2019 Wrap-up

With 2019 run and done, I better wrap up the year and reflect on what I achieved. Personally it was a year with significant ups and downs, and I’m certainly glad to have had this hobby in my life to keep me occupied at various points.

Hobby

I cranked out a considerable amount of building and painting this year, going back over the blog I’m quite amazed at how many models got painted. Counting each separate model painted as ‘one’ model no matter what size (I’m assuming it will average out), my grand total for the year was 396 models. Some highlights for me include:

• The sheer volume of 396, which I’m hoping equals progress in reducing the number of unpainted models I own (although I have been spending up at various points…)
• getting an entire Stark force (almost two in fact!) finished to what I think is a great quality for a force that size
• The Barbarian from Mierce miniatures, featured in Frostgrave tour progress here, was a standout, both in terms of how much I love him but also the amount of great feedback I got on him
• I did some terrain building over the year, which I really enjoy and want to get into more, but finding space to store all the various tables of terrain I own is problematic, so I need to work out if I can bear to part with some of them before commencing more
• Getting the Hellboy boardgame painted was a great achievement, and whilst I didn’t get it to the table as much as I’d like too, I’m hoping to remedy that in 2020

Gaming

I played a lot of games over 2019, with 74 instances of 12 different games getting to the table. Standouts were:

• A Song Of Ice And Fire TMG was the absolute biggest game for me this year, I played 29 times, and still love the game, especially as CMON is continuing to provide support as the recent 1.5 rule changes indicate. New releases have seemed a little slow over the year, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing (refer my comments on Warhammer Underworlds below)
• I played through most of Blackstone Fortress and it’s expansions with Monkey. The game really allows for maximal dice rolling (if that’s your thing), but certainly feels a little easy for the most part. The models, though, are exceptional and I’ve really enjoyed the handful I painted over the year
• I had a lot of fun with Gaslands, even though I only played five times I can vividly picture highlights from each of those games, which marks a really great game to me
• Frostgrave got a resurgence with me over the year due to the upcoming trip to Felstad itself (well, at least it’s real world inspiration of Tallinn), and I’m hopeful that the second edition in 2020 will also get others more interested as well so I can keep playing more of this. I really love this game, the ridiculous moments the opposed D20 system gives rise to make me laugh (and curse) a lot of the time and having a tooled-up captain killed by a thug seems my lot in the game and now yields little more than a shrug and chuckle

There were a few disappointments for me which I’d be remiss not to mention:

• I played Warhammer Underworlds 11 times over the year, mostly due to a tournament attendance, however with the release of Beastgrave and the continual Banned and Restricted list updates, I realised I couldn’t legitimately keep up with the game, and so have decided to step away from it. I could try and play more casually, but there isn’t a critical mass of players in my immediate circle to make that practical and playing with a more casual deck in a tournament setting is a recipe for pain and disappointment in my experience
• Reality’s Edge is a game I really want to love (and may grow to, in time), however this is obfuscated by a hard to read rulebook, several items and apps that seem next to useless, and a system that ends up feeling very ‘dicey’ with limited mitigation elements. The game is fun, but there’s a lot to keep track of and it requires a significant investment of research and attention which doesn’t seem to payout in the game itself
• I didn’t get Rangers of Shadow Deep to the table as much as I wanted during the year. I got through two games, but then ran out of steam. I’m hoping to remedy this in 2020, as with my house move out of the way I should have time and space available to setup and play through some missions. I love the game and am looking forward to getting my teeth into it

Conclusion

2019 was a personally challenging year, but from a hobby perspective very productive. It’s possible the hobby levels were partly driven by the challenges I faced, as I find time spent modelling and painting cathartic. I’ve got lots of new projects in the works and plenty of games I’d like to play in 2020, as well as the epic quest to Estonia in February. A fun time ahead no doubt.