We’ve all spent countless hours arguing over which is the best wargame of all, now there is an answer.
It’s one of our favorite pastimes, on forums, on blogs and in numerous comment threads, we love to argue about which wargame is the best. It is such a popular topic that it seems almost impossible to find a post here that dost not contain, somewhere in the comments, an argument for why one game is better than another. Warmachine is better then 40k. 40k is better then Fantasy. Epic is better then 40k. Fantasy is better then Warlord. Flames of War is better then War of the Rings. Confrontation sucks. X game is for kids, Y game is the most strategic of all games. 40k is too simple and dumbed down, Squadron Commander is too complicated. The arguments go on and on in an seemingly endless cycle, and at the end of the day we all have our favorite game that we love to argue for.
My favorite is of course Brikwars, the game of Lego battles.
Ultimately though doesn’t it all just come down to personal preference? Don’t all games have value? Can we ever find a best game, ever decide which game is better then another. We all like different things, we all want different things, therefore each of us has our own personal preference for a game, and this invalidates any attempt to find a best game, doesn’t it? Well, no.
The simple fact of the matter is that some games are just bad games, no matter what some people say. Sometimes people are just wrong. Now lets get this straight, I’m not talking about finding the most fun game out there, we each like different things. I for one love War of the Rings, but I know its not a very good game right now. Nor am I trying to figure out which game is the most tactical of games, I find Flames of War to be very tactical, but that game also has it’s share problems. Nor to I care, as so many out there seem too, about the average age of the players for any one game (hint if you want a game that is not played by kids try Little Wars). I am at the end of the day talking about finding the best game. But how, you might ask, does one do that, how can we decide what is the best game. We all live in a democracy (my apologies to our glorious Chinese comrades reading this) and so it is simple to apply the democratic principles to this quest.
The principles of Democracy questing.
We all of course know what applying the principles of democracy means. It means a popularity contest, it means the most popular game wins. I think it’s quite easy from that point to figure out the answer. No game is as popular as Warhammer 40,000, no game is sold more, is played more or has a bigger player base. Warhammer 40,000 is clearly and without argument the single most popular wargame now and ever. People can argue that it is not the most well written game, not the most tactical game, not the prettiest game, but no one can argue that it is not the most popular game. Therefore our question has a simple and obvious answer, 40k. Thus do I, by the powers and authority vested in me by the holy principles of democracy, the spirits of the founding fathers, and myself, declare Warhammer 40,000 to be the best Wargame of all. Let us all rejoice in this news and in the end to our strife!
All hail the king of wargaming!
So, do you agree or disagree with this proclamation? Do you think you have a compelling argument for a different game system? Then don’t hesitate to let the world know in the comments. I welcome your undemocratic arguments.
Dad, Gamer, Publisher, Pilot, Texan. All games all the time since junior-high.
I started BoLS Interactive in 2006. I’m a lifelong tabletop & RPG gaming enthusiast, and internet publisher working to entertain and inform my readers every day.
I've been playing RPGs and Tabletop Games since the 1970s. I'm been playing and covering Warhammer and Warhammer 40K for over 35 years.
