I suppose I should start by introducing myself, eh?
My name is Joshua. I'm 26, and live in the Portland area with my wonderful wife. I'm relatively new to the world of tabletop miniature/wargames, having officially started about a year ago (June 2008) with Heroscape. Looking back at my childhood, however, I can say that I've unofficially been playing these games for practically my entire life.I grew up an only child and spent quite a bit of my time with board games, even though I was usually alone. So I had to get creative with how I played my games. I distinctly remember getting Stratego for my 8th birthday and working out how to play it single player. Shortly thereafter I moved on to linking several different games together in what I referred to as "The Olympics" (creative, huh?). I know there were a few more at one point, but I am 100% sure that Stratego, Chess, Sorry, Scrabble, Colorforms playsets, and Ninja Turtle action figures all played a prominent role. And it wasn't just playing one game and then moving on to the next- I literally had everything set up at the same time and they were all linked together in some mad-scientist-type operation. I truly wish I had pictures or some sort of documentation of it.
Anyway, the point of that story is that if, as a child, I had been given (or even been aware of) Warhammer or something similar- I would have been all over it and never looked back. Instead, I created my best impression of it, without even being aware that it existed. For this reason, I don't really consider myself new to the hobby.
I mentioned my 'official' start briefly, and that was with the game Heroscape. I adore the game; I think it's fantastic. Anyone who overlooks it as a "kid's game" needs to look again. Children can certainly play it, but it has alot more to offer than mild amusment for pre-teens. The strategy and army structure are fascinating to even just discuss. I post frequently on the amazing fansite Heroscapers.com under the name Melwing17.
More recently, I have discovered the 'fast play fantasy skirmish ruleset' called Song of Blades and Heroes. Heroscape is always going to have a special place in my heart for being my first true taste of gaming bliss, but in my short time with Song of Blades and Heroes, I can say that it is easily the best game (of any type) I have played. Most reviews you'll read will tell you the same thing. It is simply fantastic. All you need is the PDF and the miniatures/terrain you already have. But (if you're like me), you'll be inspired to get/make/paint/steal (wait, don't steal) new ones just for this game. If you are a miniatures enthusiast of any kind, do yourself a favor and check it out- http://songofblades.blogspot.com/.
What is the purpose of this Blog?
This blog was created for the following reasons:
1) To keep a visual and text record of my selected Battle Reports (for both Song of Blades and for Heroscape); hopefully I will be taking the time to post them in a roleplaying fashion. ;)
2) To feed my ego. Wait, I don't really have much of an ego. Well, I guess it could use a meal, then. Carry on with your worship.
3) To not spam the Heroscapers.com forums with my passionate manlove for Song of Blades and Heroes.
4) In addition to the photos in the Battle Reports, I will likely be sharing some of my general miniatures painting and terrain construction. I'm not amazing at it by any means, but I do still like to share things that I've put alot of time into.
Has this introduction been long enough? I think probably a bit too long- so I'm going to end it gracefully here. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.
-Melwing
