2018 Year in Review & Ideas for 2019

It's hard to believe that 2018 is coming to an end...it seems like just yesterday that I was figuring out what I'd do gaming-wise in 2018.  As usual I hit on some of what I wanted to do, and completely whiffed on other things I thought I'd do.  I also think I did a decent "reset" during the year (in my mind at least), and have a pretty good feeling of where I am gaming-wise now and where I hope to head in 2019.

I played a lot of games in 2018 and hope to continue gaming on a regular basis in 2019.  I probably still have too many games that I am interested in, so one of the things I am going to try to focus on is getting a single army/force painted up for each of the games before moving on to expanding...that way I can play the games I want when I want to.  One of the greatest things about this hobby, along with the friendships I've made over the years, is that it is what we make of it...I think after all of these years I may have finally come to accept that as I feel much less stress about trying to do everything at once like I used too.

So, here's where I stand when it comes to gaming:

FANTASY
Age of Sigmar - I am fully committed to this game.  I have a functional 2000 point Fyreslayers force with several models still left to paint up or retouch.  These additional models will give me flexibility in configuring the force.  This is a solid army with good troop-character-rune-warscroll synergy which provides for lots of different rerolls and lots of dice as pretty much everything can shoot and engage in melee.  I have enjoyed AOS and would like to eventually build a force for Death, Destruction and Chaos as well, but that's long-term.

Shadespire - I was recently introduced to this skirmish game, and liked the mechanics and figures.  I got lucky and scored a full set of the game (everything up to Nightvault except promos basically) for a great price.  The little warbands will be nice to work on and paint up one at a time.  I hope that I get several games of this in during 2019, and if I like it I will look into expanding further.

SAGA - Fantasy SAGA is due out in 2019 and this is something I will definitely check out.  I like that system and like the possibility of using whatever figures I want for this skirmish game.

SCI-FI
40k - I didn't play as much 40k as I thought I would in 2018.  That's fine though as I really like the current edition of the rules.  I am committed to my Grey Knight army and will be doing some rebasing to get the older figures onto the correct size bases.  I also hope that eventually they come out with an Inquisitor force as a viable stand-alone army.  I'm also going to be dumping the rest of my Imperial Guard and am looking into doing a Custodes force eventually as a second army.  I just seem to like the loyalist, hard-core marines for some reason.

Necromunda - This is a game that really grabbed me in 2018.  I have 3 full gangs (Chaos Cultists, Genestealer Cultists, and Orlocks) all ready to go.  I got in several games and enjoyed all of them.  The different scenarios, tactics cards, and gang strengths & weaknesses make this a great skirmish game.  I hope to play more games in the year ahead.Other than some terrain pieces and markers, I don't have anything to paint for this game; I will be looking at expanding some with some of the hired guns in the future.

Adeptus Titanicus - After mulling it over for several months I finally pulled the trigger in December on Adeptus Titanicus.  The models are great, and the different videos I have watched lead me to believe that this is a solid, enjoyable game.  This is likely going to be a long-term project for me as none of my regular opponents have committed to the game, so I will be building 2 forces so I can run games for people so they don't have to worry about anything other than showing up, moving some titans and rolling dice.  I look forward to being able to do that again as it has been years since I've done so.

MODERN PERIOD
Great War/Flames of War/Fate of a Nation - After playing a game of V4 Flames of War (mid-war N. Africa) and a game commemorating 100 years of the end of WWI using The Great War, I think I'm back in on Battlefront's system.  I also purchased Fate of a Nation and am waiting on my Egyptian army to be painted up, so that will give me both sides for that series of wars.  Having both sides for 3 modern eras using a similar rule set (and Great War is being updated in early 2019) makes it a no-brainer for me to try to keep this in the rotation.  The good news is that with Battlefront now regularly releasing unit card sets with their books, that's all I really need to keep using my collection.  I hope to get some games of this on the table in 2019.  As for expansion, the only thing I may consider getting besides the additional card sets when the late war period rolls out, is Oil Wars or maybe Team Yankee once V2 of that rolls out...this is especially tempting since the Poles have been released.

Bolt Action - Well, I certainly didn't play or invest much time in this game in 2018. That is something I hope to remedy in 2019...in fact I have a game lined up for tomorrow.  It appears that a couple of my regular opponents are interested in getting more games in too, so that will certainly help.  I have my Italian Paras done and have British for Normandy/Italy and Japanese SNLF out to get painted.  Eventually I'd like to get a German force and a Soviet force, but that is another long term project.

