Recent goings on

Hello again all; have been off the radar for the last couple of months for various reasons, so I thought it was probably about time to drop in with an update.

Not much of wargaming note has taken place, though I did manage a Vassal game of Decision Games's Battle for Germany with boardgame mate Pat (late of Kobe, but now in Kyoto). It's a fun game, and it was neck and neck until Pat liberated Berlin with his Russians.

Funnily enough, I've managed a spot of painting, in this case for the old man's Settlers of Catan variant, which needed some 'desert raiders'. Twenty-four 1/72 figures from the HAT Almoravids box did the trick, and the painted figures do add something to the game. Settlers is a bit of a family favourite, and has taken over from Risk as the default when it's gaming time, so I expect they'll get plenty of use. The price of paints and painting supplies over here did make me gasp somewhat, however. I'm used to paying NZ$2-3 in Japan, so I just about blew a gasket in the store that passes for a hobby shop in Nelson.

I also had to do a quick return to Japan for family reasons in early March, and while there found Tsukuda Games's Battle for Hoth in a second hand store. The box is pretty beaten up, but everything else is in good nick (provided the treatment I'm adopting to straighten out the warped boards works!), so it was a nice little score, I think. The same shop had the other two in the series too - set on Endor and the Death Star - but those appealed to me less, and I only had so much room in the suitcase given the need to bring in some reasonably priced paints!

The game (photo nicked from user Matt Boehland at boardgamegeek)

To finish on a less happy note, as readers may be aware, New Zealand was hit by a terrorist attack last Friday. It was not the sort of thing you like to see anywhere. I won't go on about it, but felt it needed to be mentioned.

Anyway, until next time!