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Warhammer 40k
Running a League
When putting together a league it is often forgotten just how difficult it can be. There are a number of key stages.- Get a list of players and Armies
- Draw up a series of rules
- Do the maths
- Adapt the league and rules as you go along
Get a List of Players & Armies
When preparing the league, you will find that everybody will want to join it and then two weeks later when you’ve done all the work, you will find people dropping out right, left and centre. How do you persuade people to keep with it?
- Use an incentive; our prize is that the club will cover half the entry cost of taking part in the GW tournament (on last years prices this is 50% of £40).
- Charge ‘em all a fee for joining the league. We kept it to £1 per person but then we can afford to. If your club is not wealthy enough to cover it, charge whatever you need to cover the cost (though not so much as to put off players who don’t think they’ve got a chance).
- Ensure that points are not just awarded for winning games. As per the GW tournament, we award points for Army painting and background, a Knowledge Quiz and Sportsmanship (this last section can often be very skewed and open to corruption so watch the buggers!).
- Alternate the scenarios. Players get a random selection of scenarios, both from the rulebooks and from the internet. By ensuring that they don’t play the same scenario twice different armies get a chance to play to their own strengths.
- Allow some restructuring of armies. If a player finds he is continually losing with the same army he will lose heart. By allowing him to alter its composition he may find himself playing better. This also increases the challenge on his peers. One thing to bear in mind though, players cannot alter their armies between games at GW tournaments so that players who reach the 2nd round of our league must use the same army from then on.
Draw Up a Series of Rules
Players will naturally try to exploit their strengths over their weaknesses. Ensure that you make clear what is and what is not acceptable. Make a timeline for the league to be played and keep to it (This is of course easier said than done with work commitments, girlfriends and families or in Daves case managing the next Iron Maiden/Hearsay).
- Lay down strict guidelines for Army Lists, include the maximum pointage and usage if any of Special Characters, Vehicles designed under the VDR rules, War Machines etc. We do not permit any of these items unless specifically allowed by the relevant Codex. This follows Alex’s inclusion of a Scout Titan in his Blood Angels army in the last league, which nearly sparked the clubs first socialist revolution.
- Definitely include a clause to cover rules disputes. Rare though it is a good rules dispute can lead to a venemous exchange of insults (extremely entertaining) or violence (which I have yet to see). Ensure you have a neutral referee, which in our case is myself, preferably with close combat skills.
Do the Maths (or in Yankee Speak: The Maff)
Always calculate a playing schedule. The basic idea is to make sure that players don’t find themselves excluded from games in one round and overrun with them the next. Here below is a basic premise based on a single division of 6 players playing each other for one game.
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A2 vs A1 | A6 vs A1 | A4 vs A1 | A3 vs A1 | A5 vs A1 |
| A5 vs A3 | A2 vs A3 | A5 vs A2 | A4 vs A2 | A6 vs A2 |
| A6 vs A4 | A5 vs A4 | A6 vs A3 | A6 vs A5 | A3 vs A4 |
If you wish opponents to play two matches as a sort of home and away simply add another 5 rounds and reverse the positions.
In our league we do this with the home player being the attacker and the away player the defender.
Ensure you keep a record of all the results and regularly update the league positions as this promotes a sense of inclusion and bitter resentment (equally entertaining).
Here is a sample of one of our leagues
| Attacker | Steve | Paul | Phil | Ian | Lee | Richard M | LEADER BOARD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defender | A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 | A5 | A6 | Pl | Pts |
| A1 | A5 | 110 | ||||||
| A2 | 10-10 | 0-20 | A1 | 80 | ||||
| A3 | 20-0 | 17-3 | A4 | 47 | ||||
| A4 | 20-0 | 10-10 | 20-0 | A2 | 60 | |||
| A5 | 10-10 | 0-20 | 0-20 | 0-20 | A3 | 23 | ||
| A6 | 20-0 | 20-0 | 20-0 | 20-0 | 20-0 | A6 | 0 | |
Scores always read as Attacker/Defender
Adapt the League Rules as You Go Along
Do not be afraid to make changes and listen to your players. If enough of them want some part of the rules change and it seems sensible put it to the vote but remember if you are playing to create better participants, be ruthless. In the GW tournament no one can hear you scream.
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