The land of forgotten armies....

I'm in the process of clearing out and re-arranging my workspace at home. This is not a complete re-modelling project - that will have to wait until the rest of the house is done. But I am going through all my games and figures, not only re-arranging them, but also putting some things on eBay, because really, I don't think I'll ever use them. However, this also prompts one to focus on all the unfinished war gaming projects that litter my space, assessing those in progress and those yet to launch, and trying to come up with some idea of what is likely to get played, and what is likely to go to Mister eBay.

Given that I have also pre-ordered copies of the new Firefly and Ogre games, I am also in need of some space to fit these into the games museum. Hence, it is time to rationalise what we're likely to be painting in 2014, and what we're likely to be playing. I've also decided I may see if I can get along to some actual tournaments in 2014. If I can make one per quarter, I'll be happy.

Ancients: A 6mm Carthaginian army project in progress, based for Impetus. I estimate I've got approximately 400 points. I'd like to give Impetus a go in 2014, and possibly even aim to attend the tournament in Derby in September. Hence, this army is a top priority. IF I like the system, I'll look to get a 28mm Carthaginian army off the production line in 2014, but that's a big ask.

Warhammer 40,000: Approximately 2000 points of Necrons, much of it unfinished, needs to be rounded off. I've also got a 1000 point Tyranid army on the boil. The plan here is to get some WH40K played in the New Year, and then maybe play a few competition games in the second half of the year. A combined Space Marine / Imperial Guard army is only just beginning to take shape. This may only be used for internal play testing of other army lists. Given the fragility of the plastics, I'm going to need a better carry case for my troops! Getting that Tyranid army up to scratch should be a priority.

Warhammer Fantasy Battle: Still very much a work in progress, with both Bretonnians and Lizardmen on the table. I don't really know where to go with WFB. The figures have been used largely as a testing ground for the kids when they want to paint or model - a convenient creative direction to point them in. I'm almost content to let them get on with these, and see how we go. I don't expect much progress here in 2014. The WH40K Space Marine (Dark Angels) army is similarly being painted by the small folk.

Lord of the Rings / War of the Ring: I seem to have amassed a fair amount of GW Lord of the Rings figures over the last decade or so, ranging from free, to eBay, to sales. Very little of it was bought at RRP. I have used some of this in my Bloodbath At Orc's Drift campaign, but am wondering now whether we're close to having enough figures to play a War of the Ring battle. I'm going to review the collection when I have time and maybe play a few smaller skirmish games first.

Blood Bowl: With an Elf team and a part-painted Chaos team (and a Human team in its very early stages), I'd like to play some Blood Bowl in 2014. A few games here and there could inspire me to finish off the Chaos team. BB seems to be one of those games which, while not supported by its original manufacturer Games Workshop, still enjoys a busy and vibrant tournament scene in the UK and abroad. Given that I'm close to having two teams, with a third in the wings, it seems silly not to pay more attention to BB in 2014.

Dystopian Wars: A Russian fleet that is probably 20% complete (the tiny flyers are done, and the frigates are underway). After the Impetus army, this is the next priority. Exactly how long it will take to paint this is anyone's guess, but I'd like to get it finished asap.

Bolt Action: As I have a platoon of Russians and a platoon of Germans, I will be play testing Bolt Action from Warlord Games, possibly even over the Xmas break. BA seems very popular with tournament organisers at the moment, so it could be worthwhile becoming more familiar with the system and generating a couple of army lists. As with WH40K and Blood Bowl, it should not take much to get into this.

Battlefleet Gothic: Really not sure whether I'll get much use out of my BFG Necron fleet in 2014. Part of me wonders whether it might not make more sense to sell my BFG stuff, particularly as Firestorm Armada now seems to have taken its place as the go-to large ship space combat game. To sell or not to sell, that is the question...? I'll keep my fleet mothballed for the time being, but if there is no opportunity to play soon, will likely sell it.

Judge Dredd: I seem to have picked up quite a few 1980s Judge Dredd miniatures (back from when Games Workshop had the license). Now that Warlord is supporting the JD game that Mongoose originally developed, Judge Dredd skirmish gaming has come to the fore again. I've probaby almost got enough to get playing straight away.

In Her Majesty's Name: Finally, in lieu of Mordheim, there is this new and interesting setting from Osprey. Like Mordheim, it uses small warbands / posses although I'm not sure whether it would work so well as a multi-player game. I can probably put together a number of factions for this almost immediately, including using my colonial troops for some of them. Look out for a play test of this in the not too distant future.

So that's 2014 in a nutshell kids. Looking around, there are still a lot of other projects gathering dust which will not get touched next year if I stick to the above plan. This includes expanding my Zulu impi for Black Powder, my Peninsular War project, the Sikh Wars, All Things Zombie, and WW2 naval gaming. All on the back burner sadly, although I might give Black Powder another go when the new Zulu War supplement emerges from Warlord.