Vampifan's Views 09 Happy 2nd Birthday

Vampifan's World of the Undead celebrates its second birthday this week. It's hard to believe that I've been working on this blog for two years now but it has been the most amazing fun. When my blog celebrated its first birthday I noted that it had 48 followers and had received about 30,000 hits. A year later, those figures have risen to 132 followers and 85,000 hits, proving that it is becoming more and more popular. So, I'd like to offer a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has popped by to look at my humble efforts to popularise the undead. Without any shadow of a doubt, what I have most enjoyed about writing this blog are all the friends I have made across the globe. There are people who follow my blog whom I would class as close friends and as a solo gamer that means a great deal to me. If any of you visit the North East of England you're more than welcome to drop in for a chat or better still, a game of All Things Zombie. Anyone wanting to stay longer, there's a spare bedroom that is never used and I wouldn't dream of charging anyone if they did want to stay.

Speaking of ATZ, I've had numerous comments asking when my next batrep will be? I'm afraid I can't give a definitive answer. I might get a game in over the Easter holidays, which is late this year, but that doesn't mean I will. A lot depends on the health of my parents. I live at home with them and spend a lot of time looking after them. My father is disabled, having lost his left leg ten years ago and my mother is getting on and not in the best of health. Both are in their 80's so they rely on me a lot to look after them. However, they like to go away on holiday for long weekend breaks about four times a year. Those are the times I get to play ATZ because then I can commandeer the dining room and set up Mayhem City (or at least a part of it) on the dining room table. Unfortunately due to ill health my parents have had to cancel two holidays in the past four months. In fact, my father has just returned home from a week long stay in hospital. They have three holidays booked over the summer months so I'm hoping they can get away, as much for them getting a break away from home, which they deserve,  as for my own selfish purposes for playing ATZ. What is really frustrating about not being able to play is that I have loads of ideas for scenarios. On the plus side, the delay allows me to get more scenery made. One project that I am working on is building a headquarters that Team Vampifan can operate from. If they are going to stay in Mayhem City (and they will) than they need to find somewhere they can call home. Fortunately World Works Games cover what I need. My secondary goal for Team Vampifan is to recruit more survivors. I have some very specific figures in mind that I want to add to the group but it's up to the dice gods if they want to join Team Vampifan. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

On the figure painting/collecting front I easily achieved my goal of collecting 500 zombie miniatures and painting them. The current total is about 660 fully painted zombies. I suppose my next goal should be to amass 1,000 zombie miniatures and I'll do my best to achieve that target but I'm not setting a time limit. As long as the figure companies keep on making zombie miniatures I'll keep on collecting and painting them. At the moment I have 20 Blue Moon 28mm scale zombies on my painting table and more waiting in the waiting to get painted queue. I've given up buying any more miniatures for Lent just to give me a chance to catch up on all the figures waiting to get painted. Mind you, after Lent all bets are off and I'll succumb to temptation to buy more nice new shiny toys very easily.

For me, the highlight of the past year so far has to be the publication of Dadi e Piombo magazine number 44 with my article on zombies seeing print. I was glad that the six copies I gave away for free all found good homes. I'm only sorry I didn't have more to offer. It certainly helped to raise the profile of zombie gaming to a much wider audience, which can only be a good thing.

I know that many gamers are not interested in this part of the hobby but those who have expressed an interest quickly discover just how friendly and enthusiastic we are. To us weirdos, having fun is the number one goal of gaming. To be honest, this has always been my goal in any game I've played. I have no time for rules lawyers or munchkins who want to win at all costs. I've also noticed how many new blogs dedicated to zombie gaming have sprung up this past year. My attitude to them has always been to help, encourage and support them whenever I can. I don't see any one as a rival but as a friend. You may not have noticed in My Blog List to the left of this post, a new blog has just emerged, called Nothing But Zeds! It's run by Steve Simpson, who's new to our hobby. I've offered him a lot of advice via e-mails we've shared and if you're interested in supporting him pop over to his site and say hello. To anyone else out there who is thinking of starting their own blog my advice would be - go for it! What I love about our corner of the blogging community is that everyone is so friendly and only too happy to offer help and advice.

So, let's raise a glass of whatever your favourite tipple is to VWotU's second anniversary. If year three is anywhere near as successful as the first two years I'll be a very happy bunny. I plan on sticking around for a long time, so expect more of the same for year three and hopefully some nice surprises as well. Thanks everyone for reading and for your kind support.