I got whomped by an Ork horde in Total War: Warhammer 40,000, definitely on purpose, to teach you a lesson about positioning
Rock Paper Shotgun covers a hands-on demo session with Total War: Warhammer 40,000 at a conference, using it as a vehicle to discuss why grand strategy games are fundamentally ill-suited to the typical demo format. The author intentionally lost a battle against an Ork horde to demonstrate important lessons about unit positioning and tactical placement. The core argument highlights the tension between grand strategy games’ requirement for patient, sustained engagement and deep contemplation—described as needing time in a worn leather armchair—and the brief, interrupted nature of conference demos. The experience underscores that games requiring careful planning and methodical decision-making struggle when compressed into 20-minute sessions, in contrast to games designed for quick gameplay bursts that fit the demo slot format.