Showing posts with label One Hour Wargames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label One Hour Wargames. Show all posts

Sunday, December 31, 2023

Looking Back at 2023

 Well... I did not get a lot of gaming or hobby stuff done this year... Not as much as I have in previous years... I feel like this has become a bit of a trend... and that makes me a bit sad. 

There were reasons for a lot of that. The state of the basement and the renovation that dragged on through most of the spring... and summer... AND fall...?! 

I'll try to keep this short and not dwell on things. It wasn't all doom and gloom. I'll try to focus on what I DID manage to do and then move right along to the next post; Game Plan 2024.


HIGHLIGHTS

Maybe let's start on a positive note with a few of the HIGHLIGHTS from 2023. 

Hands down, the top highlight of the year was being able to meet up with my old friend Christian for a day while Amanda and I were out in Toronto. Christian is one of my absolute favourite humans on this planet. He was up at a ridiculous hour to catch a GO Train in from Barrie. We met up and wandered about downtown Toronto catching up, checked out Meeplemart and The Beguiling and spent most of the day playing games at Snakes and Lattees on College. We went for supper wandered around some more and got Christian back to Union Station to catch his train home in the evening. You can read more about it in September Games. 

The next big highlight was the Back of Beyond Campaign I ran from January to April!? It had some problems... but I got me motivated to play over TWENTY games of One Hour Wargames! They ended up all being solo games... but that was okay... 

Finally, if I had a third highlight, I guess it would be finally sitting down and reading the rules for Five Parsecs From Home and trying that out. It's been really fun so far. Looking forward to exploring this more in 2024 - and trying out the Fantasy vversion Five Leagues from the Borderlands! 


GAME PLAN 2023

Looking back at the Quarterly Game Plans... 

Game Plan 2023 - Q1 

Game Plan 2023 - Q2

Game Plan 2023 - Q3

Game Plan 2023 - Q4

They weren't really much of plans... I knew there wasn't likely to be much going on this year. I tried to keep the plans (if you can call them that) open and tried not to tie myself down to any grand plans that were destined to fail... TRIED not to... 

Here are the numbers of what I DID get up to this year... 


GAMES

In the end I managed to play 116 games this year. Marginally more than what I played last year... (96 games) and but way down from the previous year (212 games). The difference is that nearly a quarter of the games I played this year were SOLO games.  So I was playing games WITH people less, and that still makes me a bit sad. 

Here are the games I played this year, according to Board Game Geek:

  • One-hour Wargames x20
  • Codenames x11
  • Wingspan x9
  • Splendor x8
  • Wingspan Asia x7
  • Five Parsecs From Home: Solo Adventure Wargaming x7
  • Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure x4
  • Loonacy x4
  • Agricola x3
  • Century: Golem Edition x3
  • Kingdom Builder x3
  • Set x3
  • Terraforming Mars x3
  • Abyss x2
  • Azul x2
  • Codenames: Pictures x2
  • Lords of Waterdeep x2
  • Tinderblox x2
  • Warhammer 40,000 (Tenth Edition) x2
  • 1754: Conquest – The French and Indian War x1
  • Beyond the Sun x1
  • Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game x1
  • Boss Monster 2: The Next Level x1
  • Carcassonne x1
  • Castles of Mad King Ludwig x1
  • Charioteer x1
  • Compounded x1
  • Cryptid x1
  • Cyclades x1
  • Hellboy: The Roleplaying Game x1
  • Imhotep x1
  • Just Desserts x1
  • Shakespeare x1
  • Tyler Sigman's Crows x1
  • Tyrants of the Underdark x1
  • Vinci x1
  • Warhammer Underworlds: NightVault x1
  • Xenos Rampant x1

Not even close to doing a 10x10 Challenge... But, y'know, over 100, so... not bad. 

Most played was One Hour Wargames - twenty of them - unfortunately all played solo... which was okay, I guess... 

Next was Codenames, but that hardly counts - we knocked out all eleven games in ONE EVENING!!

