The Year Behind & the Year Ahead

 “Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

— Charles Dickens

I’m not a fan of year-end summaries of top 10 this and top 10 that, the numerous people we admired who passed away, and a look back on a few positive highlights that never quite illuminate the darkness of what seems like a 10,000-day year of constant awfulness at various levels. I don’t care to innumerate my past achievements (usually because they don’t amount to much) or state my resolutions or other expectations for the coming year. But our society places meaning on year-end reflection on past and future, so I’ll indulge a little in looking back and forward on the few promising game-related bits that shone like bright pinpricks against the vast canvas of darkness.

Holiday Gifts: I am grateful for an abundance of holiday gifts to fuel my interest in history, learning, and games. My parents gave me two books I’ve wanted for a while that provide German perspectives on World War II: Victoria Taylor’s Eagle Days and Helen Fry’s The Walls Have Ears (as well as an assorted 12-pack of Von Trapp family beer...). My brother also indulged me with books on gaming: Maurice Suckling’s PaperTime Machines and John Curry and Alvaro Radigales’ Royal Navy Wargaming 1929 to 1945 and the Western Approaches Tactical Unit. My son wisely went to my Noble Knight Games want list for ideas, ultimately getting me some British dice and West End Games’ Against the Reich old-school wargame. Among my wife’s gifts were a History Press publication, Virginia POW Camps in World War II. She also made me a Culpeper Minutemen-style hunting shirt which, along with a period shirt and some accessories can help me look the part when demonstrating certain history wargames. I already have plenty of games waiting to get to the table in the new year...but now I have some great reading material to keep me busy and enlightened.

New Game Store: As I noted earlier this month, a new adventure gaming hobby store opened in our town’s boutique shopping district. I’ve heard they’re preparing a game schedule for the new year as well as seeking “ambassadors” for various game lines they carry. Not sure what my involvement will look like beyond being an occasional customer — a conundrum I’ve discussed before — but I’m hoping to support the store and see it thrive in the future.

Deals on Miniatures: I have tried to adhere to a prohibition against purchasing minis that require painting. I have regularly ignored this ban to take advantage of really good deals. With the threat of the de minimus exception going away for the USPS, making international shipping difficult at best, I rushed an order for Bad Squiddo Games’ shieldmaiden warband bundle; I was inspired seeing reports of Viking wargaming at Sutton Hoo. I also backed a Women of the Resistance inWorld War II Kickstarter from Bad Squiddo to get some minis of women I’d read about. Over the past year we’ve found a vendor in an antiques and crafts shop selling $5 packs of painted, based 15mm Napoleonic miniatures. Naturally I added to my collection, especially since they didn’t need painting. But now they’re offering $5 packs of Perry Miniatures American War of Independence riflemen in a style resembling the Culpeper Minutemen...so, after receiving a few packs as stocking stuffers, I spurged on a few more. I don’t see my unpainted miniatures as a “pile of shame” but as fertile opportunity, both for painting and eventual gaming in the new year.

Call to Arms Convention: Attending our small, regional game convention proved a great father-son weekend getaway as well as an enjoyable time indulging in our geeky interests. I had a chance to run a Skirmish Kids game as well as a long-overdue rousing Pulp Egypt scenario. It’s a wonderful convention with a good variety of games for all ages and a friendly atmosphere. We bookended our gaming with some tourist time at Colonial Williamsburg, a family favorite for its living history. Looking forward to attending next year.

Battle of Great Bridge Game: I really enjoyed developing and demonstrating my Battle of Great Bridge history game experience. It was an excellent chance to design a game for newcomers that engaged them in historical issues. I demonstrated it at the 250th Culpeper Minutemen Muster commemoration in mid October, at which I made contacts that enabled me to present it at the 250th commemoration of the Battle of Great Bridge itself in early December. I would like to think these experiences might lead to more opportunities for public history game demonstrations and talks in the coming year.

I have a few items on my list of things to look forward to in the new year. Now that the holiday chaos and obligations are subsiding, I have time to focus on some game-related goals, beyond, of course, writing material for Hobby Games Recce.

I have two projects from activities in 2025 I need to develop for publication online. I need to port the Great Bridge history game experience from a miniature wargame format into a print-and-play PDF download. This means transposing the rules displayed at a live event into a carefully presented text, preparing the map-board, and making pieces to represent the paper miniatures I used. I’m still unsure how much context to provide about the battle; probably enough to set the stage and serve as a “debrief” afterward to give players a sense of the battle’s place in the early fighting in Virginia during the American War of Independence.

I also need to further develop the Pulp Egypt scenario I designed for the Call to Arms convention using a new technique. While the early set-up stages of the adventure look good, the later material needs some work. The text currently sits in on column on a full page and really could use a two-column layout with room for illustrations, maps, and my numerous sidebars.

I hope to find time to develop a historical board game based on the Warsaw uprising of 1944. Two summers ago I followed an excellent podcast covering the uprising day-by-day. In 2025 I followed that with a good deal of reading about the uprising and Poland’s role in World War II. My brain has since percolated through several different ideas how to portray the uprising in a board game format, probably solo, possibly with cooperative mechanics. To me it was an unfamiliar aspect of history, absolutely heartbreaking at times, and evidence of Poland’s difficult history before and since the war. The stories of heroism and grief during the uprising deserve recognition; for me a game simulation might help immerse people today in those desperate stories from 1944.

I’m hoping (possibly futilely) some of my past gaming endeavors might help me find a paid position incorporating my expertise designing and facilitating activities combining history, games, and learning. Though that’s probably too much to hope for given my age, background, and the state of American society at the moment. Goodness knows I’ve already nurtured hope for many past opportunities that never coalesced or simply went sour.

I loathe New Year’s celebrations. They yank one’s mindset out of the fantastical holiday haze back into stark reality. Gone are the twinkling lights in the darkness, the solemn and joyous music, the enchanting mystery of wrapped presents, the feasts and sweets. The physical, mental, and emotional drain of my holiday season — essentially all of November and December, which pre-empts any personal time or projects — dump me on the cold, icy doorstep of the New Year and the uncertain prospects 2026 holds. As the media focuses on people’s past achievements and future aspirations this time of year, I remind myself of a quote from Rudyard Kipling I keep on my bulletin board to re-focus myself away from other people’s successes and my own perceived failings:

“Never look over your shoulder at the other man. Paddle your own canoe and don’t worry about anyone passing you. Keep going in your own time. If you’re going to do anything you’ll do it; if not, watching others succeed only embitters failure. And failure in writing shouldn’t be bitter.

“You’ll get a lot of criticism written and spoken, some of it honest, some not, some careful, a good deal thoughtless. But remember this. You and only you who are being criticized will know what is valuable, what is helpful, whether it is praise or blame. Every now and then someone will say a thing which stops you in your tracks. ‘He’s right,’ you’ll say, and be the better for it.”

It’s some slight consolation in the cold, harsh light of reality. I cling to those memories of bright spots in 2025 and my meager aspirations for 2026 as I face the personal and professional difficulties of the new year.

Hope yours is far better. Sic transit mundus.

“Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another.”

— Elie Wiesel