How Did My 2025 Tabletop Gaming Plans Go?

The results were mixed, as usual. Here's the post where I presented the year's plans: My 2025 Tabletop Gaming Plan. Let's go through it, point by point.

Get more of my collection off the shelves and onto the tabletop.

Success! Five Parsecs From Home never made it to the table. But our group got to a good point to pause X1 The Isle of Dread and gave Tachyon Squadron a go. Lancer will have to wait until 2026.


Do something with the games I've Kickstarted or preordered as they come in.

I lied when I stated that no Kickstarter loot was coming my way in 2025. My backing An Infinity of Ships completely slipped my mind. I did read it as soon as it arrived, so that counts as doing something with it.


Presenting more of my tabletop gaming thoughts online.

I've been posted on Mastodon, Bluesky, and this blog on such an irregular basis that I can't call it a schedule. However, I have been posted. That's more than I can say for my neglected YouTube channel.


Make a dent in my pile of unread books (and not just TTRPG books).

Here's the books I recall reading this year. There might be one or two I'm overlooking. For example, I may have read Tachyon Squadron in 2025, but I can't remember the timing. It's been that kind of year.

Play Nice by Jason Schreier
I shared my thoughts about this book in this imaginatively titled post: Book Review: Play Nice by Jason Schreier.

An Infinity of Ships from STATIONS
A toolkit for building spaceships. Tables and tables of tables and tables broken up by Rob Turpin's wonderful illustrations. Originally conceived as a Mothership supplement, it carries that zany, irreverent flavor forward to the finished product.

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
A delightfully subversive little book, especially for the times we are living in.

Lancer from Massif
I'm almost done with this chunky core book. Things are easier now that I'm in the setting section and don't have to process unfamiliar game mechanics. Hopefully, I'll have the time and focus to finish reading it before the end of the year. I'll certainly find a time to run it in 2026.


Make a dent in my pile of shame (miniatures and terrain).

Hard fail as projects ran into issues. I got very little done as far as actually putting paint on things, but did accomplish some preparations.


New year, new plan?

Not really. I'll likely either wing it or repeat the above plan because I can't come up with something better. Let's see what the new year brings!

My 2025 Tabletop Gaming Plan

My 2024 plan was a measured success. Improving on it seems like a better idea than starting over. Or maybe it's just easier. In either case, it's the way I'm going.

In 2024, I went back to where I started tabletop gaming - role playing games. I intend to maintain my focus on TTRPGs in 2025, but there might be room to squeeze in some miniatures wargaming here and there.

Get more of my collection off the shelves and onto the tabletop.

By collection, I'm referring to my miniature wargames as well as TTRPGs. Solo wargames are simpler to schedule. Another Five Parsecs From Home campaign is the most likely contender.

As for TTRPGs, I should have adventure module X1 The Isle of Dread ready to go when our group gets over our holiday hangovers. I'm planning on posting my notes on converting it to Old School Essentials, but only after we've played it.

The most likely game after that is Tachyon Squadron for FATE Core. Sci-fi in a more narrative system should be a good palette cleanser before diving back into OSE. I'll have whichever classic D&D module I want to run figured out by then. And after that, maybe Lancer?


Do something with the games I've Kickstarted or preordered as they come in.

This was a 2024 goal that no longer applies. I exercised some restraint and don't have any Kickstarted or preordered games on the way. I'll count that as a win here. We'll see if that holds out for another year.


Presenting more of my tabletop gaming thoughts online.

My ideas and opinions aren't special. They do have a way of bouncing around the inside of my head until I find something to do with them. Posting them online qualifies as something. It also spreads the misery by making them other people's problems.

I plan on continuing to make a nuisance of myself on Mastodon and Bluesky.

I've found ways to increase the post count on this blog. The first is getting more organized and posting more regularly. The second is cheating. Publishing the Character Creation and #RPGaDay Challenges as daily updates is a guaranteed sixty-two posts! Seriously, I'll be shooting for weekly or biweekly posts outside of those special challenges.

As for YouTube, I may end up taking the "throw things at the wall and see what sticks" approach. At least I'll be posting something there.


Make a dent in my pile of unread books (and not just TTRPG books).

One thing I might try is to favor fiction for awhile. Non-fiction can be challenging for me to get through. I have the same issue with the mechanically crunchy parts of game rules. Fiction seems to flow better. And it's been a long time since I demolished a novel over a weekend.


Make a dent in my pile of shame (miniatures and terrain).

