Hello everyone, just returned to this forum after a while and couldn't resist this thread
A few words in defence of non-tournament and solo play....don't get me wrong playing in a tournament is great for meeting people, especially putting faces to usernames, and making some good friends, but the actual play is a bit of a car-crash in my opinion. Rules and their interpretation is a bugbear which has been chewed to death, but the key to it is that there are expectations of play, and in a tournament one doesn't necessarily know the 'norms' that one is faced with - and that creates anxiety (well it does to me)
Non tournament play is against folk who you know not only as people, but also as players, and the letter of the rules therefore become secondary to the enjoyment of the game. Once someone knows that I play at about one mile an hour they can also relax with their blocking - no need to rush, as I am not going anywhere

It also opens the game up - six or eight players on the shooting line is pointless against me (and is just annoying -see rules interpretations for endless whingeing). An open game using footy formations, played in a relaxed manner is what I do - makes me happy - tournaments don't give that ability to relax and just play.
Solo play even more so - pushing it to say 'trance like state' but not far off, and a solo session absolutely doesn't mean I am missing anything else
There is a need for everyone to unpack their sets, get a table and just flick for the absolute pure pleasure of the nostalgia, the 'play' rather than the play - if you get the difference.......