Lots of games of Wingspan and Wingspan: Asia... earlier in the year before the renovation really got going. 

I got really excited about the IDEA of role-playing games again - and bought three totally new ones (Hellboy, Bladerunner, and the new version of Twilight: 2000) as well as a few expansions for Wrath & Glory. I only got around to playing two, Hellboy and Blade Runner, for a single session of each, never getting past making characters.... Maybe NEXT year!?  


MINIATURES

Also, an all time low - at least for as long as I've been keeping track. 

I managed to paint 70 x 28mm minis.....  That's a few more of the 28mm miniatures than were painted last year... but last year I also painted a PILE of micro/epic scale stuff... So I'd say I ended up painting a bit LESS than last year. 

Part of this was due to the renovation upheaval... maybe now that I have a semi-permanent painting station set up - and a ridiculously luxurious and HUGE one, at that - along with plans to play in an upcoming tournament - I should hopefully get a few more done in the next year... (more on that in Game Plan 2024 Q1 - coming up shortly) 

Unfortunately I also managed to AQUIRE more that I ended up painting - 147 x 28mm miniatures - and MORE than I did last year!? Most of that was from five (FIVE!!) Kill Team boxed sets... which I haven't even managed to play ONCE this whole year!? (So embarrassing... Maybe I'll get some of that terrain finished up, though, and use it in Five Parsecs From Home!?) 

Here is a breakdown of those acquisitions and painted minis! 

PAINTED

28mm Foot

Q1


Q1 Total: 48

Q2

Q2 Total: 6 

Q3

Q3 total: 8

Q4


Q4 Total: 4

2023 Total: 66

28mm Mounted/Smaller Beasties

So, mostly Games Workshop miniatures for 40K/Kill Team or AoS/Warcry. 


PURCHASED (or otherwise acquired - gifts, trades, etc.)

28mm Foot

Q1
  • 11x Adeptus Arbites – Exaction Squad Kill Team
  • 10x Drukhari – Hand of The Archon Kill Team
Q1 Total: 21


Q2
Q2 Total: 85 


Q3
Q3 Total: 26


Q4

3x Domitan's Stormcoven (Warhammer Underworlds: Wyrdhollow)
5x Ephilim's Pandaemonium (Warhammer Underworlds: Wyrdhollow)
3x Thricefold Discord (Warhammer Underworlds: Deathgorge) 
4x Cyreni’s Razors (Warhammer Underworlds: Deathgorge) 

Q4 Total: 15


2023 Total: 147

So... I bought twice as much as I managed to paint... at least it's not like some years where I bought hundreds - or even THOUSANDS - more miniatures than I managed to paint!?!? (it's happened!). This was only 70 more miniatures... If I had a good year or painting and not buying more stuff. I could bring knock that off fairly easily. 



What was YOUR gaming/hobby Highlight of 2023? 


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Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Back of Beyond - Summer 1921

 The war in the east continued through the summer of 1921 with increased intensity! 

The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals, under the command of The Most Illustrious Beacon of Celestial Light and Commander of the Arm of Earthly Might, Win-Cao Lo-Fat, continued their siege of the Ist Guard Regiment, Ipatiev House, at Kubassa. 

The Canadians of the 14th Allied Eastern Expeditionary Army pursued the Ist Babushka Army Corps to Vlodkask, where they would make a despreate attempt to hold the last bit of territory under their control. 

The Red Horde, led by Altan Baatar Kahn, pursued the East Asia Cavalry Division through mountain passes and into Mongolia to fight them again at Driutsek. 

The Siege of Kubassa

Just before the final assault, Lo-Fat ordered a herd of pitch-covered pigs be led to the one of the sewer outflows under cover of darkness. As the pig were released into the city's sewer system they were set alight. Squealing, flaming pigs tearing through the sewer system sowed chaos and confusion amongst the residents and garrison and provided perfect distraction for the troops of The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals to storm the Bolshevik trenches, scale the walls and eventually overrun the city. 