This demands a direct assault. I need a direction to work towards. A specific goal to focus my efforts. In 2025, I'll be looking at using my long neglected 15mm scale collection for Five Parsecs From Home. That means painting many tiny 15mm dudes and terrain to match. On the bright side, nobody expects better than tabletop standard at that scale.


And that's the plan. I'll circle back and report on my progress around the middle of the year.

How Did My 2024 Tabletop Gaming Plan Go?

"No plan survives contact with the enemy."

- Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (paraphrased)

The end of the year approaches! Let's see how things went with my 2024 Tabletop Gaming Plan.

The games I ran and the miniature I painted in 2024.

Back to where I started with tabletop gaming - role playing.

As mentioned in the Midyear Update, our group finished D&D adventure module B4 The Lost City by June. My general approach to converting it to Old School Essentials and the specific decisions I made can be found elsewhere on this blog.

The other game I ran with our regular group was Mothership. My impression of the game is favorable. My opinion of the adventure in the boxed set - Another Bug Hunt - is mixed.

I also got the chance to play a couple sessions of D&D 5e run by my son. He has some rough edges as a gamemaster, but didn't we all at that age? D&D 5e is not my game, but I'll cherish every chance I get to roll dice with our family.

My goal to focus on TTRPGs was a success. I didn't run or play in as many sessions as I hoped, but even that was a marked improvement over 2023.


Getting more of my TTRPG collection off the shelves and onto the tabletop.

Okay, this could've gone better. I was planning on running FATE Core, Night's Black Agents, or Modiphius' Conan this year. None of that happened. I'll have to work harder to make the schedule come together in the future.


Do something with the games I've Kickstarted or preordered as they come in this year.

This was a mixed success. Mothership hit the table. Lancer did not. That's still much better than my average, so I'll take it.

Presenting more of my TTRPG thoughts online.

Not that my ideas and opinions are anything special, but getting them out of my head makes me feel better. This is my 25th post on this blog in 2024. That's much better than 2023. I'm also babbling about this kind of nonsense on Mastodon and BlueSky.

YouTube, unfortunately, is where I fell down completely. I just couldn't put together the wherewithal to draft a script, set up the gear, talk to a camera, edit the raw video, add music, make a thumbnail, write a description, upload the video, wait for YouTube to process it, and watch as the algorithm tries to figure out what to do with it. It's more work than it looks like and I'm not sure what I can do to make it less demanding.


Make a dent in my pile of unread books (and not just TTRPGs).

I read more books this year than the previous one. It barely made a dent in my book pile of shame, but some books read is better than no books read.


Make a dent in my pile of shame (miniatures and terrain).

I got (checks notes) one miniature painted this year. Something had to give to make progress everywhere else and this was it. I'll need a new plan for next year.


"Strategy is a system of expedients; it is more than a mere scholarly discipline. It is the translation of knowledge to practical life, the improvement of the original leading thought in accordance with continually changing situations."
- Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

Given how poorly 2023 went for me as far as tabletop gaming is concerned, the modest improvements I made in 2024 feels great. But there's obviously room for more. Next year: new plan.

The Summer Trip - Don't Leave Gaming Behind!

Got back from visiting family. Took photos of rocket butts. Here's how I didn't leave gaming behind. At least, not entirely.

Dat @$$. Saturn V display at the Apollo center of Kennedy Space Center.

Reading

We all have stuff we've been meaning to read, but just haven't had the time.

Guess what?

Bring something to read. It doesn't matter if you're taking a plane, car, or train - you're going to end up spending hours sitting with reading or looking out the window as your options.

Game books are the obvious choice. I brought a couple and - while I didn't finish either book - I did make progress in them both. Be careful in your selection. Digest sized is easier to pack than a big hardcover. And don't take anything you'd miss or can't replace. No first runs of long out of print classics from defunct companies. Luggage gets lost. Things disappear.

The two game systems I brought were FATE Core System and the Mothership boxed set. Reading the FATE rules is a first step towards running a future campaign using Tachyon Squadron. Bringing the Mothership boxed set was a mistake. It's a little too big to comfortably fit in my messenger bag and it split my reading time between them. Bringing FATE Core System and leaving Mothership at home would have allowed me to concentrate on and finish the one book.

I did finish the couple of non-fiction books I brought along. I count both of these towards gaming because much of my non-fiction reading ends up being research for upcoming campaigns. Books with a smaller footprint are better and bring nothing you can't easily replace.

