2018: No Resolutions!

As we enter a new year I would like to take a look at my gaming habits in 2017 and reflect on the state of the blog.

Boardgame Highlights in 2017

One of my struggles as a game collector is finding a multitude of great games but then not actually playing them.  For years I have been interested in the game lines from Starfleet Games, such as Star Fleet Battles and Federation Commander.  Both of those games have free print-and-play demos and I have tried both of them solo.  This year I convinced a friend to try out the Federation Commander demo.  We ran a basic Federation vs. Klingon scenario.  I now own a copy of Star Fleet Battles so my goal for this year is to find an opponent for that game.

Returning to Magic the Gathering was another gaming highlight.  I have always been curious about Magic and I found someone to teach me the game about six years ago.  At that time I had steady opponents.  I played for a few years but them my Magic playing trickled to a drip, and Magic is a game that requires practice in order to be proficient.  In 2017 I started playing more and I even participated in a sealed league, which is a format that was new to me.

Play-by-Mail Highlights in 2017

I continued to experiment with play-by-mail in 2017.  I dropped Duel2, the gladiator combat game run by Reality Simulations.  I enjoy the game, highly recommend it, and will probably return to it again.  I just needed to spend my time and financial resources elsewhere.  I am still playing Hyborian War, a grand strategy wargame in the Conan universe.  Once this current game ends I will sign up for another one.  I have started a science fiction game called Starweb run by Flying Buffalo.   Starweb is an exploration/trading/combat game.  I plan on writing reviews for both Hyborian War and Starweb this year.

Role-Playing Game Highlights of 2017

I was reviewing my rpg plays over at rpggeek.com and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I started 2017 by running a Pathfinder session.  I have wanted to return to Pathfinder as the first time I ran it I didn't feel that I knew enough at the time to make it work as smoothly as it should.  That session ended in a TPK!  I continued to be a player in a D&D 5ed campaign in 2017.  I enjoy playing and I think that every gamemaster needs to play a lot in order to understand gaming better.  However I am definitely getting the urge to run a campaign and I ended the year running a Black Crusade scenario.

Life Highlights of 2017

We moved!  Moving has put some chaos into my life.  We moved into an apartment and my gaming space shrunk.  I have two FLGS in the area, both that have game nights.  I have not been to either game night yet.  I also applied for a job in the tabletop game industry.  I did not get the position, but I did make it to the second round of applicants.  Not bad for someone with no profession game industry experience.

State of the Blog in 2017

I did not write as many entries in 2017 that I would have liked to.  I had 35 posts, which is the 2nd lowest total for a year.  I was hoping to keep up Rolling Wednesday throughout the year.  I thought that posting a picture of dice wouldn't be too hard.  Well, moving really messes up our life and my Rolling Wednesday experiment did not post every Wednesday.  I also failed to make any big changes to the visual look or design of the blog.

No Resolutions!

We are in 2018 and like the title says, I have no resolutions.  My goals are what they always have been, try to play and create more.  I will continue posting to the blog.  I will continue writing reviews.  I am consciously trying to limit my acquisition of game products and enjoy what I already own.  In fact, I have a bunch of unpainted miniatures that I hope to paint soon.  When I do I will post pictures!  Game on!

The Move is Done!

This summer we moved to another state.  I wrote a blog post with some advice on moving a large game collection.  The move is done and I have some more advice.

1.  Do your research!  We went with a broker instead of a regular moving company.  We did this to save money.  In hindsight we would not do this again.  All a broker does is hire a cheap mover to move your stuff.  These cheap movers are often of dubious quality and operate in the grey areas of moving laws and regulations.  I don't think our move would have been perfect if we went with a mainstream company, but I definitely would not use a broker again.

2.  Be prepared for stuff to get messed up!  Before the move I read many articles on how to pack.  They said things like, "Label boxes with fragile tiles TLO for top load only."  I wrote TLO on many boxes.  When the movers showed up they did whatever the hell they wanted.  They ignored labels and put boxes where ever they wanted.  They didn't even have stickers to mark our stuff.  If there is something that is extra-special, take it with you and don't let it go on the truck.

3.  Get heavy duty boxes!  I bought moving boxes from various stores.  When I was at Lowes there were two kinds, regular and heavy duty.  The heavy duty boxes were about double the cost of the regular.  However, they are worth it for keeping your stuff in good condition.  As I stated above, the movers threw boxes into the truck with no regard for what was in them.  Almost all of the regular boxes were sunken in by the end of the move.  This resulted in some bent books and game boxes.  The few heavy duty boxes that I bought kept their integrity.

You could say that the Axis got "crushed."  Despite the battered box all of the game components were unharmed and are in playable condition.

Moving is rough.  Next time I have to move I will do things differently.  Now we are set up in our new place and are in the process of adjusting to our new lives.  Hopefully when things are more settled I can post more.  Game on!