Random: Mid-way Through 2018 and Look What You Have Done!

Look at the time!  July all ready!  It is hard to believe that 2018 is half over with.  So much still to do, so much completed, and yet even more to come.  It was the best of times…. It was the worst of times…. But it seems like a time to review my progress according to my 2018 goals and see where I am at.

Typically, I break them up into the following categories for ease:

·         Purchasing

·         Playing

·         Rules Writing

·         Miscellany

I normally do not get all my goals done by the end of the year, and these are more guidelines than anything else.  Nothing holds me to this list to complete it or even do the stuff on it.  However, I find it helps me from jumping to project to project without making any progress.

So, let’s look at what is done.

Purchases

Typically things I will spend money on are in this section:

-          Purchase all new Osprey Wargame Series of Books- I look to be on track with this one.  The latest two were Kobolds and Cobblestones and Outremer: Faith and Blood.  I have them both in my collection, but have only reviewed Kobolds and Cobblestones so far.  Outremer: Faith and Blood should be following soon.

-          Pick-up 6mm Successor Armies from Baccus- I took a look at the range and priced them out.  I am scratching together the cash as I want to get enough minis for two armies to play Heirs to Empire with.  This one might not happen his year at the rate I am going.

-          New Professional Terrain- I have purchased a swanky new terrain cloth that looks great!  In addition, I picked up some cool Greek temple ruins from Terrafin too.  I still would like a nice river, some rocks, and maybe a forest or two.  I will call this partially complete.

-          Purchase Blucher- Looks around shifty-eyed and embarrassed.  I got as far as putting it into an online shopping cart once…. Never finished the transaction though.  Someday…. I mean it!

Painting and Modelling

Items I am making a bold effort to get painted or modelled for the tabletop go here.  I was very conservative this year in my painting goals.  This category usually trips me up the most. 

-          Paint Mobile Artillery for All Quiet on the Martian Front- After two years they are complete! 

-          Paint D.A. Thompson from Pulp Alley- Complete after….. I do not know how long?  But he is done!

Playing

Here I list the games I want to play for the year!

-          Play 8^th Edition 40K- Complete! There was a lot of positive buzz about the new edition, so I figured I would check it out.  I mean, I have been playing since Rogue Trader days so I have plenty of models. 

-          Finish theBalkan Uprising Campaign- I did manage to play another game for the Campaign using Castles in the Sky but the Ottoman League needed a decisive win to wrap up the campaign.  Let’s just say, the campaign is not over yet.  I have the next game arranged and ready to play but I haven’t had time to play it yet.  Partially complete I guess.    

-          Play OneGame I have Not Played Before- Complete!  I played Super System 4thEdition.  It was a good time between the Union of Semi-Professional Heroes and the Blackhearts.  I all ready have two more Nano metal figs set aside and statted out to expand my teams and set-up for the next issue.

Rules Writing

On this part of the list, I put my goals for actually producing games.  I am typically very productive in this category as all I need is some research, computer, and time to do it.  That is a lot less of a lift than the other categories. 

-          Complete 2 New Rulesets for the Blog- Complete!  I think I have completed three or four for the Work-in-Progress section?  RampantGalaxies, Fog of War, Conquest! Rome in Italy, and Rampant Sun.  I took Conquest! back down as I work on some other aspects of it.  However, the others are still up and I am looking for play tester feedback on them.  However, I have made no progress on Mageloque, which has been on my to-do list for about 5 years now. 

-          Get Photos for Men of Bronze completed- Complete!  I have shared some on this very blog!  In addition, Osprey sent me some cover art drafts for the book!  Exciting times!

Miscellany

This section is filled with random stuff that is related to Blood and Spectacles but does not really belong any place else. 

-          Blog Once Every 2 Weeks- This year, I have managed to keep my blogging pace up to weekly.  However, it has been a stretch.  I do not expect this trend to continue as the year progresses.

-          Clean-up a Game for Wargames Vault- I managed to get Green Army Men: Plastic Men, Steel Resolve completed and placed on the Wargame Vault this year.  If I am really lucky, I might get a second up by the end of the year. 

Conclusion

Wow, so far I have done pretty good!  8 out of 13 complete, with another 2 partially complete.  This might be my best year yet!  However, I did scale back my goals a bit from 2017.  

Besides the stuff listed here, I also invested more into Blood Bowl and got the Dwarf, Chaos, and Skaven team.  My family has played a few games, but I have not been able to document them enough for the Blog.  I didn;t think Games Workshop would get me to spend money with them again, but the Blood Bowl play worked on me! I will probably get one more team and the Ogre too. I have played a good deal of Men of Bronze and binged on Green Army Men: Plastic Men, Steel Resolve on a few days.  In addition, I have tried a few boardgames and card games as well.  However, it was not enough for me to really document.  Overall, fairly productive.  

I might not be as prolific in the second half of the year due to work and “Real Life” getting in my way.  However, so far a good start and I look forward to finishing 2018 strong!  How about you?  How is your 2018 going so far?