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is a niche title about using checklists as an organizational tool. Checklists aren't the best choice in all scenarios, but they do serve to make sure that no steps are overlooked while executing a process. Recommended, but not for everybody.

The Middle Ages: A Graphic History by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emmanuel covers a period that too many folks assume they know everything about. It's an excellent overview for somebody new to the topic. In my case, it helped me see how everything fits together as well as giving me new insights into the period. Some folks might find parts of it too "woke" for their tastes, but those folks are wrong. Strongly recommended.

Something else to consider is a cheap paperback novel. A quick, light read might be welcome between more challenging material. I ended up not doing this, but it's an option I'm keeping in mind for next time.


What NOT To Pack

Accept that you'll be away from your gaming collection. Don't try to stuff your entire collection into your luggage. It's just a bad idea. Process that and move on. And plan accordingly.

My wife packed our copy of Bohnanza in case the family got restless, but we ended up not playing it. Carefully consider these kinds of options. Only bring a board or card game if you know you'll end up playing it. Otherwise, it will just be dead weight in your luggage.

I was tempted to bring a miniature, a small wet palette, a couple of brushes, and a few paints. It all didn't make the cut due to space limitations. It's just as well, there wasn't enough light in the place we were staying. My advice is to only consider this if you're really into miniature painting and know that you'll have the time and a suitable location to paint.

The forbidden boop. Nose of the orbiter Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center.

What To Do?

Visit a gaming related location in the area. This normally means a game store. However, a little research may yield a big surprise. I found out that the Warsenal shop is located a short distance from where we were staying. It was short visit, but buying some MDF terrain straight from the source was a novel experience.

Watch a movie. There were a couple of times when I found myself with time to kill and access to a TV. I used the time to for a couple of old favorites: I suspected that my testosterone levels were low and hoped to absorb some through osmosis by watching Predator (1987) again. I also sought inspiration for eventually running Mothership in Alien (1979).

The rest of the time? We had obligations, but enough free time to take the kids to see some of the sights. Otherwise, touch grass. Or sand. Or try to boop the nose of a space shuttle orbiter (it was out of reach). Or lick a rock from the Moon (also out of reach).

They call these things get aways for a reason. Relax for a bit.

A Brief Visit to Warsenal

I hadn't planned on going to the Warsenal shop while seeing family in Florida. The place appeared while I was searching for tabletop gaming locations in the general area, because my addiction to my hobbies couldn't be put off for long. I've placed many online orders from Warsenal over the years. The chance to visit the place where all that laser cut MDF came from was too good to pass up.

The signage does make the place easier to find.

Warsenal is located in an unassuming industrial park. Getting there involved waiting for a big rig truck to finish backing in to another business and unblocking the road. They are open from 10am - 4pm on weekdays only. I would advise calling or emailing ahead to make sure that they are ready to receive visitors. It's a step I neglected, but I got lucky.

The place is a working shop ringed with laser cutters and assembly stations rather than a store location. They are set up for onsite sales and even have a modest play area with already assembled terrain. I was allowed to wander freely and pick out what I wanted from the available inventory of already packed kits. The compact space is arranged for maximum efficiency. Meaning that getting around involves squeezing through a few narrow spots.

Once I finished exploring, I inquired about an item I wasn't able to find. I was offered the chance to return in a couple of days if it needed to be cut. However, it turned out to be available, just not on display. I made my purchases and concluded my brief visit. As stated, this is a working shop, so I didn't want to hold up production any long than necessary.

I enjoyed the visit and would recommend it to any Warsenal fans who find themselves in the area. It's a fun - if brief - experience that I would've regretting passing up. Plus, it's nice to make an order without paying shipping costs.

2024 Tabletop Gaming Plan - Midyear Update

We're halfway through the year. Which is as good a time as any for me to take stock of how I'm doing with my 2024 Tabletop Gaming Plan.

Kick things off with a blast of nostalgia by revisiting some classic D&D and AD&D modules using Old School Essentials.

Our group just finished B4 The Lost City after a late start. The delay was to give me time to read through both OSE books and the module. Running it was a taste of how things were back when we got started with role playing games - both good and bad. The next module will be X1 The Isle of Dread, but we'll be playing through something else first to avoid campaign fatigue. I'll go into more details in upcoming posts.


Getting more of my RPG collection off the shelves and onto the tabletop.

OSE technically counts, but I'm planning on breaking out the likes of FATE Core or Night's Black Agents later this year.


