Welcome to the party

2015 Goals

Yes, here is the obligatory 'what are my goals and resolutions for the new year post' so I can be shamed at the end of the year.  I also figured this was the best place to start as it highlights where my interests currently lie and what our local gaming group is focusing on.

Over the last five years, and especially last year with the explosion of Kickstarter, my miniature model collection has substantially grown to the point where something needs to be done.  I'm happy with the majority of what I have invested in since it's only been games, factions, and models which I find interesting both aesthetically and from a game play perspective.  Also it helps that our group is fairly well defined with which game systems we do play and don't have as much of the 'ooo-shiny' game-of-the-week syndrome that others may.

Here's the list just for context...

• Malifaux: Outcasts, Ressers, and Gremlins (w/a smattering of Arcanists, Guild, & 10T)
• Warmachine: Mercenaries w/ some Cygnar
• Hordes: Legion w/ some Minions
• Wild West Exodus: Warrior Nation & Outlaws
• Dark Age: Skarrd & Core
• Infinity: Nomads (Starter-only)
• Zombicide: All Seasons so far
• Shadows of Brimstone
• Puppet Wars: Unstitched
• Super Dungeon Explorer
• Through the Breach RPG
• Iron Kingdoms RPG

Still coming in through Kickstarters in 2015 (Hopefully)

• Wrath of Kings: Goritsi
• Guildball: Fisherman, Morticians, Masons, Union
• Infamy: Random assortment but mainly Tesla, Holmes, & Toad gangs
• Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King
• Remaining Shadows of Brimstone waves
• Remaining Zombicide Season 3 waves
• Terrain from Wolsung

Again, to say the least, I've got a lot of models still in box or sprue, some half assembled just to get on the table top, and even more on the way.  All of which lead me to...

Goal 1: Project 365

Yep, assembly will be the highest priority this year besides playing and painting.  For the last three years I've been keeping track of my models and games using a Hobby Tracker spreadsheet (Original Credits go to Rushputin, from Warpstone Pile and Nix from The Dead Tau Project).  Each year has looked like this so far:

• 2013 Assembled 45 models, Painted 31 models
• 2014 Assembled 166 models, Painted 56 models
• 2015 Assembled 36, Painted 17 models (Not to shabby 29 days in...)

    Status:

With 2015 I want to get that mass of unassembed models under control, especially before investing in anything more.  Here are the guidelines:

• A model counts only as one model regardless of size or complexity
• A terrain piece counts as a model
• No new model purchases until I hit a 100 model mark (i.e. 100, 200, 300)
• Of those get 50% of them primed and based (~183 models)
• Of those get 25% of them painted to table-top quality (~92 models)
• Of those get 10% of them painted to my highest standard possible (~10 models)

That may be a lofty goal based on family, friends, work, etc but that's what the new year is for right?

Goal 2: 5x5 Board games

Play 5 board games at least 5 times.  These pretty much are the fun stuff that the group plays in between larger stretches of miniature games or for the casual Sunday night meet-ups.  This also incentivizes me to get any miniatures they came with assembled which would count towards goal 1 :)

• Zombicide
• Shadows of Brimstone
• Super Dungeon Explorer
• Puppet Wars: Unstitched
• Risk: legacy

Goal 3: 5x5 Miniatures

Play 5 game systems which I've invested in at least 5 times while attempting to stick with a faction for the year rather than bouncing around. (In Priority Order)

• Malifaux - Outcasts (Competitive) & Gremlins (Fun)
• Guildball - Fishermen
• Warmachine/Hordes - Legion
• Infinity - Nomads
• Wild West Exodus - Warrior Nation

Goal 4: 7x7 Masters

Play all 7 Outcast masters at least 7 times.  Since I'm a Henchmen and Outcasts are my main faction this one really shouldn't be a challenge, but I do want to continue to learn the in's and out's of each master and where they fit into all of the strategies and schemes.  I started last year with Viktoria, VonSchill, and Misaki mostly because they were what was completed with the first wave of M2E but had limited success.  I had an incredibly fun time building, painting, and playing Jack Daw for Gencon and the rest of the year.  Now that M2E: Crossroads is out and other models showing up in plastic, I feel (probably like most people) its time to get a little evil with Outcasts.  So I'll be playing more with Leveticus, Hamelin, Daw, and Tara (maybe) this year.  More to come on all of that.

   Status:

Goal 5: Competitive Play and Conventions

Living in central Illinois puts our group in an interesting position when it comes to gaming.  Its always going to be a smaller community just because of the population density and distances between cities.  On the other hand we are only one to three hours away from multiple major metropolitan areas all of which have a variety of gaming communities and some substantial gaming conventions.  Definitely on the list this year are getting to:

• Adepticon (Chicago Sub-burbs)
• Diecon (Collinsville / St Louis)
• Gencon (Indianapolis)
• Flatcon (Bloomington)

I hope time and resources permit some other regional Malifaux tournaments with the Chicago-land, St. Louis, and Detroit Henchmen/groups.  All things considered, I'd really love to be able to attend the Nova Open this year and play in the US Malifaux Championship tournament but we'll have to see if that's doable.  Most important of all is to really have a good time and meet all the great people out there in the community.

Game-wise, let's say my goal is to come back with a greater win to loss ratio per event.

Goal 6: Local Community Growth

Our gaming group at Gryfalia's Aerie on Wednesday nights started around Warmachine/Hordes, has expanded to Malifaux, and continues to see interest with rotating around various games.  Like every group we've had people come and go (especially since we are in a college-town), people having kids, changes in jobs, etc.  A goal we all agreed to this year is growing our regular group by at least five new regular people.  So with that, all the usual community building / promoting / events apply:

• Wednesday Night Regularly Scheduled gaming at the store
• At least 1 demo / promotion day per month not on the regular game night
• At least 1 type of league or special event per month
• At least 1 tournament per quarter

Good Night and Good Luck

So with that I will bid you ado and hope you enjoyed a little insight into my hobby planning.  Comments and discussion are always welcomed.  More content is definitely on the way.  You can also check out the latest happenings on Twitter @JSKrush or on the various gaming forums under the same name.  Until next time.