2021 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

2020 was a good year for wargaming projects and I thought I should lay out my plans for 2021. Crazy megalomaniac plans, of course.

As usual I’ve done a brain dump of my active projects, i.e. those all projects that are more or less “in progress”. No off the wall fantasy here. They are all active but I have to admit that some of them are on a slow burn. A very slow burn. So I’ve split the list into parts: likely in 2021, unlikely, and background activity. You get to have a say in the priority order – see the aside.


Megalomaniac surveying all those unfinished wargaming projects
Megalomaniac surveying all those unfinished wargaming projects


You get to have a say

If you want me to up the priority of any “unlikely” projects, then get in touch. I’m usually quite responsive to other people’s enthusiasms.

Likely projects in 2021

Normally I don’t really mind if I don’t get to the bottom of the list. This year is different. If a project in the “likely” category, then I fully intend to do it. I’m pumped.

I’ve got three big aspirations for 2021. The first is to, well, do more Tilly’s Very Bad Day. The other two are for Crossfire: finish the Italian Campaign (1944-45) project and both start and complete the Burma Campaign (1943-45) project. These Crossfire make 2021 the year of the hill (2020 was the year of the rice paddy). I also want to squeeze in a couple of other things as well – both for the Eastern Front.

Project Rules Aspiration in 2021
1618-48 Thirty Years War and 16642-51 English Civil War
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Tilly’s Very Bad Day Use the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to explore eastern armies in Tilly’s Very Bad Day.

  • Buy and paint an army for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
  • Figure out whether Tilly’s Very Bad Day needs special rules for the Polish
Populous, Rich, and Rebellious – English Civil War Campaign Tilly’s Very Bad Day Corral Adam, Chris and Jamie to play a four player Tilly’s Very Bad Day campaign set in the English Civil War
Tilly’s Very Bad Day Scenarios Tilly’s Very Bad Day Write more Tilly’s Very Bad Day Scenarios:

  • More small game scenarios as smaller games are easier for other folk to play
  • Moore scenarios featuring the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
  • More scenarios for the big Spanish moments of the Thirty Years War i.e. 1634 Nordlingen, 1642 Honnecourt and 1643 Rocroi
1943-45 Italian Campaign
Hilly terrain Crossfire These are for the Italian Campaign, the Burma Campaign, and even for the Eastern Front:

  • Cliffs
  • Ravines
  • Contour lines
Kiwis in Italy Crossfire Do Kiwis in Italy – Steven’s Wargaming Project including

Goumier in Italy Crossfire
USA in Italy Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint US battalion for Crossfire
Scenarios for the Italian Campaign Crossfire
1941-45 Burma Campaign
Japanese Crossfire
Japanese tanks and tankettes Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint Japanese tanks and tankettes for service in Burma
Gurkhas, 14th Army Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint a Gurkha battalion that can do duty in 17th Indian Division or as 2nd Battalion, 4th Prince of Wales’s Own Gurkha Rifles
Welsh, 14th Army Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint a Welsh battalion from 14th Army
Anglo-Indian Armour, 14th Army Crossfire
Scenarios for the Burma Campaign Crossfire
1941-45 Eastern Front
Cool Ruins Crossfire
Deep Battle Deep Battle This one is for Andrés Ferrari. I’ve been torturing Andrés with the promise of Deep Battle for years and I really have to live up to my commitment. I think I’ll make it easier on myself and commit to a “Beta” rather than a finished product.


Unlikely projects in 2021

Here are the “active” projects that I don’t think I’ll get to in 2021.

