A to Z Blogger Book Survey

This has been floating around a few different blogs lately, saw it on Lead Warrior, who saw it over at Glue in the Carpet who saw it. . . and so on and on.  I quite enjoy these wee quizzes and I enjoy reading other peoples lists even more.  No real logic behind that, but this one is for the avid readers out there.

Just fyi, I mainly read history, fantasy and sci-fi nowadays; years of reading serious literature has left me feeling entitled enough now to only read stuff I genuinely enjoy!

Author you've read the most books from:

A rather boring answer.  Both in terms of words and books, it would have to be Dickens.

Best sequel ever:

Not sure about best sequel ever, but Raymond E Feist's Silverthorn is one of the best second books I've ever read.

Currently reading:

The Plantagenets by Dan Jones

The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote

Drink of choice whilst reading:

Reading in the bath?  A crisp, cold beer, something European preferably.

Around the house? A cup of tea, steeped for two minutes and a sploosh of milk.

E-reader or physical book:

Physical books still.  You can't scribble on an E-reader, fold the pages over, fall asleep and drool on them.  Plus there's no proper smell.  I managed recently to finish an audiobook for the first time, so, that barrier crossed, in time I may succumb to an e-reader too.

Fictional character you would probably have dated in high school:

Err, as a teen Tess Durbeyfield, later Anna Karenina and most recently, Fire (from the eponymous Kristin Cashore book)

Glad you gave this book a chance:

The first Discworld book, The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett.  I was a very late convert to Pratchett, he seemed a bit too twee for my tastes.  Also, lots of people told my I just HAD to read them, so, obviously, I avoided them for years.  However, once I'd read the first one, I kind of understood what people saw in Pratchett; British wit and humour, irreverence, farce, biting-BITING dialogue.  Glad to have given it a go, although I'm reading them very slowly in case of burnout!

Hidden book gem:

The Painted Man by Peter V Brett.  When I started reading, I thought it was a shallow, teen fantasy novel. However, it turned out to be one of the best modern fantasy novels I've read in recent years.  The fact it is easy to read disguises how skilfully the characters, world and plot have been put together.  The series is onto the third book now, the second was excellent, but I'm delaying reading the third until I'm ready (I've a funny feeling about one of my favourite characters in the next book.)

Important moment in your book life:

Reading The History of the World by J M Roberts as a teenager.  We had next to no history taught at my school.  In summary, we were told: the Romans were in Britain, Anne Frank complained a lot, people in London during the Blitz somehow won the second world war.  J M Robert's books single handedly changed that.

Just finished:

Ice Forged by Gail Z Martin.  God this one was drivel.

Kind of book you won't read:

Biographies and any self-help, pop-psychology based nonsense.  Also, anything by Dan Brown.

Longest book you've read:

Couldn't really say specifically.  Three of the longest are surely War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F Hamilton.

Major book hangover because of  disappointing endings:

First off, an ending should never ruin a book for you.  If the last few pages leave you feeling unsatisfied, think instead of how you enjoyed the days and weeks of reading to get there instead.

So the ending to the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks didn't ruin the series, but it wasn't really that satisfying.  Minor spoiler alert:  there's an essentially immortal character (well two actually) who tells the reader what happens to the rest of the cast after the last book ends. It was so Hollywood, it was horrible. However, until then, the series was outstanding, I can still quote bits from it!

Number of bookcases you own:

I left all my furniture behind with my ex when I moved back home this year, so technically, none. Most of my books are boxed up in the loft.  At the last count (in 2005,) I was sitting at a nudge over two and a half thousand books.

One book you've read multiple times:

Agatha Christie (allegedly) said "Reading a book once is like taking a dog to the theatre." I try to read the majority of my books at least twice.  A notable read?  Dune, must had read it through a dozen times or more.

Preferred place to read:

My sadly departed comfy leather chair (still traumatized by its loss,) the Duthie Park in Aberdeen (on a very sunny day of course) or the bath.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

I was going to go all serious and take the literary high ground with my teenager book, The Great Gatsby "here was a new generation. . . grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken."  But instead, I'll have to go with "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."

