Review of 2017

   Well, it's that time of year again. For those of you still following, if you haven't noticed a distinct downward trend over the past year or two, I'm surprised. Still, while 2017 was not the best year I've ever had in regards to my Victorian Science Fiction gaming, there was a bright spot.

   The biggest thing for me this year was running a convention game. I did this once at Historicon, several years ago, in 15mm using the Battles by GASLIGHT rules. That was an okay experience, but not a rousing success. I do recall that a few of my minis went missing afterwards as well, and several pieces of terrain were damaged in shipping. Both of these incidents soured me somewhat on running a convention game. But, I decided to try once more, this time at a much more local convention, MillenniumCon, back in November. I used the In Her Majesty's Name rules, and cards for the individual model types. It went well, and I got some very useful feedback on the game for possible future conventions. Plus, I finally got the Quadcycle on the table!

   I'm a bit perturbed at what's happening with Dystopian Wars, as well. I played in two games of DW at Historicon back in July, and had a good time. And then the bombshell: Spartan Games went out of business. I know a new company has picked up the IP, but from what I see heading out of their shop... well, I'm not as excited about it as I would like to be. Time will tell. 

   On the painting front, virtually nil in VSF, and little enough in other genres. I can't recall painting a single figure that was specifically for a VSF game. I did manage work on one of the pair of very nice Martian Skiffs I got from Red Vectors. Just needs a bit of finishing work to be done.

   The only terrain pieces I worked on were some nice desert building bits for SAGA that I used for the convention game. They were already colored, all I had to do was assemble and paint the white foam edges. Took a day. The latter third of the year was eaten up by a hurricane, of course (darn you, Harvey!), but still, that level of lack of progress is daunting. Granted, I am working on a few other projects now, most especially some forces for a Bolt Action ruled Very British Civil War.

   So, what about this new year, eh? Well, if we get moved into the new house by end of February, I hope to have my stuff sorted. That would let me work on a few projects that are currently packed away in boxes. I think blog-wise, that I would like to post at least six polls this year, something I haven't done in ages. In fact, I think I will post one today, just to get the ball rolling. So please vote on it.

   Anyway, thanks to any and all who still follow this blog. It's not totally moribund. I just have moved the significant focus of my gaming away from VSF for now. If you want to see a bit more of my wit (the half I have) and wisdom (or lack thereof), I post more frequently on my general gaming blog, The Scattergun Gamer.

Cheers, and happy New Year!