Kombrig Mahat Mikhan packed his mandolin and along with his chief commissar and a pantomime horse costume, escaped the city under cover of darkness. The commissar was later captured and executed by counter revolutionaries near Vladivostock, but Mikhan made it to American where he began a new life writing comedy for "decadent westerners". At least until 1947, when he was deported to the Soviet Union after the House Committee on Un-American Activities began investigating the motion picture industry in Hollywood. 


The Battle of Vlodkask

The starving, tattered remains of the Ist Babushka Army Corps, dug in around Vlodkask. 

So broken were they, that the Canadian's preliminary bombardment saw off what remained of one of the battalions entirely! 

At dawn, the Canadians of the 14th Allied Eastern Expeditionary Army begin their assault 

The 8th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles, quickly crossed a ford northeast of the town and overtook the positions of the departed bolshevik battalion, hoping to flank the rest of the Bolshevik line, or at least prevent reinforcements from retaking the position. 

Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion, Regina Rifle Regiment, cam under heavy fire as it approached Vlodkask.  

Bolshevik Cavalry blocked the Canadian Mounted Rifles from sweeping up the Bolshevik flank! 

While the Canadian Mounted Rifles kept the Bolsheviks busy the 69th Armoured Regiment, supported by the 5th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders and the 15th Canadian Fusiliers, attempted to cross the ford. Unfortunately the tanks of the Armoured Regiment floundered in the soft mud of the ford and could advance no further. 

The two Canadian Field Artillery Regiments engaged in a vicious duel with the Bolshevik Artillery. The 37th Field Artillery took heavy casualties and eventually had to retire. But the 38th eventually silenced the Bolshevik guns! 

After a prolonged firefight with the Bolsheviks holding the town, the 2nd Battalion, Regina Rifle Regiment, was obliged to retire, having sustained a great deal many casualties. The 3rd Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers and 7th Battalion, South Saskatchewan Regiment kept up the pressure on the Bolsheviks. 

After a brutal clash with the Canadian Mounted Rifles, the Bolshevik cavalry tried to block the Canadian infantry crossing at the ford. Unfortunately, the Canadian Artillery was able to shift its focus to supporting the infantry advance and caught the cavalry in the open and cut them to shreds. 

Under the heavy weight of fire from the Canadian infantry, the Bolsheviks gave up the town and the Canadians began pouring across the bridge into town. Teh Winnipeg Grenadiers lead the assault. 

Teh Winnipeg Grenadiers stormed right through the town and out the other side to attack the flank of the remaining Bolshevik battalions dug in on the hills North east of town. The South Saskatchewan Regiment followed on and took up positions within the town of Vlodkask. 

At the other end, the Cape Breton Highlanders began their assault on the dug-in Bolsheviks. 

The Cape Breton Highlanders took heavy casualties in their assault, but the Bolskevik force was broken. Those that weren't killed or surrendered dispersed into the woods and deserted, fleeing in all directions.  

Commissar-General Lev (Leon) Davidovitch Runstein was unable to be located after the battle and assumed to have been killed in the fighting. 


The Battle of Driutsek

 The East Asia Cavalry Division fleeing Wurumchi, and hotly pursued by the Red Horde, decided to make a stand before Duiutsek. 

Crossing fords south of town, they were pursued a little TOO closely! 

Chinese Cavalry caught up with the Mongol Cavalry just beyond the East ford. 

The two units engaged in a protracted battle. The Mongols attempted to steer the Chinese cavalry away from the fleeing Russian infantry, in hopes of giving them time to turn and set up a defensive position. 

The battle went back and forth for some time, stalling the Chinese Infantry's advance. 

Finally the Mongol Cavalry was driven off and the Chinese Advance resumed. 

At the West ford, the 28th Imperial Russian Hussars turned to make their stand against the pursuing Chinese, to give the artillery time to turn and fire on their pursuers. Unfortunately, it was the Chinese tanks (which had SUCCESSFULLY crossed the ford!) that they Hussars had to face! The horsemen did no last long in the face of the tank assault! 

