The Man with No Time

It's been a long, long time since I made it to a Guardians of Tyr event. Over a year in fact. A few factors are responsible for this: the loss of the events in Milton Keynes this year means they're bimonthly, so if I'm busy there are fewer opportunities; a busier schedule for me combined with unfortunate timing of the events, and the Sunday dates. I keep my eye on the calendar, and always express interest, but inevitably something comes up and I can't make it. However, the latest event, which was last Sunday, I was actually able to attend! There have been some changes since I last went to Northampton for an event. They've moved to Deathclock (probably a plus), have moved from a slightly lower points value to the tournament standard (definitely a plus), and have standardised most of the events to be standard Steamroller (which I think is a shame, though the last event  is  a Who's the Boss tournament). Oh, and the both the new edition of Warmachine and the new...

Last weekend, in what is rapidly becoming an annual tradition for me, I travelled to SmogCon. This was my third year in a row attending what is the UK's biggest Warmachine convention, and the only proper USA-style convention in the country (to my knowledge). Fortunately for me, this year the organisers had moved it to Birmingham, so I was able to save both money and time by making the short train ride to Birmingham International instead of driving to London, and by only staying for two nights instead of three. I really enjoyed both of my previous visits to SmogCon, and this year was even better in some ways. The venue, though perhaps less fancy, was in my opinion much better. There were more tables, and all of the miniature gaming space was in a single ballroom, with the boardgames area in a room just off to the side, so everything was easily accessible. Food service was much improved too apparently, though as usual I took my own. In fact the whole event seemed to be bigger a...

This past weekend I made my way down to London for SmogCon V, the latest incarnation of Europe's biggest and best Warmachine convention. My first visit was last year, and I had such a great time that I just had to go back. Spoiler alert: I'll be heading back next year too. Rather than giving a blow-by-blow of all of my games, I thought I'd give an overview of what I did, where I spent most of my time, and my results. Then I'll do a separate photodump post of the best snaps that I managed to take. A blow-by-blow might follow at a later date if I can be bothered (and have the time).

Just over a week ago I had an absolutely awesome experience - I spent three days at a hotel just next to Heathrow airport. Which doesn't sound so great, until I say that it was my first experience of a convention. Specifically SmogCon 2015, the UK's biggest Warmachine convention, and the only US-style gaming convention in the UK (and possibly Europe, though I'm not sure that's entirely true).  As I said, I had an awesome time. I'd been hoping to go for the last couple of years, but was either a) in Scotland, or b) forgetful and missed the tickets sale. This year I was actually at orchestra when tickets went on sale, but fortunately there were still about 50 left when I got home and I managed to snag one. I decided pretty early on that I wouldn't bother trying for any of the tournaments; instead I'd spend all my time in the casual play area playing pick-up games of Warmachine/Hordes, or trying out some of the boardgames. I'm quite pleased with that ...

So as I mentioned in a previous post , I travelled over to Leicester today for my first Warmachine tournament of the year. I'd been told that it started at 10:30, and after a tangle with Leicester's current heavy roadworks and diversions, made it to the venue about 10:15 to find that the tournament was literally just starting. I'd made it just in time! It was a small affair - only 8 players - and very Warmachine heavy. We had two Cryx players (including myself), three Protectorate players, a Mercenaries player, and a Khador player. The sole Hordes representative was playing Legion. I said in my other post that I was hoping for 'not last'. Sadly that wasn't to be, and I did indeed finish at the bottom of the heap. Sadly it wasn't even particularly close, and I put in what was a pretty poor showing at times. Not the worst I've ever played, but not the best either. I do miss playing more regularly. I'm going to do a quick run down of m...

Tomorrow I'm travelling over to Leicester for my first Warmachine tournament of the year. I've never been to the store there, so it's a bit of a journey into the unknown. But after asking on the Warhammer Forum's Warmachine board it seems that there's no sign up, just turn up on the day. So I thought I would. It's a 35pt, Deathclock, Steamroller 2014 event. Two lists, with each having to be played at least once. 

This weekend out in Warwick, Rhode Island (somewhere in the USA), Templecon is taking place. There are only a handful of conventions on my bucket list, but Templecon is definitely one of them. I’ve heard so much about it through the podcasts and blogs that I listen to, and behind their own Lock ‘n’ Load convention seems to be the headline generator for all things Privateer Press. Over the years it’s become the location for their start of year keynote address. A sort of ‘state of the union’ if you will, looking at what’s coming up in the year ahead. Last year Colossals/Gargantuans. This year? Privateer Press sure know how to tease. (Credit: handcannononline.com)

This month has seen the release of the latest expansion for Warmachine: Colossals. This new expansion has only two releases per faction (three for Mercenaries), but they're well worth the wait. Each faction has a new warcaster, which is a third incarnation of one of the Prime warcasters for the four original factions, and a colossal warjack. Unlike with the battle engines though, this time the Mercenaries aren't left out. Mounted on the same 120mm base as the battle engines, these new colossals primse to be game changing, and I can't wait for the Cryxian Kraken to be released. The new Cygnar Stormwall colossal. That thing is scary to deal with. (Credit: David Brown)

Last Sunday I travelled South for the inaugural Worlds Gaming day. Organised by the owner of Worlds at War , it was held at the Howden Park Centre in central Livingston, and featured tournaments for Warhammer 40K, Flames of War, and Warmachine/Hordes. It was a long day, starting at about 10:30 and going on until 18:45, but very enjoyable. I met lots of new players, all of whom were very friendly, and got to know some of the more familiar faces a little bit better. Not only that, but I even won half of my games!

After the Warmachine  April Annihilation steamroller tournament that I went to down in Livingston, I've been starting to think about my lists for the upcoming Worlds Gaming Day on the 20th of May. Organised by the same pressganger, and run in conjunction with Worlds at War once more, it's going to involve a twist on the standard 2012 Steamroller tournament. Primarily a 35pt tournament, with the usual 2-list, character restriction format, the final round will be played at 50pts, with all restrictions lifted. So you can repeat character units/models from your 35pt lists, and even use a different warcaster if you want to. I'm in a few minds as to the direction that I want to go in with this, so I'm posting up some thoughts here to get them down on paper.

Yesterday I travelled down to "Worlds at War" in Livingston (well, Craigshill to be precise) to take part in my first Warmachine tournament of the year. I was really looking forward to it; I hadn't managed to get any games in at all up to that point this year, so these were going to be my first 4 games of the year. I was also eager to play some new opponents, as there were several people on the entry list that I'd not met before at my previous two tournaments. The tournament was a standard 35pt Steamroller event. Two lists, with character restrictions in place and reinforcements required. We could play each list as many times as we liked, including not at all if we wanted to.  I was fairly sure about my first list - a tier 3 Deneghra1 list that was tweaked from a list that I'd used previously. But my second list gave me pause. I considered taking one of the warcasters that I'd not used much/at all; Skarre2 and Terminus both crossed my mind. But in the en...

Part 3 in my series on how I fritter away my time will focus on the hobbies that make me a self-confessed geek (and proud of it). It's time to talk about wargaming and RPGs.