Writing Goals for 2018

It has taken me a little time to come back to the blog with some clear thoughts on what to write next. Logically speaking, given the last few posts centered around looking back at 2017, and that the new year is underway, the thing to do would be to add a few posts detailing my goals for the coming year. Fairly straightforward really. A few things have held me back. First and foremost of course is the need to solidify in my own mind what the goals for the coming year should be. Should they be a repeat of last years, flow from them, seek to improve on them, focus on those things I struggled with... But there were other thoughts too, as you will read below.

So, this post details my writing goals for 2018, some of them are a continuation from last year, some wholly new.

Freelance Writing

Readers of my blog may know that I have, for the past few years, worked as a freelance writer for Spartan Games and Modiphius Entertainment. The last half of 2017 was devoted to working on the Infinity Role Playing Game line, writing background material for upcoming sourcebooks, adventures and the like. I have work still to do, and am very much looking forward to continuing my efforts with Modiphius.

Since I have a better handle on my rhythms as a writer, and I have a bit more experience in regards to both what I need to do and how to go about doing it, I am hoping this work continues throughout the year. I have loved working on the Infinity line, I have also done a little for the Star Trek RPG, and hopefully will have the opportunity to write for various of their other product lines.

My key goal here is to keep at it. Keep writing, keep working, and keep enjoying the process. I have loved every minute of the work I have done so far, and have been lucky enough to work with some absolutely wonderful, helpful and inspiring people. Here's to 2018 being bigger and better than an already enjoyable 2017! Many thanks too to the boffins at Modiphius, it has been a pleasure!

Blog

For the last two years I have had the goal of blogging at least twice a month. Ideally I'd like to increase that to once a week. But in all honesty I think that when work gets busy I will find myself struggling with the time to do so. So, here's to a carefully constructed escape clause: my ideal goal for 2018 is to blog four times a month, and my realistic goal is that I will blog twice a month. A bit wishy-washy, but there you have it. My journal will include four tick boxes instead of two next to my monthly goals, but if I don't manage to tick them all I'll be content with two.

A Novel

My hesitation in writing this post stems mainly from this goal. I felt a level of reservation. By articulating that something is a goal I am placing an expectation on myself; that I will endeavor to follow it up; to do something about it. This goal is particularly personal, and since I place an emotional value on it, any failure to achieve it would be disappointing. Better perhaps to not vocalise it, to keep it hidden, to toil in silence... In this way there is no chance of failure, no chance of falling short, and any inability to achieve it can be safely directed away from any real emotional consequence because it was never really a goal, was it?

In the end though, if it is truly something I want to achieve some action must be taken. If I want to do a thing then I must begin.

This year my aim is to write a novel manuscript.

There. I said it.

I have a whole collection of short stories, novellas and even two novel manuscripts, one only about 20,000 words, the other close to completion, sitting on my hard drive. But none are finished. None are at a point where I would be happy to send them off for an editor, publisher or agent to look at. Some of them are dated from when I was doing my writing course back at the turn of the century, and that was a younger me, with less experience. My goal this year is to write the manuscript for a novel. To have it finished. To have it between 80,000 and 120,000 words. To edit it, and otherwise have it in a state where it is 'ready' (well, ready to be cut apart by an editor).

I have started. I am reading books on structure and writing again. I am listening to writing podcasts. I have a collection of ideas I like (too many). I have written short descriptions and outlines for each. I have the stories mulling and stewing in the back of my mind, refining and being refined. I have even pitched them to a few people to see what ideas seemed to resonate and what didn't (thank you to those people, really). My next steps in this endeavor center around cutting this list of ideas down to one. To outline, plan, plot, characterise and all the other necessary things, and then lastly, to write it.

It has been stated; at least; at last. We shall see...

Looking Back - Writing Goals

At the start of the year I set myself some writing goals for 2017, these focused on four things: writing for Spartan Games, writing for Modiphius Entertainment, writing for my blog, and writing some things for myself.