ANCIENTS & MEDIEVALS
SAGA - I played some games in 2018 and plan to play some more in 2019.  I think V2 of the rules are fine, and I just got the Book of Battles, so I will be checking that out at some point.  I do want to rebase some/most of my armies as they are all on mixed base sizes with different basing schemes for the most part.  Making them consistent will help how they look overall...that said, I hate basing so this isn't necessarily on the top of my to do list.  As for expansion, I have an unpainted Arthurian force I'd like to get to, and would also like to do a Polish medieval force from Age of Crusades as well.  I'm also looking forward to their fantasy release in 2019.

Big Battle 10mm - Other than acquiring some more figures, I did nothing with this project in 2018.  This may change in 2019...maybe I can get a couple of small armies based up during the year so I can start figuring out what rules I want to use for this project.

HORSE & MUSKET
Napoleonics 10mm - I didn't do anything for this pipe-dream of a project either this year.  I doubt I will do anything in 2019 either, but you never can tell as there always seems to be something I work on during the year that I don't plan on doing and vise-versa.

So that's about it for now...I may change things up as 2019 proceeds, but as of now I am content with where I am, the games I am playing, and the projects on my to do list...

2018 - Hobby Reset (Continued...)

It's almost the end of July already...where has the time gone?  Well, no pictures to share at this time, but I did want to get an update out on what the year has brought and where I am heading.  I have played a ton of games, so that's good.  My painting has been slacking though...we did a bit of a remodel and switched some rooms up at the house, and I got out of the habit a few months ago and am just getting back into it.

I have decided to just stick with my Grey Knights for 40k along with some various Imperial Guard units that I can run as allies.  It's just easier to stick with one army I have found.

I have also decided to dive into Necromunda...great game.  I am gathering Orlocks and Cultists for now, and will do Cawdor once they are released.  I almost dove into Kill Team as well, but think I will stick with Necromunda for now.

I have also recently taken the plunge into Age of Sigmar, and just played my first games today using a newly acquired Fyreslayer army.  I had fun (helps to win)...and will be working over the next several weeks to do the detail work on the army (it was base painted), paint a bunch of characters, and do the basing.  It's a huge army and will give me plenty of options.  I may do a second army for this game too...let's see...

I still play historicals, but my main game in that regard for the past several years, Flames of War is on the shelf for now.  I am going to play some Bolt Action, SAGA, Battlegroup and some other ancients when I get the chance...I am not getting out of historicals.

I am also trying to resist Adeptus Titanicus...and who knows what will happen if Epic or Warmaster or Mordheim are released again...I missed all of those games the first time GW had them and they have done a great job with the things they have recently re-released...it will be hard to resist.

That's if for now...happy gaming everyone!

2018 Hobby Reset

2017 was a different year for me regarding this hobby.  I played a lot of different games (21 different systems/rules!), drifting away from some previously regular games, namely Flames of War and Team Yankee, discovering new games like Battlegroup, and re-discovering some old favorites like Warhammer 40k. I divested myself of some projects and started new ones like I have always done in the past as my interests ebb and flow.  That said, about half-way through the year I started to think a lot about the hobby and realized that following my mantra of doing what makes me happy isn’t enough; doing that just led me to a point of having too many games & projects. 

So 2018 is going to be a “hobby reset” for me.  I am going to focus on completing projects for games I want to play with my friends, and not just working on a million things and never accomplishing anything.  I also want to stick to certain games so I can play them more frequently and be more versed in the rules when I do play instead of having to constantly look things up when I only play a set of rules once or twice a year.  This is where I think I am heading:

World War II – When Flames of War 4^th Edition was announced I was immediately concerned that the rules would be changed to the point of the game being awful like so often seems to happen with new editions.  Surprisingly, I was good with the rule changes and streamlining; yes, there are things that could be better (morale for large units for one) and they certainly could have closed some holes and inconsistencies with the EW/LW and MW periods being different, but overall the rules aren’t awful.  What stinks though is their new release/army book/list model.  I hate it.  What worked for Team Yankee because people didn’t have existing collections, doesn’t work for FOW in my opinion.  Battlefront has lost me with their new business model.  FOW doesn’t seem to get played much locally.  I have invested in several of the Battlegroup books and the few games I have played have been good fun.  In the past I would have divested my collection, but I don’t think I will be doing that at this point…I will continue to play 15mm WWII using FOW V3 (preferred) or V4 (if someone asks me) and Battlegroup.  I will not be adding new armies to this collection, but I may add some odds and ends to my collection so I can try some things in Battlegroup which aren’t prevalent in FOW (resupply, vehicle recovery, wire teams, etc.)

