Wargames Played
Sometimes I feel as though I don't nearly play enough miniature games. I think the reality is that it goes in spurts as one might say. Perhaps what I would like is to play more consistently throughout the year ... but alas, work, family, and life in general dictates our gaming availability.
So what did I play this year?
- Dead Man's Hand > 1 Game
- Bolt Action Modern > 3 Games
- Bolt Action WW2 > 2 Games
- SAGA > 4 Games
- Galleys, Guns & Glory > 2 Games
- ACW (This Hallowed Ground) > 6 Games
- Napoleonic (Empires at War) > 5 Games
- Firestorm Armada > 3 Games
- Blood Bowl > 6 Games
Overall that is 32 games. That being said, I'm sure I missed a couple that I played and didn't document in some way as to remember. Not terrible at all. Some select pictures from throughout the year below ...
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| Loved this picture. |
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| This is one of my all time favorite pictures. |
Conventions
I managed to hit up three conventions this past year:
- DundraCon - Lots of fun and the first roll out of the Pickett's Charge game.
- KublaCon - Was perhaps the most miniatures I've played at an convention. This included playing all three Gettysburg games ... needless to say I was exhausted by the end of the weekend.
- CabinCon - Something we tried out. A cabin retreat with board games and wargames (on one of the hottest days of the summer as it turned out).
Three a year is about the right pace for me ... I don't think I could do any more than that to be honest.
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| But wait ... there's more! |
Scenarios
Eight scenarios got documented this year:
- Pickett's Charge (ACW)
- McPherson's Ridge (ACW)
- Little Round Top (ACW)
- Casey's Redoubt (ACW)
- Roncevaux Pass (Napoleonic)
- Shevardino Redoubt (Napoleonic)
- Waterloo (Napoleonic)
- Aspern-Essling (Napoleonic)
Speaking of fur mats ... 2018 was the year of the fur mat ...
Rules and Articles
I managed to do several updates for Bolt Action Modern (including the move to the 2.0 base Bolt Action rules). I also have improved This Hallowed Ground (ACW) and Empires at War (Napoleonic) significantly in my opinion. I published only one article this year on building better scenarios - but I have another ACW article written and submitted waiting to be published. While far from perfect, these rules are all working well for me and the group and it seems that at least one person out there has found some enjoyment playing these rules ... so I'll call that a win!
Terrain
Besides the fur mats, I've added a shed load of terrain this year. I don't blog about everything, so a lot of little stuff gets through the blogging cracks. Perhaps the largest chunks of terrain have been ACW and Napoleonic related.
Adding all the Waterloo buildings to my collection was significant (all from Hovel's).
For ACW I added essentially everything you see on the tabletops for the Gettysburg games. This includes all that snake rail fencing, buildings, scatter terrain (need more for horse and musket periods), and the impressive Seminary College model from Sally 4th.
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| Farmhouse and barn. |
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| More snake rail fencing than you can shake a stick at! |
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| An impressive set piece for any battle! |
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| Another residence. |
I added some more great sets from Crescent Root Studio ...
Got a bool custom Blood Bowl pitch ...
And a bunch more stuff I can't even think of at the moment.
Other Stuff
And last but not least and list of a bunch of other stuff that happened this year:
- All four Blood and Plunder factions are painted.
- Wargames Illustrated award for most popular article 2017.
- Finished Blood Bowl teams for Humans, Orcs, Skaven, Dwarves, Chaos Dwarves, and Goblins.
- Added a 3D printer to the collection and all the cool goodness that comes with that.
- Finish modern Canadian vehicles (4 x LAV III, 3 x Leopard 2A6, and 1 x G-Wagen).
- Added numerous ACW miniatures and casualty figures.
- Finished several ships for Firestorm Armada.
- Live streamed a WW2 game.
- Added new French and Austrian Napoleonic troops.
In Conclusion
Not to shabby this year. I do have to admit that most of the year I felt as though I could be doing more, especially on the blogging front. In retrospect I can't really complain all that much. Now I shift my focus to 2018 and what it will bring.
LASTLY ... and certainly not least of all ... to each and every one of you out there who take time to follow or read my rantings on this blog ... THANK YOU! I wish you all the very best in 2018!
Very enjoyable post, thanks and I have also enjoyed some of the big games that you have blogged about - very visually inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm! :-)
DeleteThat's a pretty impressive year to say the least! And you managed almost 3 games a month over the course of the year, that's pretty darn good if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to being along for the ride in 2018! And a big congrats for the WI article award - I want my copy autographed :)
Averages make it all better :-) Thanks Ivor! lol ... autographed ... one day we'll meet in person ... maybe Historicon if I can ever get out there.
DeleteYour room will be paid for if you ever make it out :)
DeleteOooooooo ... now that is tempting :-)
DeleteLove your blog, one of the best out there. Maybe start a Anglo Zulu or Sudan wars in future. Would love to see more Muskets and Tomahawks projects too. Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Are you reading my mind? I'd like to get my Rorkes Drift game done in 2018 :-)
DeleteA very successful gaming year! Hope to see you at some command get into one of the games. 😀
ReplyDeleteLol, thanks Stew :-) Waterloo at DundraCon :-)
DeleteLooks like a very successful year to me.
ReplyDeleteThank you sir! :-)
DeleteVery impressive, Jay!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :-)
DeleteGreat looking year, best of luck with the new one!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain! 2018 will see some big plans come to fruition :-)
DeleteAnd I was grateful to be there with you, Roy, Dan and John to partake in all of these Games (and ale drinking). Happy New Year and looking forward to an even more eventful 2018.
ReplyDeleteBeen away from blog as, of course, I get sick over the holidays (must stop babysitting grand kids;)). While getting some extra rest I thought I’d do some blog catching up. Dude reading this had me feeling exhausted, I mean like look at all this stuff and how busy you were! It is like you have a secret 2nd full time job!
ReplyDeleteWell done sir, well done. The Trieme game, what scale and rules were you using? That also was a nice sea mat. Lastly Firestorm Armada, is it a fun to play system? I play Full Thrust, and for 2D games (makes me think of Khan in Star Trek when I say 2D) I think you can’t beat it, but I am open to trying others.
May your New Year be happy and successful
Kevin
Wow, thanks Kevin! Welcome back to the blogosphere :-) The ship game is Galleys, Guns & Glory by Skull and Crown (done by the incredible Thomas Foss). See here: http://www.skullncrown.com/store/
DeleteFirestorm Armada --- I like it ... I would say it is about a "Bolt Action" equivalent for space combat. The models are what really drew me in for some of the fleets. But, most of all I feel as though the rules cover the breadth of what I expect from space battles - but in a digestible way. Happy new year! :-)
Thanks for the link Jay, I just downloaded the rules for Guns and Glory. I’ll take a peek and see if I want to buy some mdf ships I never knew existed. Very cool! I’ve read several books on Lepanto so very excited. Also thanks for your assessment on Firestorm.
DeleteCheers
Kevin
GGG is a great game. The MDF ships are fun to paint :-)
DeleteInspirational Jay, this blog convinced me to get back into wargaming and even dip my toe into blogging (captaincliche1.blogspot.co.uk). Thanks and I hope you have a great 2018.
ReplyDeleteExcellent - thanks! Going over to check out your blog - welcome back :-)
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