Starting off the year by reviewing the previous year seems to be the done thing around the blogging traps, so here we go. Reading back over my initial post at the start of 2017, the gaming ideas I had for the year got thrown into disarray by external developments.
Marvel Universe Miniatures Game
With the cancellation of this game by Knight Models in early 2017 my year gaming wise was off to a rocky start. That said, this still ended up being my most played game over the year, with 16 games in total. This doesn’t seem to be slowing down, with all my models now painted and a couple of tables of terrain together, I’m eager to get it to the table more, and have already got a game in this year. I’m expecting we’ll see this at the table a bit this year despite no support and new releases.
Hordes
I stopped playing Warmahordes during the year, essentially as I came to the realisation I hate ‘kill the king’ mechanics in games. This was especially highlighted with the new Steamroller pack increasing the point differential to win a non-assassination victory. Disappointing, but no doubt the models will pop up again in other games (aka Frostgrave).
Frostgrave
This game came somewhat out of nowhere over the year, and my series of posts on choosing a new game and the drivers behind it can be seen here, so I won’t dwell too much on it. The game remains a standout for me, and am hoping to get some more campaign games in over 2018. From a hobby perspective, I knocked over a new table of terrain and a warband, as well as having another warband assembled and awaiting paint.
Wild West Exodus
With the second edition of this game being announced in April, I was quite excited for a new lease on life for this game. Our initial playtesting seemed to indicate that some of the worst imbalances from first edition had been removed, and Warcradle Studios seemed highly responsive during the open beta of the game. But there was limited interest among my regular group and didn’t seem to be many players around Melbourne, so this game lapsed from our attention. I’m keen to get it back to the table, but this will be dependent on finding others to play with.
Board Games
I’ve shared my thoughts on most of the board games we played over the year. Doom the Board Game ended up being a little disappointing, but I got the models and painted, and we played through the two operations in the box. Massive Darkness ended up being somewhat of a hit, although the game itself isn’t overly challenging and requires house rules to make it sufficiently challenging. Star Wars Destiny didn’t light my fire, compounded by the collectible nature. The Arkham Horror LCG looked good, but it hasn’t been a priority as yet.
Conclusion
2017 was a great year for me in gaming, with 63 games across 14 systems. There were some great new games and some disappointments but overall it ended up being great. I’ll post again next week with some goals and expectations for 2018 ahead of the first battle report for the year.
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