Your Wargaming Wishlist....

'Tis the season to start dreaming of the goodies that Saint Nicholas will put in your stocking.  I hope you will be on the nice list!  I plan on getting a nice lump of coal this year.  Despite my misbehaving, I have put together a list of games I would like to try in 2017.  Thankfully, I don’t expect Santa to bring me any or all of them, so I guess I will have to rely on the toil of my own two-hands.  Scrooge would be so proud! 

Here is my wishlist of Wargames for 2017 (as it stands now)….

1.       Blucher- Sam Mustafa

This is a game of Napoleonic warfare made by Sam Mustafa as part of his Honour series.  I have heard great things about his rulesets, but have never personally played one.  I am interested in Blucher as I have always fancied nappies, but have been intimidated by the model count and the grognards.  Blucher seems to bypass some of this by using a larger scale, is playable with unit cards, and ignores some of the tropes common to Nappies like square/column/line.  I have also heard great things about the Scharnhorst campaign system and I always love a good campaign.    

Find it here:  http://www.sammustafa.com/honour/modules-games/blucher/

2.       Blood Bowl- Games Workshop

I first started playing Blood Bowl with the 3^rd edition boxed set.  I have a few teams knocking about still, and is probably one of the games I manage to play the most.  Naturally, I am interested in the new Blood Bowl from games Workshop.  I never really had the Pitch or templates and always leeched off of my friends.  Now, I can finally rectify that situation.  Plus, Blood Bowl is a game I can easily introduce to non-wargamers and they can still have fun.  I have not spent money with GW since 6^th edition 40K, but they may fool me out of my cash with this one. 

Find it here: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Blood-Bowl-2016-ENG

3.       Martian Empires- Black Hat

The Martian Invasion of 1888 was thwarted, and now it is time for the Earthlings to get some payback!  This is a game that mixes Colonial, Steamunk, and Victorian Sci-fi.  This is an Army scale game, where the forces of Her Majesty battle the Cephalopod menace on the red dunes of Mars.  Look out for the Huns lurking around trying to gobble up the spoils.  The mechanics to these look a bit old-school, but it is available at my FLGS so I look forward to picking up a copy. 

Find it here: http://www.blackhat.co.uk/martian-empires/

4.       Chain of Command

Two Fat Lardies World War II game looks like it is very different than most other WWII game son the market.  I haven’t had a ton of exposure to the Lardies products, but what I have seen has been long on innovation, but also poor on lay-out and execution.  However, I think they may have gotten it figured out with this one.  The Scouting Phase and Jump-off points looks like an innovative deployment method and I am eager to learn more about it.  It also looks to have innovative mechanics in other areas to.  I look forward to giving it a try.  I have always fancied an Operation: Compass themed force for Early War. 

Find it here:  https://toofatlardies.co.uk/product/chain-of-command-rules/

5.       This is Not a Test- World’s End Publishing

I tend to enjoy skirmish games, I like campaign games, and I like post-apocalyptic themes.  This looks like it could be my cup of tea.  You get to play small gangs of survivors after the mushroom clouds.  Your survivors battle other survivors for loot in the wasteland.  Individual models level up, get injured, etc. and the action is personal. 

Find it here: http://worldsendpublishing.com/this-is-not-a-test/

Those are my top ones, but of course, there are always more!  Below are a few that I am interested in, but didn’t make the top 5 cut. 

·         Battlegroup- I like the chits to breakpoints system, would I need more WWII?

·         Infinity- I like the action/reaction mechanics, but the game has a weak campaign system

·         Empire of the Dead- Good setting and a campaign game, dislike IGUGO

·         Hail Caesar!- I should really get on this, but the scale looks too big for me

·         Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes- I do not like the original that much, but am curious

·         Aeronef- Love the setting and air/navy battles, rules seem a bit clunky

·         Blood Eagle- I like skirmish and the setting, not sure about the In Her Majesties Name clone mechanics

·         Chaos in…- I like the GOAL system and campaigns, unsure about Vitality and the options

·         Rogue Planet- Interesting and unique mechanics, but when I have money I always seem to forget about it. 

Some old and some new rules sprinkled in.  Variety is the spice of life!  I have a feeling many of you have played these games and have your own thoughts about them.  I would love to hear your opinions before I venture into 2017 to make purchases.  I would also be interested in your wish lists for 2017.  of course, anything new i will be sure to review.