Still catching up, in retrospect, I have played a lot less this year than I wanted to, and a lot less than I could have. It's felt like a bit of a limbo experience.
I basically went into hermit mode in 2020, and played online. I quite enjoyed meeting players from all over and playing games I wanted to play, rather than compromising and playing what the locals were prepared to play. But then everyone decided Covid was over, face to face play resumed, online play fell off, and I was left unsure of whether to go back into smaller halls and take the risk.
It was also apparent that there were plenty of folk around who were completely cavalier about Covid and would happily tell you they had had it four times, and were certainly not social distancing or being careful not to infect others, showing up at events and shows, or inviting folk around to play even when they were infected.
Given I'm in a vulnerable category, I'm not keen to expose myself to those risks. So I have 'popped in' to the club, 'popped in' to shows, but haven't wanted to sit down for hours over a table in a crowded environment. So this year, it's mainly been my mate 'popping' round for a game at my place.
This Years Games...
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| Chain of Command - 28mm set in Normandy |
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| Sharp Practice II - 28mm American War of Independence |
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| Undaunted Stalingrad, we played through the whole campaign |
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| Without a doubt, the best Boardgame I have played |
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| Chain of Command - Far East |
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| Very simple terrain for the Vinegar Hill campaign |
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| Iron Cross - 10mm Middle East |
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| Undaunted Battle of Britain |
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| Couldn't help myself, 3d printed aircraft for Undaunted |
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| Chain of Command - More Normandy action |
In addition to these, I played some Black Powder with Martin, not my favourite set of rules, but it does keep things cracking along to a rapid conclusion. We also played 7 Days to the River Rhine in 10mm which I quite liked.
Good to see you back in action, Doug! Remote gaming during COVID lockdowns revolutionized the number of games I play.
ReplyDeleteWhile some are reducing their remote gaming footprint, many others remain to join into the Zoom battles. This year, I will play the most games ever by reaching 100 games played. The vast majority were played remotely.
Thanks Jonathan. I only wish I had invites to 100 remote games! Perhaps the answer is for me to try and get set up to host a game for others. I suspect that to get interest, I would have to be playing something a bit different than encounter battles or published campaigns. Bears thinking about. Enjoy your gaming, glad to have you commenting.
DeleteGood to see you back in the saddle, sounds like you’ve had a fairly crazy time but hopefully all that behind you now. I too played through the Undaunted Stalingrad campaign this year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The system is simple and has a few abstractions but presents some great tactical challenges.
ReplyDeleteGood to be back too! Glad you are commenting, and hopefully that means you are fully recovered from Covid. My observation on Undaunted Stalingrad is that it is best thought of as a highly structured narrative table top game. We played it through very quickly. I'm almost tempted to try doing the 'equivalent' as a series of Chain of Command games.
DeleteGreat mix of games. I played the first scenario of Undaunted: S a few weeks ago. Fully agree that the Undaunted series is excellent.
ReplyDeleteClosest thing to a tabletop figures game without the rules volumes of ASL. Hopefully it has broad appeal and is a bit of a gateway to figure games... part of the attraction is it doesn't take ages to set up and pack away, unlike figure games.
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