A bit earlier than normal, but somehow it seemed appropriate, given that today is the Winter Solstice, to look back on 2025 and what I've been up to, or not, as the case maybe.
Rules Bought
War of the Roses Supplement for Hail Caeser II.
At least I sort of achieved my goal of not buying any new rules this year, given that the sole purchase was a supplement. A fine book and with plenty of good ideas within it it, expanding on the relatively small section in the main rules. Not all the ideas have been 'well received', but then as wargamers we all have our own take on periods and how to reflect them in game play.
Wargaming Books Bought
The American Civil War by John Keegan
Richard III and the Battle of Bosworth by Mike Ingram
The Military Campaigns of the Wars of the Roses by Charles Haigh
Vassily Grossman: A Writer At War
Sword Beach: The Untold Story
Graham Turner Art book
Black Tuesday by Al Murray
With The Old Breed
Osprey Iwo Jima
Osprey Tarawa
Osprey Guadalcanal
Max Hastings: Nemesis
Saul David: Crucible of Hell (Okinawa)
Operation Sealion (Richard Cox)
Anzio: Lloyd Clark
American Civil War Sourcebook
Tank Battles in Miniature - volumes 1-3
The Crimean War - Peter Royle
Invasion of Malta
British Defences 1940
Osprey Cassino
Osprey Anzio
Osprey Gustav Line
Panzer Battles: von Mellanthin
I did try to limit the amount of books bought this year, but rather failed somewhat! In my defence, my family knows I love books, so these tend to be my default presents, hence planty of tomes arrived this year. The main themes, if one could call them that, were The War of the Roses, The Pacific in WWII and mainland Italy 1943-45. Obviously there were others, but these were the periods that piqued my interest, especially with plans to game them in the next year or two, all being well.
Miniatures Bought
MDF rivers from Pendraken
6mm Battlescale Buildings
Hs123 1/72nd Airfix kit
Vendee Uprising figures
1:100 diecast Grumman Wildcat
1:100 diecast Mitsubishi Zero Zen
1:100 diecast Sabre
1:100 diecast Mig
8th Army/Burma
Cold War AFVs
MDF fences
Misc WWII AFVs
Compared to the books above, I was much more restrained on the figures front, mainly adding to existing forces, as and when their time comes to join the painting queue etc. With the lead pile a constant nagging in the back of my mind, not adding to it too much was a blessed relief compared to previous years. For once no major 'projects' appearing, rather more fleshing out some exisiting ones, or at least maybe I'm just kidding myself;)! More on this later.
Miniatures Painted
10mm 'Aliens' film style critters and friends
10mm Generic 18thC - 19thC Civilians
10mm Photographer, Reporter & Camera
Fokker Triplane aka 'The Maltese Falcon'
WWII Germans
6mm Commission Figurines Infantry
A bit more of a productive year than last, which frankly wouldn't be hard to beat if I'm honest. But with all the usual 'real World' issues, alongside the sunniest Spring and hottest Summer on record, at times it was simply impossible to paint, unless you liked it drying on your brush! So overall not bad but, more on this later.
Terrain
Small scenic items (ie crates, barrels etc).
Normandy Bunker
Rivers
Given I have plenty of terrain already, there wasn't much need to focus on anything really, but I was happy I persevered and finished off the new river sections I bought from Pendraken. Plenty of BUA's are currently a work in progress, but motivation fell by the wayside as the year drew to a close. Something to focus on in the New Year for sure.
Projects
R&P campaign
BKCII Canadian in Normandy
A pretty good year campaigns wise, in the fact that I actually started and finished one and am half way, or thereabout, through another one, namely the Canadian's in Normandy. By far and away the most satisfying way to play games I find, from the initial ideas, through the research, planning, painting and finally the game itself. As mentioned before, the narrative approach works perfectly for me, with little need for the very detailed approach that some enjoy. The aim is to much more of the same in 2026.
