"How far do you plan ahead?" Topic

Over the past year or so I have started planning what to do for the convnetion period over the next few years. In general terms this also defines what we play (in addition to the old stuff) at our club since a big project takes up a lot of my time.

So for the next xouple of years I have planned:

Möckern for the 200th birthday of the Battle of Nations in 2013
Waterloo for the 200th birthday in 2015
Kaiserschalcht for the 100th birthday in 2018

And suddenly I asked myself… is actually planning head 7 to 8 years (remember I started last year) actually a sighn of madness???

How far ahead do you plan your projects?

Cheers,

Burkhard

Plan?

Ahead?

ummm

It can be difficult to distinguish between "planning ahead" e.g. for a specific anniversary game, or just making plans as to the general direction you will head in.

General direction plans is now at the 6-18 month range, but planning ahead for specific games on specific dates is something I admire but cannot seem to do.

I think breeders of racehorses or Portuguse Water Dogs are the type to plan ahead.
Wargamers?
I have been "planning" Irish War of Independence and "Leonardo by GASLIGHT" for years. In fact I think that numbers of years may be in double figures for both.
Something always comes along to push them to back burner status.

Wargaming is the quitessential "Ooooh! Shiny!" hobby.

"Planning ahead" is an unusual "sign of madness" in a hobby, and possibly one of the few I lack.
This could be partially because I pay no attention to anniversaries.

A year or two, depending on how reflective I am. Generally two years for projects (although never underestimate the allure of the impulse buy) and one year for convention games (usually based on projects coming to completion).

I plan for the next convention and that is about it. I'm doing a game at Historicon, I know what it is, I know how many figures I need, I know what terrain I need and I know how many figures I still need to paint.

Fall In is a totally different beast. There are vague notions I suppose that I may expand on the stuff I have for the game at H-con and then perhaps do a bigger battle from the period. Or course I might also do something with massive oliphants in it. Who freaking knows? I have scheduled the Monday after off of work to make it easier to go.

I like about 6 months.

My Star Trek game I ran at Spring recruits (pics here: picture and here picture ) started life more than two years ago as a way to pass time in Afghanistan. I guess that counts.

I started planning for Fall Recruits 2011 before Spring Recruits 2011.

I've planned and worked on my Stargrunt 28mm Mechanized Infantry Company for about 13 years now.

I start painting for the only con I run a game at about 6 months ahead.

We are already planning into October and November here in our game store, and I book vacation for certain conventions a year in advance – to make sure I get the days off. As for planning on what to do? This year we've not planned to do anything because for the 4th year in a row, someone has nicked one of our figures at a convention game. All of the nicked figures were painted by my father to a good or excellent standard – and all of them were one-of-a-kind conversions. Which has pretty much soured us on the whole "putting on a convention game" stuff right now. We can play with loads of other people we know and we will probably travel to visit them instead this year.

A more famous Arthur is reported to have said, "I have no plans; I shall be guided by circumstances."

A sentiment with which I heartily concur.

Alas, Ofsted inspectors do not…

Depends.

Often 6 months to a year. but is some cases, three years.

mjc

Perhaps I am just slow, but years for most projects.

Well into the following hour

For me, planning is not the problem… Executing said plan is another matter entirely. Follow-through is my biggest challenge -- the planning is easy. >;-) Cheers!

2-4-6 years

A few months at most! Don't know what's happening beyond that.

I make 'plans' all the time… years long projects… doesn't mean they're likely to happen.

About one year in the past.

If it is big enough I can plan for a battle up to 2 years ahead (Borodino right now) but usually it is one year tops. General plans can be much more (i.e. I plan to do Waterloo in 2015).

Specific games usually no more than 6 months ahead.

I know exactly what I'm going to do yesterday.

I'm starting Russians for June 2012

Austrians were started in 06 for April 2009

Most projects are at least two or more years. I usually make two or three matched armies. I alternate between them so that the armies grow step by step.

At the moment, I have some more Tamiya WW2 vehicles, last few bits for Lord of the Rings, 1485 Burgundians and Swiss, 1066 Saxons and Normans, Alexandrian Macedonians and Persians.
Mick

Planning is the easy bit – I can claim that I planned stuff 20 odd years in advance simply because that's when I started stuff that took 20 years to (almost) finish.

Somehow I don't think that is what you mean.

Gildas, that sounds familiar, I planned a Dark Age Welsh army back in 1990 and have nearly bought all the figures I need. I've even painted three!

About a week

Any answer I give you now might change in three weeks.

Plan?
Weaselhoffen.

We make plans to play a certain game about 2-3 weeks ahead. But that's it though just wich game to play and army size. I come uo with the story for the game a day or 2 before we play.

If you put on games at shows planning is emminently sensible, 8 years in advance might be overkill for general games but as you've hit on the idea of playing the game on a major anniversary of the event then seems fine to me.

i would argue that i plan up to 18 years ahead – last weekend I have discovered and sorted out my russian and prussian adler napoleonics I bought in 1993

Well it's 8:49 am local….I know what I'm doing at 10:30…but beyond that

To steal an old movie line….Plans? Plans! We need no stinking plans!!!

I try to but real life seems to throw a spanner in the works.

I am hoping to help at Historicon with my favorite period but wont know if I can pull it off until we get closer in time.

At least a year.

I plan ahead so far, I may never get to game it…

You have to differentiate between Planning and Dreaming.

I dream about many projects when I have to money to go and buy anything I want. I have planned many armies on papers in many scales and was interested until I hit the "total" button the calculator.

Then when I wake up I sit down and plan to see what I can do with what I have and how can I budget to buy what I really need

depending on amout of work, in fact

Planned 6 month ahead (and was 2 month late)for Albuera battle we did in 2002 (no painting was needed)

Planned 1 year ahead to be able to put on table the 15mm-Bavarian 1809 Army Corp for 200 years of Austrian-French war (was 8 month late as I decided to continue with all units belonging to 1815 army)

Planned 18 month ahead to supplement the figs we needed for Fuentes in december 2011, but planning went dead when my order disapeared between Minifg UK and France.

so planning is good, but life has the last word on it