Planning the Easter Week Break

Easter Week in Spain is traditionally a big holiday break. In Madrid we'll be from Thursday to Sunday on holidays; but the first three days of the week I don't foresee much activity at work, with everybody travelling or planning to leave to the beach or the ski resorts on Wednesday morning, most likely I'll be returning home pretty early in the afternoon.

I’m not leaving the city so I was thinking this afternoon how best employ this lull of activity. Current plans include the possibility of playing 3 days at the club, as two of my gaming mates will also remain stranded here; I have proposed to umpire the 29 Let’s Go! pint-sized campaign for Chain of Command as we shall be able to play between 2 and 3 games until the weekend. Alternatively we may play some casual games

Painting wise, as I’m somewhat delayed with my El Cid project, I expect to recover some of the time lost and finish my Moor warband. Currently painting some Berber infantry and noble cavalry, I definitively want to finish these guys and idelaly start a levy unit of archers. We aim to start playing using The Crescent & the Cross by late April

On the reading front I’m about to finish the fourth book on the Arnhem campaign in the next few days. I managed to go through the classic A Bridge to Far, Urquhart’s and Frost’s memoirs and currently 70% progress of another great work It Never Snows inSeptember.  I have bought some excellent guides from Pen & Sword and want top do some planning for our club’s collective visit in November to the area coinciding with Crisis 2015 in Antwerp.

So these are my plans but you never know what I may end up doing. Any plans the rest of you guys? Would love to hear.

PS: Specially for those far from Spain, the photo above is not a celebration of the Ku-Kux-Klan, This is the typical dressdown in Easter Week in the country (serious!)...

... well not everybody dress like this but almost...

Planning 2015

As usual in this season, we wargamers enter into a frenzy state to plan the year ahead although most of the times it ends in frustration while not in tears. I'm not different to the average aficionado in this sense and like also to make plans.

Looking at this same post in December last year, I can rate my performance with 7 (may be 8) over 10,  not bad if your trail the long track record performance. 

First, a recap of 2014 and achievements:

- North African Desert Project (coded as "Afrika CoC"): accomplished 100%; painted Italian platoon with supports and I have almost finished a DAK platoon (not considered in the planned pipeline). And I did not only paint my toys but also did actually play a lot thanks to the campaign during the first half of the year.

- Spanish Civil War: another major achievement (or almost!) with a full Republican Army platoon and supports painted, but the vehicles still needing a hand of paint...

- Participating in a major wargaming event: failed! Financial constraints and a new professional project kept me away from accomplishing it (no money and, frankly, no time!)

- Collaborating in a wargaming publication, accomplished!! I must admit mostly thanks to my friend and wargaming mate Alfredo, the designer and (tough!) umpire of our Bloody November 1936, Spanish Civil War campaign for Chain of Command, finally printed in the recent Christmas Special issue of TooFatLardies.