Games Played
The Men Who Would Be Kings - 2
Rebels & Patriots - 5
Honours of War - 4
Hail Caesar! - WotR - 4
BKCII - 4
Abensbery to Wagram - 1
Black Powder II - 3
Startline - 2
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| Europe 1848 - R&P |
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| Das Wiener Schnitzel Kreig - R&P - Game 1 |
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| Das Wiener Schnitzel Kreig - R&P- Game 2 |
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| Das Weiner Schnitzel Kreig - R&P - Game 3 |
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| Das Weiner Schnitzel Kreig - R&P - Game 4 |
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| Honours of War - 4Play |
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| Honours of War - 4Play Part II |
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| The Wars of the Roses |
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| BKCII - Normandy 1944 |
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| Honours of War - OHW Scenario 18: Counter-Attack |
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| Honours of War - OHW Scenario 19: Blow From The Rear |
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| BKCII - Normandy 1944 |
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| The Battle of Eckmuhl 1809 |
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| Black Powder II - OHW Scenario 20: Fighting Retreat |
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| Black Powder II - CWD Trial Napoleonic Scenario |
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| BPII - Cotswold Wargames Day Show Game |
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| Western Desert 1941 - BKCII Trial Game |
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| Startline - Ruhr Pocket, March 1945 |
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| BKCII - Normandy 1944 |
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| Startline - March 1945 |
Well I'm very happy with 25 games played this year, from small solo actions to quite larger multi-player ones, all of which have been very enjoyable. Having the dedicated games room has certainly helped, as there is no rush to set up, play the game and take it all down in one day. Having the luxury to set things up at my leisure is a real bonus and I know how lucky I am. Hopefully at least the same next year, but time will tell of course.
Spend
Terrain - £55.00 approx
Books - £140.00 approx
Figures - £200.00 approx
Aircraft - £45.00 approx
Paints - £17.00
Rules - £20.00
Always interesting and at times, rather salutary, to keep a tab on your spend, with the end of year total sometimes coming as a surprise (or shock!). I see most of the purchases as worthwhile longterm investments, in the fact that they will get plenty of use over the years and with respect to the figures, not sit in a bag for years and years, awaiting their time in the sun. Compared to other hobbies, a piffling amount I'm sure and, if in 28mm, well, I'm not sure what this could buy you, especially if it was GW;)! And of course they have made me happy, which at the end of the day is what it's all about.
Shows Attended
Partizan
IPMS Avon Show
Colours
Cotswold Wargames Day
A very good year on the shows front, with once again Partizan being the real highlight. I know it's a long day for me, given the distance to travel, but it is well worth it and maybe next year I might book an overnight stop so I can spend more time at the show. The on;ly downside, is that the show is very much a victim of its own success, making it rather too crowded to be a truly enjoyable experience. Hopefully the same shows will be attended in 2026 and this time, I might be able to bump into more Blog followers, which would be great.
End of Year Thoughts
Upon reflection, I think 2025 was a pretty good year for me. As always rather patchy and somewhat stop-start, but in those periods of activity it was very, very enjoyable. Even when gaming was halted for whatever reason, book reading and games planning was always going on in the background.
Looking Forward to 2026
So what are my plans and ideas for the New Year? Some thoughts below:
- The Lead Pile. I have finally made the long overdue decision, to off load those projects that in all honesty are unlikely to ever see the light of day, and to focus on those that I really enjoy and I know I will get lots of game time over the years. Broadly they are WWII British, Germans, Italians, Russians, along with my 18thC & 19thC Imagi-Nations forces and a sort of Glorious Revolution forces too for that 'Pike & Shotte' hit. This has been very cathartic and so far has certainly re-invigorated my painting and gaming ideas on the WWII front, but more on that in due course.
