Pawndering 2009

The general feeling seems to be "good riddance to 2009."

It was a difficult year for most people and the society at large, between the economy, war, terror and political bickering. I have to say that I'm looking forward to 2009 entering the archives.

Even in my game world it was a year of disappointment.

The biggest and saddest event was the sudden and shocking passing of my friend Mark Perry at age 50. Mark was a good buddy, an excellent gamer and a really fine fellow and he will be missed. The year had started out with the passing of another dear friend of mine, Patricia Paul, also at age 50, after a long illness. Trish wasn't an avid gamer, although she enjoyed a game of Lost Cities every now and then. But she, too, was a great friend and a fine person. These passings are enough to make 2009 a sad year to remember.

Although not comparing to the above, I have to say that my World Boardgames Championships trip was a big disappointment as well. I had been looking forward to it for months and yet, just as I headed down there I came down with a truly awful sinus infection. It was so debilitating that I had to cut the trip short and return home.

It wasn't all bad, of course. I was able to make some new gaming connections at the Central Connecticut Wargamers, the Connecticut Game Club and several Meetup groups. I'm hoping to expand on these contacts this coming year and get in some more games. I also enjoyed the singular honor of being named Geek of the Week on Boardgame Geek, which seemed to pelase my fellow wargamers considerably.

There were a number of great games that came out this year as well. Among the ones I was happy to get were Martin Wallace's Waterloo, the Deluxe edition of Twilight Struggle and the block games Caesar's Gallic War, 1805 and Asia Engulfed. Perhaps the one I had the most fun with was Small World.

It was a good year for expansions and additions to existing lines. I added to my collections of Axis & Allies Miniatures, War at Sea, Munchkin, Memoir '44, Commands & Colors: Ancients, Fluxx and Lost Worlds. Especially notable was the long-awaited GD'42 with the 4th edition of the TCS rules.


The coming year promises more good gaming stuff. There are a number of products on the horizon. The long-dormant Great Campaigns of the ACW seems like it will finally get an addition, The Dungeons & Dragons themed master set for Heroscape looks promising, as does the eagerly anticipated Commands & Colors: Napoleonics.

Bring it on, 2010.

Happy New Year.
The coming year promises some more