

 

[jaNDo]

It sounds like you're in your early-mid teens.

Your friends probably (like all teenagers) have self-esteem issues. They don't want to play a "nerdy" game, because if word got out, that might take their social standing down a peg. It is an immature reaction, but something most people in the world do every day - though mostly subconsciously.

The hard answer is: make some new friends. Find a wargaming club that is close to you or head into your local hobby store on games day/night. You don't have to be tight with these people, but you can know their names and enjoy a chat and a game.

The other answer: It might be a long shot, but if they play PC games, introduce them to Dawn of War (specifically Dark Crusade). The units, settings and gameplay are all great and a fantastic intoduction into the WH40k world. Teenage males are more inclined to enjoy 40k, since it is dark, gruesome and has friggin space marines/ships. On top of this, go rent Starship Troopers, Aliens - movies like that. Get them around, get them interested in crazy sci-fi battles against aliens and then crack out a simple squad-level game of 40k.

Once you have them playing, let them win. Have heaps of fun (talk about a funny movie/dickheads at school, etc) and tell them about all the other cool stuff ("You know, there are these things called Dreadnoughts. They're like 10 foot tall, have massive power-fists that can rip apart tanks and a huge gun that rips apart squads in seconds!").

The next step, once you have them interested, is to take them to Games Workshop. These people can hard-sell just about anything.

Good luck!

 

[vanquishermg]

yea you hit the nail on the head. ironically some of my friends even love dawn of war but wont touch the tabletop. looks like in a few weeks when i get my license Games Workshop will be my first stop! thanks guys and i look forward to starting this great hobby

 

[theyak]

Awesome. Well, then if they like DoW, then the conversion should be a little easier. Especially after you start actually collecting an army. I know at least 2 people that got into the hobby BECAUSE of DoW.

Looking forward to seein you around the boards vanquishermg.

 

[Shadow Nugz]

In my grade (going into Freshman year) I am a rather imposing figure and besides the fact that I preach the heck out of 40k to my friends, I am never called a nerd or geek because the jocks or people who would call me stuff like that are either: 1) my friends, 2) people who won't mess with me (afraid to some extent) or 3)people who play stuff like Magic: The Gathering. Everyone knows not to mess with me...

 

[theyak]

um... nugs? how does your example help our poster here?

 

[vanquishermg]

thanks for the warm welcome guys
this has been a pleasent experience and i got some good insight

 

[InquisitorAffe]

Don't worry, stick it out now and by the time you start to approach 30 the tables will be turned. Your peers will be jealous of the personal time and disposable income you flaunt by being able to keep up with such a hobby =).

Anyway, both of the GWs in town here and the one back in Philadelphia from whence I emigrated have plenty of players in the younger age group to meet. If you're more suburban or rural getting there can be a problem, can't help much with that one! Besides, once your folks discover how much space this stuff consumes, you may *have* to play at the shop =). I get by because my wife has a lab at the University to clutter up with her junk.

 

[ArchonFarseerGuy]

I got my friends (granted, already into 40k and LOTR) into WHFB by simply buying the rulebook off TradeMe (The NZ version of eBay), and brought it to school. I showed them the pictures, and they were hooked. They were all deciding what army they wanted to collect. I guess it was the concept of the really cool models.

The Rulebook is a pretty nifty way to get someone into the game.

What can you tell us about these people? I know some girls who love Fantasy Elves, therefore they like the look of Eldar (although there's no chance of them collecting 40K, I was just using an example).

-AFG

 

[Gman]

Well I'll be honest and say I had no desire to play these table top games, pushing miniatures all around. Don't get me wrong, I did all the other geek gaming stuff, pen and paper RPGs, computer games, collector card games etc.

How I got sucked into the hobby was this. A friend, who has been playing since 2nd Ed, took me to the local GW store. He brought along his own army, and asked if I could be setup with some models from one of their display armies and walked through a game. So they set me up with a few hundred points worth of stuff, handed me some dice and a stick of shame and walked me through a game with my friend. I loved all the dice I got to roll, and watchin models get peeled off the table. It was great. We came back and did it again the following weekend, and I walked out of there with $100 worth of stuff.

 

[Saraneth]

So, was this thread started by devious Gamesworkshop marketers?

Nah, just kidding. I lucked out, all my friends wanted to play. Even the "Jocks."

 

[Ozmer]

I think you kinda nailed it for now - Head to a hobby shop, meet some new people and make some new friends.

On a side note - I consider myself pretty lucky. In college I met people that introduced me to D&D. When I came back home it took me over a year, but I met a co-worker that was into D&D and invited me to play with his group. We've been playing almost a year now and they're some great people. In fact, that same co-worker is the one who exposed me to the 40k virus... which in the past couple of weeks has begun to dent my checkbook lol.

So in short - Search out people who like what you like, and try to convert the ones that sound even slightly interested.

 

[MVBrandt]

Games Workshop games ARE really nerdy. It just has no bearing on the real world or your social interactions past the age of roughly 18 or so.

Unfortunately, when you're at an age before that, it can be a difficult thing to find friends to play with, b/c High School typically still retains all the cliquiness, "cool" factors and misconceptions associated with growing up.


As for Shadow Nugz, I'm going to take your lunch money!111:ninja:

 

[Canew]

I would say the pop culture references could be the way to go. What are your friends into? Anybody an anime/Gundam fan? Helloooooo, Tau! Werewolf fans might like the Space Wolves. "Aliens" = nids, "Terminator" = necrons, horror movie fans will find Chaos appealing, etc. As others have said, there's usually something in the grim darkness of the far future that appeals to the brooding, high school drama kings/queens out there (I was one once, too).

 

[Lel]

I bought DOW last fall. loved it. now I have 3k points of IG and just ordered an eldar BF!
DOW is definately a great intro to the 40k realm