End of Year Post

2021 was a stinker, right? I think the icing on the cake was finding out that Rapier game con in Jacksonville has run its course and is no more. 

FUUUUUUUUUUU.......!

The Jacksonville Garrison is getting some other replacement event together and they're a pretty together band of gamers so there's hope. I really hope they select a good weekend. First weekend of February was very good for me.

2021 was all bad though. Southern Front in Raleigh was great and I look forward to next year. I wonder if their groups.io account will be abuzz with violent arguments about masking again or if they'll get over themselves?

Memorial Day's games were very good, even though participation wasn't quite what I'd hoped. Of course, it's not about quantity, it's quality and by that measure, Memorial Day was a real win.

I think I might have gained a rank in painting skills over the last 12 months. Small changes in technique, products and habits have combined to simply make me a better painter. I'm a big believer that bases make the model and I strive to keep the bases pretty; they are the frame and an ugly base  is such a distraction.

I think the biggest change for me this year is the addition of paper models for terrain. I did a few for the Italian Wars and added a few recently for WWII. They're fun, inexpensive and look very nice. I'm happy to have added them to the arsenal.

What do I hope to accomplish in 2022, gaming-wise? Well, let's see.

-   More early-1700's North Americans for Blood and Plunder. The last batch I painted up from Sash and Saber were a joy to paint up and they need an enemy.

-   More Naps. The forces I have now scratch the itch but an extra unit or two to the mix would be nice.

-  More Italian Wars units. Same reasons as the Naps above.

-   I forked over a little cash for a couple of Infinity droids recently and just painted them up. Pics later. A 75% discount is hard to pass up. They're for an army I wasn't collecting, but it appears that I am now. I'll do my best to keep additions to sale-only items and not to spend much money on what's clearly a flight of fancy. Those blasted Infinity models are so great to paint. 

-   I want to get in some Modern Spearhead. I haven't played in a while and it's such an excellent game system. While its competitors are OK, it's a bit like comparing O'Douls and Guinness.

-   Play a game or two of Force on Force. This might be with the WWII Partisans vs Germans or 15mm Moderns, but either way, the game needs to get some play. 

-   I may look at moving the Batman Minis. It was fun, but I might be done with it. If nothing else, I'll move the minis into long-term storage and out of my primary storage tier. I did the same with some of my beloved Firestorm Armada ships recently. Probably should look at moving some of the Dystopian Wars stuff too.

-   Find or develop a "holy grail" skirmish game suitable for moderns or sci-fi. I've had significant trouble finding a system I like with the right blend of simplicity and granularity. Blood and Plunder's mechanics are really close to what I'm looking for. Perhaps I shall poach some ideas of theirs and expand them to fit what I'm after.