Do something with the games I've Kickstarted or preordered as they come in this year.

The first of these - the Mothership boxed set - arrived last month. I'm reading through it now. Which is a large improvement considering all the times I left Kickstarter rewards collect a layer of dust before getting to them.


Make a dent in my pile of unread books (and not just RPGs).

I've made a dent. It's a smaller dent than I was hoping for, but it's more than I read in all of 2023.


Make a dent in my pile of shame (terrain and miniatures).

Yeah, not everything can be a win. Or even a qualified win. I need to put some paint on something soon.

Overall, I'm making progress in almost all areas. The OSE campaign is off to a great start. I'll likely run Mothership before marooning our group on The Isle of Dread. I'm reading more than I have in years. I just need to break out the brushes and get back into the habit of painting again.

My 2024 Tabletop Gaming Plan

2023 was not my year for anything related to tabletop gaming. I don't want to get into details. I'm going to put it all behind me and start fresh with a new plan. It may not be a good plan, it might be pie in the sky, but it's a direction to go in until I come up with something better.

In early 2024, I'm going back to the place where I started gaming. I enjoy setting up terrain, measuring distances, pushing miniatures around, and cursing my poor die rolls. But wargaming isn't where the journey began for me. My gaming origins involve a purple boxed set with an Erol Otis cover, rules by Tom Moldvay, and an adventure by Gary Gygax.

So it's back to roleplaying games for awhile. I picked up the Player's Tome and Referee's Tome for Old School Essentials Advanced Fantasy during Necrotic Gnome's Black Friday sale. It's looking like a good way to revisit some classic adventures without too much conversion work. After that, I have a bunch of other TTRPGs that are either sitting on the shelves or are on the way from Kickstarters or preorders. Maybe I'll alternate between fantasy and sci-fi with a modern setting thrown in here and there.

Related to all the TTRPGs sitting on the shelves is my massive backlog of books to read. Making a dent in it is an overall 2024 goal. Quite a few of those books are gaming related, so it's fair to mention it here.

Another backlog is my pile of shame. Although I'll be kicking off 2024 with TTRPGs, I'm planning on getting to know my brushes and paints again. Not every miniature and terrain piece has to be used for wargaming, after all. There's also some junk in storage for when I try my hand at scratch building and trashbashing again.

Finally, I could use a way to keep my thoughts and ideas organized in 2024. Maybe I could publish them in some format? Perhaps a blog? Or a YouTube channel? I'll have to look into it.

Back from a Blogging Break

I made the conscious decision to take August off. Things at work have been changing non-stop since my place of employment changed hands a year ago. 2020 has been weird and stressful for everybody. Putting paint on plastic and metal figures seemed a little meaningless. I couldn't focus enough to put words on the screen. I took a month off blogging and hobby stuff to recharge a bit.

During my blogging break, I realized that I need a plan. In March, I started posting more regularly to this blog. My goal was modest - two posts a month. I achieved posting twice a month in March, April, and May. June and July each saw an increase to three posts per month. It was going well. Then I hit a wall. I had been dusting off old projects, reviewing a few things, and sharing thoughts about tabletop games. But just doing whatever came to mind could only go so far. Without direction, I drove off a cliff.

I still don't have a solid plan. That's coming together. Right now, I want to continue to gradually increase the number of posts I put out per month until I find a comfortable and sustainable pace. I've barely put a dent in my mountain of miniatures, so slinging more paint is in my future. My reviews seem to be well received, so I'm happy to offer up more opinions about the products I purchase. I can discuss tabletop gaming all darn day, so more posts about whatever game or gaming topic that catches my attention seems like a good outlet. I'd like to experiment with more tutorial posts. I did a post on electrical box terrain quite a while back and I've been thinking about revisiting the idea in more detail. Finally, I have almost as many old projects that need finishing as I do unpainted miniatures, so that's a bunch of stuff that needs doing.

It's not a plan, but it is a direction to go until I come up with one.

A Little Overdue for an Update

Yeah, so... it looks like I missed out on updating this blog for... all of February. I'll take all the blame for that one. There was alot on my plate last month and something had to give. Blogging had to take the hit to free up the time I needed to get things done. I'm sorry and will do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again. Until next time.

I did spend time thinking about this little blog, though. Up until now, I've done little more than chronicle my painting and terrain projects with a few reviews on the side. Those are worthy pursuits and will continue. But I do have ideas on other topics to add to the mix. I hope that you will enjoy the greater variety of posts.