Well, what a year 2017 has turned out to be. At the start of the year everything seemed to be bursting with action as far as Spartan Games was concerned. Things started going a little wayward, and then suddenly, Spartan went out of business. This was a big shock for all involved, and I was none the wiser when it happened than everyone else. I'm sad to see Spartan go, I got along well with the owner, Neil, and liked the company and the games they made a lot. Shortly afterwards we got the news that Wayland Games, under their Warcradle banner, picked up the various Spartan IPs. I haven't had anything to do with the new rules that are coming down the pipe, but of course, I wish them all the best in their endeavors!

Needless to say this change in landscape for Spartan put paid to any of the goals I had had concerning them, so not much happened on that front. One goal down.

Onto my second goal... Modiphius Entertainment. On this front I have been kept extremely busy. I have spent most of the second half of the year writing for the Infinity Role Playing Game, and have also managed a few things for the Star Trek Role Playing Game as well. A vast majority of the things I have been working on are still in approvals, and I have a few things that will consume my attention throughout January, but it has been busy.

Through my work with Modiphius I learned that if I push myself I can manage upward of 50,000 words in a month, at one point pushing to 20,000 in a week. So far this year, for both Infinity and Star Trek I have penned around 110,000 words, for about 9 different books/products. I say this with a pinch of salt, as much of what I have done is sitting in the approvals lines with either CBS or Corvus Belli, but in terms of what I have produced (not necessarily what will hit print) - those are the numbers.

Overall I am reasonably proud of this achievement. It has taught me a lot about getting words on the page, and the sum total of that experience has taught me one key lesson: sit down and write.

On the blog front I have managed (just, at times) to hit my goal of two blog posts per month. Though I really feel I need to up my game to blog at least once a week. Goal achieved, but room for thought on next year...

On the personal writing front things have been of mixed success. With my freelance work I have been kept busy enough to keep me away from other, more personal stuff. I have managed a few things though:

• I have started the plans for several novel ideas.
• I have been listening to range of podcasts on writing which has been an excellent source of inspiration and information (I will blog about these at a later date).
• I have bought a few books that should help me moving forward (I will blog about these at a later date).
• I have solidified a plan for how I should proceed with my personal writing projects.
• And, I have a more clear idea for how to get there.

So while I haven't written as much as I would have liked, not all is lost!


That gives a rough summary of how I have fared against the goals I set at the start of the year. Overall I have to say I have learned a lot about myself as a writer, and this should provide me with a better structure come 2018. At a later date I'll go through and lay out some of my goals for the upcoming year, but suffice to say for now: I am very happy with my writing achievements for 2017. I am hoping 2018 is even more successful. We shall see!

Symbaroum

There is a beautiful majesty to art, the way it can represent mood and atmosphere to inspire emotion and imagination. Symbaroum is a Swedish role playing game produced by Järnringen in Swedish and distributed by Mōdiphiüs in English. What drew me to this game more than anything else was the art. Evocative and otherworldly, it paints, in muted tones, a world and setting which is wild and mysterious, fay and dangerous. 

The setting itself is a fantasy built into the vacuum of a collapsed great empire, the main protagonists are people fleeing their old lands which were corrupted by death. The themes are environmental, primal and elemental. Much iconography and mood feels drawn from old myths and stories like the Edda and the Kalevala. The wild is unknowable and dangerous, corrupting and vigilant. The forces of the world are driven by powers that mere mortals do not, and perhaps can never understand. 

The artistic style carries through into the muted tones of the maps and book, naturalistic colours dominate the palette. The history and setting match the visual style beautifully, and while the tropes common to fantasy are present, they hearken back to their primal roots more than they lean on modern variations. Elves and trolls, wild beasts and dragons, all are there in plenty if you venture into the forest deep enough, but they are not the elves and trolls of the Lord of the Rings, nor those more modern versions typified by Dungeons and Dragons or Warhammer. They are the elves of folklore, elemental and fay, wild and dangerous. Dragons will as soon manipulate, fool and trick as they will roar with fury and power. There is much to like in this setting.

