Summer Arrives!

Barracades in place for Hoopfest.
Downtown Spokane.

Finally!  For now, the rain has stopped and temperatures are beginning to rise.  With sunny skies and warming temperatures, mileage on the bike increases.  This week may see 200 miles put into the legs.

Another harbinger to the arrival of summer is the annual return of Hoopfest to Spokane.  Well, almost annual.  Having been canceled the last two years due to COVID, many are happy to see its return.  Billed as the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world, set up was well underway on Thursday as I cycled through Riverfront Park.  

With much work this week on the Homefront including landscaping and major house-painting oversight, precious little time was spent at the painting desk.  I did manage to knock out another dozen Sumerian javelinmen.  Figures are Wargames Foundry.  Back to painting SYW French when time permits.  

With a burst of outdoor activities on tap, painting effort may be curtailed.  An average of three hours daily for cycling coupled with domestic duties suggests hobby time must shrink.  Hopefully, meaningful painting sessions can be squeezed into the schedule.

On the gaming front, Game #3 of the Battle of San Martino began on Tuesday.  This coming Tuesday, the battle will continue to fight to a conclusion.  Both armies are taking a pounding but the outcome is still in question.  At least I think victory is up for grabs.  For an overview of Session #1 from the Austrian perspective, please visit,

The Italian Unification Job on Graham's blog.

Austrians prepare to attack

I plan to put together a consolidated battle report of the two-session game following the conclusion of battle.

Finally, two more Great Wargaming Survey analyses are in work.  Preliminary data crunching is complete.  Next up is to study the results to uncover an interesting tendency or two. The two topics to address look at material preference and why we wargame.