The Chinese tanks then drove off the 77th Imperial Russian Artillery, leaving the single Russian infantry battalion to hold off the Red Horde. 

The remains of the 77th Imperial Russian Infantry Regiment made their stand, and caused grievous casualties to the pursuing Chinese infantry battalion. 

Under the weight of fire from all sides, and under threat of being entirely surrounded and annihilated, the Russians quickly had to give up the field. 

So intense was the Chinese pursuit, that the East Asia Cavalry Division bypassed Driutsek entirely and retreated all the way to their base of operations at Gura, where they would make their final stand! 


In Other News

While it seemed the former Archduke Yevgeny Lytton, had settled into retirement and running a spa and bathhouse he'd set up in Tashkabad, in the summer of 1921 it was reported he rode out of Tashkabad with his personal guard of Cossacks. At first it was rumoured that he'd taken up banditry, but firsthand reports seemed to indicate few were killed or injured in this excursion and that they seemed to be looking for one thing;  a Samovar that had been part of his family for some time!? It seems they located it at a bazaar in Bakunin - and even paid the "grotesquely low price" the merchant was selling it for, and promptly rode back to Tashkabad!? 

Situation at the end of Summer 1921


ORANGE

  • Commander of the Field Army: Lieutenant General Sir Percy Arbuthnot-Worcester-Gruntfuttock-Smythe
  • Faction: Western Interventionists
  • Army: 14th Allied Eastern Expeditionary Army
  • Base of Operations: Canadar 
  • Other Cities: Canuckand, Molsensk, Stlojia, Borschka, Baboushka, Vlodkask
  • Resource Points: 18
  • Field Army:
  • 3rd Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers (7)
  • 5th Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders  (8)
  • 2nd Battalion, Regina Rifles - Heavy Infantry Battalion (8)
  • 105th Canadian Fusiliers - Heavy Infantry Battalion (8)
  • 7th Battalion, South Saskatchewan Regiment (7) 
  • 8th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles - Cavalry (8)
  • 37th Field Artillery (4)
  • 38th Field Artillery (10) 
  • 69th Armoured Regiment (10) 


YELLOW

  • Commander of the Field Army: Hedwig Markus von Eggenberg, Margrave of Grosswardein
  • Faction: Tsarist
  • Army: East Asia Cavalry Division 
  • Base of Operations: Gura
  • Other Cities: 
  • Resource Points: 1
  • Field Army:
  • 337th Infantry Regiment (Heavy) (4)
  • Mongolian Cavalry (6)
  • 38th Hussars Cavalry (6)
  • 77th Imperial Artillery Regiment (7) 


GREEN

  • Commander of the Field Army: Altan Baatar Kahn
  • Faction: Warlord Chinese
  • Army: The Red Horde
  • Base of Operations: Lung-Hu
  • Other Cities: Wurumchi, Sui-Pei, Bashkent, Driutsek
  • Resource Points: 42
  • Field Army:15
  • Heavy Infantry Battalion (10)
  • Heavy Infantry Battalion (9)
  • Infantry Battalion (12)
  • Infantry Battalion (12)
  • Cavalry (8)
  • Artillery (12)
  • Tank (11) 


LIGHT BLUE

  • Commander of the Field Army: Win-Cao Lo-Fat, The Most Illustrious Beacon of Celestial Light and Commander of the Arm of Earthly Might
  • Faction: Warlord Chinese
  • Army: The Illustrious Arm of the Nine Illuminated Terrestrial Immortals 
  • Base of Operations: Wei-Li
  • Other Cities: Ching-Ho, Ulaan-Goom, Pyrohy, Holopchi, Kubassa
  • Resource Points: 11
  • Field Army:
  • 1st Heavy Infantry Battalion (12)
  • 2nd Heavy Infantry Battalion (13) 
  • 3rd Infantry Battalion (12)
  • 4th Infantry Battalion (13)
  • Cavalry Regiment (13)
  • Artillery Regiment (14)
  • Tank Regiment (11)


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Saturday, April 1, 2023

February and March Games

I felt like I didn't play a lot of games in February (and was feeling tired...) so I didn't end up posting a regular, monthly February Games post, figuring March would be much the same and I'd combine the two... Then I played more games in March, so there's a bit here!? 

