2012 Plans

Though tardy as usual (at least when it comes to me any my blog), I'd like to engage in the end of the year retrospection and new year resolution-making that all hobby bloggers seem to engage in.

From a hobby perspective, 2011 was a bit of a mixed bag for me. In terms of actual gaming, 2011 was a far more successful year than most in recent memory. Referencing the ever handy BoardGameGeek, I see that I played 51 games this year. That averages to nearly one a week, even if many of those occurred in single sessions in which several games were played. What is particularly interesting is the obvious trend in the nature of my gaming that is revealed in this look back. No doubt influenced by the interests of my wife and family, board games occupy a majority of the list, with 7 Wonders and Settlers of Catan sitting squarely on top. Miniatures games, which have long been my primary interest, account for only 14 games played this year (though hybrids such as Wings of War, Gears of War, Battlelore, Memoir '44, and Battleship Galaxies account for another 9).

Speaking of miniatures, my total output of painted figures for the year - two - continues my lackluster productivity that has typified recent years. That being said though, in painting those two figures I believe I've begun to cement a painting style and set of techniques that I'm both happy with and have brought be some success. As noted earlier this year, the Malifaux figure I painted for GenCon was awarded the best single figure award from Wyrd (for which I'm still honored). Additionally, the Warhammer goblin warboss painted right at the end of the year was voted by my gaming group as the favorite of the Christmas paint exchange figures. The trick now will be to see if I can build on this technique such that I can produce figures in a more timely manner.

2012 should provide no end of opportunities for me to try this out as I have a slew of projects in the hopper.  Plans, roughly organized in my intended (hopeful?) chronological order, include:

• Mordheim Shadow Elf warband - After having waxed nostalgic on many occasion about the classic GW games that are now relegated to the Specialist Games "basement," my gaming group is finally running a brief Mordheim campaign over the coming month.  Campaign kick-off is next week and I still have five elves to get painted!
• Infinity Haqqislam - Despite having picked up the core of my force this time last year and spending the last twelve months becoming increasingly enamored with this game, I've yet to even begin assembling more than one figure.  However, one of my regular gaming comrades, an even bigger fan of Infinity, is itching to get this into regular rotation and the game seems to have a foothold in one of our FLGS.
• Malifaux - Malifaux has continued to be my most frequently played miniatures game and this past year has done anything but dull my enthusiasm for the game.  Unfortunately, I still don't have even a single gang painted yet.  With a fairly vast collection of miniatures for this game now, settling on which master I'd like to work on first will be my initial task.  Will it be Seamus, Nicodem, Collette, or the Viktorias?  Will I choose to provide some allies for the Kirai that I painted for GenCon?  Of course, I'm also now about a year and a half behind in getting my buddy's Ramos crew completed (sorry Jay!).
• Late War Germans - As it seems all maturing miniatures gamers eventually do, I, along with a pair of local buddies, have finally started down the historical gaming path.  For ease of entry, both because of our general familiarity with the subject as well as the plethora of kits available on the market, we've opted to start with western front, late war WWII, using the now OOP Mongoose Games' Battlefield Evolution rules, along with supplements from A.D. Publishing.  Having been tasked with providing the Germans for our impending skirmishes, I'm not only enjoying assembling some great kits (I'm looking at you Plastic Soldier Company), but also conducting the research necessary to ensuring that color choices, weapon selections, etc. are also historically accurate.  I'm no button counter, but I figure that if you're going to play historicals, you might as well make sure that you're doing so in a historically accurate manner.

These are only some of my more well-formed plans, driven by the interests of those I regularly game with.  Necromunda, Blood Bowl, Full Thrust, 40K, Heavy Gear Arena, and a myriad of other half-baked ideas escaping me at the moment will all no doubt be clamoring for my attention over the course of this next year.  Of course, all of these plans will be contingent on time allowed given the more important activities occurring in my household in 2012 - finally buying a house as well as welcoming my firstborn into the world.  2012 is going to be a heck of a year and I'm really looking forward to seeing where it takes us!