So, 2020 is pretty much over, and as always there is a brief overview of how the year went. It shall be very brief in fact, thanks to the elephant (virus)in the room.
There isn’t that much to report, and I shall break it down into a few categories that make it a bit easier to report, so without any further pre-amble...
Gaming.
I did virtually no gaming this year. I think I managed about 3 games, mostly of Titanicus. There were two reasons for this. The early part of the year was due to a cancer scare my mum had, which pretty much stopped me coming to the club for a good while. Then just as things were starting to get back to normal the virus hit, and the club was closed and has yet to re-open. I pretty much only play at the club so haven’t managed to do any games since March apart from playing some 40k with my 10-year-old and a couple of boardgames.
I have toyed with installing Universal Battle so I can play some Kings of War or perhaps installing Tabletop simulator but haven’t got round to it. A few people have been doing games over zoom, but I dot really have the space for that so I am patiently waiting for when I can get back to face to face gaming.
That’s it for gaming for 2020. Depressingly short.
I have missed my weekly visits to the club and speaking with friends and also the games themselves.
One thing I have also found I have missed is the theorising about games. I enjoy looking at rules and thinking about tactics and lists that are worth trying, often as a result of losing a game and having to try and come up with a different tactic that may have a better chance of success next time.
Painting:
I have had a lot more free time this year. Not commuting to the office has saved me about 7 hours a week. Kids haven’t had clubs for a long time. Also there has been a lot less external pressure coming from mixing with other gamers and seeing what they are playing so I have been a lot less distracted.
This year I have managed to complete:
All of my Titanicus forces (10 titans, 12 knights plus lots of extra weapons).
15mm Ayyubid Egyptians for Art de la Guerre. I have yet to base them and the infantry are still to be done but I hate painting 15mm miniatures, so they keep getting pushed down the priority list. These may be a good test of contrast paints to get them finished quickly.
Halfling warband for Mordheim. The annual Mordheim campaign never happened this year, but hopefully at some point in 2021.
I completed my Genestealer Cult army for 40k. This was a fairly large undertaking as it was over 100 models plus vehicles, but they are all done now.
Dunlendings for Lord of the Rings. the Rohan supplement introduced some Dunlending characters and some new troop types. Unfortunately, the troop types are all from Forge world, so the costs were eye watering. Thankfully Victrix and a few other Historical companies had suitable substitutes, although I did splash out for the characters.
Fantasy Skirmish. I have a large box of skirmish figures from various manufacturers (mainly Hasslefree, Westfalia, and Otherworld) and I really enjoy painting some every once in a while. I have managed to paint a fair few of them this year, plus some old goblins from Warhammer 3rd edition. I really enjoy painting one off minis and these were no exception.
I also painted the customary bust that I do for my brother each year. It didn't turn out quite as well as I would have liked but time was a factor so in the end it was handed over. My brother liked it so that was the main thing.
I now find myself in the weird position where all of my gaming projects are pretty much finished, or certainly don't really require any more models added to them. I will add more stuff, but I have the luxury of picking and choosing what I want to add as everything that I am likely to get a game of is useable on the table.
I have a pile of Lord of the |Rings characters that need painted at the moment. They are mostly "nice to have" miniatures such as Saruman and some variants of Frodo and Sam and will very rarely see the table, but I wanted to add them in to the collection and now have the space for such things. there is also the large of box of fantasy skirmish miniatures that I can always rummage around and find something fun to paint, and I also have the Aliens vs Predator stuff to finish off, although recently I am thinking about selling it all of that as I don’t think it is likely to get much use in the future.
So, a very productive year for painting, not so much for gaming.
2021?
I don’t really have too many plans for next year. This is a hobby and I do it to relax so I like to keep things reasonably organic. I do, however have a few things I would like to do:
Play some 40k ninth edition. I now have a fully painted army. I managed to pick up Indomitus so Blair also has a pretty large marine army and I think he would like a few Sunday visits to the club. I also have a pile of Death Guard and Necrons, neither of which would take too much effort to expand to a full useable army.
Perhaps get some Age of Sigmar stuff. I had high hopes for the Sons of Behemat, but at 120 quid each it was just too expensive. I think in 2021 we will see Vampires at some point, plus the new Slaanesh mortals have been revealed and they are stunning models. I will probably pick up some anyway just to paint and that will probably lead to a full army.
Chain of Command in 15mm. I have a 28mm German force for Chain of Command but think the game would eb better served in 15mm. I could probably sell of my German and then use the money to get two full platoons in plastic 15mm, which would make for a better game. I'm still mulling this over though. WW2 would be pretty easy to paint with an airbrush though so it wouldn’t be a massive job.
I am also keeping an eye on Infamy Infamy, the ancient’s rules from Too Fat Lardies. I have been eyeing up the Victrix Dacians and Carthaginians for a while now and these rules might just eth ticket. I'll need to see it play at some point before I jump in though.
I have also toyed with a new Kings of War army. I would really like to put together a proper army, with good quality scenic bases but I don’t get to play Kings of War very much as it has never really taken of at the club so I’m not sure I can be bothered with the effort.
There are lots of other things to do as well. Hopefully the Mordheim campaign will get off the ground, and there is still Oathmark to try as well.
All in all, just getting back to gaming in 2021 would be a good thing!
2020 has been rubbish and has been absolutely awful for a lot of people, hopefully things will improve in 2021.