Sunday, 5 February 2023

Kicking off the month - one game of One-Hour Wargames for the Back of Beyond Campaign. You can read more about that here: 

Back of Beyond Campaign - Summer 1918


Saturday, 11 February 2023

While i HAD been playing a fair amount  of miniature games for the Back of Beyond Campaign... I hadn't board games with the family in over a month. Saturday afternoon I cleared off the kitchen table so we could play some games while Finnegan was running his D&D game in the basement game room. 

Initially I'd suggested Codenames and/or Kingdom Builder - both of which are fairly quick to play. Keiran suggested ALSO playing Splendor. In the end we just played Codenames... lots and lots of Codenames!?

THE FIRST ROUND - we were playing with the Two-Player Variant with one spymaster and two spies all on the same side and the Opposing side is run by an AI. Here we were the Blue agents and NOT off to a great start... New York and Bridge were out there - right next to each other in the middle of the grid... so I said "Brooklyn"... Amanda and Keiran guessed POLICE!? (because Brooklyn Nine-Nine!?) 

WE all took turns being the Spymaster. 

Keiran did exceptionally well as Spymaster (seriously want to be on THEIR team if ever we played against others!!) 

Though... occasionally they were frustrated by what morons their parents were!?

We ended up playing TEN GAMES of regular Codenames. 

Because apparently that wasn't enough.... 

We even tried mixing Codenames with Codenames: Pictures - and tried the variant with two spymasters and one spy... 

realized just before we started we didn't have enough to make a 5x5 grid... then realized after, that you only use 4x5 for pictures or the hybrid variant... oh well... 

Keiran (blue) was off to a commanding lead... but then I missed a few of their clues and Amanda and caught up and WON!? 

Finally we played one game of JUST Codenames: Pictures. Again, I think Keiran was a bit frustrated by what morons their parents can be. 


Sunday, 12 February 2023

There was one field battle to play for the Autumn 1918 turn of the Back of Beyond campaign. I played it on Sunday afternoon. You can read more about the battle and the season on campaigning here:

Back of Beyond Campaign - Autumn 1918


Saturday, 18 February 2023

Played one quick game of Splendor with Amanda and Keiran, while Finnegan was running his D&D game downstairs. 


Sunday, 26 February 2023

Sunday afternoon, my friend Jasper joined Amanda, Finnegan and me and I tried running them all through making characters for Hellboy the Role-Playing Game. 

I'd gotten really excited about this as I LOVE the Hellboy comics... and made it through the character creation section. I'm not sure we'll ever play, though. Just too damned many rules... I'd love to run a modern supernatural game using FATE or something like that. Might have to have another look at the Dresden Files RPG (which is basically FATE). 


Wednesday, 1 March 2023

I played two quick games of One-Hour Wargames for the Back of Beyond campaign. You can read all about those here:

Back of Beyond Campaign - Spring 1919


Sunday, 5 March 2023

I played a single quick game  of One-Hour Wargames for the Back of Beyond campaign. You can read all about those here:

Back of Beyond Campaign - Summer 1919


Saturday, 11 March 2023

While Finnegan was running his Saturday Evening D&D Game in the basement game room, Amanda and I played a quick game of Kingdom Builder (with elements of the Marshlands expansion). She beat me by ONE POINT! 


Sunday, 12 March 2023

Played the final battles of 1919 for our Back of Beyond Campaign. 

