Well, last year didn’t exactly go as planned, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. 2020 wasn’t the best year for gaming: game shows were cancelled, and due to the lockdowns and the restrictions, there were only a few face-to-face games. I was also very busy at work, and I had many exams which left me with far less free time for my hobby than I expected. Sadly, I had no chance to paint with my nieces either.
Painting plans made early 2020 went down the drain, I painted far less than imagined I would and I have made no progress with my backlog either – in fact, I managed to make it much bigger. But still, I’m happy with what I did and the way I did it: I painted a full platoon of 15mm sci-fi infantry – OutRim Coalition from GZG – and I’m really happy with the jewelling of their visors.
I played less RPG’s than I did in 2019, and most sessions were online but I can’t complain about the variety or the quality: Atlantis – The Second Age, Tiny Gods, DnD 5e, Warhammer 40K – Dark Heresy, Cyberpunk, Cepheus Light (finally, a proper sci-fi game!), Call of Cthulu…
And when it comes to wargames, I played Full Thrust Light and Stargrunt II – I was lucky to be introduced to this game by one of the external playtesters of the original 1996 edition of the rulebook!
I warned myself a year ago that “I shouldn’t start (and abandon later) any new bigger painting projects ….”, but the 15mm minis and Stargrunt II ended up being the most important and the most enjoyable pieces that I worked on and played with in 2020. Well, so much about not starting a bigger painting project. 🙂 I actually became a fan and started an ever-growing collection of 15 minis. Sometimes the detour becomes the real journey.
I spent my holiday money on minis and games and I have stocked up nicely. I might have overdone it a bit, but I have no regrets.
What are my plans for 2021? This time I’ll keep it simple: I will focus on painting, playing and blogging, hopefully, a bit more than last year. My hobbies helped me to maintain my mental health in this challenging year, provided me with good things to focus on, gave me a sense of control and they were the source of fun and a bit of an escape when I needed it.