To BOYL 2017! And Beyond!

It certainly seems that not only is BOYL an amazing weekend and the highlight of my gaming year - not to mention catching up with a fine bunch of like minded fellows - but it also sets the agenda for my year's painting and modelling

Thought I'd best get a post together detailing my plans for the year ahead since there's already been quite the flurry of activity around organising games for next year's BOYL. If nothing else it'll serve as a reminder for me so I don't double book myself or forget any of them! 

Good job it does such a good job of motivating me with the prospect of all the cool games I need to prepare for!

The Friday looks like I'll be kicking off with another of my and Warlord Paul's Trolltooth games. The last one we played was BOYL 2015!

I'd like to think we'll get a game or two in some time in the year ahead before we meet again at the Foundry but next on the to do list is a whole bunch of Soulless Ones (Zombies raised by the evil Zharradan Marr from his own personal charnel houses!) and some of the major characters of Marr's Legions - ready for a revenge raid on one of the Hill Goblins' villages.

Luckily I have already got base coats on over 40 zombies in a vague attempt to have something ready for this year's BOYL, although I quickly realised both me and Paul were a bit too busy with other things so they stalled at this stage. I also have the minis for the characters needed for the next scenario - just need to finish off some conversion work and find a more suitable equine mount for the Rhinoman hero, Krravaak.

Ah - the old MA1 Marauder Dark Elf army offer!

I've also signed up to Ashley's Tale of Four Gamers - inspired no doubt by the shenanigans of messrs Warlord Paul, Chico, Orlygg and Steve Casey who put on a great looking game at this year's BOYL. I've gone for Dark Elves and am looking forward to painting the small force that has been lurking in my lead pile for some time now - looking forward to playing that game later on in the afternoon on the Friday. I was also quite tempted at joining in the big game next year which this time will be a big civil war between High and Dark Elves - who knows if my little skirmishing force will make it on as a trailing force at some point in the weekend...

For the Saturday I have decided it's about time that I got back on the proverbial horse and finished off my massive Lustrian project - a mashup of the Magnificent Sven, Kremlo the Slaan and the Shrine of Rigg scenarios, with a few of my own touches thrown in, The centre piece will be ((hopefully!) my completed Shrine of Rigg, built out of Hirst Arts bricks and according to the detailed plans from the 2nd Citadel Compendium...

I'm hoping to squeeze in three smaller scenarios leading up to the big showdown at the Shrine, which should give my prospective players some fun skirmish games as well as opportunities to go off and do other stuff in the scenarios their characters aren't involved with - as long as they're back in time for the grand finale!

However, if you've read the comments on my last Space Fleet post you might have overhead me and JB talking excitedly about the idea of running a series of games of Rogue Trader, Space Hulk/Advanced Space Crusade, Space Fleet and Epic to simulate a planetary invasion. Don't know if you're planning on attending next year JB but this would be a very tempting alternative to doing the Shrine of Rigg on the Saturday. I could always arrange another day at the Foundry to host the Lustrian game...

Sunday promises to be an entertaining end to the weekend's gaming as myself Ollie and Nik are set to go head to head in a big game of Warhammer 40K 2nd ed. Ollie's Imperial Guard will be desperately staving off the combined Tyranid horde of myself and Nik. I'm quite excited about this one as it means expanding my Rogue Trader Tyranid army into a larger 2nd ed. friendly one and picking up a few models I've hankered after for a while. 

We'll also be getting together for a scenery making weekend at some point to make a large desert table to play on - much of Ollie's force is made up of Tallarns. I've already made a few pieces up for another game representing a long dead convoy stuck in the dunes!

There are yet other projects I'm involved in as well - no is such a simple and yet difficult word to say when there's so much going on! My old gaming buddies, the M1 Marauders - so named after their various geographical locations up and down the M1 motorway - are keeping me busy with a year long challenge to paint up a Fantasy army for a big multiplayer game of Warhammer Fantasy 6th ed. some time in 2017. I've chosen Dwarves for this challenge - like the Dark Elves they've languished unpainted for too long and I figured they'd be pretty quick and easy to paint what with all that chainmail and beard!

Luckily the other games we have in the diary I'm well prepared for - a shaved down version of Orc's Drift so we can get the whole thing played in a day next month, the usual Halloween themed shenanigans of  Night of the Living Lead in October, a large 2nd ed Epic game, which I have tons of stuff ready for and some 10mm Fantasy planned for next Summer.

All in all there's a pleasing range of game systems involved, a bit of a return to fantasy after lots of Epic and Space Fleet in recent months and a long overdue reunion with my old friends in Lustria!

Best get a move on...