- Campaigns. With regard to the above, I'm currently focussing on some France 1940 and Italy 1943-1944 ideas, along with some possible Balkans 1941 action. Units are being prepared for all of these and once Xmas is out of the way, hopefully some focussed painting sessions will allow things to kick of in a good way. Not forgetting of course the need to finish my 'Canadians in Normandy' campaign, which is part and parcel of this too.
- Terrain. I want to finish of the BUA's that I started a few months ago, as they will be needed for the campaigns as well as one off games. Other than that, maybe some more fields to give some more variety to the look of my games.
- Core Rules. Really building upon my approach this past year of not buying new rules and sticking with those ones that I really enjoy and love playing. For me these are BKCII, Honours of War and Black Powder II. Alongside these will be more from the Warlord Games stable and Dan Mersey too. Aside from not constantly having to refer to a rulebook, I find the familiarity helps with the design and planning of a scenario, from the OOB to the terrain and the actual scenario itself. I might keep other rulebooks for some useful ideas, but they might be offloaded too in the same vein as the surplus lead figures.
- Blogging. After a few years where I did wonder whether the time and effort put in was worth it, given the at times paucity of responses, this year I felt much more positive about Blogs and aim to continue for many years to come. After all I enjoy many other Blogs so hopefully others will enjoy my modest output too. Whilst I do watch a few Vlogs, I just wish those who do Vlog would revert back to Blogging, as the former take too long to watch and digest, compared to the latter. I doubt this will happen given the income generation via Youtube of Vlogs:(.
So that's it. I hope you enjoyed thus mini-review and as always, any comments are greatly appreciated.
It just remains for myself to wish you and yours a Very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!
TTFN.
Seems like a good year, and I certainly enjoy reading your blog, Steve!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good year overall I think, certainly when looking back on what was achieved. Glad you enjoy my posts!
DeleteYou’ve certainly achieved a heck of a lot in ‘25 Steve - waaayyy more than me.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy reading your blog and looking at the pics of your beautifully painted figures and lovely terrain. You’ve set the bar very high.
For me ‘26 will be a push to get my library-cum-wargames room finished and properly organised. I can only dream it looks anywhere as nice as your set-up.
I hope you and your family have a very merry Christmas and let’s raise a glass to the forthcoming year.
Cheers,
Geoff
Thanks Geoff! Compared to others, my efforts pale in comparison, but it is always good to see what other gamers are up to. I'm glad you enjoy the visual look of my games, as this is very important for me, as well as showing what you can achieve in the smaller scales. Fingers crossed you can get your library-cum-games room finished in 2026. Given the small space I have, it wasn't difficult to do, especially as all the storage was relocated from the living room,
DeleteI too am glad you continue to blog Steve. Even though there's hardly any crossover in periods that we game, I find your posts interesting and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris:). I enjoy your posts too, even though we have limited crossover with regards to periods, there is always something of interest in some shape or form, with your current campaign plan a case in point.
DeleteExcellent year-end summary post, Steve, but you fellas getting your year-end wrap ups in before Christmas are really pushing the boundaries. A lot of activities can get squeezed into these last ten days of the year.
ReplyDeleteSo much to comment and I am a little at a loss to know where to begin. For now, just let me say that I am pleased to see that this year has altered your outlook on blogging and your continuation, thereof. Great news for me! I enjoy following your activities very much. Now, what happened this year to cause a turn-around in your thinking about blogging? I agree that vlogs hold little interest (or attention) to me. I much prefer savoring the written word. Much easier for me to formulate a comment too. Here's to 2026, Steve!
Thanks Jon! This year the house is full until nearly the end of the year, so all the rooms are being used for their intended purposes, so no chance for any gaming related activities at all. Even finding a quiet time to read is proving a challenge!
DeleteOn the Blogging front, I think I just didn't pressurise myself into posting regularly, which I had been doing before, which was nice and frankly long overdue. Also stepping back more from social media recently has meant that I enjoy reading others Blogs much more, as I was spending too much time in front of the screen, rather than doing other gaming related stuff or my other hobbies too. Alongside this it gives me an outlet on the hobby front, which is very welcome, given that I'm a full-time parent carer and mainly solo wargamer, so social activities are somewhat limited.
