This year hasn’t been a good year for the blog… it had a pretty big crash in the middle of the year and I lost quite a few posts. I haven’t been particularly diligent about blogging either.

That said, this year has been a pretty good year for hobbying and gaming… it’s just that most of it didn’t get reflected on the blog. Let’s look at hobbying first:

Hobby and Painting

2017 started with some Guild Ball painting. I had painted the Union team in 2016, but the arrival of the Kick Off starter set last Christmas gave me the first projects of the year. I painted the Mason and Brewer team included in the box.

Chain of Command is a game I’ve been interested in playing for a long time. I’ve had a 28mm US Paratrooper platoon force for quite a while, but this year I decided to put together two 15mm forces, one German Grenadiers and on US Riflemen. They’re Battlefront plastics, but I’ve based them individually. I reckoned that between them and my decent range of support options, i.e. tanks, guns, light mortars, etc, that I could field quite a range of Western Theatre forces.

Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition caught me by surprise. I’ve never played 40k before, but I read the rules when they dropped and they intrigued me. I had a decent awareness of the background having played affiliate games like Space Hulk, Inquisitor, Epic and Battlefleet Gothic. I used the Space Hulk Genestealers I own as the basis of my Genestealer Cults force. I added the models from Deathwatch Overkill and some tanks to round things out. All told, it was a fun project and I really got into a good rhythm with the painting.

Now I’m working on a Blood Angels force…

One thing I’d hoped to build up a little in 2017 was my terrain collection, but I’ve continued to neglect it. I have a decent set of terrain, but it has a strong fantasy/steampunk aesthetic as I made most of it when I was playing Warmachine and Hordes.

Gaming

You’ll notice a marked lack of Malifaux painting in the last section and that reflected a year with relatively little Malifaux. I still love it, but I need to play more games. I have a Mei Feng crew to paint, so I think that might kick me into playing some games.

Guild Ball has somewhat supplanted Malifaux in the skirmish slot. I’ve really enjoyed the games I’ve played of it in 2017.

I’ve played about 10 games of the new 40k, mostly on Vassal, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve been playing the narrative scenarios and they have proven to be great fun. Despite having just an 8 page ruleset, there is definite depth to the game.

Company of Iron snuck up on me too. For a very modest investment (~€8 for the cards) I have unlocked a load of Warmachine and Hordes models that have been idle for quite a while.

The gaming highlight of 2017 was my visit to see Phil in Hamburg. We played Inquisitor, 40k and Malifaux (… oh, and drank some beer!).

2018 Plans

So, what do I hope for from 2018? Well, more of the same would be pretty good. I’ve had plenty of great games this year. I’d like to play more 40k and get some Malifaux going again. Guild Ball will remain a back up game. I’d like to actually play Chain of Command, but that relies on finding interested opponents! I’ll also play Company of Iron opportunistically. Hobby wise I really should get some terrain done… a little more diversity in my collection will spice things up. I plan to complete the Blood Angels to 100 Power, the Mei Feng crew and a Hunters team.

My other big plan is to play more games, roleplay, board and miniature, with my kids. They’re 9 and 6 and well capable. The My Little Pony roleplay game and Space Hulk are hits with them and there are certainly a few more we can play together.

That sounds like enough to keep me going!

Happy New (Gaming) Year,

Owen