The rules are light and easy, encounters dangerous and over quickly, even between powerful adversaries. Special abilities allow characters unique talents that can be fun and interesting when employed well, and provide lots of ways to substitute one stat for another, meaning combat doesn't need to be the exclusive province of the stereotypical tank. It is possible to game the system to some extent, and GMs and players alike need occasionally to be ready to make a best judgement and move on. But it is an engaging and quick moving game engine that allows heroic action and story to come before the minutia that dominates many game systems.

I won't go much further in detailing the mechanisms and setting, Symbaroum is a game with an evocative and stylized world. A setting that is challenging, dark and fay. The rules are relatively simple, roll a D20 and get below your modified stat. One of the more unique elements is that only the players ever touch the dice: they roll for the damage they inflict while enemy armour simply soaks X, they roll their armour while enemy attacks simply inflict X. It is a system that took a game or two to get used to, but works, and works quickly and well. This is a game I have thoroughly enjoyed, and while we're only around 8 sessions in, I am looking forward to playing more.

As of writing this Järnringen are running a Kickstarter for their version of a Monster Manual. It looks great. If you're interested at all in the game - I'd recommend checking it out!

I should note - while I freelance for Modiphius I have never worked on the Symbaroum line (though of course, it would be awesome to do so), I am recommending this game purely as a fan. 

Writing about writing

The last two to three weeks have been a huge challenge for me. For a few years I have been working as a freelance writer for Spartan Games and Modiphius Entertainment. It's something I enjoy doing a lot, but it can be draining, especially when writing is not my main job. This last month was one of those occasions where everything just happens to land at once.

Freelance writing, at least in my experience, is a funny gig. Both the companies I have worked for produce licensed products I have worked on, Halo with Spartan, and Infinity with Modiphius. A typical job runs through multiple stages, first the offer of doing it (of course). The outline, which then is approved/improved by both the company you work for and the license holder. Then the draft, which is then approved/improved by both the company you work for and the license holder. Then the drafts following...

This process can be quick, and it can be lengthy. I have been writing for the Infinity: The Role Playing Game line, published by Modiphius and licensed from Corvus Belli, since the latter part of 2015. This year that work has taken a sharp upturn in speed and quantity, and this last month has been one of those wonderful occasions where everything seems to land at once.

The last two or three weeks have been a real challenge for me. At the start of September I was twiddling my thumbs, enjoying Netflix, blogging and putting together a bunch of miniatures for Kings of War. About a week and a half in, everything landed. Outlines had been approved and dates for draft submissions set. New jobs offered and dates set. All of it landed quickly.

In the last two weeks I have managed, just, to pen some 30,000 words (that's around 60-70 typed pages). It has been a real challenge. I realise that for full-time writers this amount may not be very much, but it is the most I have written in such a demanding time-frame, and has been tough. No Netflix, no miniature assembly, no gym, no game nights, no anything other than sitting down at my desk every night and pushing on with the job at hand. It was a challenge, but I managed it, I am proud of it (and here's hoping Modiphius and Corvus Belli feel the same). It has been intense, but I have loved it.

I learned a lot in the last few weeks.

One: I can manage 20,000 in a week if I really push myself, but it is exhausting.

Two: Most nights I worked between 3-5 hours, and managed a rate somewhere around 800-1000 words an hour (some nights more, some nights less - and these are words that I am happy with having on the page).

Three: No distractions, no procrastination. Even half an hour lost is too much time lost. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to start.

Four: If you're stuck, start some other section. Don't waste time staring at the screen and wondering what to do. A lot of the time your subconscious will keep at the problem even when you're thinking of something else - then at some point it will ring the consciousness doorbell - Ding. Hi, I'm the subconscious, I'm here to tell you how to deal with that problem... Or, go for a walk, throw some darts, do something mindless for a short period of time to let your brain clear and mull things over.