Reading regret:

I can't think of anything serious or trivial for this one.  Can't say I've ever regretted reading or not reading a book.  Gun to the head, I'd have preferred to avoid any of the Song of Ice and Fire sequels.  The first book was immense though.

Series you started and need to finish:

The Godless World trilogy by Brian Ruckley.  Read the first two, but need to get to the third. Not because it's a struggle to read or they're poorly read though; it's an outstanding series of books.  So good in fact, that I'm holding off reading it until I'm in the mood for a really good book.  This is something I do a lot, so many mediocre series out there, when I find one I like, I try and prolong the satisfaction as much as possible.

Three of your all-time favourite books:

Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Player of Games by Iain M Banks

Damn, can't commit to a third, I'll just say War of the Worlds by HG Wells (poor ending though, see above.)

Unapologetic fanboy for:

Hmmm, wouldn'y say I'm a fanboy for anything other than Star Wars and Star Trek.  That said, I've read some rubbish Star Wars books and thought they were great.

Very excited for this release:

Again, nothing I'm really looking forward to.  I'd have to say the Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch, mainly because it's been so long in coming out.  More cautious than excited though, the second book in the Locke Lamora series was entertaining, but had some serious flaws. This one had better be better.

Worst bookish habit:

Not lending books out.  I'm a bit of a hoarder, but I do try and give out books when I can.

X marks the spot - Start at the top left of your bookshelf and pick the 27th book:

No bookshelves at the moment, but I have a few arranged in stacks on the floor.  Starting at the top left and working down: The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf.

Your latest book purchase:

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks.  It's been a while since I finished his last book, so time for the next one.  It's got a lot to live up to, so it had better be good.  If not, I'll be writing smack about him on the internet.

Zzz snatcher book (the last book that kept you up waaay too late:)

One of my bad habits, I stay up far too late reading.  The last notable book to keep me up properly was In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland, good, but not great.

So that was my A-Z.  I'd love to see more bloggers put up their lists and link back to whose they have seen.  For ease, here are the 26 questions all together:

Author you've read the most books from:

Best sequel ever:

Currently reading:

Drink of choice whilst reading:

E-reader or physical book:

Fictional character you would probably have dated in high school:

Glad you gave this book a chance:

Hidden book gem:

Important moment in your book life:

Just finished:

Kind of book you won't read:

Longest book you've read:

Major book hangover because of  disappointing endings:

Number of bookcases you own:

One book you've read multiple times:

Preferred place to read:

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

Reading regret:

Series you started and need to finish:

Three of your all-time favourite books:

Unapologetic fanboy for:

Very excited for this release:

Worst bookish habit:

X marks the spot - Start at the top left of your bookshelf and pick the 27th book:

Your latest book purchase:

Zzz snatcher book (the last book that kept you up waaay too late:)

This week's posts have been rescheduled due to. . . pain.

I've put on a wee bit of beef that last couple months, culminating in topping 14 stone (only briefly though!) in July. Well, "that's enough of that" I said, so I've been cycling and doing some weights recently, but the other day I started back running.

The only plausible explanation I can think of is that I suddenly gained twenty or so years, because I'm an absolute wreck!  Cricket is my sport of choice, so running more than 22 yards in one go is a bit unusual for me.  Still, I ran for the university athletics club and that wasn't that long ago, was it?  In fact, I feel pretty good during the runs, it's when everything seizes up afterwards that's the problem; legs (obviously,) arse, abs, shoulders, neck, everything.  I even slept on the couch last night, instead of facing the torture of the staircase! Ugh.

So, I do have a couple posts to put up, but every time I've sat down to write this week, I've fallen asleep (to be fair, work is unexpectedly hectic, so that's not helping.)  Some pics should hopefully appear here soon then as well as some thoughts on a new card game I've picked up. Until then, zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Still here. . .

. . . Just not been up to posting anything lately.  Apologies for the long absence friends.  Life has been fairly stressful lately and that, coupled by a wee break to Spain, hasn't had me in the frame of mind for blogging or painting lately.