Looks like a very good year! I think next year might be a year for winnowing down my own leadpile and tightening my focus on my preferred periods of play even more than I have in 2025 as well. Tracking expenditures might be a solid kick in the pants but probably worth it. Merry Christmas to you as well!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill:)! As mentioned in previous posts, a few of my gaming chums feel the same about their leadpiles, with an aim to really focus on periods that they enjoy. Recently this has certainly been a boon for me as it has reinvigorated my gaming of late. Tracking expenditure was a chance thing, based upon what other Bloggers do and as well as actually seeing what I spend with regards to the WSS survey.
DeleteWell done on not buying any new rules. Focussing on the periods and rules you enjoy seems like a sensible plan for the future.
ReplyDeleteAll very sensible for sure Peter, and long overdue if I'm honest!
DeleteA super look at your 2025, a very enjoyable read and glad you have continued with your blog as I enjoy it a lot, so here's to many more posts! All the best for the forthcoming festivities!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie and glad you enjoy my musings etc:).
DeleteVery good year sir!
ReplyDeleteI really like coming here and reading new entries!
Thanks Michal and glad you enjoy popping along to see what I'm waffling on about!
DeleteAlways interesting to read an annual summary and compare and contrast with ones own journey. This is always a gentle process as we all have such different aims and experiences within the wealth of the hobby. I wish you well for '26
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas
Stephen
It is interesting to see what other gamers have been up to over the past year for sure Stephen. The broad church that is our hobby always has something to offer, even if it is not within our core periods, which is one of its great pleasures for me and others I'm sure.
DeleteYou had a good year mate and I for one would miss you if you stopped blogging. Don’t make me the last blogger to turn off the lights!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good year overall I think Mark. Certainly I felt much more positive about my gaming than in previous years. I'm glad you enjoy my posts and currently, the Blogging light switches are firmly glued in the on position;)!
DeleteThanks very much for the posts this year. And an interesting summary - as you say, plenty of books to keep you busy.
ReplyDeleteThe areas of focus look strong - those chosen periods could keep you gaming forever!
I am strongly in agreement about the advantages of somewhere you can leave permanently set-up: I have had to lose mine for some of this year and it has really impacted on my own game playing.
You're very welcome John and certainly loads of reading material, which is of course rather nice:)! With WWII, there is just sooooo much to game out there, that I think we can only scratch the surface. Currently I have at least 3 periods/campaigns flaoting round in my head and being scribbled into note books.
DeleteLosing my room for Xmas makes you realise how lucky we are to have a dedicated space. Even if I don't have a game set up, I can disappear up there to read, plan stuff etc. I hope you get yours back at the earliest opportunity.
Hi Steve a good read and points that I think will strike a chord with many readers. Agree that the Wars of the Roses supplement by WG is a very nice presentation and taken together with the ‘To Kill a King’ supplement (ECW) gives us a host of British battles.
ReplyDeleteYou could have titled this post ‘A year of great looking tables’. :-)
Many thanks for your very kind words Norm:)! I think many of us seem to have been having similar thoughts this year, based upon other Blogs and chatting with fellow gamers too.
DeleteA lot of significant positives from 2025, Steve. Really pleased for you. Plus, a number of interesting reflections which have me thinking as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard:)! Always good to get a chance to have a ponder about our wonderful hobby, as I know other Blogs often get me to a thinking as they say.
DeleteNice round up. Some nice looking tables
ReplyDeleteThanks and glad you enjoyed the look of my games:).
