So we've hit January 6th and the Christmas decorations should be down if they were ever up in the first place, the Christmas Radio Times is in the bin, the last of the chocolates used up and things are starting to feel properly like January with all the fog, rain and gloom that that implies. Nice upbeat start to the new year there.
And yet, 2013 feels like a year of possibilities. If 2012 was the year in which the wargaming community collectively went nuts about Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and every company felt it had to crowd source the funding for something, even if it was just their new Kitchen, then 2013 ought to be the year in which a million projects come to fruition.
Of course, to some extent we are already there, Dreadball, Sedition Wars and Zombicide have already made into the shops, but there is still a great deal to come, from Kings of War goodies, to new Bushido models, to Relic Knights, Reaper Bones and a whole bunch of things to which I wasn't paying much attention. So this year should be a fantastic boom time for new miniatures and games.
Either that or it will all be a tremendous flop and we will learn a valuable lesson about not having hope or faith in anything.
Not that the boom is over yet. Rick Priestly and co have just launched the Beyond the Gates of Antares Kickstarter. It's hard to know what to make of this. Other than some nice illustrations, a few bits of background and a list of gaming noteworthies associated with the project we really don't have much to go on. This is apparently the plan however, as the aim is for the players to co-develop the universe and for it to be based around the games we actually play, using the Internet to have players games impact the development of the game Universe in a measurable way.
This is all quite interesting, but I can't help but be a touch sceptical about mixing an online concept with an inherently traditional physical game. Can analogue and digital concepts mesh comfortably? This will be one to watch, though I may still through a few quid at the Kickstarter based on Rick Priestly's name alone.
Turning to myself, if I have an overarching plan for the year, then its to try and be more focused. 2012 was characterised by much activity to only limited effect. I got a lot of models painted, not to mention scenery, acquired a whole new bunch of stuff and yet used very little of it in an actual game. My Inquisitor warbands remain nicely painted (by my standards) in a cabinet, but unused, while the gaming I did do was either with largely unpainted models (Warhammer, Kings of War, Warpath) or with games that don't need painted models at all (Last Night on Earth, Small World, Ticket to Ride).
With that in mind, I have set myself a concrete goal, and only one concrete goal. I will finish painting my Chaos Dwarf army, after leaving it unpainted for nearly twenty years, make some scenery and a new gaming table appropriate for it and actually play a game. I have already made a good start, my Chaos Dwarf warriors and Blunderbusses are done, as is my Iron Daemon and my Bull Centaurs are well underway. Pictures soon, promise.
More important than the goal, however, is my approach to it. This time I will fix on this goal, set no others until its done and not allow myself to be distracted by any other wargaming projects until then. I can play games, even buy new stuff, but no new painting or building until the Chaos Dwarfs are ready.
I really mean it this time, I'm confident I will hold until at least February. And you can hold me to that.
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