Full report of those actions can be found here:

Back of Beyond Campaign - Autumn 1919


Monday, 20 March 2023

Monday I played two quick games of One Hour Wargames for the Back of Beyond Campaign:

Back of Beyond - Spring 1920


Saturday, 25 March 2023

Friday afternoon I stopped by the Dragon's Den to pick up some paint. It was busier than usual and there were a few people lined up at the till when I'd found my paint, so I took a meander through the boardgame section while I was waiting. I was wondering why I even bothered as I was feeling ZERO need to buy any new games as I have a hard enough time finding time to play the ones I already have and like!? As I happed to walk past the Wingspan games, something caught my eye - a wingspan box that I did not recognize!? Apparently a NEW expansion (that can also be played as a two-player game on it's own) was released sometime last year!? 

I texted a picture to Amanda and she said "BUY IT!?"

So... 

Saturday evening we tried it out! The new "Duet Mode" was interesting - added something a little different to the regular two-player game. More to think about... 

Totally lost... But, hey, I got to play a game with Amanda! Yay!

The unfortunate thing, I realized after the game, was I was so focused on the MECHANICS - what's changed, what's different... that I never even took much notice of THE BIRDS!? I'll have to play it again and take more time to read about the birds and bust out wingsong.


Sunday, 26 March 2023

Sunday Afternoon, my friend Jasper came by and Amanda and I introduced him to Terraforming Mars. While he scooped up most of the Milestones and Awards, he didn''t quite cotton on to the importance of cities and greenery on the surface quite quick enough. I'm pretty sure it'll be a totally different game next time we play! 

In the evening after supper, Amanda suggesed we have another go at Wingspan: Asia. 


Monday, 27 March 2023

I played two quick games of One-Hour Wargames for the Back of Beyond Campaign.

Bolsheviks and Chinese fighting in the West.

Bolsheviks and WEstern Interventionists fighting in the East. 

For a full report of that action:

Back of Beyond - Summer 1920


Tuesday, 28 March 2023

Jasper was back, along with Brent, to play a few games. 

First we played a game of Wingspan. I was really excited because I got the higher point value on two bonus cards by getting four birds out in my last three actions!? Photographer - Birds with colours in their names, and one that required birds that ate fruit (Viticulturist...?) 

And then, because we had some time, we played a quick game of Century Golem

Brent just crushed the two of us, finishing the game with six scoring cards, while Jasper and I only had four!? 

They look so serious in both photos!? We were having a really good time. Maybe Jasper was just concentrating because both games were totally new to him! 


Wednesday, 29 March 2023

One more game of Wingspan: Asia! 


I'd actually arraged to play a game of Xenos Rampant on Thursday with Tim Miller, who I haven't played a miniature game with for AGES.... and then completely forgot until he showed up at my door... Unfortunately I was just starting to make supper for everyone and had not prepared at all for playing... so we had to postpone until next week. But he did hand out for a bit and we got caught up, which was nice. 

Also... I've been spending a RIDICULOUS amount of time playing Star Battles on Puzzle Baron this past month... Which is kind of gaming... 

I was mostly doing the 10x10-2 stars... but occasionally do a 14x14-stars - like this one above (14x14 grid each row, column and colour have to have exactly 3 stars in them!). 

(Because as soon as you finish them they disappear, this screen-shot was taken about four second before I finished, once I realized what had to be moved about to complete it)

I played it SO MUCH so that I ended up being in the top 20 (worldwide) in March... 

Ha-ha! Waaaaaay down in 17th place there... 

It was fun... but I played WAY TOO MANY puzzles to get there. Won't be doing that again! (I mean, trying to compete - I'll still play Star Battles and do Logic Puzzles... just not enough to score enough to place anywhere in the top 20... or even 100!?) 

Amanda has suggested a game of Wingspan: Asia when she got home from work on Friday, but because I'd ended in the top 20, I kind of just wanted to do a few more puzzles to keep my place there. having never done this before, I had no idea how competitive these puzzle-doers were and how many would be on there last minute trying to increase there score. Considering I was a solid SEVENTEEN THOUSAND points ahead of the player in 20th... I probably should have just played Wingspan... 

And that wraps up both March and the First Quarter of 2023.... I'll probably be posting a look back and the Quarter and Second Quarter plans later today or tomorrow! 

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