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At the end of every year I try to make a list of my favorite things that happened in the wargaming hobby. And, looking back, it’s always amazing to see just how MUCH happened in the last year. Where I was on my hobby journey at the end of 2022 is very different from where I am in the December of 2023. Some of this has been because my preferences have changed, but a lot of it is because of just how ridiculously fast this hobby moves. What’s new one year is hardly an afterthought a year later.

Or that’s how it can be. While I may not remember every model I painted or game I bought last year, the things that made my Favorite Things of 2022 list are the things that I expect to last. And so it is that I write my favorite things of 2023. These are the things that have stayed with me, that I still engage with from this year, that haven’t been relegated to my Pile of Shame.

So what were my favorite wargaming things of 2023?

Favorite New Games

SPQR

I admit that I love virtually everything that comes out of Warlord Games, and I have loved getting to paint Hail Caesar. They’re not the best models in the world, but they’re my comfort models, whether I’m painting Romans or Celts or Spartans or Saxons. But, I don’t love playing Hail Caesar. I don’t like rank and flank games, and I don’t like the four person (or more) square bases. They LOOK good, but they aren’t fun to play with.

Enter SPQR. The Roman wargame that is squad based, circular bases, with the ability for leaders to gain experience. It’s a campaign-based game that may lack some of the realism and authenticity of Hail Caesar, but makes up for it with fun gameplay. It’s very engaging to form your group of Roman Legionnaires to muscle in on some Celts over a small table and with straightforward rules.

Simplified? Yes. But it makes up for it in being just a heck of a lot of fun.

Undaunted: Normandy

This is not a new game, but it’s a new game to me. And I think that it has entered the echelons of my top five board games of all time. (It’s hard to say whether this is a board game, a deck-building game, or a wargame proper, but it takes place in Normandy in WWII, and it’s delightful.

Surprisingly easy to learn and exciting to play, there’s no surprise to me that it’s spawned sequels in Undaunted: Stalingrad (which I have yet to play but hear wonderful things about) and Undaunted: North Africa.

The campaign system builds you up with an easy learning curve (maybe a little too slow in building) but once you get going on the campaign you’ll never want to stop. And the missions that are contained in the campaign will definitely not seem like enough. If you want one board game that is fast to play, easy to learn, but has a ton of strategy, then Undaunted: Normandy is for you.

Majestic 13

Snarling Badger Studios (made up of Vince Venturella and Uncle Atom at Tabletop Minions) has a very good track record in their short history of putting out games, but I enjoyed this one more than Reign in Hell, Space Station Zero, and Tanks for the Apocalypse.

My favorite part of this game is the flavor. The premise is simple enough–aliens have been invading the world for the better part of 80 years and any one of 13 organizations have been doing their best to combat and quiet the threat. But the fun is choosing from the many, many options for your team: are you a government agency? A group of aliens undercover? A religious special ops group? And where do you build your base? Get your equipment? There is so much here to sink your teeth into.

The game is designed for solo play, which you will either love or not, depending on what you want from a game. I find it engaging, with a good-enough AI system for the bad guys and clean game mechanics.

Favorite New Models

Seraphon Range Release

I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for the Seraphon for a long time, seeing as they’re one of the few armies that survived the End Times of Warhammer Fantasy. It’s just fun to be playing dinosaurs, and the dinosaur models are really great. I initially got into Seraphon because my son loved the big lizards and I painted them Carnosaurs and Stegadons to give to him. I even painted a Lord Kroak once just for the fun of it before ever actually playing the Seraphon on the battlefield.

But the new model range that was released in 2023 is truly stunning. The Raptadon Chargers that came in the initial game box were a beautiful way to get into painting these figures–where the color palettes and patterns are truly endless. But the new Saurus warriors are great, the Kroxigor are what Kroxigor should really look like, and the sheer variety of units that come in the Aggradon Lancers, the Spawn of Chotec, the Skink Starseer, the Hunters of Huanchi–all of it is amazing.

As for how they play on the tabletop–eh, I could take them or leave them. But the model range is truly stunning.