Five: I have been writing for a role playing game - so the key question is always: How would this be interesting or useful to the GM or players? How would this make the stories they tell, the adventures they experience more exciting and nuanced?

Six: Writers research some weird stuff. Common Latvian surnames? What conditions in the ionosphere cause microwave beam attenuation? Types and effects of different necrotic poisons? What would the word 'condolences' be in Persian? What biological systems allow an insect to breathe? What is the structure of the UN Security Council? Seriously. My search history has me flagged as a seditious terrorist, I'm sure of it. Irrespective of the watch lists you might end up on, writers research. I was lucky enough to have the Infinity books published by Corvus Belli, the Graphic Novel Outrage, the Infinity RPG Core Book and so on to call upon. But we don't just get information, we apply it. How does that information change, mutate, alter and make more interesting the thing we are sculpting with our words?

Seven: Reread and edit. Chances are at that at some point you were three sentences ahead of your fingers and you accidentally typed to to or or and and when when. Chances are you mistook one name for another, or rewrote something you had already described. Chances are a convoluted sentence can be rewritten to be more clear. I read my writing aloud to myself. If I stumble as I read I stop and look to see why, most of the time it's because the sentence structure needs work, the phrasing is confusing, or too much has been packed into a single sentence.It seems obvious to write this, but it takes time and needs to be done.

Eight: Ask questions. If you have an editor, liaison, or group you're working with and you're stuck on something, ask (for me this was regularly something like: Wait. What did you want with this bit?). They want what you want - the best danged piece possible.

Nine: More. Much more. It was a real challenge this last two and a bit weeks, and I have more projects to finish yet, but I have a better understanding of my capabilities and limitations now than I did at the start of the month.

I'm not sure what the purpose of this was... but there are some thoughts regardless.

Distracted...

It has been a little while since my last post, April was a quiet month on the blog, and I only barely managed to hit my minimum of two posts a month - May has followed in kind. Really I should be posting at least once a week, but I haven’t managed it the last month or so, hopefully the coming months will be more productive as far as the blog is concerned.

I have been doing other things though, I have a collection of 15mm Gauls that need to be painted and based ready for use with the Sword and Spear rules, I have been recording episodes of the On Minis Games podcast with Quinton of the Room Full of Resin blog, and I have been getting a few things written for Modiphius.

A practice with a spare Gaul and some black undercoat. I wasn't happy with the result, so I'll be using white undercoat on these.

The last is what has occupied me the most, with the Infinity RPG near to its publication date, I have been busy writing a couple of things for the Adventures in the Human Sphere book, some cards for the decks that come with the Kickstarter, and planning out a few things I’ll be writing for Wave 2. It’s very exciting to see the core book take shape. With the layout, art and styling all done, it is looking really sharp, and a huge tip of the hat to Justin and all the other boffins at Modiphius who have been toiling relentlessly to get it together. I'm proud to have been a small part of the exercise.

In addition to this, I have been writing a few adventures and proposals for the Star Trek RPG, and likewise, this project is very exciting. I'm sure veterans of the industry find it common place, but it is rather enjoyable to think that things you have written are off for approval with CBS, or with Corvus Belli in the case of Infinity, or 343 Industries in the case of my work a few years ago on Halo: Fleet Battles.

Lastly, I managed to get in a first playtest game of Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, and I am very impressed so far. It gave a very enjoyable experience, and I think the system contains a lot of potential for really narrative and interesting game play. I can’t say too much, but we will (if all things go to plan) be recording an interview with Chris Birch (he of Modiphius), to talk more about Fallout, Star Trek and Siege of the Citadel (as well as anything else we might get derailed by). So keep an eye out for that shortly!

Hobby Goals...

