Hello to you all, welcome to 2017 Playing the Odds. Unfortunately the end of 2016 became very busy and blog posts trickled to a standstill. Things are getting back on track so I thought I would offer a look at what games were played at the end of 2017 and what is being planned for 2017!

First up, 2016:

Contrary to the lack of posts, we did play a lot of games.

Warhammer 40k: 40k is still on the radar. I did play a couple of games, but not many. 7th Edition is making it very hard for me to play. The nested rules and special rules along with the crazy array of codexes, army lists and campaign books makes it hard for me to organise, build and play my armies effectively. Add to that not only Codex creep, but miniature creep and it is hard for me to field a competitive army using my existing miniatures. All that being said, all may games have been very enjoyable but that comes down to my opponents rather than the game itself. I am hoping 8th Edition will see a lot of the slate cleaned and reworked for a more streamlined game. Who knows what the new edition will bring, but I am interested to see!

Strange Aeons: I picked up this horror skirmish game (H.P. Lovecraft themed) as it looks to have a lovely in depth campaign system along with really focusing on the horror side of things. The system seems simple, yet in depth enough but after only one game I’ll need more to offer a real opinion. The one game we had was a military patrol of an Innsmouth village, where the patrol was trying to work out what the village was hiding. I’ll put pictures of the game at the end o this post.

Horizon Wars: A little gem we found was Horizon Wars. This has really caught our attention and has given us a use for our languishing Dropzone Commander miniatures. Easy system to use and organise armies with, the system abstracts a lot of things but it works at that higher level of play. The firing system is the real point of difference with Horizon Wars and it does a great job. I’ll provide more information with a battle report

D&D 5th Ed: We started a 5th Ed campaign. I don’t post about it here as this is mainly a miniatures site, however it has been going strong for close to 12 months now and has been a great game. Progressing really well and has been a barrel of laughs. The campaign is a 5th Ed conversion of the old Temple of Elemental Evil, and is still in progress.

Board Games: We have played a lot of board games over the last few months. The Others, GW Released Board Games, Forbidden Stars and Scythe. These have been really good and I don’t think we have been disappointed by anything yet. In fact, I think a number of games surprised us!

What about 2017?

Well, probably more of the same. I can see us playing all the games listed above. We also plan to get in a few other games.

NetEpic Armageddon: I found my old boxset with basic Marines and Orks. We trialed a game and enjoyed it. Enough to pick up some 6mm figures, so now in addition to the above we also have a Tau force.

Rogue Stars: Another Osprey game I picked up. A scifi based skirmish game, this looks like if could be excellent. Reading through it, it sounds like it is a very fluid game, keeping all players involved. I’ll provide more info after we have a game.

Mansions of Madness v2: A great update to a classic game. The require application really helps streamline the game and speeds it up, especially the initial setup. We have had a couple games now and really enjoyed it. Again, more info in a later post.

I hope everyone has had a great start to 2017, and hopefully this year all your gaming will go well.

I’ll leave you with some pics of the Strange Aeons game Luke and I played.

My new collection of dice for Horizon Wars, d12’s!

One of the villages on the outskirts of Innsmouth

What secrets does the village hide? A Fishman looks on from the waterfront.

Some of the villagers assemble, ready to protect their secrets

Here they come. The Army patrol cross the river quietly, trying to catch the villagers off guard.

Crossing the river they move closer, taking cover in the woods.

Looking on the villagers take cover behind their buildings. A crack breaks the silence and after a short firefight one of the villagers is down

The villagers quickly try and outflank the Army patrol but the patrol has itself well positioned.

In the end, the military training of the Patrol carried them through. They were able to expose the villagers for what they were, harbourers of evil.