Project Rules Aspiration in 2021
Biblical
Battle of Kadesh Big Base DBA
  • Write a DBA scenario for Battle of Kadesh
  • Get the figures on table and refight the Battle of Kadesh using Big Base DBA
264-27 BC Rise of Rome
Rules for Rise of Rome Dunno
Raise armies for Rise of Rome Big Base DBA and its replacement
  • Rebase on Big Bases. Although I have enough figures to play, I haven’t rebased all of my figures. In particular there are more to do in:
  • Expand my Carthaginian forces to cover the very early wars in Sicily against the Greeks i.e. get some chariots
  • Expand my Celtiberians from being mercenaries for my Ancient Spanish to being a fully fledge army
  • Get the figures on table, in particular my Gallic and Numidian armies that have never seen the light of day
Command Stands for Rise of Rome Big Base DBA and its replacement
  • Get individual command stands for these armies because any rules to replace Big Base DBA are likely to use them
Camps for the Rise of Rome Big Base DBA and its replacement
  • Buy, build, paint camps for the armies without e.g. Gallic, Numidian, Macedonian/Selucid
406-476 Fall of Rome
Fall of Hispania Campaign Any
Reinforcements for the Fall of Rome Big Base DBA and its replacement
  • Rebase on Big Bases. Although I have enough figures to play, I haven’t rebased all of my figures.
Command Stands for Fall of Rome Big Base DBA and its replacement
  • Get individual command stands for these armies because any rules to replace Big Base DBA are likely to use them
476 – 1492 Medieval
100 Years War Big Base DBA
  • Buy, build, paint a 100 Years War English army for duty in Spain and Portugal
  • Expand my Medieval Spanish and Portuguese armies
  • Get the figures on table and refight one of the battles in the Peninsular during the 100 Years War – Aljubarrota or Najera
Catalan Company Big Base DBA
  • Buy, build, paint figures for the Catalan Company
  • Buy, build, paint figures for the opponents of Catalan Company in Greece and Turkey
  • Get the figures on table
Reconquista Big Base DBA
  • Recruit a new Granadine army (buy, paint, base) including those great Muslim Knights
1494-1559 Italian Wars
Rules for Italian Wars Variant on DBA or Tilly’s Very Bad Day
Reinforcements for the Italian Wars Variant on DBA or Tilly’s Very Bad Day
1494-1700 New World
Big Base Conquistadores New World DBA
Big Base Aztecs New World DBA
Big Base Mayan New World DBA
Big Base Sinhalese New World DBA
  • Get a Big Base Sinhalese army to face the Portuguese
Big Base Malay New World DBA
  • Get a Big Base Malay army to face the Portuguese
Big Base Portuguese Explorers New World DBA
Big Base Africans New World DBA
  • Get a Big Base African army to face the Portuguese
1618-48 Thirty Years War
Zaporozhian Cossacks Tilly’s Very Bad Day
Transylvanian Tilly’s Very Bad Day
Tatars of the Crimean Khanate Tilly’s Very Bad Day
1808-1814 Peninsular War
Peninsular Flags Volley & Bayonet
  • Give my infantry standard bearers flags
Albuera (1811) Volley & Bayonet
Albuera (1811) Houses Volley & Bayonet
  • Buy, build, paint some Peninsular War houses, preferably without roofs
1810-1824 South American Wars of Liberation aka Liberators
Rules for Liberators TBD
  • Select/write a set of rules to use for Liberators – think battalion level Napoleonics with a twist
Liberators skirmishers TBD
  • Recruit skirmishers for all my battalions
Sipe Sipe (1815) TBD
  • Write a scenario for Battle for Viluma / Sipe Sipe (1815) for chosen rule set
Simón Bolívar and the Northern War TBD
  • Buy, build, paint complete armies for the Northern War (Venezuela, Columbia) with Simón Bolívar as my next Liberator
1833-40 First Carlist War
Carlist Wars Whatever I use for Liberators
1845-72 New Zealand Wars
New Zealand Wars TBD
  • Choose a set of rules to use
  • Figure out how to use my existing figures for Big Bases – if at all
  • Buy, build, paint a Maori Pa
  • Get the figures on table
1893-1926 Rif Wars
Riffi Crossfire / Fuego Cruzado and something grand tactical
Middle Eastern Houses Crossfire / Fuego Cruzado and something grand tactical
  • Buy, build, paint some middle eastern houses for use with Crossfire i.e. can take the roofs of
Grand Tactical Rif Wars Something grand tactical
  • Select a grand tactical set of rules for the bigger actions
1936-39 Spanish Civil War
Crossfire for the Spanish Civil War Fuego Cruzado
  • Get the figures on table
  • Finish some of my scenarios e.g. the draft Battle of Madrid scenario that has been lying around for years
Grand Tactical Spanish Civil War Something grand tactical
  • Select a grand tactical set of rules for the bigger actions
1941-45 Eastern Front
Soviet Tank Riders Crossfire
Ponyri Station Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint a Ponyri railway station, preferably with the roof bombed in as it was in reality (for Kursk)
  • Buy, build, paint some features for Russian villages i.e. brick buildings for head mans houses and schools
  • Get the figures on table
3rd Battery of the 1454th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment Crossfire
Operational Artic Fox Megablitz
  • I found a good Megablitz scenario for Operational Arctic Fox. Be good to play it.
Berlin (1945) Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint late war Soviet tanks, e.g. IS-2, SU-100, T34-85, 203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4),
  • Buy, build, paint late war German tanks, e.g. Hetzer
  • Buy, build, paint Spanish SS “Unit Ezquerra” / late war Germans for Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint a distinctive building for Berlin (1945)
  • Get the figures on table
1943-45 Italian Campaign
French Expeditionary Corps (FEC) – French/Moroccan/Spanish Crossfire
Germans in Italy Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint late war Germans for Crossfire
1948-now Arab-Israeli Wars
1967 Arab-Israeli War Crossfire
  • Paint my Israeli forces
  • Buy, build, paint some middle eastern houses for use with Crossfire i.e. can take the roofs of
  • Write a Crossfire scenario
1955-75 Vietnam War
ANZACs in Vietnam Crossfire Do the ANZACs in Vietnam – Steven’s Wargaming Project