In 2016, when I wrote up my goals for the year, they were predominantly focused on games and gaming. Since I have already written up my goals in terms of my writing, I am rounding them out with my goals for the hobby...

Table Top Games Played

Last year I had the goal of playing 100 unique games, and managed it with some 15 or so to spare. This year I am going to simply replicate that goal. Having a voice in the back of my mind telling me to try and mix up what hits the game table was enjoyable last year, and made me break out some games I hadn't played in a while, rather than going back to some old staples. This helped me rediscover what it was I enjoyed about those games, and reminded me of some of those classics on my shelves that had been collecting dust for some time. Repeating what I did last year, I will also be recording the different games I manage to get to the table via a geeklist on Boardgamegeek, in fact, you can find the geeklist here, if you're interested...

Role Playing

Writing for both Infinity and Star Trek leads me to the obvious conclusion that I need to play more of both! I am hoping that this year that I manage to get a regular RPG group running. Whether we play Infinity, Star Trek, Symbaroum, Wyrm, MERP, Star Wars, FATE or any one of the dozen other games I have sitting there calling for attention - I don't care! Just something!

Painting

I have a host of unpainted models calling for attention, as well as a significant amount of scenery waiting to be built. My goal here is to build all the scenery I have still in wrapping, and to paint on a regular basis. I am hoping to complete my Heavy Gear army, get paint on some Infinity models, finish my Australian navy for Dystopian Wars, and much more. I think the key here is painting/building regularly more so than aiming to get specific models done. I do tend to push this aside when things get busy, but now I have a dedicated painting area... perhaps I will manage more...

On Miniatures Games

On Minis Games has been a project that a friend of mine (Quinton Sung) and I have been planning for a long time. With the last half of 2016 being as chaotic as it was, we managed to record only two episodes (which are currently available to listen to at the Inverse Genius On Minis Games page.

The aim for this year is to really get On Minis Games into gear, we've had feed issues (and if you have trouble subscribing, let me know at onminisgames@gmail.com), scheduling issues, and lots going on in our personal lives. Without the various excuses and put bluntly, we haven't done as much as we had hoped by now. We hope to remedy this in 2017! My goal is to publish at least one episode a month, and hopefully two... we shall see how we go!

If there is a particular focus, topic or concept you would like to see in a miniatures game podcast, please let us know! We are eager to more episodes recorded and available for download!

Game Design

I am lucky enough at the moment to have had the opportunity to work on a range of games: Dystopian Legions, Dystopian Wars, Fleet Battles, Halo: Fleet Battles, as well as write for Firestorm Planetfall, Firestorm Armada, Infinity the RPG, Star Trek Adventures, and to work as an editor on Firestorm: Taskforce and Achtung! Cthulhu the miniatures game. I'd really like to push this a little further this year, not only by continuing to write for the various games I have an opportunity to write for, but also to design and develop some games of my own. I have a variety of RPG and board game designs in various stages of completion in boxes, folders and on my hard drive. I'd like to aim to work on at least 4 different designs of my own over the course of this year... we shall see!




Well, that about rounds off my hobby goals for this year. Doubtless I have forgotten some things, but this is enough to begin with!

Writing Goals...

In my previous post I reflected a little on the goals I had set out for myself in 2016. For the most part these goals revolved around various forms of playing games because, well, I like playing games, and my blog is dominated by posts about them.

Over the last few years I been working somewhat as a freelance writer (well, it's a hobby really, I work as a teacher during day-light hours). This work has all been in the games industry, with both Spartan Games and Modiphius Entertainment (those interested can see what exactly I have worked on, on my bibliography page).

I have always had a passion for game design and writing, I have tended to spend vast chunks of my time developing my own role-playing systems and settings, board games, writing fiction, and writing for various places online. After high school I studied professional writing and editing for a couple of years before going on to teaching, and my hard drive and many note books are full of jottings, from simple plot, scene or setting concepts, to game ideas, to variously 'finished' and (predominantly) unfinished short story, novella and novel manuscripts.

