As many of you are aware I am a magpie gamer, a hobby whore, whatever you want to call people who: COLLECT LOTS OF DIFFERENT ARMIES FOR LOTS OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS!!!! What you may also know is that each year I make a New Years Hobby Resolution and each year since I left Games Workshop as a Store Manager this has been the same: Plan a new GW investment, work out its cost and then try to do 2 new systems/armies with a combined cost less than that of the GW investment. So we are now 6 months or half way into 2012 and I thought it about time I look at what I have done so far in 2012!

The Year so far:

I began 2012 with a catch up of my 2011 hobby resolution and the wonderful game of Dystopian Wars by Spartan Games. This was a total break from my plan but I needed to play games with my Prussian Naval Fleet, for this SteamPunk game, to finish off my previous years hobby resolution. A massive thanks to Ian Hill, Andie Harper, Edd Barfield, Dave Amos & Gordon Snellgrove for the company while doing this system, I had a Broadside Blast!!!

At about the same time:

I had the chance to paint up my Christmas presents from my brother….my MERCS USCR! I have yet to play a proper game of this system and as I didn’t buy them I can’t claim them as part of my New Years Resolution.

So by this point I thought it was about time to get on with my actual planned stuff for 2012 and the first being SAGA.

This is a really great game. It was not at all what I expected, I had images of historical wargaming and the quality of the models used for these games and these preconceptions were wrong. SAGA is a beautifully bloody, fast paced Viking-age skirmish game. I bought, built, painted and played with a Viking force. I planned out a 6pts army and have had an awesome time sending the enemy troops to the pile of  the dead and wishing my battle brothers a safe journey to the gates of Valhalla! My gracious troop of fellow gamers collected themselves 4pts forces, 2 welsh warbands, a Scots warband, 2 Viking warbands, a Norman warband and a Joms Vikings! Thanks needs to go to Andie Harper for the AWESOME games on very late nights at Portal Wargaming!!

a little bit of this thrown in for the mix:

GRUNTZ is a 15mm Sci-Fi game that allows you to use any 15mm Sci-Fi models in your games and I decided to build a quick and easy force of humans from GZG and paint them up, don’t think I’ll actually get to play this game but I do enjoy painting 15mm models so it was a great experience!!!

and for the best part of the year I have anticipated and then rejoiced in the release of Empire of the Dead:

A total distraction from my New Years Hobby Resolution, I am totally in love with this game from West Wind Productions!!!! Victorian, Infernium fueled horror this game has absolutely everything you can want from a skirmish game! It is elegant, fast paced, fun whether you play it as one off games or link your games using the beautifully written Mordheim-esque campaign system!!! I have played so many great, memorable games of this that I have to say this has been my game of the year so far!!!! I have painted my way through 3 crews for this game and have a 4th waiting to go!! Thanks to Ian Hill, Andie Harper, Ben Cox, Edd Barfield, Stu Gadd & Damion Dakin for the great games so far and here’s hoping for many more throughout the year!

So what does the next 6 months have in store??

 

 

Later in the year I will be doing a Crusaders army for Warlord as planned but the title of the post you are reading is: POP!!! Goes My New Years Hobby Resolution so even though sticking with my Hobby Resolution was the plan, something has happened to make my pledge go POP!!!

It was pointed out to me that I haven’t actually done anything Games Workshop Since I left the company and have been focusing on mainly skirmish games, a rumour is spreading that I don’t have it in me anymore to paint more than a handful of models for a system and so I feel a challenge has been set and so it is time to break my Hobby Resolution and actually do some Games Workshop!!!

PROJECT ASTRAL IS ON THE HORIZON!!!