Unfortunately, I do not have as much free time as I would like, so the majority of my 40k play comes from tournaments. Sure, I play the occasional casual game and enjoy it, but cramming 3, 4, or 5 games into a day in the tournament setting is a more efficient use of my time (even if it is a exhausting).
The tournament scene has exploded in recent years, especially here in the US, and I have been able to attend my fair share. I have my own reasons for playing in tournaments, which you will see below, but why do you play?
Competition
For me, the number one reason I play in tournaments is for the competition. When I play, I want to play against someone that knows what they are doing, they know the rules and they know how to play their army. More than that, I want a challenge. Wiping the floor with someone is not much fun, a close game is always preferable for me. While a tournament setting is no guarantee of that, the odds are certainly better. But even the most competitive tournament is bound to have a few baby-seals waiting to be clubbed.
Community
At most of the major tournaments, you will see a lot of familiar faces. Even on the local or regional level I regularly see the same players. While this is largely because we have a small community, it is still nice to hang out with these people that I would not know without the 40k tournament scene. Some of these become lasting friendships while others are just the friendly people you hang out with at each event.
A lot of the tournaments offer the opportunity to meet some of the online personalities from the many 40k blogs out there. At the first NOVA two years ago, I got tabled by Hulksmash. Last year I hung out with another author from this blog and was able to talk to MVB, albeit briefly. A few months ago I played against a member of the 11th Company podcast and he interviewed me afterwards for the podcast. These are just a few examples. There are a bunch of people that I chat with regularly at these tournaments, but I do not even know their names. That is just how it is sometimes.
Prize Support
Personally, I do not go to tournaments because of prize support. I look at it as an added bonus. My only criteria is that the money I spend for the tournament is returned to the player in some form (whether it is prizes, venue, terrain, etc.) Is prize support important for you? (I will be doing a more in depth follow up post on this).
