Some quick thoughts.

 I have some time to post and should update what Im doing.

 Basically its losing. Nothing new there really. John and I attempt to get one battle a week and we alternate between Midguard using John's lovely armies. Pillage and then Hail Caesar or Black Powder. 

Isn't it strange how we now speak of rule mechanisms as defining our wargames, as opposed to actual periods?   There was a time it would be 25mm or 28mm Napoleonics or some such thing but now its the actual rules, and nothing wrong with that, especially when the rules really add to the games.

John recently completed painting our Epic armies for the War of Independence. This was actually the one game I've won. Being a rebel, I naturally opted for the American revolutionaries. The new tweaked Black Powder rules in the Epic sets are very good.I'm not certain about their recommended general ratings but I did like the Washington rules regarding his inconsistent generalship, but its all subjective, look at the Emperor and his off days.

Last week I chose to fight the Wars of the Roses using Midguard. God was that bloody, and yes, I lost again. It didn't matter because it was such an enjoyable game, and that's the crux. Play hard and enjoy it.

In an effort to take up the brushes again, I purchased an unpainted 3d chess set in the hope it would kick-start things. The pieces, loosely based on Vikings, are beautiful and crying out for a decent paint job. The more 3D becomes established, the more I realise that metal is becoming the choice of more mature wargamers whilst younger ie under 50, are happy with all types of materials.I still like metal to be honest, but I marvel at the quality of plastic and the new resins. 

One thing very noticeable is that the trends are for smaller games that take only a few hours to play. Again Ive no issue with that, especially when the game is really enjoyable. John and I still tend to push the size of the armies when fighting the new rule books; we just like bigger armies.

 

Good morning and felicitations on the first day of 2026. I felt that I should type something in my main blog to;

1] Prove I was alive.

2] I am still a wargamer.

3] Because I wanted to put down some thoughts about 2025.

My last post was back in May 2025 and at that time I faced a lot of questions that I needed to answer or simply ignore. 

2025 became the year that I wanted to actually become useful again, that is generally and had nothing to do with wargaming. In fact I had serious doubts about my future in wargaming as I hurtled towards the big 70.

In order to finance my main aim for 2025 I had to raise some funds and reluctantly sold my lovely 25mm English Civil Wars collections. I was in several minds about which one of my collections to lose, it could have been my massive SYW collection, my ACW collection, or several smaller but equally precious smaller collections. But it was my ECW collection that went. It hurt but was necessary as politics, even local ones isnt cheap.

  Did I regret sng the ECW collection that I had worked so hard to build? Of course I did, but needs must. And now that I know it is actuually being used, its a little easier to accept.

 So by May 2025 I was ensconsed in local politics and that has been a huge learning curve and took up a great deal of my time. But I dont regret the choice thankfully.

But wargaming suffered. 

Not the games, because I made certain I was able to get a game virtually every week with John who introducded me to the world of Midgard and later Pillage. Both have been hugely enjoyable and are examples of well thought out wargame rules that provide a fun game but also great narratives and stories. 

What did suffer was my painting. I havent picked up a brush since May 2025. Not because I didnt have time but simply because I had no desire to paint a figure of any sort.

I hadnt felt like that since the very early 1980's. Every wargamer will face the same sensation eventually, whether because of personal or financial reasons but in my case I didnt see the point of painting more figures that I simply wouldnt use. Perhaps it was a result of selling my ECW collections? Its not important now and there is no point analysing something that could change again very quickly.

 Another thing that did suffer was me attending wargames shows. In the end I managed three, which is well below my usual tally. Sadly worklife balance was a big factor.

  The shows I attended, I enjoyed. Not because of the trade. Not because of the games, but because of the wargamers I met.

Ive just noticed there are a lot of 'nots' in the text, whats that about?

Anyway here we are in 2026 and a big birthday on the horizon. Will that change things? Hopefully not. One thing that struck me focefully is the healthy state of the hobby. The rules being producded provide some excellent games. The figures, especially the resin and plastic ones are improving in qualitity expotentially.

 Unfortunately the pressures on our cost of living are forcing prices up and shrinking the size of armies and collections, hence the smaller games being popular perhaps?

  One ambition I do have is I would actually like to win a game in 2026 as I havent come close all of 2025!!!

I should blame my dice and I would be justified to a certain extent but the reality is Im just not a very good general, or John is a wargaming genius. I think its the latter.

I must apologise for the lack of photographs, my poor PC is on its last legs and needs a good seeing to.

 2025 saw the loss of another influential wargamer and all round decent man, George Gush. Sadly there was no decent obituary of Gush who was a huge influence on me and John in the 1980's with his wonderful renaissance rules and books. Perhaps someone will provide a detailed obituary of Mr. Gush, he deserves one.