Year in Review - 2016

Let's Review

So what happened in 2016? Here are a few highlights:

I began the year with my Aetheria campaign - large scale air combat in a 1930s style imagi-nation.

Destruction of Lucranian defenses at Mount Branson

But I struggled with getting the rules to feel right. As a result, the campaign stalled. I then began toying with ideas for skirmish gaming. I experimented with the rules using a virtual board. The rules work well and I went on a big skirmish kick. The highlight was a series of scenarios with my sci-fi secret agent duo, Kate and Kip.

Kate and Kip (coming from the left) take on smugglers

 I moved their adventures to my Tales of the Templars blog, setting a record for most posts on there in a year.

I also experimented with virtual boards for standard wargames. Useful in a pinch but not as satisfying as miniatures.

A horse & musket battle in Francesia

 In May, I discovered Ganesha's excellent new dungeon crawl game - Four Against Darkness. I went on a 4AD kick for a few months.

4AD's cover

 Alas, 4AD does not need miniatures. As a result, I don't really have any pictures.

By the way, I dug up an old reenacting photo. This is from Gettysburg in '98. I'm the middle rear soldier.

Union soldiers at Gettysburg

 Late in the year, I returned to miniatures, thanks to Magister Militum's awesome 3mm range. Here is a battle in my fantasy campaign.

Sir Dennis defends Anarendor from the minions of evil

 I then picked up some of Germy's 2mm sci-fi miniatures.

Defending Zirconia from the robot invaders

My father broke his hip just before Thanksgiving, which has limited my gaming since then. He's home now, but the holidays have intruded. However, I am making plans for the Six by Six Challenge.

Prognostications Review
I was a bit reticent in making predictions for 2016 but I did lay out a few guesses. How well did I do?

• Family Game Night - We play nearly every weekend. Elizabeth has become a real board game aficionado. Lately, she's been watching Dice Tower and even told me that she prefers board to video games!
• 3mm - I definitely love small scales and started two projects late in the year. For larger actions (as opposed to skirmish), I'm definitely a 3mm guy.
• GADD - I never know what period I'll get into and it showed. In January, I never expected that I would have done so many skirmish games.
• One Hour Wargames - The versatility of its scenarios is breathtaking. For example, this space battle is scenario # 30.