The answer is rarely yes. Let's face it, as bricks and mortar hobby shops disappear, it becomes more and more difficult for our loved ones to support our very specialized needs for this strange but wonderful activity we all enjoy so much. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. I've gotten gift certificates and sometimes my friends will score me something cool, but not this year, and that's okay.
This year I am indirectly turning gift goodies into gaming stuff. First, credit where credit is due. Dave Demick, my oldest friend in the whole world exchanges gifts with me every year. This Christmas we had the same idea and exchanged copies of a new board game, Red Poppies by Worthington Games. It's a World War I tactical level game, beautifully made with eight scenarios, from cavalry skirmishes in 1914 between Belgian and German horse, to 1918 assaults featuring stormtroopers and tanks. It screams for more scenarios.
Books, my family almost always honors my book requests, as long it is in print and not ridiculously expensive. This year was no different. I only had one military history on my list this year, The Southern Strategy by David K. Wilson. It's a strategic analysis of the decision to move the focus Revolutionary War to South Carolina and Georgia by British planners. I'm looking forward to it. Lots of other books took, completely maxing out my ability to take on further new book purchases. Bummer, I'm in crisis.
Last, but not least, I got cash. Cash is good because I can turn it into whatever I want. I want to buy a couple of the Bay Area kits I mentioned earlier this week-USS Mississippi and USS Monongahela. The latter is one of those ubiquitous Union sloops one can never quite seem to have enough of. I'm also going to order six or seven Hasslefree miniatures for role-playing. They're nice, costly, but the pound is not high against the dollar right now, and Hasslefree has reasonably shipping. They are such interesting action-packed minis. I did take a look at the suggestions offered by Dave S and CuorDiLeone, and while I liked them, just found them to be not quite what I was after.
Regardless of what gifts you did or did not receive for Christmas, I hope you had a fabulous holiday. The older I get the less meaningful I find the presents under the tree. Instead I look forward to the time with my family and friends. They are special to me and the conversations about everything from Ichiro is overrated (he's not), to whether the Beatles are cliche (they're not,) or whether Obama has sold out (he hasn't) are the best part of the holiday. My best Christmas moment yesterday--watching Will Ferrell eat cotton balls in Elf with Lorri who had never seen that movie before. We both laughed through the whole film.
DANG tomorrow.
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