Confessions of a rage quitter

[SotonShades]

Only times I have ever conceeded a game were when I was reduced to no models able to move. Nothing but immobile vehicles left on the board. I have had way too many games where I have lost all but a couple of troops (note; i mean models, not units!) or possibly a single vehicle that has lost all its weapons but can still move. Play them suicidally!

I remember one game, way back in the last few months of third edition where my marine army was wiped out, apart from a single space marine. By turn one. Admittedly, I had had first turn so my last guy was a good distance across the board and I had managed to inflict a few casualties to my opponant's army. Not enough to cause any leadership tests or the like though. My opponant (a great guy who was well known at the time for regularly placing in the Grand Tournaments, now known as throne of skulls in the UK) offered me a graceful conceed. I refused and took every oppertunity to get that last guy killed. From that point in the game there wasn't a single combat phase he wasn't involved in. Somehow I managed to make every save needed (which was helped by my opponants inability to roll high enough to hit him in shooting or combat!) and won every combat, causing all but one of his units to be fleeing or have run off the board by the end of the game. I'd love to say I gave that marine a promotion and a new paint job, but he got stolen the next day...

I also particularly remember a 3v3 40k in 40 minutes game. All that was left of my force by my turn one was a single space marine chaplain and a sergeant with a powerfist. Not much was left of the other two forces I was allied with either. We could have conceeded, but instead my marines decided it would be much better to mow their way through 400 points of genestealers, as mell as doing a fair bit of damage to a couple of the Tau units who had shot their squads out from under them in the frst turn.

I'm sure there were hundreds of other games where I was reducded to not a lot, and subsequently wiped of the table with out the opposing army breaking a sweat, but you don't remember those games. Once upon a time in my LGS there was a competition to see who could wipe my army from the board in the shortest time (15 minutes for a 1500 point game, including deploying armies... that kinda hurt lol), but if I never stuck it out to the end, even when I have no chance of winning, I would never know just what my armies are really capable of. With a bucket load of luck at least lol.

As a lot of previous posters have pointed out, when you are rendered combat ineffective, just have fun with it instead of conceeding. How often do we cheer for the underdog? How many movies are there about soldiers left behind, out numbered, short of ammunition and supplies and fighting for their lives, only to come out victorious? You would be surprised how often you can be reduced to a point where you can't win, but can stop your opponant from winning. A closely fought draw can be just as much fun as a win, so never, ever conceed

[DrLove42]

I don't understand how you can RageQuit really in 40k. In online gaming yes....its anonymous and 2 pushes.

In a table top game not so much

[Thiazi]

There is one guy in my gaming store who, no matter what the mission is, goes for annihilation every time, and very frequently gets it. He has a photographic memory, knows every army in the game, and is perfectly able to tailor his loadout on the fly to what he observes you getting out of your bags. He is absolutely scrupulous in his adherence to the rules. And he is no fun to play at all. He knows your army better than you do his, never misses a trick, and has no mercy if you do. He is not satisfied unless you have nothing left at the end of the game.

No one plays him one-on-one. Why would anyone want to be that guy?

This sounds like the best kinda of opponet. Following the rules is a good thing, they are there for a reason.
You will never get better playing less skilled opponets, and it sounds like there is a lot you can learn from this guy. Suck it up, learn from your mistakes, be grateful you now have a better understanding of the rules, your army and his, and put that knowledge to use next game.

[Eldaress]

To be perfectly honest, I feel like it sort of defeats the purpose of the entire game by conceding turn two. All that work taking your models from the case and writing your list and setting them up and doing the first rolls and then you back out turn two because you feel like (or are) being completely crushed? Where's that spirit of badassery that says, "Oh HELL yeah I'm getting my a$$ handed to me, but for godssakes I'm gonna try and own this!" It seems like when you're down and out in the beginning of the battle, that's the perfect time to tone your skills and try and become a better strategist. Not every fight's going to go evenly the whole way, where it's a tug of war for the objective/kill points/annihilation/whatever and finally whoever manages to pull off that last move wins. -shrug-

Now, I will say that I agree with a previous poster about if it's, say, turn 4 or so, and there's just no way out of your sticky situation, you could politely offer your hand surrender the victory to your opponent. Meh, I do have a problem with people who start getting all huffy and start to wine like little thirteen y/o girls and b*tch and b*tch and b*tch about every little thing that goes wrong and then they rage quit, tossing models and stomping off, but that's a different story.

[Fellend]

To put it in very simple terms: You should always keep playing because crushing you might be fun for your opponent. You agreed to battle him because it was fun for you both not just for you.
However you can always offer to concede. After all, hunting down the last member of your squad might be just as boring for him as it is for you.

