40 CARROTChoose the decision
Pick the turn or decision that most changed your options instead of retelling the whole game.
How do you review a Warhammer 40K game and learn from your decisions?
A useful review reconstructs what you knew when the choice was made. It does not turn the final score into a story where every earlier decision was obviously right or wrong.
TL;DR
Choose the decision that most changed your options, rebuild that exact position, and write what you expected at the time. Test one alternative while everything else stays fixed. Then turn the result into a cue you can recognize next game. The aim is a better repeatable decision, not a verdict on the final score.
What makes a game review useful?
Choose the deployment choice, staging move, target, trade, or scoring commitment that most narrowed what you could do next. One well-tested decision gives you a cue for the next game; a turn-by-turn recap often gives you only a longer story.
Judge the choice using the information visible at the time. Separate the information you had, the outcomes you could reasonably expect, and the result that happened. “I lost the unit” is an outcome. “I committed before checking the return threat and scoring swing” is a reviewable decision.
The five-step game review loop
Spend twenty minutes on the fork that mattered, not two hours narrating the whole match.
Rebuild the position
Place the relevant models, terrain, objectives, measurements, and known information as they were at that moment.
State the assumption
Write what you expected to happen and which fact, distance, trade, or scoring condition made you choose that line.
Test one alternative
Change one decision while keeping the rest of the position fixed, then compare the resulting options.
Write the future cue
Finish with a specific cue and action you can recognize and use in your next game.
Rebuild the decision at true scale
Place only the relevant models, terrain, objectives, zones, and persistent measurements on the Virtual Tabletop. Include what you knew at the time. Leave later information and the final result out of the first reconstruction.
Write the reconstruction before testing it
The note should be short enough to read beside the position. Copy this shape and fill it while the game is still fresh.
Reconstruction worksheet
- Situation
- Turn, score pressure, objective, relevant units, reserves, and known resources.
- Choice
- The move, target, trade, or sequence you selected.
- Expectation
- What success looked like and which failure you accepted.
- Missed check
- Distance, line, counter-charge, coherency, return trade, or next-turn scoring.
- Alternative
- One changed decision and the opponent's most sensible answer.
- Future cue
- When I see ___, I will ___ because ___.
Which positions are worth keeping?
Full Access Snapshots are manual position keyframes. Capture the start of the turn, the decision point, and the position after the response only when those views answer a real question. They do not record dice, command points, rules, or every action, and they do not judge the play.
A Virtual Tabletop save carries its own private Snapshot timeline. A shared link sends an immutable copy of the current multi-table Virtual Tabletop without that private timeline. If you want another player to compare two lines, arrange labelled versions and ask one narrow question.
How do you test the assumption without changing the whole turn?
Use real base sizes and terrain footprints. Check the gap instead of remembering it. Turn on the relevant movement, threat, coherency, objective, or line-of-sight view and ask whether the line still works. These tools inspect geometry; they do not replace current rules or tell you which play is correct.
Start with the smallest useful fork: one unit begins 2 inches farther back, one screen moves first, or one activation changes targets. If that fixes the position, the lesson is clear. If it does not, test the next variable. For damage rather than movement, use the free damage calculator and price the whole exchange rather than the first activation alone.
Turn the result into a cue you can see
A good future cue is visible before the mistake. “When my trading unit cannot finish behind obscuring terrain after touching the centre objective, I will stage instead of commit” is usable. “Trade better” is not. Connect one cue on the table to one action and one reason.
If another player is helping, send a read-only link and ask something narrow: “Is there a line that scores this objective without exposing both units?” Later edits do not change the immutable link, so send a new version when the reconstruction changes.
Rebuild the turn that changed your options
Start the review →The core Virtual Tabletop and one 24-hour share link at a time are free. Snapshots are Full Access.
Frequently asked questions
What should I review after a 40K game?
Review the decision that most changed your options: a deployment choice, staging move, target choice, trade, or scoring commitment. Rebuild what you knew then, not what the final result later revealed. One well-tested decision is more useful than a turn-by-turn recap.
How soon should I review a game?
Write the decision and your reason soon after the game while the information is fresh. A deeper Virtual Tabletop review can happen later. A short note such as turn, objective, units involved, and expected outcome is enough to reconstruct the moment.
Do Snapshots automatically analyze my game?
No. Full Access Snapshots are position keyframes you create yourself. They do not record dice, command points, rules, or every action, and they do not judge the play. Capture only the positions you expect to compare later.
Should I review bad rolls?
Review the decision around the roll, not the unlikely result by itself. Ask whether the trade was good across the plausible range, whether you had a safer line, and what failure would cost. A poor roll can still follow a sound decision.
Can I send a review position to another player?
Yes. A read-only link sends an immutable copy of the complete multi-table Virtual Tabletop without your private Snapshot timeline. Give the recipient one narrow question and include a separate version for each alternative you want compared.