Things haven't actually turned the corner yet, but I'm at the point now where there's not much to actually do, just a case of waiting for things to happen.  Realising that, I'm actively working to get into a settled routine and resume doing the things that make me happy.  That sounds a bit flakey, I know, but hey, that's how I've been feeling lately.

Still a bit of gaming going on.  Had a few games of Netrunner this week; still my favourite game full stop at the moment, just wish I was a bit better at it!  Also had another outing for Dreadball the week before. Still oodles of fun, but I want to try another team for variety; robots, bugs or rats.  Can't decide.

Naturally, some retail therapy has been needed lately and I picked up two boxes from Fantasy Flight Games; the Elder Signs expansion; Unseen Forces and the new Star Wars RPG beginner box.  The RPG looks very entertaining, it's based on the WFB system (which I've never played) and has a ingenious dice pool system.  The artwork and writing are top notch too.

Frustratingly, I've not tried out the Unseen Forces yet.  The box FFG have used for the expansion is slightly too small for the cards Elder Sign uses, meaning that the large cards are all bent out of shape.  They've spent the last two days under a pile of the heaviest books I have, trying to straighten them out.  Still, reading the rule sheet, the expansions seems to add a welcome degree of difficulty to Elder Sign and the new Blessed and Cursed dice seem fun.

After moving house last month, I've managed to create a little space for modelling and painting.  No painting done yet, but I have managed to finish basing my 28mm Viking warband for Saga (wow, reading back I'd planned to have these finished in May.)  Hopefully I'll get these undercoated over the weekend, providing the rain eases up.

Lastly, we're finally getting to try out In Her Majesty's Name at the club next week.  Sholto has been beavering away creating factions for us to use.  Looking forward to it, pics if I can take anything decent.

Carronade Loot

Earlier this month I had a wee drive down to Falkirk to the Carronade show.  The biggest wargame show I can easily get to, it was an excellent day out on a rather rainy Saturday.  Lots of great demo and display games available on the day. I really liked the look of the Dead Man's Hand game the Angus club (I think) were running and the tron/lightcycle game was very entertaining (apart from the kiddie in tears playing the game.)  

The hypercritical part of me thinks however that there were no really outlandish games on show, they were all very traditional.  Still, nothing wrong with that.  There is something wrong, imo, with an (unnamed) club running a participation game (yup, it was listed as participation) where everyone playing is a club member, sitting huddled together round a table, ignoring anyone who came near them.

There's also something wrong with a games company (i.e. not a trader) basically showing no interest in someone who, clearly, wanted to be persuaded into buying something.  Seriously, "tell me about the two Rus faction boxes" is about as obvious a buying signal as I could have given.  No interest from the guy running the stall (I take it everyone knows what company I'm talking about now?)

Both these happened in my first pass round the four halls and put me a little off the place for a while.  Not sure if it was a direct result of those experiences, but I really didn't feel like taking many photos or getting involved many games. Still, met plenty of people I know (even a couple I only know online) and generally had a good time.

Enough of me moaning, lets get to what we're all wanting to see: my LOOT!!!!

Dreadball

Yup, I knew there would be at least one impulse buy.  After a random message from a friend a few weeks ago, I was keeping an eye out for a copy at a decent price, which duly presented itself at one of the trader stalls.  The board itself is a bit meh (I really wish I'd gone for the kickstarter with the premium board,) but everything else in the box is very impressive.  The figures themselves are excellent, dynamic poses and great sculpting quality with little flash.  The rulebook is outstanding, a great mix of rules, fluff and atmosphere, images and designer notes.  The rules themselves read well, but I need to get a game in before I can really comment.  Good stuff.  I'm trying to hold off buying any extra teams before we've had at least one game, but it's really tempting (esp the new "bug" team.)

In Her Majesty's Name

I didn't realise that these rules had actually been released, so a welcome surprise.  Had a quick read through of the core rules on the drive home, and generally impressed.  There are a few fellows at the club interested in playing IHMN, so I'll certainly pick something up for them.  I've been looking for an excuse to get a couple Teutonic Knights from Spartan Games, thank you!

Netrunner

Due to the crippling supply issues affecting Android: Netrunner in the UK, I wasn't expecting to find any product at Carronade.  This was the only pack on offer from any trader, but it was the only one I was missing.  Nice.  Still, these card packs are as addictive as crack.

