holidays and distractions

Hells. Yes.

 
Still sitting on a couple old batreps I need to finish writing up, after I get the pictures cleaned up and refresh my memory as to how everything went down, heh. November and December are just chock full of holidays and traveling, so everything else goes out the window.

It's exactly times like this, when I don't have time to game (or even really work on figs or terrain) that I get distracted. In the past week or so, I have been looking at getting into Bushido, working on a list for Critical Mass, reading up on Flames of War, theorizing a campaign for In Her Majesty's Name, or maybe 7ombieTV, and looking into rulesets for post-apocalypse gaming. Because it's certainly not that I don't have a jillion other projects from this year I haven't finished. Sigh. 

But really, my attention deficit isn't news, and having a wealth of gaming opportunities and a decent play group is good stuff. Add in there the time to work on my toys and the finances to pursue (limited) new opportunities, and it's a fine way to wrap up 2013. And that doesn't even mention all of you out there in internet-land, across the pond or even farther, serving up regular doses of new inspirations or reports of your own games or projects to admire. Well done! Keep doing that.

Hey, 99th post! Happy new year, everyone.

Historicon approacheth!

Totally not ready for Historicon this year. I mean, I am registered, and signed up for games to play while I am there, and signed up for the table to unload some toys (and fingers crossed make a couple bucks, to pay for more toys there.) But this past month has been a whirlwind of things outside the gaming world for me, and now that we're under a week to go, I have a lot to do. (Neither of my usual partners in crime will be joining me either, which will make for a different experience, to be sure.)

Just heading up for Friday and Saturday this time around. Am looking forward to learning to play SAGA and finally playing In Her Majesty's Name, plus more GASLIGHT and other con favorites. Plotting to pick up... a few items while I am there. More Victorian scifi and related items for IHMN, some fantasy figs to bulk up the planned 7th Voyage outing. As always, cons are a great place to pick up terrain as well. The Rebel Minis and Acheson booths are always tempting, as well, and the flea market has treated me well in the past as well.

So yes. Next couple days will be spent scouring the basement for things to sell at the con, then a flurry of packing and the like. Good times ahead! (And man, when I get back I have a pretty hefty backlog of toys to put together and paint, not to mention games to play. Truly this is a golden age.)

The undiscovered country

The last piece of unfinished business from 2012 is addressing my dramatic failure at the 11+1 challenge. I went in with high hopes and expectations, of course, but in the end, 11+1 added up to five. Yes, the remaining seven all are at least 75% done, but the challenge for myself was really that last 25% anyways. I am notoriously bad about 'finishing' a fig, and detailing was never my forte. I can pretend that the sefadu Mercs team I painted last year makes up for the remainder, or all the 15mm figs I done did, but really, I know that's making excuses. To myself. Better just admit my failure and move on with things.

On to happier thoughts: what will the new year hold in gaming? Part of that is easy, as I coughed in big for both the Reaper Bones and Relic Knights kickstarters. The former doesn't have a game attached, per se, but will add mightily to my painting queue, and likely inspire more fantasy adventures. The latter will be a flurry of painting to get toys on the table. I'm looking forward to the (informal) challenge of both.

Other pending kickstarter investments include 15mm space raptors and an alien host. Blackwater Gulch will definitely see some play time, once we get our new gangs. That's... a lot of painting to do. Hopefully I can just work with the figs I have until those start rolling in, and keep the impulse buying down to a minimum (I mean, until Khurasan or Rebel release the next figs I absolutely must-have.) (Which is like weekly.)

2013 also looks like a revival for AE-WWII and (fingers crossed) Pulp City, both of which I am a big fan. And I suspect all these 15mm zombies I am prepping up and painting will eventually see some 7ombieTV action. Maurice has made noises about Bolt Action in the long term, and Flames of War in the short term. I am amenable to both these theories. I'm pretending he didn't mention SAGA. For now.

Looking forward to selling off more toys I don't need at Cold Wars in March, and I am sure picking up more than a few things there as well. Same for Historicon in July. Looking forward to pleasant surprises at both shows; conventions are great for being blindsided by something you never expected.

New Years is one of my two favorite holidays (the other being Thanksgiving, in case you were curious.) It's an opportunity to mark the passage of time with your friends and family, take stock of how things are going, and what you want to do next. Hope everyone has a great 2013.

State of the Union

Well, sort of.

Life gets heck of busy for me from about the end of October until midway through January. Gotten only two nights of gaming in during that period.Had to rely on the occasional evening of Team Fortress 2 to tide me over otherwise. Luckily, we've made it through the drought, and have more gaming on the near horizon now.

The local crew is talking about re-starting the Shadowrun campaign shortly. (I adore Shadowrun. It's one of my favorite RPG settings.) The past decade has been all of two or three stalled starts at RPGs. I still like the concept, it's just hard getting everyone together regularly, with a Dungeonmaster willing to herd those cats. Everyone is adults with busy lives.

Unilaterally declared 2012 is also the year of Pulp City, so, there's that. Still shooting for Gencon this year.

As noted previously, last year was also the year I got into 15mm scifi. There's something of a boomlet on, and me and the locals have been slowly buying, building, and painting. So now we have to get more games in. One of the things we invested in was the idea of an Aliens vs. Predators vs. Marines scenario. And now that we're getting down to brass tacks on that, I'm trying to figure out what rules to use. Current theory? Blasters and Bulkheads. Will it work? Good question! Heh. Will definitely be stretching the numbers, but it still looks to me like the best fit.

I'm also playing around with the numbers for Gruntz for my Kontrol Battalion, which is helping solidify the backstory there in my mind.

Painting queue, roughly: Kontrol Battalion bases and vehicles, Mercs sefadu, Khurasan Space Demons. Assembling, have the terrain I picked up over the holidays, plus a few figs I picked up from Rebel as well.

State of the Union

Here's the current list of games that are occupying my mind and time the most. This is a constant ebb and flow, as things come and go with new releases, announcements, what my playgroup is talking about, etc. The latter is a pretty piece piece, on reflection. When I start talking up some game with my friends, or we're planning to play something soon, that usually pushes it to the front of the mental queue.

Anima Tactics (with a bullet. Is Empire the perfect counterpoint to my Samael?)

Pulp City (new toys soon)

Malifaux (been painting Neverborn as top project)

Hell Dorado (been reading the book, finally)

Gruntz (so much tempting 15mm out there)
Mercs (after Malifaux project is done, these are next on the bench)