Mathhammer and you.

[CrimsonTurkey]

I spend lots of time mathhammering in my head. This doesn't mean I'm not having fun and it sure as hell doesn't mean that I'm not playing a theme list. I also don't let myself get sad when I don't get what the mathhammer says I should. It's an average which means that it's a fairly good guideline to go by when calculating risk/reward which is really what any strategy game is all about.

[warpcrafter]

My dice fail me so often that I do not care what math-hammer says. I have gone through six sets of dice and I consistently roll only one hit out of three or four attacks for each powerklaw-armed nob in my Ork army, and one or two hits for a dozen dark lances in my Dark Eldar army. It's just my fate, so I concentrate on playing for fun.

[Rapture]

Mathhammer player loses 4 terminators, holy cow that is impossible! blah blah blah, and the b!tching doesn't stop, like, ever.

If that play was a true "mathhammer player" then he would know that losing four terminators is far from statistically impossible.

[CrimsonTurkey]

My dice fail me so often that I do not care what math-hammer says. I have gone through six sets of dice and I consistently roll only one hit out of three or four attacks for each powerklaw-armed nob in my Ork army, and one or two hits for a dozen dark lances in my Dark Eldar army. It's just my fate, so I concentrate on playing for fun.

How big are your dice? Yes, it does matter.

[BuFFo]

If that play was a true "mathhammer player" then he would know that losing four terminators is far from statistically impossible.

Hyperbole. Fun for the whole family.

[eldargal]

Mathammer is a useful tool and nothing more. I use it to figure out what the odds of doing certain things with certain units but I don't base armies around it or get cranky when a unit doesn't perform the way Mathammer says it should.

[Necron2.0]

Statistics in general are fine, but should never replace common sense, and can never replace superior tactics and maneuver. Or, as a former boss once put it, "If statistics worked like they are used, then you should be able to put your head in the freezer, your feet in the oven, and be perfectly comfortable."

[Slug]

I'll post this up late tomorrow, just to make a few quick points and replies though. Firstly Buffo, I'm no tournament player, mostly because I can't paint fast enough to ever finish an army/ lack of time/ being in AUS. So, I agree, people who sit down and work out every move by working out the chances of certain things happening are missing some of the fun of the game. I'm just to sort of person who goes, despite the fact that each squad of guard are only likely to kill about one marine a turn, I'm fairly sure a good assault will take care of anything, or RUN AWAY.

However for others, it is a useful tool for tournament play as it allows you to gauge the effectiveness of certain units against other units, allowing you to prioritize your shooting and assaults based off of averages and hence know what units are best suited to certain tasks. However it also requires the application of thought to your game, it's just another tool to allow you to work out your tactics better, not tell you what to do, positioning and such are still key.

I will address three main points. How to do probability, both very basic things as well as a few tips to working through tougher problems like Lore Weaver's, trees are your friends . Secondly, I will demonstrate how binomial graphs present a better picture of how likely different results are as compared to the single number that basic probability gives though I wont teach it unless people really want to know (the maths is much more complex then the basic stuff which is very simple and only requires a calculator and knowing where your buttons are). Lastly, I will talk about how to apply what I have shown in this, I won't give tactical advice about anything, just how to make use of the extra knowledge you gain from knowing a few probabilities. A dip into statistics may or may not make its way in, I will admit I have done no stat courses so I'm bit hesitant to say anything on that topic,though if I do, it will be after some (much) research, don't worry though, I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to the probability.

[Uncle Nutsy]

mathhammer.

blah.

I'm glad to see some people get use out of it, but personally I'd rather do the mathhammering in my head, while also thinking what tactics I'm going to use. I can calculate the combat effectiveness faster than most people can do it using a calculator. Simply because I broke it down to it's essence, which is 'how much of a chance do I have to kill my target?'

I got a Str5 weapon with an AP of 5 for example. I look at what i'm going to shoot at... say it's a tank. Am I facing the rear armor or front? the rear? well, I have a decent chance of glancing it, but i'd rather use my bigger guns for that.

What's my next target? that toughness 7 thing over there? hmm, same chance as that tank. screw it, what's the next target?

those ten T4 guys there with an armor save of 5? and there's about ten of em there? yeah i think I can take down about half of em from one salvo. let er rip! but first, i'll use this nice Str7 blast first, to wittle em down.

But in all fairness, I like to let the dice do the talking...

"I'll choose the pot head every time." ooh! ooh! let's have a game after I finish this joint.

[warpcrafter]

How big are your dice? Yes, it does matter.

What does the size of the dice have to do with it?