As I start my 15th years of the blog and my 25th year as a miniature gamer, I am really re-evaluating the hobby and may participation in it. Not to worry, I am not going to give up gaming! But I am going to be changing how and what I do. This past year has done some serious damage to my faith in society and my trust in people. Gaming is a social activity for the majority of it and that part has been ripped away and I see no signs it will be back. We have all become much too accepting of this madness. But I digress. I have very little in the way of plans and ideas for 2021 as it stands right now.
I have a big house move coming up in the first weeks of the year and that will (and already has) put a huge dent into my ability to game and hobby. I expect it will take until well into February before I can really get back into modeling and painting and even then my time will likely be split between games stuff and train stuff. On to the predictions!
Flames of War (and WWI, FoTN, WWIII)
This is my favorite game(s) right now have has been for several years. I will keep playing all of these variants. I have lots more to build and paint for my mid-war Soviets and I expect that will be a major hobby area. I would like to get my Team Yankee US forces painted and maybe add a few more units for variety. I also have a few new units for my FoTN Israelis that would be nice to finish up. And finally, I have a WWI US force that I have been wanting to build for a while so maybe this is the year. I would love to actually play these games with my friends this year (without all the fucking drama) but that might be wishing a bit much.
Sci-fi Gaming
As usual I will continue with Kill Team and Necromunda. I have lots of stuff for both game to keep me busy on the hobby side and I expect that there will be some new items added this year. Warhammer 40K is officially dead and I have no plans for it and no desire to play it. I may end up keeping a few items for Kill Team and selling off most of the rest. Time will tell.
Fantasy Gaming
I really like Warlords of Erewhon and I would like to keep playing it. It allows me to use my fantasy figure collection and inspires me to build and paint more random stuff. This is likely the only fantasy gaming that will happen this year. The good news is my Nighthaunts really work perfect for these rules and it allows me to get them on the table. Sadly, I think AoS is dead. My friends don't really play it or care for it so I do not expect to see it back on the table. Not sure what I will do with my other two armies but I will figure that out later.
Historical Gaming
Black Powder is still on the menu and always will be but it probably will not get played. If I do get in a game it will likely be smaller games on a regular size table. I have played these size games before and they can be very fun. I will do more work on Napoleonic Russians and French this year but I have no specific goals in mind. I may sell off my Napoleonic British collection as I just don't have the time or the motivation to paint it. No one really wants to play those battles anyway so I doubt it will be missed. This year might be the year I cut all the ancients gaming loose. I have not done any of this for years and I have no desire to go back to it. Might be time to thin the herd.
Board Games
Just forget about this. COVID killed off what little interest there was for this stuff. I don't see it happening. Having said that I am keeping my Warhammer Underworlds and Blackstone Fortress collections.
Conclusion
It is hard for me to get really motivated about gaming right now but maybe that will change. I don't want to just collect and paint miniatures, I want to fight battles. That ain't happening right now. I am trying to be hopeful and optimistic about the year ahead but its really tough. I have friends that I have not seen for nearly a year...
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