The last few years it has been a pleasure, therefore, to be able to do this work in a more professional sense. To see things I helped work on, design or write make it to print. It is not a side-job that has earned me a lot of money, I might add, but I enjoy it, and it keeps me off the streets.

This post, as the title might suggest, is about my writing goals for 2017...

Spartan Games:

2016 ended with an explosion of activity for Spartan Games, and Dystopian Wars specifically. There is a new version of the rules underway, which I am not involved with at this stage, but there are also many models to stat up, 7 faction books to produce, as well as the Ice Maiden and Bronze Typhoon campaign books and the Decameron - a book of novellas and short stories.

Needless to say, everyone involved is full steam ahead. I am working currently on the faction books, the campaign books and the Decameron. While I will be doing some of the writing for all of those, my main role at the moment is to help project manage these 9 books from conception to production. Neil, myself and some of the core writers who work with Spartan (Franco Sammarco and Sam Bevan), have worked through a plan for how these stories will develop, and Neil and myself have worked through the outline and structure of the books so everyone knows how they will be stitched together and what pieces are required. I am excited. I'm hoping everyone will thoroughly enjoy the playing through the campaign books; and the faction guides and Decameron will help develop the background of Dystopian Wars, including some fun things which reveal a little more about the how and why of this alternate 1800s setting...

Modiphius Entertainment:

Over the last year and a bit I have been doing some free lance work for Modiphius Entertainment. I worked as an editor on the Achtung! Cthulhu Miniatures Game, but my main projects have been for the upcoming Infinity Role Playing Game. More recently I have also finished a little writing for the upcoming Star Trek Adventures Role Playing Game. I have absolutely loved working on these games, the opportunity to delve in and write background and setting material is something I enjoy immensely.

Infinity: The Role Playing Game is based on the setting of the very successful miniatures game from Corvus Belli. Those who have followed my blog may recall this is a game I have played and enjoyed, and therefore writing some of the setting chapters for the core rule book has been a real pleasure. I am currently working on an adventure, and will have more to do as Wave 2 develops. It should be a busy year for Infinity!

I have only recently completed my first assignment for Star Trek Adventures, and again, this has been something I have thoroughly loved. Just the potential to tell my wife that staying up and watching Star Trek is 'research' is enough, but the game system is looking really good and of course the setting is classic science fiction, so writing for it is something I have had a lot of fun with. I am looking forward to the opportunity to do more in the coming year.

Castle by Moonlight:

My blogging goal for 2017 is roughly the same as what I had for 2016. If I can keep up around two posts a month, I'll be happy. Last year I managed an average of three posts a month, but I'll keep the goal at two. I know some months when everything else is busy, I may not hit that target, and other months when things are more quiet (or the mood takes me), I'll manage more. Two a month gives me a goal to work toward without feeling like I'm placing too much pressure on myself. As per usual my blog will remain predominantly about games and gaming, with the occasional book review or other piece of miscellany thrown in.

Writing for pleasure...

[insert picture of a majestic landscape or an inspirational quote here]

Much of the work I have completed, in regards to writing, over the last couple of years has been a form of report (as on this blog), a form of technical writing (rules, scenarios), or has been copy editing. It has been a nice break away from the norm to be writing background material for the Infinity role playing game and the occasional piece of fiction for Spartan Games. One of the things I want to make sure I set aside time for in 2017 is to write more fiction of my own. I have a broad collection of narratives, from short stories through to novels, in various stages of completion; and the beginnings of plans or the seeds of ideas for many more.

I want make the time to get back to writing my own stories in my own settings. I think the way to do this is to try and set aside at least one night a week (I'll start with one and see how it goes), where my sole focus is to work on something of my own. Of course, it really should be more than this, but with work to complete for Spartan and Modiphius, one night will suffice for now.

