As we turn the page on another year of gaming, it's time for my annual look back at what's been happening on the tabletop here at Anglian Wargaming HQ.
Looking Back at 2025
2025 turned out to be a pretty productive year, even if I didn't manage quite as many games as I'd hoped. I wrapped up two campaigns that had been running for a while: the pulp adventure 'Tomb of the Serpent' using Pulp Alley, and 'DNA', a superhero romp played with SuperMission Force.The real star of the year, though, was Midgard. This sandbox game arrived late in 2024, but didn't make it to my table until March. Since then, it's dominated my gaming time and sparked my largest 28mm painting project in years. I've run several Dark Ages games with these rules now, and I'm currently deep into my first Midgard campaign: Mystic Britain. This pits Arthur's Britain against the Durlingar dwarves and their allies. The campaign should reach its climax early in 2026, though after the evil dwarves' latest victory, the outcome is far from certain!
The other campaign I started in 2025 was 'The Spectacular Adventures of the Leopard', set during the English Civil War in the West Country. This follows Edward Clement and his band of followers as they battle against the Preacher and his Parliamentary Forces. I'm using the ever-versatile Pulp Alley rules for this one, with the campaign plotted using a simple Snakes and Ladders board game.
What's Coming in 2026
I've got two new campaigns lined up for the year ahead.The second campaign is historical: Edward I's conquest of Wales, based on a Charles Grant 'programmed' reconnaissance campaign. Set in 1277, the English probe the Tywi Valley and meet resistance from the Welsh lords of Deheubarth. Historically, these events were a sideshow to Edward's main invasion in the north and led to the region's submission. I'm planning to use Baron's War 2nd Edition rules, with a spring start once 'Mystic Britain' campaigns wrap up. One thing I've learned is that I can only handle two concurrent campaigns – any more and I lose track of the narratives.
Projects and Ambitions
One disappointment in 2025 was not getting more historical simulations to the table, particularly following the refight of the Battle of Pynda using the Strength and Honour rules. These games need considerable research to do correctly, plus there's often significant modelling and painting involved. I plan to streamline this by focusing on 6mm or 10mm miniatures where my collection is strongest. Cynoscephalae is nearly ready for the table, and this time I'm going to experiment with different ancient rules to see how they handle these battles.
Looking further ahead, I'm working on a crusader army list and rules using the Midgard rules. With luck, I'll have something to share by year's end. I'm also converting my trial WoFun War of the Roses figures into a 10mm army, though I'll squeeze in another quick game as the army comes together.
Two longer-term projects are still in the research phase. The first is a Kiss Me Hardy campaign based on the Jack Aubrey novels, though this depends on the new edition of those rules. The second is a Glorantha project based on the wonderful RuneQuest world. The idea is to follow a small group of characters through roleplaying, skirmish games, and finally as part of a unit in mass combat. Plenty of reading and testing ahead on both fronts!
The Blog and Beyond
The blog is starting to get some decent traffic, but I want to develop it further. I'm currently looking at sharing more scenarios and campaign logs. I also write a bit of background material for my games and would like to share my thoughts on wargaming mechanisms more generally. I'm not convinced the blog is the best format for all this material, so I'm exploring Substack as a way to complement the shorter content here. More on that later.
Here's to another year of dice rolling and tape measures!
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