Goals for 2016

There's nothing more inspirational than a inspiring poster that has a glossy image and very deep, inspiringly written prose to get one started off.  For some reason this one "sang" to me.....

Why do I set these silly goals?  I actually do find them a bit motivating as they do provide a bit of "purpose" to this rather silly hobby of ours.

Goals also push me to try different avenues of the hobby which both keeps it fresh at helps me to sustain my level of interest so here goes!  They also provide you with easy fodder to ridicule me on the internets.


(1) Conventions
(a) Attend 4 in 2016 (2 of the 3 HMGS con's, 1 new con and 1 show in the UK)
(b) GM a total of 6 con games

I really enjoy going to miniatures related gaming conventions but do need a change of pace from the 3 HMGS cons - especially the ones that are held at the decrepit Host in Lancaster.  As for the HMGS cons, I will be attending both Historicon and Fall-In and know I will not be attending Cold Wars.  That means I need to find a new show in the US or maybe just create one myself.  Ok that last part might be a bit hard to pull off.

Please note I don't mean to criticize the HMGS staff - I think they do a great job putting the cons on, it's just that I need a bit of a change of pace.

As for the UK, I'll be over there for business at least 5 or 6 times in 2016, so I think I can make at least one of those trips coincide with a UK show.  Of course, "Salute" is the white whale of UK gaming shows, so lets hope the calendar Gods smile upon my endeavors.

(2) Gaming / Tournaments
(a) Play in 6 tournaments
(b) Host three game nights at my house

I really like playing in tournaments and want to continue doing so on 2016.  Despite have a relatively nice gaming table, I haven't hosted a game in a long time and it's high time I changed that.

(3) "Finish" My Peninsular Napoleonic Collection
Flesh out some Spanish and Portuguese forces (maybe a brigade each) and add some specialty troops into the mix.

To be honest, this is the number 1 goal candidate for failure - I find it hard to get motivated to paint Napoleonic Spanish troops, especially because they tend to only stay on the table for 2 or 3 turns before "retiring to the rear"!  :)

(4) Write a draft set of war-game rules
Ok this ones a little out there and I suppose I may only prove to myself that it is infinitely easier to criticize someone else's ruleset than write your own but lets find out.  I have no aspirations to publish these rules for sale and only seek the fame and groupies that come with being a war-game rules writer (oh to live that jet set lifestyle of a rules writer).  Seriously, I think it will fun to give it a try and I'll either learn to be a lot more humble when talking about rulesets from other writers or find a new creative outlet for myself.  Either way is a "win"

I haven't set on a specific topic but am leaning towards something that deals with 2 small scale Napoleonic Naval actions in 28mm scale and can be easily used in a convention setting.

(5) Expand the sectional terrain inventory by at least 36 square feet
I really like building terrain and "need" to add to the inventory of panels that I have.  I'll also need to build some storage racks to keep these panels in good order.

(6) Sell some stuff to make room for new stuff
My 28mm Romans and Dacians have been sitting on the self unplayed since July of 2012 - that's a long time to be dormant and they take up valuable self space.  My lovely, yet fierce wife, has not repealed her decree of no incremental storage space so I'm left with two difficult choices.  Either I can  create a shrink-o-matic ray gun to shrink 28mm to 6mm for storage and enlarge them back for game nights or I can sell off stuff to create more room.  After years of failed attempts with the first path, I think it may be time to give the second one a go.

(7) Finish in the top ten of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge VI
I doubt I can paint as much as I did last year, but I still want to use the fun of the Challenge to get the bulk of my 2016 painting done.  I'm also helping out this year in the background by building a tracking spreadsheet for Curt and crew to use and providing insightful and lucid statistical analysis along the way.  Yes, you heard it here first, I'm a beat stats reporter on the wargaming circuit.  I do think this role is the very definition of obscure.

Happy 2016 to everyone and Tally Ho!