Who Knew? 40K Can Be Fun!

It's been a long time since I got a game of 40K in.  I've been playing Fantasy, and a bit of Malifaux, exclusively for over a year now.  The other night, Ian and Bart and I played a goofy, fun bit of 40K, and I had a blast.  I think the difference may be in the way I approached the game. 

Back when I was playing 40K a lot, I was working to win every single game.  I wanted to smash faces and win tactically every time.  I also wanted to play my Raven Guard and Imperial Fists like they played in the fluff, as killing machines that knew no equal.  I got pretty good, and had some tournament wins, but was unhappy that I couldn't really play my marines aggressively and win.  I had to focus on long and medium range firepower in order to use them effectively, and it wasn't something I enjoyed.  I wanted to make heroic strikes at my opponent, to get in his face and smash him up for the Emperor!  Basically, I loved the SM fluff, but was playing the wrong army on the tabletop. 

Fast forward to yesterday, and I've still got the same army.  But I haven't played tournaments for a while, and I'm not worried about being competitive.  It was a great almost "beer and pretzels" feeling yesterday to play, and to just do things the way I wanted, and damn the consequences.  I used Lysander like the tank he is, punting vehicles and harlequins around, and even when I was down to one wound, I still charged an incoming group of Terminators. 

So hey, maybe there'll be a little more 40K play around here.  As long as I can keep it fun and light, I think it's a great game for me.  And soon, perhaps I'll paint up some Space Wolves and Blood Angels, and have marines that will actually fit an aggressive play style competitively.  Could be good times!