Getting Back Into the Gaming Swing of Things

I don't think I can really say I am out of the gaming thing really. I have gone to GZG-ECC every year since since '99, spending the entire weekend there since 2000 (and I am going to run a game one of these years, Jon, I swear). And I still game with Mark/Indy whenever he is available and we can work something out. I even got the chance to beta-test some new rules for Dirtside (now out-of-print, but available as a PDF through Ground Zero Games). He and I probably only cross paths a couple times a year outside of the convetion though.

What I want to start doing now is playing more outside of the convention. I have been talking about gaming quite a bit recently with a coworker of mine who used to play Warhammer 40k back in the mid-90's. He turned me on to a PC game coming out next week: Dawn of War. It is based on the Warhammer 40k background and the demo is quite addictive. The demo got me thinking about playing the tabletop game, which I have never tried but about which I am starting to get curious.

So talking about it more and more with my coworker pushes him over the edge and he decides to start getting back into playing, and he's already got a nearly complete army (just a few more figures and a little painting and he'll be finished). This of course pushes me really over the edge and I'm starting to get that serious gamer geek feeling in the pit of my stomach once again. As long as he is (eventually) willing to try some of the GZG games that I love so much: Stargrunt, Dirtside, and to some degree Full Thrust, I think we have the beginings of a decent little gaming group starting.

Now I just have to rope my other gaming buddies into things. Luckily, as I run the mailing list for local GZG gamers, I have already got a list of people to pester until they join us. Plus, it will definately give me the final push to get off my butt and get in touch with my best friend (and my best man), Joel, who I have not seen in nearly a year (since just after we bought the house). He was the guy that got me into miniature gaming in the first place. And I think Jenn more than almost anybody else (except maybe Joel) will be happy to see me finally start painting the pounds and pounds of unpainted figures I have been accumulating over the last few years. I suppose that is one of the downsides to going to the convention: plenty of painted figures provided for your gaming enjoyment, and a vendor or two selling unpainted ones that you can take home and say you will paint. I probably have something on the order of two companies worth of unpainted 25mm GZG figures scattered around the house. And that is not counting all of random fantasy miniatures that caught my eye back in the day and have since been gathering dust.

How about this? If I promise to paint my figures, will you folks promise to oooh and aaahh at them when I post pictures?