Warhammer Fantasy 3rd Ed

A present from my mate Adam (who is clearly after some fantasy gaming,) this is a real blast from the past!  I haven't read this in at least fifteen years, but it does give me something to aim for with those Mantic Undead I have lying around!

Ice Cream Inflation and a Blogger Giveaway

As it was flippin roasting yesterday, the Mrs and I headed down to the beach for a walk.  Once there I offered to get us a couple ice cream cones, as you do.  Now I haven't bought an ice cream in a fair few years, but I was still flabbergasted at the cost £2.20 for a 99!

Tasted really good, but was it that good?

The whole idea with a 99, at least when I were a lad, was that it was 99p!  I suppose that was a fair few years ago now, but still... over £2 was surely a bit steep!  (Ok, I looked it up on Wiki, the 99 came out in the 30s, but they were still 99p when I was a kid!)

Wow, reading that back to myself makes me sound like a right grumpy old man!

So, in an effort to recoup that cash, I've entered Seb's giveaway on his Back To The Minis blog (did anyone notice that spurious segue?)  He's got some spaceships on offer today and I do love me some space combat games!  I think he's got a few more items to give away so keep an eye on his blog over the next couple days.

I'm Back Baby. . . . . Errr, Again?

Finally, all the moving is done and I'm back connected to the internet.  It's been a hell week or so trying to do some relatively simple things; changing your details with the bank is for some reason ridiculously complex!    Glad to be back online though.  One of my little habits is checking out my blog list with my morning coffee and the day doesn't start right if I don't get that done.  I also like to leave frequent comments on other blogs, just to feel part of the community, and

Gaming hasn't been too badly neglected over the last couple weeks though.  I've got a few more games of Android Netrunner in.  We've tried all the starter decks now and are ready to move on and try customising our own decks.  Just the other day I got my first game of 5150 Star Navy in; a very enjoyable game (mainly due to my opponent who organised everything) and a decent set of rules, although I'll need another couple games to see if it's the space combat game I'm looking for.

Lastly, I've decided to follow a number of other Bloggers lead and try and focus my modelling and painting on one project for the month.  Hence, May will be Saga month and I'll hopefully get my six points of Vikings finished up by the end of the month.

Normal service to resume. . . . Shortly.

Evening Blogeratti.  Sitting with a couple cold ones after day one of our three day move.  Today was all boxes (and up and down stairs,) tomorrow is the big stuff and Wednesday is getting rid of everything that is left over (like our old, battered couch.)  Annoyingly, we'll be moving again in June, so we'll be living amongst the boxes for the next few weeks.

As you can probably imagine, gaming time has been at an absolute minimum over the last couple weeks.  The notable exceptions were three games of X-Wing, the third of which I won!!!  Woot! That's the first game I've won in over twelve attempts.  It snuck up on me, but I think I'm getting better at the spacial awareness you need to plan your moves.  I have some photos so I might get a summary or two up.

In the evenings lately, I've been on a bit of a reading (and listening) kick and ploughed through a fair few books.  A few of my Two Minute Reviews should appear in the next couple weeks.

No gaming planned this week, but next week I've a game of 5150 Fighter Command by THW lined up.  I have the Star Navy rules, but have yet to try them; hearing nothing but good things about the new rules, so really looking forward to seeing how it plays.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for checking out the blog despite the dearth of content recently; although it's my Sophie Howard boobs post that still draws the most attention.  Until next time...

One Year Ago...

Another blog-meme is doing the rounds (blame PhilB) based on seeing what you were blabbering about a year ago.  In my case it was llamas and beer - never typed that phrase before either!

Now I know I'm taking some liberties with the specific dates here, but based on the fact it's -1° outside, I like to look back on how ridiculously warm it was last year!

A Weekend Off

Is anyone familiar with the phrase "society is only three meals away from anarchy?"  Well, this weekend, I could have adapted it to "I am only one woman away from adolescence "  The Mrs was away visiting her sister, so I was obliged to have some folk round, get some pizzas and beer in and generally overindulge.

