Gaming during a pandemic

     Hello fellow gamers! What a year. This whole pandemic thing has really cramped my gaming life. Heading down to my FLGS for some game time?  Uncheck. Attending conventions? Uncheck. Gaming with my close friends around the table? Uncheck. Hopping on the light rail and exploring new fun  spots in the city? (Like the 1up arcade bar that I discovered just before the  pandemic hit) Uncheck.  

     2020 was going to be a big year for me. I was all  set to attend my first ever Gen Con. I was going to travel to the convention  on a road trip in my RV. It was going to be magical. I had my badge, I had  my reservations at a nearby RV park. My route was planned. Time off  scheduled. I had started playing Malifaux 3rd edition. I was part of a  group that gathered weekly at Enchanted Grounds. I had set up a painting table and was working on painting my Malifaux crew. 

     I had comitted myself to working less in 2020 so I could spend more time pursuing my hobbies. I had a blog that was collecting dust, I had 12 issues of KoDT to catch up on, I had minis to paint. I had good friends I had not seen much and was missing. We used to get together on a regular basis and game around the table. 

     Yes 2020 was going to be the year I returned to my favorite pastime with a vengeance. Adult responsibilities be damned! Then the pandemic began. The future became uncertain. Cities were locking down. Food and toilet paper needed hoarding. It was dangerous to see your friends. All focus shifted and my great plans died a swift and horrible death. Nearly a year has passed. The carcass of my gaming life lays half submerged as it is slowly buried by hot wind blown sand.  But wait.... Nestled within the mumified corpse lays a small cocoon of hope. A rare and short rain sweeps across the landscape and the cocoon, awakened by the brief moisture, stirs slightly. Life still beat within.

     The shock of the pandemic has faded, and the adjustments to life have started to feel routine. Worked has slowed some as it does in the winter. I have had some time to reflect and remember. I fired up my Switch, I went through my KoDTs and realized I was 24 issues behind. I blew the dust off of my blog. I started playing some basic D&D with my friends online using Table Top Simulator through Steam. I poked my head into a FLGS and picked up a copy of D&D Beyond. 

     I am back and it feels good. I believe it will be yet another year before we are full normal again. There will likely be casualties. Some friendships or gaming groups may have faded too far, some favorite hangouts may not have survived the economic storm. Time will tell. Hopefully I will be around to tell the stories.