Mind you, BattleTech will consume my attention for only a couple of weeks until I’m sure it’s up and going, and then I can get back to some more regular wargaming with Randy. Well, until he disappears off to Essen.

I’m going to be on holiday from Saturday 18th September – Monday 4th October, so I’m hoping that I might be able to get a little extra gaming in that two-week period. Of course, my father and step-mother are also about to go overseas, so I’ll be on my own for six weeks from Friday 10th, looking after the cat and the goose.

So, what are these games that I’ve bought recently and I need to play? Well, here’s a partial list of the games I really would like to play:

Castle Ravenloft – ok, I’ve played it seven times so far, but it’s just so new and shiny that it needs to be played quite a lot. This won’t be that hard to arrange. I’m just putting it here as a reminder that I do need to play it more.

Thunderstone – a fantasy adventure version of Dominion: build your deck to kill monsters that are crawling out of the dungeon. I decided eventually to pick this up. It doesn’t look anywhere near as entertaining as Dominion, but the theme should interest a few of my friends.

Greyhawk Wars – a rather old (1991) D&D boardgame/wargame set in my favourite fantasy setting. Not actually the best of games, but I picked up a unpunched secondhand copy recently, and it should be entertaining enough for a game or two. 2-6 players, although the 5-6 player game is likely to be LONG.

Maria – a three-player wargame (of sorts) set in the 18th Century. The Maria the game refers to is Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary, Archduchess of Austria, and quite a few other titles, during the War of the Austrian Succession, which has Frederick II of Prussia invading and other border troubles. It looks like a very interesting game, but I need to find the players and the time!

Richard III: The Wars of the Roses – a 2-player block wargame from Columbia Games that is very reminiscent of Hammer of the Scots. Except it looks like it plays quicker. Not that many blocks, and with the wonderful treachery rules.

Hellenes – another 2-player block wargame, this one from GMT Games, that looks at the battles between Sparta and Athens in the 5th century BC. I’ve played a little of this, but it needs more play.

Runebound: Mists of Zanaga – I almost expect I’ll end up playing this solo; multi-player Runebound has never worked that well for my group. However, the new big expansion has had some pretty good reviews so perhaps it might work with 2 or 3 players. I guess we’ll see.

Steam Barons – The first expansion for Steam, it provides a stock market option reminiscent of the 18XX series. I’ve had this with me on several boardgaming opportunities recently, but it’s never been quite the right time for it.

So, that’s my list at the moment (which is hardly exhaustive). Anyone want to suggest some other boardgames I should be playing?