Not entierly a write off hobby wise, I slapped some more paint on my GZG 15mm figures and started some terrain to go with them.  It's been a really busy, but surprisingly positive week, but my overall painting time has really suffered.  BTW, if you don't see him posted by next week, can someone remind me to finish the Samurai for Curt's Painting Challenge?  I'm nowhere near my points target, mainly because sci-fi doesn't count, but I want to get Curt's Ronin off to him.

On the plus side, I finally got round to catching up on a few movies; Dredd (decent, really liked the actor playing Dredd, effects were spot on,) Prometheus (what am I missing here?  Fail to see what all the fuss was about) and Ted (really? Nice set up, but a bit too safe for my liking, a real missed opportunity.)

Lastly, I finally managed to complete the final Shadows of Mirkwood quest in the Lord of the Rings LCG.  It's only taken seven months to do (they're really hard, honest,) but it means I can finally start on the Khazad-dûm expansion.

Quick Update

Just a quick update on what I've been up to this week.  I finally spent some time prepping the first of my sci-fi figures.  I've chosen the UNSC range from Ground Zero Games, I like the big "bug" heads and there's a lot of variety on offer.  Frustratingly I ran out of my usual ready made putty, so I had to use some old Milliput for the bases.  Using it caused an absolute mess and took an absolute age to set.  Any idea if this stuff has a use by date?

As I had a couple hours free yesterday, I managed to knock out another skirmisher unit for my Punic Wars project.  This time it's some allied Roman archers.  Pictures should be up on Curt's blog soon.

Also managed the first victory of the year - albeit at the fourth attempt.  I headed to the club this week without a specific game on, so brought Quarriors along and had three quickish games.  I suffered two quick defeats before inflicting an absolute trouncing in the third game.  Still love Quarriors, WizKids recently announced another expansion (the third,) but I need to get round to pick up the first two.

Lastly, I went a bit eBay crazy at the weekend, picking up some second hand books and a couple figures.  This 15mm resin scenery pack was bought on a whim, really cheap, it should fit in nicely on any historical table.  Bizarrely, this took just two days to arrive from Italy.  Two days!  I'm still waiting for a book to arrive from Kent after five days!  What's up with that?

Light at the end of the tunnel? Nope, it's snow!

Finally, after two chilly weeks, we've finally got heating and hot water back in the house!  Not a day too soon as this was the view from our window this morning.  Personally, I love the snow, it's just a lot more enjoyable when your house is warm and dry!

I've got next to no painting done in the last two weeks, it's just been far too cold to paint once the sun goes down.  So it has been under the covers activities (heh heh) for both of us.  On the flip side, I've ploughed through a fair few books and read some great new wargames rules, not to mention getting a few hours of Halo 4 in.

This weekend however, I managed to get some time at the painting desk and finish my first entry for the Analogue Painting Challenge.  It's been really bugging me seeing my name on Curt's site with zero points next to it.  Another two units sit prepped on the desk today, but the snow means I haven't yet undercoated them.

So, happy I've managed to the first unit of the year finished, hopefully I'll get straight back into the habit and you won't have to wait too long for the second one!

Found My Kickstarter? Beyond the Gates of Antares

A Kickstarter has appeared for Beyond the Gates of Antares (GoA,) A sci-fi, army level game penned by the esteemed Rick Priestly.  I mentioned earlier that I wanted to get involved in a Kickstarter, if only to say that I had done so.  Nothing out there is really grabbing my attention, but there looks to be a lot of potential for GoA.

There are three essentials that any sci-fi game need to nail down; miniatures, background material and rules.  Oddly, GoA hasn't really touched any of these yet.  They've put up a few concept pictures up, but not much else.  The rules are touched on, basically D10 based, but again no real detail.  Lastly, beyond the phrase "hard sci-fi" the background material isn't covered at all!

The big sell for Gates of Antares is that the developers want input into, well, basically everything in the game.  Sounds like my kind of thing.  The big risk is that, much like western democracy, most of the people can be wrong and, in this case, the game swings wildly in a direction I'm not keen on.  Still, I think the names and companies involved will manage to avoid anything too ridiculous.

As long as they drop the cat people.

