North Texas 40K Summer Playoffs at HobbytownUSA!

Do you have what it takes to command your 40K army through to victory against all comers? Could you claim a $500 shopping spree as grand prize? Find out this summer at HobbytownUSA Dallas, as they host the 2010 North Texas 40K Playoffs!

Players will sign up at HTUD to compete in one of four preliminary brackets on weekends through the summer, four players in each bracket playing two win-or-lose rounds, with the four winners of each bracket advancing to face each other in a single Final Four day of combat at the end of August; these finalists will play three rounds, one game against each of the other three finalists--and that winner will claim forty-first millennium supremacy for all of North Texas!

Entry fee is $25 to participate in one of the four, four-player qualifying brackets. There will be no additional charge to the finalists for participation in the Final Four round. To register, players must have a fully-painted 1500 point 40K army and a printed, valid army list to turn in to judges from a current, inprint codex. These qualifications *must* be met; any player who arrives on the day of his preliminary bracket with a less than fully-painted army and/or an inaccurate, illegible or invalid army list will forfeit their slot in that bracket to a registered, present Alternate and will not receive a refund of registration.

Will it be worth it? Sponsors HobbytownUSA Dallas and Games Workshop are putting up a $50 prize of GW product for *each* of the four preliminary bracket winners--and the hobbyist crowned North Texas 40K Playoff Champion will take home a $500 gift certificate to HobbytownUSA Dallas as Grand Prize!

See HobbytownUSA Dallas to register for one of the limited sixteen preliminary round slots, or the North Texas mailing list accessible from http://www.adeptusnorthtexas.com for latest details, answers to questions, etc.

Preliminary Bracket Dates:

1. Sunday, June 27
2. Saturday, July 17
3. Sunday, July 31
4. Sunday, Aug 8
5. North Texas 40K Summer Playoff Final: Saturday, Aug 21

Results: Astronomi-Con Dallas 2010

The first Astronomi-Con Dallas was a resounding success on all fronts: a national-scale 40K event returned to North Texas and was impressively supported by the community, something appreciated not only by Astro organizers, host The Gamers Realm and all sponsors but by Games Workshop, as well...and the near sell-out roster of players got to experience the very best weekend the hobby has to offer!

• BEST OVERALL: Clay Smith (Orks)
  2nd Place: Christopher Allen (Space Marines--Iron Hands)
  3rd Place: Michael Sanford (Daemonhunters)
• BEST SPORTSMAN: Christopher Allen (Space Marines--Iron Hands)
• BEST ARMY: Billy Pistole (Traitor IG)
• BEST APPEARANCE: Michael Sanford (Daemonhunters)
• BEST GENERAL: Raymond Nerpel (Chaos Space Marines--Death Guard)
• BEST SINGLE MINI: Nam Nguyen (IG)
• BEST TERRAIN: Dave Pakalnis (Tau Empire)
• BEST ARMY LIST: Kyle Foster (Space Marines--Ultramarines)

Result: Pre-Astro Terrain Table Tourney

Eleven dedicated hobbyists brought their Astronomi-Con-tuned 1500 point Warhammer 40K armies to The Gamers Realm to test their mettle against the kind of terrain, missions--and scoring!--they will face in two weeks, when the Games Workshop Grand Tournament Circuit comes to North Texas via Astronomi-Con Dallas!

Thanks to those who submitted tables for use in the upcoming GT: six new additional tables will supplement those supplied by TGR and other sponsors, all with customized, dedicated scenarios written by the Astronomi-Con staff. Interested players can still register to participate at http://www.astronomi-con.com --where you will face opponents, and their Astro armies, like these Pre-Astro event winners:

• BEST OVERALL: Dennis Ovens, Imperial Guard -- 78 points
• BEST SPORTSMAN (and Second Place Overall): Brady Allen, Tyranids -- 77 points
• BEST APPEARANCE (and Third Place Overall): Clay Smith, Orks -- 74 points
• BEST GENERAL: Mark Pollet, Chaos Space Marines

The tournament winner collects a membership to any future Astronomi-Con of his choice AND a ticket to this year's GamesDay (including limited edition miniature!) courtesy of Astronomi-Con and Games Workshop, and the other winners collect gift cards courtesy of The Gamers Realm--total prizes awarded for the day exceeded US$200 in value...just a taste of what is to come at Astronomi-Con itself

Congratulations to all participants, as so many games literally came down to final turns; special kudos to Ian Kershaw and Dave Pakalnis, Best Sportsman runners-up, and Sid Stallings, Best Appearance runner-up. Thanks to ringer Steve Burroughs, from a grateful event moderator...and to everyone at The Gamers Realm, for sponsoring today's Pre-Astro event, and on June 19 and 20, 2010, Astronomi-Con Dallas!

GW Grapevine Mills Army List Challenge

Games Workshop Grapevine Mills announces a new event: the Army List Challenge Kick Off. Beginning Saturday, May 15, the Army List Challenge is essentially a giant raffle, designed to help hobbyists start (and complete!) a 1000 point playable list for Warhammer Fantasy or 40K, or a 300 point list for Lord of the Rings. Submit this list to GW GVM--and when you purchase from them everything you need to field that list, you get a raffle ticket. Build everything you've purchased for the list, and you get another raffle ticket. Paint everything you've built, and you get a third ticket. If you play a game with another hobbyist participating in the Army List Challenge, you get an additional ticket--and if you win that game, you get two tickets. At the end of June, GW GVM Manager Chris will draw a winning raffle ticket *for each system*...and that winner will get to write a second 1000 point list, for which everything needed will be provided FREE. There is no limit to the number of lists hobbyists may create and participate with--all three systems (or multiple armies within systems) can be explored--a great option with Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition on the summer horizon! See the staff of Games Workshop Grapevine Mills for details!