2012 - Looking Back at My Gaming Goals

It's as good a time as any to take a look at the plans I made for gaming this year. Things didn't go as planned, but that's how life works.

Role Playing

The idea of running quarterly RPG games hit scheduling issues and go tossed to the side early in the year. But the underlying concept of promoting variety did work. I got three games off the ground during 2012.

Unfortunately, two of those games died off within two sessions. The first fizzled out. My issues with the ruleset (Palladium) caused me to trash the second.

The third, an AD&D campaign partly motivated by nostalgia, lasted for the planned half-dozen sessions. My gaming group will likely revisit this one later in 2013.


Terrain Projects

I tried my hand at creating my own terrain and learned quite a bit. Of course, some of that knowledge came at the cost of failure. Still, I feel better about trying, failing, and learning something than not taking the chance at all.

I have also been looking at sources of terrain for purchase. Expect some more reviews in 2013.


Painting Projects

I got a fair amount painted this year. Certainly the projects that were hanging over my head from 2011 were all completed early in the year.

Not buying more miniatures went out the window with the Reaper Bones Kickstarter. The summer and winter sales from various sources were also too tempting to resist. The end result is that my pile of unpainted metal, resin, and plastic is bigger than it ever was in 2011. Things will get even worse in March 2013 if Reaper stays on track.

So, yeah, more painting.


Overall, not a bad year.

2012 – Looking Forward

I'm not in the habit of making New Year's Resolutions, but I do have plans for early 2012. Bear in mind the old saying about how long plans survive in the face of opposition, though.

Quarterly RPG Campaigns

Divide the year into quarters and run a new game every quarter. This puts a hard deadline on story lines and promotes more variety.

I ran this past my regular gaming group and they all approved. Now comes the tough part – what to run first?

Terrain Projects

Look into low-cost alternatives to commercial terrain pieces and kits. Not that there is anything wrong with well-made, good-looking terrain being produced these days. Many of them are available for reasonable prices. However, limited funds are forcing me to choose between buying terrain and buying miniatures. Given the difficulties of playing miniatures games without miniatures, I'll be trying my hand at creating terrain rather than purchasing it. Not that I'll pass up good deals on commercial terrain if I find them.

For the immediate future, this means preparing more trees for the tabletop. I picked up a package of plastic pines suitable for 15mm or 28mm scale at Home Depot's after-Christmas clearance sale. A little paint, some flock, and new bases will make them ready to go.

There are also some odds-and-ends that I've collected that would be good for creating futuristic terrain. That will be a little further down the road.

Painting Projects

Knock down the amount of unpainted models in my collection. No more impulse buys. If I have no immediate plans to put it on the table, I don't buy it.

Clear off the desk. There's a couple of models that were repeatedly pushed aside in favor of other projects last year. Got to get them done before moving on.

Base and paint my 15mm ARC Fleet troopers from Critical Mass Games.

Base and paint miniatures appropriate for upcoming RPG projects – pirates and sci-fi at the moment.

Post Holiday Clean Up

It never fails. I manage to catch whatever is going around almost every holiday season. This despite getting a flu shot, monitoring my diet, and getting better about exercising regularly. Maybe it has something to do with living in one of the allergy capitals of the world.

The good news is that I'm getting my energy back. It was taking everything I could muster to make it through a day of work. Now, I can get some things done at home before looking for a place to lie down.

The first order of business was digging out my office and hobby area. Something about a flat surface tends to attract every loose paper around it. Cleaning up turned into re-organizing. My hobby tools and supplies are back in place. Next up will be the bookshelves – I haven't even looked at some of that stuff in years. It might be time for a trip to Half-Price Books to sell some of it off.

Introduction

Hello world, take me to your leader!

My name is Raymond Ford and I've been a gamer for awhile. In that time, my tastes have changed, but my passion for the hobby has remained.

Why blog? I've found that articulating thoughts are the best way to clarify them. Ever had an idea that made perfect sense in your head, but fell flat when it hit the real world? Talking it out or putting on paper helps me put things in order before presenting them to others.

As the name of the blog suggests, I'm not exactly a spring chicken. Gaming isn't as easy as it used to be. A full time job, a marriage, and kids take up a fair bit of time. Gaming all night, every night is out. Doing more with the time (and money!) that I have is in. Getting more bang for the buck is something I figure that everybody is interested in, regardless of age.