So I've found my Kickstarter, pledging a "modest" amount for whatever the box set eventually looks like.  The delivery date is the end of the year, but that's so vague that it could well be earlier or later.  Still, check one for my resolutions for this year (admittedly, the easiest one and one that only involved spending money!)

Check out the Kickstarter page here, as well as the Dark Space Corps page here and an interview with Priestly on Bell of Lost Souls.

Hello insomnia, my old friend.

Ah, it's been a few months since we've last met, but there you were at three this morning, barging in like some drunken idiot determined to get me up!

Seriously though, I only get very mild insomnia from time to time  and long ago learned not to struggle, but instead to get up and do something (semi) productive.  So here I am Blogging away at ten to five in the morning, having spent the last hour doing some painting for the Analogue Painting Challenge.

Participation in the challenge so far has been minimal (just a few comments posted,) but this is my work's busiest time of the year and it was always vastly optimistic to think I'd get anything finished in week one.  Still, paint has been applied, hopefully with more to come.

P.S.  Might not have actually been full on insomnia, as I dozed off whilst writing this.  So now I'm shattered again and have to head off to work in 30 mins.

I'm Back Baby - Online, that is

Finally, after long delay, we're back online with a full, wired, proper internet connection.  Now, technically, I haven't exactly been offline since I picked up one of these mobile internet usb sticks.  But the limitations on it really hold back what you can do.  For starters, no Skype, iPlayer or gaming.  I also have to manually load pictures on every web page (something of a pain if you read a lot of blogs.)  Oddly, some plug ins like Disqus or Skylight don't work. Worse, it only works on the laptop, so no Xbox or tv internet access!

Since the idiots at my isp closed our account (idiots, they refunded us six months payment in compensation,) it kind of feels like I've lost, if not an arm, at least a finger!  It's had an impact on the amount of Blogging I've done; sometimes I can't face the hasstle uploading images.  So now I've a few evenings planned on Halo, as well as catching up on a few films.  Just in time for the holidays.

I'm well aware that this is a "first world problem" and that there are far more important things going on in the world, but my little world just got a bit better.  It also gives me an excuse to put this up:

Liebster Award

Now this is the kind of post that you'll either read or completely ignore.  Scipio over at Palladian Guard was kind enough to put Too Much Free Time as one of his five recommended blogs for a Liebster Blog award.  Now these kind of viral posts crop up on the blogosphere every now and then, sometimes not even as obvious viral posts (here or here) and if you keep in mind that they're just a bit of fun, no one needs to get too stressed about them appearing everywhere the last couple days (unlike this guy.)

The rules that turn up in all these posts are as follows:

• Copy and paste the award on your blog linking it to the blogger who has given it you.
• Pass the award to your top 5 favorite blogs with less than 200 followers by leaving a comment on one of there posts to notify them that they have won the award and listing them on your own blog.
• Sit back and bask in the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing you have made someone's day!
• There is no obligation to pass this onto someone else but its nice if you take the time to do so.

So, without further ado, I'll get onto my five picks.  Although, to be fair, I don't think I follow any bad blogs, so anything on the blog list on the right should give an entertaining read.

Martin over at Fire Broadside.  Lots of sci-fi and whatnot, a nice mixed bag of content regularly updated.

Hendybadger at Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher.  Again a sci-fi/pulp site I've been following for a fair while (back to the PP days.)

Too Much Lead by AKI (I think.)  The first individual i.e. not corporate blog I properly read, he has a great range of historical armies and posts some great battle reports.

Ben, Coops and DrCox who write Breakthrough Assault.  A great mainly Flames of War blog that is not at all like the many fanboy sites out there.  Also, Ben was suckered into the Normandy terrain deal too...

Lastly, and not just because he nominated me, Scipio of the Palladian Guard.  WW2 and 40K mainly, and you have to admire the commitment to background material (fluff to you 40Kers out there.)

Thanks Scipio, glad to know there are some out there reading my ramblings.

Not another list - Are You A Proper Wargamer?