DeleteGreat stuff Steve and plenty going on, the most important thing is you are enjoying your hobby. I too am planning to get to Partizan again in May so hopefully see you there. If you find yourself in the North do let me know. My only criticism ………..is keeping a record of your spending, oh dear I’m not starting that habit 😂
ReplyDeleteThis year I certainly seemed to enjoy our great hobby much more than in recent years, which is of course a very good thing! It would be great to meet up at Partizan again, along with other gamers-cum-Bloggers too. My spend pales in comparison to others, but then 10mm is much cheaper than 28mm for sure. I don't think I would want to do a comparison of what this year would equate to in 28mm;)!
DeleteAn excellent hobby year on all fronts Steve! Impressive game total and concentration on core periods. As you say, the dedicated games room makes all the difference! Have a grand Christmas and a great new year!
ReplyDeleteThanks David:)! Certainly the most positive year gaming wise I've had for quite sometime. Hopefully I'm getting gaming, other hobbies and real life demands into a nice balance moving forward...
DeleteQuite an impressive list! It's been a pleasure reading your blog, I look forward to more - and I agree, I prefer reading blogs to watching vlogs. Interesting to see your list of expenditure - not something many will admit to!
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a great Xmas!
Thanks David and glad you've enjoyed my posts this year:)! The expenditure thing I did just to see how much I actually spent compared to my guestimate for the WSS survey. Unsurprisingly I was rather off, but not in a good way;).
DeleteI admire your organisational and record keeping skills to be able to post such a detailed summary of your achievements. Hope 2026 will be as productive for you! I was particularly interested in your comments on Blogs vs Vlogs - I like producing the latter but they are so much more time consuming to produce, as well as to watch others. On balance I think I will stick to blogging apart from end of year reviews - if your disorganised as I am this is the easiest way to capture everything!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ralph! In fact it's quite easy in the sense that I just use the same template each year, and add info or photos as I go along. Then it's just a case of writing the end of the year bit for each section and an overall reflection.
DeleteI think Blogs or Vlogs, it's what works best for you. I do remember on Vlogger who used to Blog doing a piece to camera setting how long it took to produce a 15 minute video, which was around 4 hours IIRC!!! So why not just write a post that would probably take 30-60 minutes based upon the content of the video?
Another excellent year of wargaming Steve -I too look forward to much more of the same in the coming twelve-month! Happy New Year to you and yours
ReplyDeleteThanks Keith:)! Come Monday the house is back to normal as it were, so I'm hoping to make some progress and a post or two on plans for this year. Happy New Year to you and yours too!
DeleteHi Steve
ReplyDeleteA very belated ‘thank you’ for this fine review of a productive year. Your blog always has interesting posts, and some inspirational terrain in the battle reports.
I think a review like this of a year’s hobbying is handy, as it reminds you of all the stuff you forgot you’d done / models you made / games you played / books you read. So in that respect, it can be very beneficial indeed.
On the ‘tracking purchases’ front, I tried the same a few years ago, nudged by the podcasters on the Hobby Support Group podcast (Lundin-based folks…). It was quite revelatory, and made me focus on ‘needs’ a tad more than ‘wants’, though I haven’t kept it up. Their spends were quite scary, each month, but they had GW tendencies, which are inclined to double the price relative to other wargaming, perhaps. Personally, I just used it as a reminder of where my hobby focus might be drifting to. Ultimately, as long as you’re not spending the housekeeping money on toys I guess you have the balance about right.🙂.
Anyways, I’m bangin’ on a bit, so I’ll wrap there.
Hope your 2026 has plenty of rewarding hobby-related highlights.
All the best.
Martin
Glad you enjoyed it Martin:). It is interesting taking the time to record this sort of info and then reflect upon at year end, or at least it is for me! It has certainly given me food for thought for 2026, but more on that in another post.
DeleteMy spend palls into insignificance compared to others within the hobby, even those not buying GW stuff. The 'needs' versus 'wants' is a very good way of putting it and so far this year, even only 6 days in, this has been tested on the book front, but so far I've been good;).