  • Buy, build, paint an ANZAC battalion for Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint an ANZAC armour (Centurions and M113s) for Crossfire
PAVN Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint an PAVN battalion for Crossfire
PAVN Sappers Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint an PAVN Sapper/Recon battalion for Crossfire
Viet Cong Main Force Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint an Viet Cong Main Force battalion for Crossfire
1963-73 Portuguese Colonial War
African Huts Fogo Cruzado / Crossfire
  • Scratch build and paint some proper African huts
Portuguese Colonial War Scenarios Fogo Cruzado / Crossfire
  • Work on some new scenarios
  • Write a campaign system for a “Tour in Africa”
Portuguese Paratroopers Fogo Cruzado / Crossfire
  • Buy, build, paint Portuguese Paratroopers
Reinforce Portuguese Light Infantry (Caçadores) Fogo Cruzado / Crossfire
Modelling
Storage labels All
  • Get my Dymo LabelManager Wireless PnP working again
  • Put printed labels on all my storage boxes
Rivers All
  • Repaint/texture my 3D rivers compatible (Military Miniatures, Flames of War, for 4″ hexes)
  • Buy, build, paint linking sections because all of these are slightly different widths
  • Get the rivers on table

Background activity

The goal is Wargaming. Any but mostly Crossfire, Tilly’s Very Bad Day, Big Base DBA/HOTT, and Operational.

I have to catch up on my photography. No urgency but I’d like to do some of these this year.

11 thoughts on “2021 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian”

    • “More ambition needed” – Ian, I’m not sure I can be more ambitious without selling the house to fund my hobby … now there is a thought … oh, no, that won’t work, I need somewhere to game.

      Reply
  1. Looks great! If you need any thoughts on how to implement the Eastern stuff, I’d be happy to spitball!

    Do you imagine another version of tilly coming soon or am I safe to print the core rules at this point?

    Reply
    • Tilly has been stable for a year and is unlikely to change in 2021. I might do an update in 2022

      Reply
  2. Hi Steve,

    I’ve been meaning to chip in and say how impressive your list of projects is. Of course if it was my list of projects the adjective would more likely be ‘terrifying’. Seriously, your breadth of interests coupled with your attention to detail is an inspiration, so once again, thanks.

    Right, now that I’ve laid on the flannel, here’s my entry to ‘You get to have a say’. My vote for promotion to ‘Likely’ is ‘1494-1559 Italian Wars’ and especially ‘Rules for Italian Wars’ as that’s my next project for this year. (That is until the beautiful butterfly of chaos and distraction flutters its wings in the mountains of my imagination.) If I can persuade you to promote this and you’d like any help or constructive input, let me know. In the meantime all the best to you and yours and stay safe if you can.

    Best regards,

    Chris

    Reply
    • Thanks for chipping in Chris. Italian Wars, sure, I’ll add them to this year’s list. I fancy getting my pike blocks, arquebusiers, and gendarmes out again.

      Reply

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