At the risk of spreading more viral nerd nonsense, I feel obliged to compare myself to Phil's "Are Your A Proper Wargamer?" list:

* Spent at least £500 on figures / tanks - and you get extra kudos for every £500 you've spent
Oh yeah, easy.  Gaming on and off for 20+ years.  I wonder how inflation affects my classic Chaos Dwarf army?
* Pricked your finger or thumb on a pike block - several times
Yup, not just pikes.  Swords, bayonetted, alien claws, you name it.
* Tried at least 10 different rule sets and vowed never to play half of them ever again
Tried plenty of rule sets over the years, but only a handful I'd never play again (DBA stands out.  Can't stand it!)
* Sold an army on EBay
Easy, just sold some WW2 Germans recently, probably retired a dozen or so armies over the years.
* Bought an army off EBay
Although, oddly, I'm a bit of a snob about buying other people's painted minis online.
* spent months painting an army - then used it in anger once
Can't say I've fallen for this.  Yet.
* tried several different periods and genres
All over the place here.  Historical/Sci-fi/fantasy.  Tiny, tiny ships all the way up to 54mm skirmish.
* dropped a box of figures on the floor from a great height
Nope, far too careful for that!
* lost a battle on the last throw of the dice
Plenty of times.  Usually Flames of War or something similar and failing the company morale check.
* made at least one enemy for life
Proper enemy?  Nah, but quite a few regular opponents.
* had a proper, stand up argument over a wargamers table
Obviously over 40K back in my teens, although, in my defence, I was right.
* thrown a dice across a room
In frustration or enthusiasm.  Either way, done both.
* rebased an army for a different rule set
Hmmmm, something I've never done.  Usually I just adjust the rules to fit the figures we use.* inflicted a whopping defeat on an opponent
Plenty, notably this years Dystopian Wars tourney. Been on the receiving end a few times too though.
* suffered an embarrassing defeat due to a stupid tactical decision
Errr, a couple weeks ago.  Lost a game of X-Wing due to not being able to tell my left and right when my ships were facing me.
* joined a wargamers club
Joined the Aberdeen Wargames Club last year.  Played more games than I have done in years, even if there are a few grumpy goats there.
* bought a ton of lead that remains unpainted
Psssshhh.  Not even answering that.
* been to a wargamers show
Went to my first one this year, Falkirk.  Highlight was the tiny Epic 40K tables.  Lowlight?  The gamer funk at the 7TV/Malifaux room.
* have more dice than is logical or necessary to own - and have used most of them
How many dice is too much?  There are probably a few hundred dice in the house and definitely rolled most of them!
* have taken boxes of troops down to a club just to show them off to your mates
Nah, that's what t'internet is for, isn't it?

So that's only fourteen out of twenty?  I guess I'm not a proper wargamer then?  Still, I play more than just wargames, so the omissions here are surely forgiveable  Great list by Phil btw, make sure you check out the original post here.

Thank Dux that's finished OR Dux me, that was boring.

  

I've spent the last couple of days thoroughly miserable, stuck, as I was, on an interminable course for work.  Sixteen hours or touchey-feeley nonsense "Lets discuss what kind of things a motivated team will say to each other" lead by a completely awful trainer "I know I talk too much, but that's why we're all here, to TALK!"  News flash sweetheart!  If you're always told you talk too much, why not try holding your tongue once in a while you gobby tart.

The journey home was hampered still by missing our planned train, leaving me stuck in wet Glasgow for a further ninety minutes.  I took the chance to head to one of city's wargame shops (name not mentioned due to the staff being god awful) for a wander.  Arriving, I asked if they were still open, only to get a grunt and a "you've got three minutes mate" reply.  Feeling guilty about buying any more miniatures, I headed to the rulebook/RPG isle.

Ten minutes later (I decided to wander around until they asked me to go,) I bought up a copy of Dux Britannarium by Two Fat Lardies.  I've fancied doing some dark age gaming for a wee while, playing a few games of Saga and I enjoyed watching games of both Dux games at the club.  Although I got to flick through the book on the train home, but have yet to get to grips with the mechanics themselves. The campaign rules look excellent though.  I think I'll try and chum up an intro game at the club over the next couple weeks, there are a few Romano-Brit and Pict armies kicking about.

Time for a new Blog title?

