The Basement Gamers Cookbook

"The rules must try to represent as closely as possible the background and fit the models. After that they should ideally disappear in the background, like ambient music – it's still there and it improves the overall experience, but your brain almost does not register it's there at all. "

~Alessio Cavatore, author of Warhammer 40k, Fifth Edition

Introduction

Basement Gaming is not just location, it is a philosophy. It is not only a way of playing, it is the thought behind the game, each turn, every dice roll. But it is more than that. It is knowing the person standing across the table from you not only as an opponent, but also as a friend (even though you may have a strong desire to punch him from time to time).

It is also about the food and the drinks.

As with any philosophy it is not something that can be explained in a simple manner. It is not something that you can just read about and “get it”.

It is the nearly-forgotten art of table-top wargaming that this whole hobby was founded upon. Somewhere, at some time throughout the years, this art, this philosophy, was replaced with pick-up games, competitive playing, and tournaments. While all of these other aspects of the hobby bring a larger field of players into the fold, the more simple art of wargaming is overlooked and rarely discussed.

So now I need to give the disclaimer. Pick-up games, competitive playing, and tournaments are all important aspects of this hobby. They are all valid playing philosophies and I am in no way denigrating them. The blogs and forums are full of advice, suggestions, and ideas to discuss all of these philosophies.

It is the intention of this series of articles to discuss basement gaming and all that it involves. It is the intention of this series to bring this philosophy back to the forefront. For every competitive player there are two basement gamers. This is for those players who go to pick-up games hoping to find a fellow basement gamer.

Gaming Types

Rules are a gentlemen’s agreement. They are required for strangers or for competitions. When meeting someone for a random pick-up game the rules of the game is your first form of communication. Without them there would be two games occurring on the same table.

Competitive players understand that knowledge of the rules is the difference between winning and losing. Knowing not just the core rules but his opponent’s codex is the key to victory. Competitive players have an understanding of the rules that goes beyond the simple reading required for a pick-up game.

Tournament players are a subset of competitive players. They understand the rules but also understand the variances in location (the localized meta-game) and how judges think and react to situations.

Basement gamers are concerned with none of this. The rules, like Alessio Cavatore said, are like ambient background music.

What is Basement Gaming?

Basement gaming is, by its nature, very selective. A gaming club will attempt to attract all types of players. Basement gaming will exclude those who do not understand the nuances of the philosophy.

These are the games played between best friends, relatives, fathers and sons. These games normally involve food and some form of drink, even if it is just a bag of pretzels and beer. There is a level of trust between the players that is not present in other game types. This trust replaces the understanding that the rules would normally provide during a pick-up game.

Because of the level of trust required, some people simply are not suitable for basement gaming. This is not an insult to those players, it is a simple fact. Someone who plays a game with winning being the primary consideration is usually not equipped to appreciate the entire basement gaming philosophy. Conversely, those who only play basement games will probably not enjoy pick-up games and will abhor tournaments.

There will be future articles concerning this, but for now it is enough to simply consider that basement gamers do not consider winning as a priority to playing a game.

Basement gaming is usually played by older players, but this is more of a statement of resources than maturity. Basement gaming requires a table, terrain, and a large enough place to play without constant interruptions. Many younger players have enough difficulty purchasing and preparing their army. Preparing a table and terrain, then having a big enough place to play, is difficult for the younger crowd (but not impossible).

What is the Basement Gamers Cookbook?

The Basement Gamers Cookbook is a collection of articles that attempt to explain the Basement Gaming philosophy, advice for setting up and playing basement games, and, of course, recipes, since food is an important aspect of the full gaming experience.

All of the articles will be collected and linked on this blog. Hopefully, in time, others will post articles appropriate for the Basement Gamers Cookbook and there will be links to those, too. The greatest achievement would be to have multiple blogs and sites promote their own Basement Gamers Cookbook, each one with various links to articles, ideas, advices, and recipes.

Remember, the rules are a tool written to enhance the gaming experience. The Basement Gamers Cookbook is another tool to enhance that experience.