Wargames Atlantic Landsknecht Ogres

Wargames Atlantic puts out a lot of stuff that I am either indifferent to or actively dislike, but for some reason these Landsknecht Ogres just hit every one of my buttons. For starters, I love the look of Landsknecht ostentatious uniforms. Second, I love everything about Ogres. And third, why not give these Landsknecht Ogres some submachine guns and World War Two helmets?

I think I painted the whole box in a single weekend, laughing to myself the entire time. They are a painter’s model, meaning they reward a small effort with a large result. As you can see, some of the details (like the sausage fingers) aren’t the sharpest, but they’ve got it where it counts.

Cities of Sigmar Range Release

I’ll say it: I have never been truly enamored with an Age of Sigmar army before. Yes, I just got finished talking about the Seraphon and I do love them, but I love them as models, not as units in a game. Cities of Sigmar are different. The models are fantastic–better than Seraphon–and the gameplay is better, too.

And seriously, these models are incredible. From the moment I say the first shots of the baroque Freeguild Cavaliers to the over-the-top Lioness of Parch–but especially the doggos in the Wildercorps–I knew that this was an army I could fall in love with. I bought the starter box just because of the models, taking a gamble that the rules would be as great as the miniatures. And they are.

I will say that I’m not GOOD at painting these guys. I’m currently painting Pontifex Zenestra and it’s HARD. It’s the opposite of the Landsknecht Ogres: these models reward mediocre effort with mediocre results. BUT: I love them so much that I’m not giving up. My collection is growing slowly but surely (Santa has some under the tree for me) and I look forward to fielding a whole host of this gorgeous army.

Ravaged Star Veil Touched

These models hit a little closer to home for me. To be totally fair, after waiting so long for my Kickstarter miniatures to arrive, I was kind of indifferent to the miniatures themselves. They’re fine. They’re essentially Warhammer 40k proxies for Chaos, and that’s fine. (Yes, Miniwargaming is putting out their own ruleset that has a lot of promise.)

But I have a personal connection to Miniwargaming as the channel got me through some very hard times in my life (which you can read about here), and for that I am happy–eager–to support every one of their Kickstarters and paint every one of the miniatures.

And I don’t mean to downplay the miniatures by saying they’re fine. Yes, they’re not the Cities of Sigmar, but they’re great for what they are.

Favorite Hobby Projects

Kill Team from Every Legion

One of my favorite things from 2023 is that I set out with the goal of making a Kill Team for each of the nine Space Marine legions (and then later I added the Grey Knights and Black Templar). The thing is, I love painting Space Marines, but I get bored when I try to paint and entire army’s worth.

This was a lot of fun. The Kill Team rules from the second edition took some of the variation out of the units available in a kill team of Space Marines, so I was basically choosing a single unit type for an entire legion. So, all the Space Wolves are Assault Intercessors, and all the Raven Guard are Reivers. I just tried to pick the unit that most fit into the ethos of the legions’ fighting style.

And getting the whole thing done and sitting on my shelf to admire? Definitely one of my favorite things.

Fantasy Model Railroad

I have written extensively about my fandom for model railroads, and I spent the first half of 2023 (and the second half of 2022) really getting into building a totally bananas fantasy model railroad that has everything from a Sons of Behemat giant to a T-Rex to Civil War soldiers. And yes, it does have a train, which is great. But the fun thing is all of the different things that I can arrange around the train.

Sadly, the train is destined for tearing down and boxing up, as I’m trying to free some hobby space and this thing takes up about 3’x 6′ of my office. But as soon as I get more space I’ll be rebuilding it better than ever.

The Dirty Half Dozen

I only just announced that I’ve been working on this, but it’s been taking up a good portion of my time. The Dirty Half Dozen is Mordheim meets World War II, where your team of commandos (which can come from anywhere from the US Rangers to French Resistance to Japanese Island Warfare Division–there are 23 different factions to choose from) will be tackling campaigns that may mimic the Dirty Dozen’s raid on an officer’s chateau, or Raiders of the Lost Ark’s search for religious relics, or Monument Men’s rescue of stolen artwork.

This game has been brewing for a long time, and I’m excited to say that it’s in playtesting right now, making sure that everything is balanced. And so far things are good. Best news yet, I’m going to be giving away the game for FREE. I have plans to make many more things and this is just the start.