Planning a Warhammer Weekend for New Players
Planning a Warhammer Weekend for New Players
Sometimes the best hobby ideas start as a very simple thought: what if we just made a whole weekend of Warhammer and invited people who have never really played before, but would like to try?
That was the spark for this one.
Michał floated the idea of putting together a small event and inviting a few fresh faces — people like his brother, Owca, Michał Mietliński, and maybe a few others if the group came together. The key part of the plan was that we would host them using painted armies already on hand, so the games would stay approachable and easy to set up.
Because of that, the first idea was to keep things small: 500 points.
Why 500 points makes sense
For introducing new players, 500 points feels like a really natural starting point. It keeps the model count under control, makes army choices less overwhelming, and lets us focus on the fun part: moving cool miniatures around, rolling dice, and learning the game without drowning in rules.
It also fits the spirit of the idea really well. This would not be about hardcore tournament pacing. It would be about getting people to the table, letting them ask questions, and giving them a friendly first contact with the hobby.
And honestly, that part matters a lot to us.
The reality check: teaching takes time
Stas immediately pointed out the practical side of things: if we are bringing in complete newcomers, then we probably should not expect to squeeze full games into a strict competitive-style schedule.
That is completely fair.
If people are fresh, there is no way we are finishing everything in two hours while also explaining movement, combat, decision-making, and all the little bits that make a Warhammer game click. But that is also fine — because if the point is to teach, then slowing down is part of the event, not a problem with it.
We really liked that framing: the Warhammer weekend should still happen, but maybe not as a tightly packed event where everyone is expected to play at full speed from game one.
500? 600? Maybe even more?
As always, once point levels entered the chat, things escalated immediately.
The discussion quickly drifted from 500 to 600, and then naturally into the territory of “well, honestly, 500 and 600 are basically the same thing”. From there it was only a short step to the idea that in a full day, maybe we could even push toward 750-point games if the format worked and people were up for it.
That said, the more sensible version of the plan is probably still to start small and then see what kind of appetite there is for going bigger.
And of course, Ender immediately found the most important implication of 600 points:
does this mean taking one and two-thirds more gyrocopters?
A fair and necessary question.
Timing is the hard part
Right now, the biggest obstacle is not the idea itself — it is finding the actual space in the calendar.
Michał was pretty honest about that: it is not yet clear when there will be room for an event like this, especially with May coming up and Dragon around the corner. As usual, the hobby calendar fills itself faster than we expect.
Still, this feels like exactly the kind of event we want to make happen.
What we like about this idea
What makes this plan exciting for us is that it is not just another game day. It has a bit of everything we enjoy most about the hobby:
- sharing painted armies,
- helping new players get started,
- keeping the atmosphere relaxed,
- and maybe sneaking in a few more games than originally intended.
If we do make this happen, it will probably work best as a casual introduction event, with small armies, lots of guidance, and enough flexibility that nobody feels rushed.
And if it turns out people want more after that? Then maybe 600 points happens. Or 750. Or maybe Ender gets to field an irresponsible number of gyrocopters.
We will see.
For now, the idea is alive — and honestly, that is already a good start.