Two weeks without a post has got me wondering if it's time to change the title of the blog.  Too Much Free Time is a bit on an in-joke with a couple of friends.  Back a couple years ago when I changed jobs a couple times and wasn't working regularly, I would joke about not getting anything done because "I had too much free time."  Meaning that although there were plenty of hours in the day, I didn't get much painting/modelling/gaming etc done.  Faced with t'internet, tv, computer games, diy, studying (a bit,) housework, sport, I was really busy, but not accomplishing much.

Over the last month or so however, my painting/modelling/gaming inactivity has been due to much more mundane reasons, mainly work.  I've been in a new job for the last few months and recently the hours have been cranked up!  I've also been drafted into my old cricket team who, frustratingly, play on the same night as the club.  Although, to be fair, it's been great fun getting the bat out again!

Things are looking up, however, for the next couple weeks.  I've a game scheduled at the club next week and we're planning an RPG session for the weekend after next (wives & girlfriends permitting!)

Finally, I've fallen back on the age old gamer habit of resorting to spending cash!  Recent additions to the nerd pile include X-Wing with the first wave of expansions, the Iron Kingdoms RPG from Privateer Press and the 40K Chaos codex.  Extremely happy with all three purchases, X-Wing will get a proper run out next week.  If I can manage to take some photos, I'll get them posted next week.

Painting Excused #3 Hangover

I had a long and productive day of painting scheduled today. Unfortunately, my body proved unequal to the simple task of coping with the smallest of nights out lastnight, instead consigning me to inactivity, dehydration and general groaning: simply sqeaking I was hungover!

Not entierly a wasted day though as I watched the start of the twenty twenty cricket and through some episodes of Star Trek: TNG, but not what I had planned.  It's a holiday this weekend so hopefully I'll get some painting in then (although there is a lot of sport on again...)

Oddly, this book arrived today, Anzio by Lloyd Clark.  It's obviously second hand, but I have no idea where or who it came from and I certainly didn't buy it!  I presume it's from someone on eBay who shipped it to me instead of someone else.  Not something I'd probably have bought myself, but I'm not going to say no to a free read!  I hoped there was a mysterious card tucked in there saying "Loiren Hotel, Paris, 29th September, bring the stuff" but sadly, not.

Doing my bit for the economy.

Or: man, I've spent waaay too much money this weekend.  And it's not like I'm twenty anymore and can drops loads of cash drinking for two days; it was waaay too much money on nerd stuff.

Firstly, I'm a sucker for a discount offer.  Maelstrom have an 18% discount offer on, so I went ahead and pre-ordered X-Wing from Fantasy Flight Games.  FFG put the rules up on their website last week and after a quick read through, there seems to be a bit of depth to the game.  Lots of customisable options usually mean decent replay value and, besides, it's Star Wars...  No release date yet, but there was a big event at a convention in America last week, so hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

Seeing as there was a sale on, I made sure to pick up a few hobby bits and pieces; some paints, some hobby barbed wire and a pack of bases.  All of which I would have ordered anyway.

Secondly, I caved in and preordered the new Warhammer 40K box set.  I know I said I was done with 40K, but to be honest I enjoy the background and fiction too much to resist!  Then there's the fact that I have bought every boxed game they released since about 1993, I can't break a habit that long lasting can I?

Then there's eBay.  Over the last few weeks we've sold a few bits and pieces, so I had a bit of cash sitting around in PayPal.  And as everyone knows, PayPal money isn't real money until you take it out!  So I picked up a decent hall of Flames of War figures for my Fallschirmjager army, including a couple 88s, and, although I don't strictly need them straight away, the saving on the RRP still makes them a bit of a bargain.

I've also realised that you can buy books on eBay.  Now obviously I knew that already, but looking through pages of books wasn't something I'd done before.  So, bored on a Sunday night, I'm now waiting for half a dozen military history books to arrive, all for 99p each (with the small matter of postage.)

I haven't even mentioned the bunch of miniatures I ordered last week, but I'm blaming the two Posties Rejects, Fran and Ray for that particular purchase.  It also deserves a post of it's own.  So, what are the chances of making it through September without buying anything?