Standard point game

[Masterthesword]

I am a complete nerd so when I play a game with friends and not at the game shop, I ask them for 3 numbers each within the range of 3-25. I plug these numbers into an algebraic equation and the number comes out between 700 and 2000. We always round up to the nearest multiple of 50. This isn't a way to get a standard point game. Instead this ensures that we become imaginative with our list making. This isn't something I would suggest since the equation is complex and it took me about a week to come up with one that would give the the right total at the end for a point amount.
Completely crazy, right?

But at my game shop people often like to play 1500 point games.

[HF G. Liath]

There's no way we can get a 2K game done unless we've got two a side and the players hurry the hell up)

Really. I played 7 2,000pt games at BoLScon this year with a 2 hour time limit. Finished every game and still had time to have  long chats with my opponents (I was in the section of people who got their asses kicked by super competitive armies, and were there just to play, they were nice guys to be honest) and still had time to spare afterwords. I even played Orks and Nids and ended with like... half an hour to spare. We weren't rushing either.

[Waaaghpower]

How on earth did you play 7 2,000 point games within 2 hours? that is a game every 15 minutes! so either your list was so awesome it killed everything in one turn, or the enemies lists were so bad you lost all your guys in one turn. If option 1, I want your secret. If option 2, tell me what you did so I can avoid it.

[Colonel Seth]

He meant 2 hours per game, Waaaghpower.

[Nezalhualixtlan]

2000 is the norm for my community, though 1850 is common enough for those preparing to travel to tournaments.  1500 and smaller only tend to be for the people still building their armies who can't comfortably reach 2k yet but still want to start playing.  750 or 1k are very small point games opted into if you just don't have much time to play, but that's pretty rare where I game.  Our 2000 pt standard used to take a while, but we've all gotten faster and regularly finish those 2k games in about 2 hrs now (some slow pokes in exception).

[Glass Golem]

1500 is the norm at the store I go to. Always has been for as long as I remember actually.

Though there are a few players who always go for 2000 if they can.

[Rarity Declis]

I personally play a lot of 1000 point games. Becuase of the size of games, you can get a lot more gaming done in a night, and it also teaches you how to make a good list with few points.

Down at the gaming club, I often play 1000pts, and maybe 1500pts, but never larger than that. And I'd never try the method of randomising army list size- since some people take so long to write army lists, I generally ask what points they have already written up.

[Deraj]

Here in New York, I have yet to see a 1850 game. There are 4 main gaming areas as far as cities go. In the city of syracuse, it is focused around winning at all cost, meaning double lash armies and shrike/calgar combos abound. There it is often 1750 battles. Rochester promotes mob lists, not only in 40k, but fantasy as well. The norm there is 2k for singles and 1.5k doubles for tourneys. Both Albany and NYC have a more relaxed, friendly gaming scene, with 1.5k being the general army games.

Those point costs go for the surrounding smaller LGSs. In general, the state seems to be split into north and the further east portion of the state being 1.5k, and the rest of the state being 1750 for the most part.

As my state is a strange one as far as taxes, there is less money here than normal, so.... a lot of tourneys have been running '40 minute eliminations' of 400 point lists. It's a good way to get new players who don't want to spend much on the game.

[Gearhead]

Between 1000 and 2000 for Oklahoma, though tournaments don't tend to drop below 1500. The first time we did a 20000 point tourney we had a 2.5 hour time limit. This was way too much time, everyone finished their games and grabbed a bite to eat before the next round started. 2500, on the other hand, takes a while. You'll need more than two hours unless you play really agressively; horde armies did not make for the best of times.

We did 1250 once, and it felt a little strange. It's like your 1500 list was missing a finger or two. It did cut down on special characters though, which was a nice change of pace.