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| Well that's a bit exciting to say the least! |
So what have I been up to in the almost 7 weeks since I last posted? Not much to be honest... certainly not a huge amount of wargaming... and certainly no painting...
One of those fallow periods all hobbyists go through I guess, some call it the painting funk, but basically a period of time characterised by no great interest or enthusiasm in pursuing the hobby actively - a time of retrenchment - doing other stuff - in my case reading (a lot), and also unusually for me catching up on box sets, and television that I missed the first time round...
Working from home has entailed me using the loft-waffe for an office as I have a desk and screen's up there anyway - but what I wasn't expecting was a disinclination to go in the loft to do hobby stuff once I'd been in there all day for work stuff... throw in a couple of weeks of the hottest weather in the UK for some time and there was even less inclination - in fact in the end I said 'bugger it' and went into the office just for the air conditioning! Very strange to be in an office for two hundred when there are only a half dozen people in (for much the same reasons as me!)
Autumn is coming - with a drop in the temperature the loft will entice again...
So what have I done that I recommend??
Box sets - catch "Cardinal" if you can, simply superb.. I re-watched the "Cormoran Strike" box set, also very good.. also all umpty seven series of "Spooks".. thank you Beeb - worth my licence fee for 'Cardinal' alone..
Books... Maigret, Maigret, Maigret.. an absolute joy... my book page will give you some other leads... my non-fiction book of the year so far was "Chastise" by Max Hastings, the story behind the Dam Busters raid told from the perspective of the unbelievably brave crews, the boffins, (Sir Michael Redgrave really was Barnes Wallis in the film!), Gibson (what a brave, troubled and complicated man) and also the German civilians who experienced the results... ten plus for a reason, read it!
Wargaming - not a lot of table top action, but DG and I have been having a whale of time playing DBN [clicky] (thanks for the lead, Lee!) using Battle Chronicler to exchange turns ... a few Peninsula games were followed by a triumvirate of 1812 Russia games, but just for a change we are currently in North America, and for the first time (and as a result of the figures Lee has been painting) I am fielding Congreve rockets.. Lord only knows how that will turn out!
....and that is largely it, let's hope it is in't as long to the next post!
Hi Steve, the heat has been a real thing. I game under a lot of glass ... good light, but the heat has been exaggerated and paint dries pretty much on the brush on the hottest days. The DBN screen looks a natty thing, ideal for a dabble with lock down gaming partners.
ReplyDeleteCheers Norm... ah yes, Battle Chronicler... easily found via Mr Google if you fancy having a dabble... it started out with much fandango, but the developers have fallen by the way side and there hasn't been any new developments in some time. DG and I have used it for years as you can customise it for any table size, scale, or base size... I think it was originally intended as a way of recording a game, what the developers missed was the email/"correspondence chess" opportunity.. I recommend it...
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ReplyDeleteGood to have you blogging once more.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks..
DeleteHi Steve, been wondering what you have been up to. Fully get the heat/loss of mojo thing, I'm trying to kick myself back into gear but it's a struggle beyond a bit of tinkering. Nice screenshot and a great way to keep a bit of gaming up, how you finding DBN now that you have a good grasp of them? I'm still a bit frustrated on the shooting front but sticking with them. How are those rockets working out... managed to hit anything with them yet?
ReplyDeleteHi Lee, after 5 (?) games I feel like I'm beginning to get a grasp of them.. So far, I think the biggest draw back is the D6 mechanism - the variance of results is so huge, that in some cases it kind of spoils the narrative of the battle in your mind.. going from a run of 4/5/6's to a 1 is not "explainable".. shooting is also the same, though the opposed dice rolls kind of irons out the kinks there... overall? Not concerned enough to give up on them... and no - I've hit nothing with the rockets so far but hope springs eternal!!
DeleteThanks for that Steve, your issues actually mirror my own. Re watching Alex's 'teaching videos' again was useful and one thing I did note was the deployment of groupings of 3 to 4 bases of infantry in a formation and the use of double and even triple CAPs on such a formation really speeds things up, even when you roll say a 2 for activations this means you still get to move 6 to 8 bases in a turn. I had overlooked the ability to use more than a single CAP per unit.Firing - I'm getting used to it now, but again it's most 3' or 4's with a couple of modifiers and then the dice off which can of course vary widely. But overall I really like the game and will stick with it.
DeleteLee, DG and I were lucky in that when we first met we used to play DBA, and because we both worked fro the same company we used to play at lunchtimes so we must have played hundreds of games.. and it became kind of ingrained... so fast forward 30 years (!) and formation moves are still ingrained.. ;o)
DeletePS. Rockets have just had there first misfire and clouted a unit of their fellow foot artillerists... rumour has it there were harsh words exchanged along the lines of "why don't you just f*ck the way off!".. LOL..
The 'funk' has affected a lot of gamers, I have found my concentration levels insufficient to read rules and as for painting !!!! Been able to catch up on a lot of reading (mainly historical non-fiction) and found my solo Board Wargaming had a renaissance. You are not alone...............
ReplyDeleteSteiner - you have it in one.. not so much a funk, as a lack of concentrational (is that a word?) ability.. easier by far to pick up a book (less effort involved) or watch some blogs on the web, or etc...
DeleteHeat? Mostly wet up here!
ReplyDeleteHi David.. yeah my Dad lives just across the Forth from Edinburgh, and by the sound of it it has, and continues to be, dire up there... dreich!!
DeleteThanks for the Maigret recommendation, not usually a whodunnit fan but found one by chance on the duchess' bookcase. Excellent read, atmospheric and not too damned long.
ReplyDeleteHi Lupus... excellent.. pleased you like them... I came upon him when I had need of a book for a read in the pub, and picked up the Maigret Christmas short story omnibus.. was immediately hooked.. you can almost smell the coffee, croissant and Gauloise's as you read...
DeleteIt's a thing this lack of enthusiasm brought about by home working. Sitting in my office/man cave all day really has put the brakes on painting in the evenings in the same room. I have gone a whole month without doing anything significant. I have done other stuff where I can sit downstairs with Mrs E rather than being closeted alone upstairs but painting isn't one of those. I really didn't realise how much the social interaction at work impacted upon my willingness to spend a couple of hours in self-imposed solitary confinement while I painted. Now as soon as the working day is done I want to be down the stairs with Mrs E to have a chat or just sit and read in company. So it's not just you. Looking forwards to you keeping up the blogging output, keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteElendril - apologies for the delay in responding but you have hit the nail well and completely on the head... have always thought of myself as a person 'happy in his own company', I still am/do, but what had not occurred to me up until now, is how much of that happiness in my own company is fuelled off the back of interaction with other people... banter at work and down the pub is almost like the charge into a battery that allows the solo self to run... interesting thoughts.. and yes, the blog won't stop.. :o)
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