Year in Review for 2024

It is that time of year again! I've been so busy travelling and so focused on trying to finish up my reporting for the year that I almost missed this annual check-in. Let's get this review going before it is too late! 

Heading into 2024, I had just 4 distinct goals regarding me and Kings of War:

1. Play 24 Games, and write 24 Battle Reports. I have reported on every 3rd Edition game that I have played. I may tweak or abbreviate a report for a demo game, but I'll aim to get 24 more reports posted in 2024.
2. Travel to an event. It still doesn't need to be a big one or even a full-on serious tournament, but traveling for some kind of group get-together sounds like fun.
3. Run or help run an event again. I have four table's worth of mats and terrain, and I'd like to put them to use in 2024! My first meet-up event went well in 2022, so I think we can build on that experience and loop in a few more attendees for something in 2024.
4. Run a Mega Battle. I still want it to be over 5,000 points per side. I have at least 6.5K each of Abyssals, Undead, KoM, Varangur and Herd, so I could even provide all of the minis, but ideally I think we get a group thing going, both for ease and swiftness of play, as well as it being more fun for folks to use their own toys. Having something like multiple Undead collections fighting some allied armies sounds cool, so we'll see what we can figure out.

The first goal was for games and reporting, and I actually had a very strong year. At the end of 2023, I had 46 played, with a goal of reaching 70 games and accompanying reports in 2024. Instead I reached 106 games and reports, more than doubling the goal!

For the second goal, of traveling to an event, I actually traveled to two events. The first was the Interstate Doubles event in June, and second was Dragonfall in September. Both were fun, and I had good showing at both.

For the third goal or running or helping run an event, that one did not pan out. I attended events, but did not help much. I had offered, but my terrain and such was not needed for any of the evens. It's all still around if needed, but I'm not sure how likely I am to be taken up on it unless I am pushing hard for my own event or meetup, like a mega battle. Lacking gaming space at home, I don't know how likely it is for me to be running something, if I am being honest.

For the fourth goal, regarding large battles, I did not play in any mega battles, though I think I have finally planted some seeds, and a few local players are starting to bulk up their collections. I think I am right in that the easiest way to run it is to have folks show up with their personal and different armies... but reflecting on it, the scope of on unified army spread across a huge table is what really grips me, so I think I want that to be a factor in any mega battle going forward.

For the explicit goals, I have two overwhelming successes, and two shortfalls. Overall, not terrible for metrics, and I dare say that had a great year for Kings of War! 

Hobbying-wise, I did not have an explicit goal for 2024, and I am still satisfied with my collections. I added a few thousand points of stuff to my various armies, but only as I wanted to, and it felt good to largely whittle away at the grey legions on my own time or just idly work on units or miniatures that interested me. Again no explicit goal for 2025 - we'll let things develop bit by bit.

Gaming-wise, five armies felt like a little much, and the Varangur have been a bit neglected in 2024, being run just 4 times if my quick reckoning is correct . The big factor here was the escalation league, which saw me run a lot more of the Herd as I was trying to play along with the spirit of the League even if I was not officially part of it. I learned a lot about the Herd, but we'll try to run a closer spread of the armies in 2025.

Going into 2025, we'll aim for more of the same! Kings of War is one of my bigger time sinks for my free time, but discretionary funds will be on a tight leash in 2025, and adulting finding free time is ever-harder as well, so we'll keep the goals modest here.

1. Play 36 Games, and Write 36 Reports. I reported on every game this year. It felt good to track everything, but I also feel like for introductory games, that was a bit too much to juggle. I would rather be focusing on chatting and socializing over note-taking. We had a strong showing this year, but I've tried really hard to get two games in per meetup, and I think this will be achievable without much extra planning and coordinating.
2. Attend two tournaments. Again, keeping it modest. I already have one lined up on January, so we'll be making progress right away. Adepticon is "local" in Milwaukee now, but funds are going to be tight and I don't know if that will be in the cards given the hotel prices. We'll see what else pops up throughout the year. I don't want to be a serious and competitive player and worrying about podium placements and such, but I will admit that both these smaller tournaments were a lot of fun, so we'll hopefully try a few more!
3. Run a mega battle. I want it to be at least 5k a side, at least 2 players a side, and one side needs to be running the same army, even if it is spread out over a few collections. We'll see what can be arranged in the new year!

May the New Year find you nice and comfy.

So long 2024! We'll see what's in store for Kings of War and me in 2025!