[Eldaress]

To put it in very simple terms: You should always keep playing because crushing you might be fun for your opponent. You agreed to battle him because it was fun for you both not just for you.

This. It's a game for godssake. I totally agree that you shouldn't be an a** just because the game isn't going right for you and bail out on the person you agreed to play with/who agreed to play with you. It's courtesy.

[Forrix]

i think the game is worth playing right up to the end. Because it is a game and because if your not going to win the big game you can find a new goal even if its just killing his HQ before your last couple guys go down. Also you never know what you might learn for the next game even in the process of losing. Not to mention how irritating it would be for you if every time you started to pick up a win you worked for your opponent just walked away. Course there is an exception to every rule and sometimes a game just goes wrong and you will both have more fun if you just start over.

[Panxer]

There are a lot of good insightful posts here; keep em coming!

It's a game. Period. Please, bear in mind that I'm a staunch Tau player, and I'm not unaccustomed to losing, and losing badly. I've played games through to completion with one immobile vehicle with a squad of troops inside and finished the game and I've also conceded at the top of turn two as well. It's the spirit of the game. You either have a fun experience and its an entertaining game, or you have one that utterly crushes your spirit and will to continue, takes all tactical thinking out of the process to where you just say 'schrew it', and strive to get your team killed as quickly as possible (with tau that's not hard).

I like the perspective of withdrawing when a tactical defeat is imminent. Knowing your army and its capabilities has its drawbacks as well. Being able to see three moves ahead, given the tactical scenario, can be a curse as well as a blessing. Last night I took the time to make a Farsight list playing against the new Necrons (which is my standard fare being that my friend with the table plays them every time)- he had 7 bodyguards (were in reserves as a bad a$$ kill team unit about to practice the killing blow upon some unsuspecting Crons in the back), another XV squad of reserves, pathfinder team up front, 3 broadsides with ASA's behind a rock to avoid being killed turn 1 (didn't work), and two squads of infantry (one in a building on an objective and the other in a fish waiting for the signal to skim out and cause trouble.

By the end of turn one, all my broadsides were all dead- killing 90% of my anti-tank capability, pathfinders too- didn't even get one marker light shot, Commander in the back with the positional relay was down to zero shield drones and 2 wounds- and about the be instant deathed on the next turn.

Top of turn 2: Positional relay let me deepstrike Farsight and his goons on a 2+. Scattered into terrain. 'I'm not going to have my kill team reduced for bad rolling', I say! Marker Beacon from the dead pathfinder's fish allows me to re-roll for scatter on a deepstrike. I do so. Great! Off the table! Deepstrike mishap! Roll the dice, my opponent gets to place them wherever he wants- which is right in front of his shootiest and most deadly unit.

At this point, I concede. When things go this bad for you, this early in the game, and you're Tau? It's best to cut your losses. It's a game, and when you're getting just curbed stomped in the bottom of turn 1? Walk away. Any competent military commander (even if we weren't talking 'game' and talking 'real') would withdraw his troops, regroup, and fight from a different position.

I'm Tau, so I'm used to being rendered combat ineffective by turn 3. That's just how it goes. But if you're eviscerated by turn 1?, with your only hope of reprieve mishaps in front of his insta-death shooty unit? turn 2 and 3 would just be an exercise in futility. My time is the only asset I have that is non refundable and finite. So, if the game ceases to be fun and in the 'friendly' spirit, then why continue? I've got more important things to do like post innocuous posts on a forum about the game I get beat at so often.

[Necron2.0]

I've conceded games both when I was winning and when I've been losing - with my opponent's agreement, of course. It all depends on how young the night is and how entertaining the game is (stress that, GAME). It's no fun putting the beat-stick on someone who isn't trying anymore. Likewise, if I'm reduced to a punching bag, how much enjoyment can someone derive in just a dice rolling exercise? Now, granted that's not usually in the second turn of play, but I have seen it happen:

Turn 2:
Player 1: I'm deepstriking the bulk of my forces

... <mishap> ... <mishap> ... <drift into a kill-box> ... <mishap>

Player 1: Hmm. Seems I only have one scoring unit remaining

Player 2: Not anymore, it's my turn.

... <CENSORED CARNAGE> ...

Player 1: Hmm ..... Wanna call it?

Player 2: Sure, let's set up for round two.

[Denzark]

If I get to turn 5 and I have nothing that can force a draw, ie no scoring units, and none within 2 turns distance of an objective in order to contest - that means 12+2d6 inches with running, then and only then would I ask my opponent not to bother rolling for turn 6-7.

Otherwise, as is said in Young guns 2, its time to finish the game...