I expect this goal will be quite hard to maintain, not only am I a world class procrastinator, never doing today what I can put off for tomorrow, but when my other freelance projects get busy, they can be quite consuming. Writing is a creative act, and distraction, emotional state, weariness and many other factors can all impact a person's ability to 'get it done'. The act of writing itself can feel like it is just flowing, the words tumbling onto the page, but sometimes they just don't. Additionally, one must often stop for a period to research things like common Sicilian surnames, or how the ionosphere can interfere with radio signals, or the structure of the United Nations Military Council... because anyone who writes will admit to having an insanely random set of browser searches in their history. Research can and usually does eat hours, and, of course, there is a limit to a person's available work time, especially when they have a day job as well. When high levels of research are required, whether for a freelance project or a personal one, it can feel like a lot of time has been spent for very little progress. But this is just a part of the process, of course.

Regardless, whatever the excuses, whatever the distractions, I really want to push myself to spend a night a week working on my own projects. It will be interesting to see how I go.




So that about sums up my writing goals for 2017. The other key factor in all of this is making sure I don't take on so much that I burn myself out, or that it then impacts negatively on the time I have with my family, or my day job. It will be interesting to see how things develop. I think 2017 will be a bumper year, with much to do for Dystopian Wars, the Infinity RPG and hopefully the Star Trek RPG. Add in the time I want to spend on my own projects, and I think I will be kept reasonably busy throughout 2017. Writing is something I love, so I find the process a curious mix of stressful (especially around deadlines) and cathartic. I'm hoping 2017 is a year in which I find a solid rhythm to work to: where I can manage my freelance work as well as make progress on my own projects. We shall see!

Tempus Fugit

Sitting here staring at the blank screen, thinking about all the blog posts I had planned to write by now I realise it's been more than a month since I last posted something, a month and a half in fact.

I had certainly intended to write more, reviews of games I had played, games I was looking at, the book I am reading. I had the topics for half a dozen posts, but life got busy, as life does, and time flies.

In the last month and a half things have certainly been busy, professionally and personally. My mother passed away, and while I won't write about it now, if I ever do, I should add that she was a singular woman who instilled in me a passion for reading, for games, for information, for curiosity and creativity, the last two perhaps the most important. It is in the arrogance of young adulthood that you convince yourself you are a self-made person, and for me at least, it was the loss of my mother that reminded me how truly formative our parents are.

The Castle has also been wracked by plague, with child and adult alike hacking at their lungs with unabating coughs and fevers running rampant.

Work has kept my hands from idleness, as a teacher and as a writer. For the latter I have had chapters for the Infinity Role Playing Game's Core Rule Book (by Modiphius) to write and review (so far I've worked on the Concillium, O-12 and PanOceania chapters), characters and adversaries to stat out and describe, short biographies to create and more. I have also been proofing the upcoming Achtung! Cthulhu Skirmish Game (also by Modiphius and based on the Legions game from Spartan), and have been working with Spartan Games on upcoming things. All of this has been immense fun, but left me short on time for blogging, painting, playing and reading.

Writing of reading, I am, at the moment, working my way slowly through Ancillary Justice, by Ann Lecke. A Hugo and Nebula Award winning book, I am only a little way through. I have to be honest and say that it has only partially grabbed me, though unfolding events are drawing me closer. Part of a trilogy of books, I am looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.

Gaming wise, I have played a few games here and there, some of which I'll cover below. The most enjoyable of the games I have played in the last couple of months are:

Playing the first mission in HeroQuest with my son, who had a blast. A simple but highly enjoyable dungeon romp that goes to show nostalgia isn't always the reason games of yesteryear seem so good.

Playing through a thoroughly disastrous campaign of Dux Britanniarum, in which my Saxon Lord has done little but prove his ineptitude and the poor judgement of his men in selecting him as leader. This game is absolutely brilliant, as much for what happens outside the game table as for what happens on it.

I've also been thoroughly enjoying Infinity the miniatures game, by Corvus Belli (upon which the RPG is based). This game is a lot of fun, and full of little storied moments.

