2026 gaming - second third update

Here's the second third update of 2026, a summary of my gaming up until the end of August  The projects update can be found here.

This was the gaming board at the start of the year (detail here):

And here's how it looked at the first update at the end of April (detail here):

And here's the current position:

I'd played ten games up until the end of April.  That's now seventeen.  Although I've dropped off a bit, my target for an average of two a month is still on track.  I had the real arseache with everything after Salute (lots of real world goings on), and by June had had enough.  I'm pleased to say that I'm back to "normal" now and enjoying things.

Verrotwood - This is the game I've enjoyed the most.  I've kept up with my campaign and played another two games.  In April I wrote "I'm getting into the last throes", well I'm not sure that's the case as things have turned round and the two cults are neck and neck in their pursuit of the ultimate Power.  The AARs are here and here.

Ancients & Medieval - In June I used Sword Weirdos with my 15mm Imperial Roman/Ancient Germans  collection for a quick game.  I remember not enjoying it much and although I started an AAR I didn't bother completing it, which sums up my frame of mind at the time.  

In August I released my late-Romans and Germans from the cabinet and gave them a run out using Lion Rampant.  I'd played learning games with a couple of the rampant stable of rules, but this was my first real game and it was a success.  I think it definitely needs a scenario to frame the action, but it was really good fun.  I'm looking forward to using the rules with the late 15th Century collection I've been working on over the Summer.

Second World War - After playing a couple of games using Chain of Command2 at the start of the year, I dug Battlegroup out for a game using my 28mm collection with the Barbarossa supplement.  This was an enjoyable game, with the Germans managing to outflank the Red Army and triumph.  For all arms games I think Battlegroup will be my main set, with CoC for infantry only games.  I intend to use CoC for French Indo-China games and that's one of the periods I want to spend some time on later in the year.

1980s "Moderns" - In May and June I played a couple of games of Force on Force set in mid 1980s West Germany using 6mm miniatures.  The first game I played I stopped, as I hadn't played for so long that I'd forgotten everything.  I went away and read up and tried again in June.  Although the second attempt was better I can't say that I enjoyed either game.  Force on Force was always a favourite of mine, so I need to see what the issue was.  Was it: the frame of mind I was in; it doesn't work in such a small scale with multi-based minis; I've moved on from it; I just need to relearn the bloody rules; or as is usually the case a combination of these factors.

And that's that.  See you for the final round up in December.