In 28mm I want to play more Bolt Action.  I have Italian Paras done and am working on Japanese SNLF and British for Europe, as well as acquiring figures for Soviet and German forces.  Like with FOW, Bolt Action has a new edition out which makes some changes that may or may not improve the game, but I don’t care.  I am fine with sticking with 1^st edition, as do my regular opponents for the game. 

World War I & Arab-Israeli Wars – These two periods are fine using FOW V3, and though there will be new books out for them according to Battlefront, I am good with using what has already been released.  I am looking forward to see how they handle the 1973 war though.  My Israelis are set; I got rid of my Jordanians, but have a complete unpainted 1967 Egyptian force that I need to get motivated to do.  And for WWI, my French and Germans are complete.

40k – 2017 was a great year for 40k for me.  A game I completely got out of after it went to 6^th edition pulled me back in.  Look simple rules…look an index that covers armies that I can use against friends…look, no eliminated troop types (HINT – BATTLEFRONT for future reference, this is a plus for existing gamers!).  I started collecting a Marine force, changed it out for another Marine force, purchased/traded for various Imperial Guard troops and Eldar, and repurchased my old 5^th edition Grey Knights!  Seems like a lot, and I did go a bit overboard, but I have settled on having 3 forces for the game – Grey Knights, Guard and Eldar.  I also played some Shadow War and had fun; I will likely build some specific forces for that game.  I just wish that the new Necromunda was the same system instead of being yet another slightly different ruleset as I like those figures too; maybe they will come out with a crossover?

Ancients & Medievals – This period is going to be my most diverse.  In 28mm I have several forces for SAGA and I am acquiring more figures to combine with these to be able to play larger games like Hail Caesar, Kings of War & Impetus.  Yes, I had a large 28mm collection that I got rid of when WAB died…that was a mistake.  I am not going to build several armies in 28mm, but rather will do one for the Dark Ages and one for the Classical Period…and maybe the Hundred Years War too.  SAGA is also coming out with a 2^nd edition in 2018, and I will see what that brings.

I am also committed to my own project of doing some 10mm armies for the ancient & medieval periods; these will be armies that I can use for Hail Caesar, Impetus, etc. and have a different look to them.  This is one of two projects I am keeping that are really for me; I have no expectations of anyone contributing to these games other than playing in them when I get around to it.

Fantasy – I had big plans for fantasy gaming but realized that was one too many things to be doing entire armies for, so instead I will be doing smaller fantasy forces to supplement my 28mm historical armies.  So maybe some bear riders to go with my 28mm Dark Age army, and some beast/herd allies to go with Romans or Numidians.  Doing a smaller force and combining with historical armies lets me double-dip and removes some stress that I had placed on myself.  I have also considered relooking at Frostgrave as a few of my friends are playing it and seem to enjoy it.

CAV – I will do a small force for this game too eventually.  It’s fun, plain and simple.

Black Powder/Pike & Shotte – I am currently completely out of these periods, though I like them a lot.  This is probably my longest term project on the list…this is something I would love to do in 10mm.  Only time will tell if I have the ambition to do it.

2018 Goal – So what will 2018 bring for me?  First off I am going to rework, repaint, rebase as needed the 40k Grey Knight and Imperial Guard I have.  Then I am going to finish off the 28mm British & Japanese for Bolt Action.  That will be followed by rebasing & reworking my 28mm Dark Ages figures and painting a bunch more to field an army for Hail Caesar, etc.  After that, I have no idea other than it being one of the things I have touched on above.

I am also going to stop tracking the hours I spend on this hobby...it doesn’t matter and just added unwanted stress on myself.  I will keep tracking figures finished and games played…and who knows how often I will update this as blogs seem to be fading in favor of Facebook groups which I have mixed feelings about.

Enough of my rambling…happy 2018 everyone!