My Gaming Plans for 2025-26

In the great words of Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale:

I don't know where I'm going
But I sure know where I've been

After a number of years have had projects were certain never seem to make it to the launch pad, much less take off, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the natural order of the blog. 

So, my two big guidelines for figuring out 2025-26

• Plan stuff around the girls:  They're not around often anymore, so when they want to play, it needs to be fun and epic enough. 

• Enjoy what everyone enjoys:  While I enjoy all the community projects and there are certain things I'll do, even if no one else ever reads them, it's foolish.  The biggest posts of the year for me are (1) convention AARs, (2) game store reviews, (3) Pulp Game AARs, and (4) my painting.  I'm not monetizing the blog, but engagement matters, both practically, and selfishly.

With my "Mission Statement" out of the way, let's get into my plans, from immediate projects to pipe dreams.

1. My Back-Up Game, D.A.M.N.I.T. - I've been hemming and hawing about D.A.M.N.I.T. since it arrived, but with the completion of my D&D Gulluvia game, this might be a good option for as the official back-up game.  Most of the work is on the front-end, getting it set up for Roll20, but tweaking it for the world of the Gnomish Space Marines might make things light enough for the guys, and expound on some lore for me.  
2. Pulp (Savage Showdown) - The 800-lb gorilla in the room last year, from finally completing my projects, to playing the long-awaited first game, to being the most-viewed post for the year, easily beating my usual stalwarts, Historicon and the other HMGS cons.  New crews and we're dipping our toe into my own interpretation of Tomb of the Serpent.  I'm sticking with Savage Showdown for the rules (sorry Pulp Alley), although I'm tempted to make a reference document closer to my original TIARA rules I played when the girls were little.  
3. Death Planet Iota Ongoing - Our Fistful of Lead games at Historicon, especially the sci-fi ones, were a hoot, and I'd like to see some more smaller games of FoL.  I will mix in some solo games, as there are currently eight factions.  
4. Mousling Fantasy - Long term vaporware, I've got more vintage mouslings on the painting bench, perfect opportunity for either Brutal Quest or a variant of In the Land of the Sundering Flood.  
5. Painting - Clear all available gnomes, work on sci-fi, embellish with fantasy/pulp when needed.
6. Reviews - There's still a bunch of game stores east of the Susquehanna that I haven't visited/reviewed, much less going further into Philly or Upstate New York. Considering I recently I just recommended Pop's (my favorite store) in Wellsboro when my sister and brother in law were traveling through Tioga County, I may need to plan a weekend up there.  It's been 13 years since I first reviewed it, and it's been far too long for my occasional update. 
7. RPG - Like the previous main Monday night campaigns, Gamma World has well exceed 100 sessions.  It still appears to have legs, and even if something did happen, I could easily set another GW game in the same world, with zero overlap.  

And now... the pipe dreams, at least more a "I'll believe it when I see it"

    8.  Mini-Purge - I sold off a bunch of stuff at Historicon at the flea market and... I don't miss a thing... yet.  I think I need a wave like that with RPGs, board games, and definitely a few more minis.    

    9.  Wargaming at Steve's - Some of the items later on this list have been bandied about for years , but this idea I started thinking about this summer.  My girls are now teenagers... and over 200 miles away. My college buddy Steve has boys, 12 and 5, and a really nice dining room that should be used for gaming.   I'm thinking Star Wars Fistful of Lead (aka Death Planet Iota).  Add in a bunch of the elder sons' friends, teammates, fellow scouts.  I'm thinking a few Sunday afternoons running games for kids sounds like great fun.  Heck we can even go down into the basement for some painting with them.  

    10. Burning Trogs Redux - If we're wargaming once of a month, perhaps my once a month Hackmaster session might work out as well.  Hell, I was reminiscing with my other friend Hoyce about his Gaming Weekend/Bachelor Party.  A mini-vacation in a off-season house rental in the Poconos could cover 80% of my formal players, and the others could join online. 

    11. Cthulhu New York, Ia! Ia! - In the same vein, relaunching the Cthulhu campaign, same world, all the previous sessions are canon, and we're in New York, with new characters for now.   More excuses to use all my Cthulhu books collecting dust on the shelf. 

    12. The Wikis - If I can focus and get DAMNIT set up on Roll20, then there's a chance I can focus on setting up the campaign wikis for Gamma World, Star Wars, D&D, and Cthulhu