2020 is Finally Over

 2020 started off filled with high hopes and optimism and ended in a quiet whimper.  I had so many plans for the year of gaming and things were going good at the beginning of the year, and then COVID hit and everything went crazy.  Here is a link to my goals for the year if you are interested.  Most of the review of the year has been covered in my quarterly review posts I did this year - Q1 Progress Report, Q2 Progress Report, Q3 Progress Report.

Looking back on the year via these quarterly reports is actually very helpful.  I see much more optimism and joy around the hobby in those posts than I feel right now.  It is good to remember that the year has not been a total failure.

Lets look at how things went this year.

Kill Team - W

I really expect this game to be one of the major games of the year but like happens almost every year it did not turn out that way.  I did get in a couple of games.  I finished painting an entire terrain set for the game - Sector Fronteris.  I painted my new AdMech kill team.  This was a win for the year and I kind of miss this game.

Flames of War - W

FoW was planned for greatness in 2020, and while it fell short of that level, it was a good year for the game.  I managed to paint a large collection of MW Soviets and I bought several more units to expand the army even further.  Tim and I did get in about 10 games over the year and towards the end I was starting to figure the army out.  Flames of War was a success for the year but should have been even better.

Fate of a Nation - L

This is a fail for the year.  Nothing painted and no games played.

Great War (FoW) - W

This was a surprising win for the year.  I had no high expectations, just play it. I managed to get in two games.  They were both pre-COVID and that made all the difference.  This is not a game you turn too when game time is limited.

Age of Sigmar - W

Another game I had very little in the way of expectations for this year.  But I managed to paint a lot of stuff for my Nighthaunts.  I collected a few new models for it.  I did not get in a game but I didn't really think I would.  I count this as a win.

Black Powder - L

I had low expectations for this game this year and COVID put the nail in it.  This game generally needs about 6 people for the size game we put on and the lack of space and the lockdowns made sure this did not happen.  I did not paint anything for the collection this year but my friend, Tim, painted a Russian gun and a battalion of infantry for me, which was very cool.  It was not enough to call this a win, however.

Bolt Action - L

I had some big plans for this game in 2020.  I wanted to do a Market Garden campaign, plan a big MG tank battle, build a new army for the Far East (11th Indian Div), but none of that happened.  I only played one game and I don't even remember it.  Total bust.

Necromunda - W

This was actually a great year for this game.  Tim and I played a small two player campaign, which pushed this to the second highest played game of the year.  I bought a ton of stuff but still did not manage to stay current with the releases.  I finally finished my Escher gang and I painted several new models for the Goliaths.  Solid WIN!

Board games - W

I acquired all but one of the Blackstone Fortress expansions and much of it was already painted.  I am really excited about this collection.  COVID probably played a part in not playing this game but there was only a small chance it would have been played.  Warhammer Underworlds was a little surprise.  My Nighthaunt painting progress included the Thorns of the Briar Queen.  With ti painted I had to try them out so Tim and I got in a couple of games.  It is such a fun little game.  I take this as a win.

Team Yankee/WWIII - W

I had no plans for this in 2020 but I thought the new starter set might draw me in and it did.  It is such a great set!  Tim and I slit ours and I too the US and he got the Soviets.  I managed to assemble and at least base coat my army.  I also acquired some second-hand stuff from Mike to help fill the gaps.  I now have the start of a really nice US Army force.  We only played one game this year but it might have been the best game we played.  It certainly was the most fun. WIN!

Distractions - W

Every year something (or a few things) come along that you did not foresee and will distract you from the plan.  The last few years I have tried, and mostly failed, to limit these.  I usually count distractions as a loss because it usually is not something that will stick around.  The first one of this year was Marvel Crisis Protocol.  I've had my eye on this game for a long time and this year I took the plunge.  We've not played it yet but Tim and I have gathered quite a bit for the game.  The next distraction was Warlords of Erewhon. I wanted to try this game as a way to get back into fantasy gaming.  I did not want to go back to LOTR:SBG and no one wants to play AoS, so this looked like a good option.  Turns out it is a great little game.  We played a couple games and I was able to use my Nighthaunts and even some of the old skeletons I collected for Frostgrave.  I think this game has a bright future with our group.  I've been in a bit of a game/hobby funk for most of Q4 and this lead me to rediscover my love of model railroading.  I've tried and failed at the hobby many times over the years and sold/traded all my stuff to Tim about 5 years ago.  I was done and was not looking back. Earlier this most something happened to rekindle my interest (I blame Tim's generous friend for all this).  Tim then jumped in with an invitation to an operating session at a local modeler's layout and I was hooked. In the last few weeks I have collected a lot of stuff, some purchased and some donated by Tim (a lot of my old collection as well as some great new items) and I have started a new blog dedicated to my return to the hobby.

Conclusion

Looking back this year was much more positive than I remember it and than I feel right now.  The stress of life is conspiring to poison my outlook for fun.  I am working very hard to fight against these feelings.  COVID and, more specifically, our reaction too it has me feeling very down about social activities like gaming.  That is one reason why the MRR hobby is more appealing right now, it is much less social in nature.  I've got a few days before I do my 2021 predictions but as it stand right now next year might be VERY different for me.

Final Numbers

Models Assembled this year (includes cleaning and prepping metal figures):
15mm FoW WWII - 19 (13 tanks, 2 aircraft)
15mm Team Yankee - 16 (16 tanks)
28mm Bolt Action - 8
28mm Age of Sigmar - 28 (5 Cav, 1 Mortis Engine)
28mm Necromunda - 7
28mm 40K - 7
28mm Terrain - 22
40mm Marvel Crisis Protocol - 23 (11 terrain. 1 HULK)

Total - 130

Figures painted this year:
15mm FoW WWII - 212 (11 Tanks, 6 guns, 4 Rocket Launchers, 2 aircraft, 4 pillboxes and nests, 4 Objective Markers)
28mm Age of Sigmar - 19 (1 Mortis Engine, 7 Cav, 2 Realmgates)
28mm Napoleonic - 1
28mm Necromunda - 14
28mm 40K - 32 (17 Terrain)

Total - 278

Game Record:
Bolt Action 1-0-0
Gaslands 0-1-0
FoW Great War 0-2-0
FoW Mid-war 4-6-0
Team Yankee 1-0-0
Kill Team 2-0-0
Necromunda 4-3-1
Warhammer Underworlds 0-2-0
Warlords of Erehwon 2-0-0