Well, that’s November over and done with! I can’t believe we’re so close now to the new year – time really does seem to have sped up as this year went on. Although there is always the possibility that I’m just getting old. I hear time moves quickly when that happens…
For me, November has been so much about board and card games, much more so than in previous months this year. Heck, more so than in previous years! I’ve really had a renaissance here, and it’s been fantastic. For most of the first couple of weeks, I was back heavily into Lord of the Rings LCG, and started to finally explore the Saga boxes. As the month went on, though, more significant board games made an appearance, including my old favourite, Runebound! I talk about this one a lot because it’s one that looms large in my gaming history: it isn’t something that I would say I’ve played a massive amount, but it’s one that has brought me so much joy over the years. I used to enjoy it immensely back when it was new, and while I don’t suppose that many folks would be interested in it these days, as it does seem like a bit of a throwback by today’s standards, I still love it immensely.
I’ve been playing all sorts though, from A Touch of Evil to Marvel Champions, and at the start of this week I completed the Edge of the Earth campaign for Arkham Horror LCG. It’s been very fruitful, for sure!!
Marvel Champions is interesting to me, because it’s a game that I got into very recently but also quite heavily, playing a lot mainly in August. But it seemed to wane for a bit, and it’s only really in the last week that I’ve come back to it. I do really enjoy it, and I’m planning to get a couple more expansions between Christmas and my birthday, so I’ll have some more exciting content to explore. It’s interesting, of course, because I can’t really say that I’m that big a Marvel fan – not enough to want to collect up all the card game stuff, anyway! But the game has definitely dragged me back in, regardless, and I’ve been enjoying my time with it once more. I think it’s significant that this is a fairly light game, when compared with Arkham Horror LCG, so doesn’t really take up the same amount of headspace. You can just shuffle up and play, and I really like that about it. I think I’ve become too accustomed to stuff like Arkham, or even Lord of the Rings, where it doesn’t feel right to just have pick-up games, instead you need to invest in the campaign. I certainly wouldn’t play Arkham the way I play Marvel, that’s for sure!
I’m hoping to have more coverage of Marvel Champions on the blog, going forward, as I get more to grips with it all, and stuff. Watch this space!
In terms of hobby, then, things have been much quieter. I have been on a bit of a Necromunda bender, getting so much stuff built up and primed ready for the winter, it should be fun seeing all this stuff come to fruition! I’m really impressed with the latest out-of-the-blue release, the promethium refinery tanks! These things really are quite innocuous, but they look somehow really great, and I think they’ll look awesome with the Ash Wastes board. Of course, they’d also work really nicely with the Sector Mechanicus stuff, providing an interesting stepping-stone up to the taller structures. Hopefully I’ll be able to prime these up soon as well, as I don’t think they’ll take that long to actually paint…
Of course, I’ve also been hard at work on the Ash wastes Nomads, and they’re almost done now – I just need to do the odd finishing touches, really. They’re beautiful models, with incredible depth of detail to them – once I was over the initial dread of painting them, they seem to have come along really nicely!
I’ve also been able to get all of the scenery from the Ash Wastes box painted, in a surprise move that I honestly wasn’t expecting! I mean, I was hoping that it would be quick, but it actually only took me three evenings in total, maybe 6 hours’ work! Very impressive stuff, for sure! It does look rough and ready, of course, and I’m thinking that just adds to the idea that the stuff is out there in the wastes and whatnot. Plus, I don’t want it to detract too much from the models as we play games.
Now, laying it all out like that does make me realise (a) how small my dining table is for gaming, and (b) just how wide open the board actually is. While it’s true that it needs an element of open ground for all of the vehicle combat, I do feel as though it could use some more, whether that’s more of the hab units or walkways, or if I go with adding stuff like the promethium tanks and the stuff like we had in Kill Team Moroch, the sensor stuff and landing pad. It just feels a bit too open for me, if I’m honest, and I don’t think that adding a few armoured containers will cut it!!
However, that has pretty much been it for me so far this month! I suppose while ordinarily my time would be spent painting much more, this time I’ve been playing much more. I did mention this the other day – without making it a task or chore, I do want to try and play much more regularly in 2023, and have been thinking about the old 10×10 idea that was popular on boardgamegeek about 6-7 years ago. The idea is to pick ten games from your collection, and commit to playing them ten times each, which sounds ridiculously easy for a year, but had proven to elude me in the years I tried it! Now, I’ve looked at what I’ve been doing this year, and there are only three games that have been played ten times or more, each one an LCG. But planning to do this from January, rather than attempting to retroactively do so from November, should be an easier task, I’m thinking! You’ll probably be able to guess which games I’m planning to include in my 2023 mission, but you’ll have to wait another month or so before I reveal those plans!
I can’t believe there’s only one month to go before we’re in another new year. Let’s try to make sure it’s an absolute blast though!!
spalanz.com 
Yeah, the New Year will be here soon enough, no need to rush it!
I bit the bullet and ordered a set of Ash Waste Nomads to add to my Renegades & Heretics army. Looking forward to them joining the force.
That’s a good call, they should fit right in to that crowd!