The best new game I've played has been Morels, a funny little set-collection game about gathering fungi. An odd theme, but a rather enjoyable two-player game that moves quicker than you think it might.

The best of my older games that has hit the table, and one I haven't played in some time, was Shadows Over Camelot. Shadows is a co-operative game where the players, as knights of the Round Table must attempt to win various quests to both stave off disaster and gain enough 'white swords' to claim victory against the forces of evil. There may also be a traitor, of course, and in this game there was, and he won with a brutal twist just as things seemed like they may turn for the better at the end.


What's upcoming?

Well, I am planning on getting a group together, in some form or another, to play some Fate. I've never played this RPG before, but I like the look of it a lot and it should be good fun.

I also have some 15mm Chariots I have put together for a game called Fastvs Fvrivs, by Ganesha Games, and I'm very much looking forward to getting them on the table!



Well, that's enough, probably far too much. I am hoping to come back to some of these games and things and write about them in a touch more detail, but for now this will suffice.

Attracted to Infinity...

Infinity is a skirmish level science fiction table top miniatures game published by Corvus Belli. It is thick on the action, and for me the two standouts in the game are the dynamic and tension building activation mechanism, combined with the threat imposed by a reaction mechanism. In other words, you have a set number of actions you can take, and you may spend them how you please (including activating the same model multiple times). You must also be very careful about dominating lines of fire on the table, as models may react by firing at enemy models at any and every opportunity, even out of turn.

It is a gloriously fun and dynamic game, filled with tense choices, tactical play and a mix of forward planning and flying by the seat of your pants.

A good Infinity table has plenty of terrain, allowing for extensive use of cover, planning, careful movement, and covering fire.

The setting for Infinity is a sprawling space opera style universe, with a multitude of varying powers vying for their own slice. It is a highly enjoyable and well developed setting, explored thoroughly in the N3 Core Book, and expanded upon in the updated release of Human Sphere. The setting is well supported by a very consistent aesthetic and wonderful art (carried through into the miniatures).

I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to write for the Infinity Role Playing Game, published by Modiphius Entertainment, and have loved getting stuck into the setting. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the books in print later this year!

For Infinity I collect the Yu Jing, a conglomeration of various Asian powers melded into one. The miniatures produced by Corvus Belli are stunning, if sometimes a little agonizing for a lazy man such as myself to assemble. 

With a variety of miniature games in my collection, as well as hundreds of board and card games, storage is a very real issue. I just don't have anywhere to put all my miniatures!

Pinching the idea from a friend (thanks Quinton), I recently got hold of a metal tool box, and started magnetizing the bases of my figures to go inside it. I know this is not a new idea, but it is the first time I've tried it, and I must say that it's worked an absolute treat.

A couple of neodymium magnets under the base of a model, and it sticks to the interior of the metal toolbox with no worries. My only concern in fact, is that I may have attached too many magnets to the base of some of the figures, and may well pull them apart or off the base as I try to get them out (note to self: neodymium magnets are strong).

Happily, I found a reasonably well sized tool box, and will be adding a bunch of my other miniatures to it as well. At the moment it is home to my Infinity models and my Splintered Light models (for Song of Blades and Heroes). I plan to add my Planetfall miniatures in there as well, as soon as the postman delivers the packet of magnets I need to the door.

If you are struggling for storage, or are looking for a storage solution that is also handy for transport, a metal toolbox and some magnets is a very solid choice.

I used two magnets per stack - as this reached the same height as the interior of the base. For my Infinity models I added two such stacks (4 magnets per base) - probably excessive. 

The remotes (the large bases at the bottom), I used 4 stacks (8 magnets), definitely excessive.

Splintered Light miniatures for Song of Blades and Heroes

I used a lighter touch with these, only one stack per base - which was well and truly enough.

Strong magnets... a plenty of room left in the toolbox for more miniatures...