Some Things for Under the Christmas Tree

Despite having yet to plan the Christmas game for this year, I've been gathering up a plan for 2024!

While thinking over my collection and what kind of games I most enjoy playing, it dawned on me that  "games my son will play with me" top the list. Historical games have some appeal to him, especially if they involves tanks (Panzer Kids Deluxe for the win!), but it is sci-fi and fantasy that really capture his attention and enthusiasm.

I can't say I blame him - I was the same way at his age.

Last year, he did a book report on  Skavenslayer, and this year he did a report on Trollslayer. We've been playing Age of Fantasy: Skirmish lately - he's running an orc warband (Reaper Bones miniatures) through a very loose campaign  of the best-of-five variety. And, as I may have mentioned previously, we've been playing a b/x / 1e D&D mega-dungeon campaign since July - sometimes playing three or four times a week. He is also in a 5e D&D campaign as part of an after school club he is in, and in our family & friends 5e campaigns.

As much as he enjoys all of the fantasy settings and creatures, 40K lore has more or less taken over his life (thanks, YouTube). 

While he plays some of the video games, and has mods for other games that add 40K skins, he has not been particularly driven to play anything on the tabletop. Possibly in large part because I have nothing to entice him with - although we have on occasion raided his toy bins for Star Wars figures to use with Grim Dark Future : Firefight.

I have, then, after much deliberation, decided that 2024 will be the Year of Grimdark.

Although I got him a starter paint box with three Infernus space marines for his birthday, if I can get him to paint those three, it may be a miracle. So, it's safest to assume that all of the painting will fall to me.

In that case, I might as well acquire and paint figures I want to paint. 

However, I couldn't justify buying figures for myself - austerity measures and all that - EXCEPT, I realized if these are Christmas presents for myself and I cannot do anything with them until Christmas Day, AND i'm travel immediately after until New Year's Eve, they are really just 2024 purchases that arrived early.

"The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma." - Patrick Star

Here then are much of what will be 2024's painting queue and what will be waiting under the tree for me this year.

First up, Plague Marines / Death Guard:

My son loves Nurgle. I don't know why. I guess slime, snot, and disease are fun? 

In any case, I find the Plague Marine/ Death Guard compelling as figures - sort of Lovecraftian abominations.

These were acquired fully assembled and primed from Frontline Gaming - the neoprene mat people. They also, I have learned, do a brisk business in second-hand figures. The price was quite reasonable - less than the cost of a single box of the same figures shrink wrapped on the sprue and it saves me from having to decide on options which I couldn't care less about.

Next, Space Marine: The Board Game:

This is a Target exclusive. 

You get 22 Tyranids and a single space marine character, and some other stuff that might be handy(like the play mat) plus the game itself, for $39.99 usd.

The character figure will bulk out  my son's three Infernus (the ones he has yet to paint) to a 200+ point Grimdark Future : Firefight force. The 22 Tyranids will give us a similar point force, using about 15 of the models! 

My son tells me no one non-ironically likes Tyranids, but I do. I think they're cute. Especially in light of the Tiny Tyranid shorts on YouTube.

Finally, while there is a three Intercessor and paint starter box (which would bring the space marines up to 7 total figures), there is a better deal to be had with a used copy of Fireteam which also includes enough Necrons for yet another Grimdark Future: Firefight force, in addition to a whole separate board game that looks intriguing.

That order was just placed so it's on the way and I was too impatient to wait for it before I posted. 

Speaking of board games (how was that for a slick transition?) I also picked up Der Welterkrieg: The Italian Front. My son won't play this with me most likely, but that's fine - I bought it to play solitaire:

Picture from BoardGameGeek because I'm too lazy to walk to the back of the apartment to take a picture of my copy.

I haven't been this excited for my own Christmas presents in awhile!