All About Fun Hobbies Euless Dual 40K Event

All About Fun Hobbies in Euless announces two related events for Warhammer 40K:

1. A painting contest featuring Squads from any Games Workshop army;
2. A Tournament in which those newly painted Squads can take part.

For aeons, the area of Imperial space known as 'Mid-cities' has been a desolate wasteland for commanders in the 41st millenium. Recent reports from a Blood Angels exploratory fleet suggest that a small destination of worth has begun to reverberate in the warp. Long overlooked on star charts, this new stirring has sparked the interest of man.

Would you join the forces reclaiming what secrets this planet has to share? Would you move to intercept those forces and claim for yourself whatever prizes lay in wait?

All About Fun Hobbies Euless Dual 40K Event will feature a painting contest for Squads from any Games Workshop army, and a Tournament in which those newly painted Squads can take part. Hobbyists can participate in one or both, with a qualifying purchase.

AAFH views this as the perfect competition for anyone taking part in the myriad different 40K events occurring this summer. If you are looking to participate in Astronomi-con Dallas, GW Ard Boys, the North Texas 40K Championships or any of the other awesome summer tournaments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, All About Fun Hobbies adds this painting contest and tournament for you to get more bang for your hobby buck. Come in, make a purchase for your army you may need to ready it for those other events, then bring your finished Squad back to AAFH on June 27th to compete in the painting contest. On Sunday, July 4, 2010, celebrate the holiday with an afternoon 500-point 40K tourney moderated by the AAFH staff and featuring your Squad!

This is a great way for people in the Euless/Mid-cities area to get involved in the hobby, since army size for the tourney will be only 500 points. And AAFH will offer a special deal for beginning players, allowing them AND a friend to enter both parts of this dual event (see rules following)! But as with all North Texas events, you needn't live local to the store to participate in its events; just follow the rules below and enter!

All About Fun Hobbies is located 1/4 Mile North of Highway 183 on the left side of North Main in Euless (next to Tequila Rain), close to the Highway 360 crossing, at 415 N Main St. Suite 105, Euless, Tx 76039, phone (817) 494-2647.

+++All About Fun Hobbies Dual 40K Event+++

Warhammer 40K Painting Contest Rules:

1. Purchase (including by order if your choice is not in stock) one 25$ or more Games Workshop item. Special Rule: A total purchase of $60 or more of Games Workshop products will qualify you AND a friend for one entry each in the painting contest (note this would include the Assault on Black Reach starter boxed set, which includes two outstanding 500+ point starter armies--orks and space marines).
2. Any Games-Workshop purchase qualifies; however, the painting contest is specifically a showcase of Infantry Squads from any army in the Warhammer 40K universe. The Squad entered into the painting contest thus does not have to be the item purchased from the store (however, it must be painted by the person entering it into the competition).
3. All Squads entered in the painting contest must be Unit Type: Infantry and be codex-legal (ie, they must meet the minimum size, have only options listed for such a Squad in their rules, etc). Squads which are very similar (ie, Jump Infantry) may be approved by AAFH judges to be entered in the contest on a case-by-case basis.
4. All Squad entries must be handed in before 5pm, Sunday, June 27th, 2010 (earlier submissions are encouraged and will be prominently displayed in store).
5. All Squads will remain on display through the July 4th holiday weekend, while judging occurs; Squads and prizes can be picked up after.
6. There will be multiple prizes available including 'Best Squad' and 'Best Troops Squad;' further prizes may be offered depending on the number of entries.

Warhammer 40K Tournament Rules

1. Purchase (including by order if your choice is not in stock) one $25 or more Games Workshop item. Special Rule: A total purchase of $60 or more of Games Workshop products will qualify you AND a friend for one entry each in the tournament (note this would include the Assault on Black Reach starter boxed set, which includes two outstanding 500+ point starting armies--orks and space marines). If you enter the painting contest described above, your tournament entry is free!
2. If you use the Squad that you entered in the painting contest in your tournament army, it will receive a scoring bonus for the tournament.
3. If you use the item purchased from the store in your tournament army, it will
   *These bonuses are stackable (meaning, a person who purchases a Squad, paints it for the painting contest, and fields it in the tournament would benefit from both scoring bonuses for the tournament--as well as any prize they might win for the painting contest!).*

4. The tournament will feature armies of no more than 500 points, with one mandatory Troops choice the only Force Organization requirement. There will be at most three rounds for participants to take part in.
5. Tournament Awards will include Best General, for the winner of the most games, and Best All Around Player, which will be voted by contestants and include considerations like army composition, completeness, and sportsmanship. See AAFH judges for further details.
6. The tournament will be held Sunday July 4th, 2010, from 11AM-5PM, at All About Hobbies Euless. Games will start at 11:30 and run for roughly 1.5 hours each. The Awards ceremony is scheduled for 4:30PM.