In Which I Become A Global Influencer...

 ... or not. Anyway, I am pleased to inform readers that a piece I wrote for Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy magazine has been accepted and will appear in WS&S issue 137 - available for pre-order as I write.

The article will appear in the 'Irregular' column slot, and is called 'Let's Escape!'. It's about how considering our hobby as some kind of escape might not be the best idea if we want to get the most out of it. I have a couple of other ideas for the column which I'm hoping might be accepted. I'll guess we'll see.

Whether anyone will find it worth their time reading the piece also remains to be seen. I myself always flick past the painting and terrain articles in wargames magazines, being most interested in the scenarios and game reports. But I also find the WS&S columns worth reading, especially those written by well-known personalities (recently, Rick Priestley and Richard Clarke). I spend a lot of time doing hobby-related stuff, and I like to reflect on the whys and hows. But I also fully understand that some gamers flick past the opinion columns and love the terrain and painting articles. 

Chacun à son goût, as they say in France. WS&S is the only magazine that does this sort of thing as a regular part of each issue, and it's something I admire the editor (Guy Bowers) for doing. You won't be surprised to know that WS&S is easily my favourite of the 3 wargames magazines on offer at the present time.

One other little bit of fun is that as a column writer you get a pencil cameo to head up the article. So I submitted a photo and you see the result below. It seems to be an image of a much older man! But there we are. A little boost to the ego nevertheless.

I didn't know I had that many wrinkles.

As to going global, it was interesting to get the photo below from my eldest son, who lives and works in Kuala Lumpur.

Yes, there's actually a shop in Malaysia where you can get all the wargames magazines - if you live in the capital. Apparently, it's a pretty unique bookshop stocking English language books and magazines, including military titles like Ospreys. So if you're ever in KL... In fact, my impression is that wargaming in KL is mainly limited to Games Workshop-type stuff.

One Million Hits

Sometime in the past couple of months my hit counter has gone over the 1 million mark. This is very gratifying, although of course it's impossible know how many of those hits represents someone actually reading what's here. Those 1 million hits have occurred over the 17 years the blog has been in existence. I have certainly enjoyed creating every post, and the blog as it exists represents a excellent record for me of how my gaming has been developing. I hope it continues to be of some use to other gamers. 

My thanks to all those who have taken an interest in this blog since it started in 2008. Although posts are rather less frequent than previously, I hope to continue with the blog for many years yet.

Anyway, that's it for now. A Shadow of the Eagles game report is coming up soonish - set in the Crimean War.

'Til next time!