A Message from the Landgraf

This year has not started as one of the Landgraviate’s best. Suffice to say that due to familial health issues there has been zero gaming activity.

Which is not the same as “no gaming scheming.” I learned long ago that whenever you spend time at a doctor’s office or (especially) a hospital you must have books, magazines, rules, or some such to keep you occupied. If you don’t have them, you will be sitting for a long time. If you DO have them, either you spend less time waiting or it at least goes by quicker.

So I’ve done a fair bit of reading (Napoleonic history, the wargames magazines, all of the new C S Grant publications), and an even greater amount of thinking and planning.

In SYW units and armies and countries, I’ve made up lists using Minden, Battlescape, Fighting 15s, and Eureka figures. In fact, my Eureka Dutch were sent off to a painting service before Christmas and have returned. They look wonderful, but still are not based or terrained. That’s 3 battalions, 2 squadrons, 2 guns with crew and some generals all at BAR big battalion strength. And I’m waiting for the release of the Eureka 100 Club Saxon cavalry to make a big order there, too.

I’ve been looking at my Napoleonic collection (30:1 in 28mm) and drew up a list of units (of up to corps size!) from Calpe, Foundry, Perry, Victrix, Steve Barber, Front Rank, Eureka, and others. I have also committed to putting on an all-day demonstration (in 28mm) of the game Le Petit Empereur at a local San Antonio, Texas game convention, ChimaeraCon, on 7 March.

I picked up some Games Workshop stuff as well: the 40K Assault on Black Reach starter (to play against Ray), additional Lizardmen for my WHFB army, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the War of the Ring book as well.

As you can see when I don’t have an actual project in hard I tend to wander quite a bit! Note, however, that with the exception of reading books and opening boxes of miniatures, that I have not actually painted or gamed any of this. I hope that putting on the LPE demonstration will help, as it is reprise of a game Ray and I put on at MillenniumCon 2006. So I have all the parts and just need to put on the game.

So what are my plans for 2009? At this point I really don’t know. Hopefully ChimaeraCon will inspire me. Napoleonics and SYW are tied for most likely, with Lord of the Rings running a close third.

I’ll let you know how CCon goes!