With a blink, 2023 is behind us – or almost behind us if you’ve the good taste to be a Patreon supporter of mine – and we can look ahead to more gaming goodness in 2024. Before we do that, I thought I’d take a look back at personal highlights from this year, and look forward to 2024.

While you’re reading this, I should tell you about my Patreon. Patrons get access to content 7 days before they hit this site, the chance to request articles or content, and the chance to play in one-shot games, for a very reasonable backer level of £2 per month. If you like what you read, want to support the blog, and have the funds for it, please consider supporting here. Telling people about the blog, and sharing links/retweeting is much appreciated also – thanks!

As regular readers will know, I track my games played in a big Google Sheet spreadsheet, and this year I was determined to play more. Real life stuff at the end of 2022 meant I cut down a bit of my gaming, and I went into 2023 determined to not do that, but rather push on with the hobby as a creative endeavor and recognise the joy it brings me.

So, with 2022’s 86 RPG sessions behind me, did I beat this? I certainly did. 115 so far (and I’ll sneak one or two more in before the year ends), and I’m definitely happier with a 100+ session year.

GMing Unconventionally

The biggest gaming achievement (is that right?) this year has been the launch of Unconventional GMs, the YouTube channel that I started with Gaz from The Smart Party. Getting my head around OBS, video editing (we do a very minor edit to the recordings, largely to cut out the break, to give a natural feel for the session), and prepping for recording has really given me a fresh enthusiasm for the hobby. 

We’ve got – so far – 14 2 hour sessions, from one shots to mini-campaigns, up – and big plans for more in the new year. There’s more to come, in particular about making it a useful reference resource for one-shot table techniques, which I’ll work on in 2024.

Organisational Shifts

I have a regular weekly group, or rather had – at the start of the year. When we started recording with UGMs, we pushed it back to fortnightly, to get another night in for recording (and, as we found out, editing). This hasn’t so far made the sessions more reliable, and I’m not sure if there’s a fix to this – we seem to have more sessions cancelled, and there’s definitely something in picking up a fortnightly session after one gets cancelled that makes it harder to get into after 4 weeks. But it seems to be back up and running, and we’re currently roaming around the pubs around Bree in a lovely One Ring campaign, which I’m enjoying a lot.

Alongside this, I’ve tried to pick up more ad hoc gaming. I’ve stepped back from Go Play Leeds, and although I’m musing about starting up some sort of indie games meetup in the new year, I’m happy that I have – it wasn’t bringing me the joy it needed to.

Gaming Conventionally

2023 has felt like the year that conventions have really hit the road again. As well as Seven Hills, which I co-facilitate with Jag, I’ve been to Revelation, Airecon, Grogmeet (real and virtual), North Star, Owlbear, Furnace, and of course the Kraken. Convention play, again, is a really good way to get enthusiasm for the hobby fostered – playing with new people always feels fresh, and I’ve had a selection of excellent gaming times at all of these. 

Looking Forward

There’s a whole host of 2024 resolutions and plans to share in a later post, but they certainly involve as much gaming as I have done this year – if not more – and a broadening of my gaming tastes. I want more Ironsworn, more Dungeon Crawl Classics, and more PBTA for sure – but I’m certain there are many more games that will catch my eye before then. I’ve often said it, but there’s never been a better time to be a gamer, so onwards and upwards!