Yup.

It's been extra busy as we approach the end of kids' school year, so hobby time has been a little more limited. When downtime has presented itself, I've been spending it on my new PC catching up on some epic AAA games I missed out on from the last 7 or so years I've been without a gaming rig.


Foremost, and most addicting, of the games I've been playing is XCOM 2. I remember the buzz around Enemy Unknown when that was first released and thinking this would be the type of game I would enjoy playing. Boy was that an understatement. It became clear to me by the 2nd or 3rd mission (when I began to wonder where this type of game had been my whole life) that this game would quickly become an all-time favorite of mine. It has a tactical depth reminiscent of 40k but at a squad size level. The missions are fun and challenging, but it's more than just the turn-based gameplay that makes this game special. I've found the story to be intriguing and have really gotten into developing each squad member and building that perfect all-comers unit that can handle any situation or objective that comes up. It's a thoroughly rewarding game that makes you feel a sense of accomplishment as you progress and overcome challenges and get better at setting up ambushes to the point where none of your assets take any damage. I love it and because it's single player and turn-based, it's easy to pause when one of the kids needs you and pick it back up later.

I've enjoyed XCOM so much that it has motivated me to bust out my 3rd edition Space Hulk board game -- both are based on a similar set of core game-play mechanics (i.e. grid-based mission map, action point system, turn-based unit activation, etc.)


I had forgotten how detailed the minis are in this set! So while I fully intend to paint each piece, these will require a little more time & attention than my typical method of shortcuts and minimizing painting effort :)

Speaking of Space Hulk & video games, Space Hulk: Tactics was just announced and looks to be promising.


Let's see if I can finish the board game before this one comes out!