2024 - A brief summary - 2025 What to expect

Well it's soon the end of another year and probably time to take a look back on the past one, and to share some thoughts for the coming one.

2024 - Status

Yet another year, this is still a 'small blog' regarding number of blog posts and followers, but it's still the most active year so far with:

Blog posts:    53
Views:            31700
Comments:   125

So where does the viewers come from?

1. Hong Kong (8750 views)
2. Singapore (6540 views)
3. USA (6302 views)
4. United Kingdom (2023 views)
5. Norway (1855 views and I suspect some of them are mine from different devices)
6. Germany (810 views)
7. Indonesia (709 views)
8. Canada (383 views)
9. China (192 views)
10. Netherlands (187 views)
11. Spain (135 views)
12. Australia (130 views)
13. Iran (121 views)
14. Austria (100 views)
15. Ireland (94 views)
16. Sweden (85 views)
17. South Korea (80 views)
18. Italy (67 views)
19. New Zealand (45 views)
20. 'Others' (2990 views)

I'm not sure if so many actual viewers are from Southeast Asia, but I suspect most views from these countries actually are web crawlers or search spiders??

- And from which other web pages does the viewers enters from?

1. Facebook (1878 entries)
2. Re-directs from this blog (links etc.) (239 entries)
3. Bunker Talk Blog (236 entries)
4. Google (197 entries)
5. Wargaming with 54mm Toy Soldiers Blog (164 entries)
6. 54mm or Fight Blog (122 entries)
7. YouTube (102 entries)
8. Sound Officers Call Blog (65 entries)
9. Duckduckgo.com (64 entries)
10. Projects and Procrastination Blog (60 entries)
11. Bing.com (57 entries)
12. Oneseventytwoscale Blog (47 entries)
13. Toys - Ett Nytt Hopp Blog (8 entries)
14. Pound Store Plastic Warriors Blog (7 entries)
15. 'Others' (28300 entries)

I'm pleased that the blog has several redirections from other blogs, and I am very grateful and appreciate all of you who are linking to it through your own blogs. - You all deserve a big 'Thank you'!!

I do not have many redirections from Google, or any other search engines like Bing og DuckDuckGo, even if I have made it 'searchable' in the settings, made search-descriptions in text and photos etc. When performing searches my self I usually find it with Bing or DuckduckGo but not with Google. Do any of you have an idea of the reason to this, or have similar issues??

- And what was the most popular views last year? 

1. The Portable Wargame: Modern (566 views)
2. Print and Play for Free (2023 Prehistoric Wargame) (401 views)
3. 1 BC (One Brain Cell) Toy Soldiers Rules (2022) (391 views)
4. A leaked Battle Report of a classified skirmish occurred during "Operation Highjump" (339 views)
5. For a Few Dollars More - The Storyboarder's Cut (336 views)
6. Cowboys vs. Aliens in a prequel "V" Wargame (330 views)
7. In war (-gaming) your soldiers need protective cover! (2020) (292 views)
8. Chain Reaction 2023 (277 views)
9. A prequel 'Planet of the Apes' wargame - The initial confrontation (207 views)
10. Making "V"-miniatures on a budget (172 views)
11. Can an 'Inglenook Sidings' switching puzzle also be a wargame? (169 views)
12. Building an Army.... -or two (2019) (162 views)
13. A Simplified set of rules for Modern Wargames (2023) (156 views)
14. Loading a Ferry onto a Narrow Gauge Train (154 views)
15. Two Model Railway Exhibitions and one Garden Railway running session - A summary (146 views)
16. Close Wars (2022) (134 views)
17. The 6th of June - 1 date. 2 different stories about WW2  + a Battle Report (134 views)
18. Recruiting new super cheap troops  to the collection (133 views)
19. For a Few Dollars More - Deleted Scenes (128 views)
20. FUBAR (2022) (116 views) 

... -And the least viewed posts was an 'Inglenook Sidings' and Military goodstrain in the garden' with only 31 views, barley beaten by 'An August Workbench update' with 32 views...

As  you can see; Wargaming posts beats any Model Railway-, Workbench-, or  tour-posts. The following photo shows which new wargames I played in 2025. The only reason that FUBAR 4th Edition is there this year again is because I made an SOLO player chart to use with these rules:

Here are some impressions from wargames I played in 2024:

A Portable Wargame: Modern

'Operation Highjump' 

'For a Few Dollars More'

'Cowboys Vs. Aliens'

'Chain Reaction 2023'

'A prequel Planet of the Apes Wargame'

'D-Day landings'

'For a Few Dollars more - Deleted Scenes'

'Wargame in a Wee Matchbox Challenge'

'Christmas Wars 2024'

Last year I also made a list of planned activites on this blog for this year. I didn't manage them all, and when I was invited to join the 'Wargame in a Wee Matchbox Challenge' I decided to postpond some of them to 2025. One of my planned activities for 2024 was to prepare some figures and play one of the most recent conflicts in history. After some closer considerations I've concluded that the conflict I had in mind was 'too recent' as it is ongoing. I have no qualms wargaming modern 20th or 21st Century scenarios, but I wanted to find out how the 'wargaming society' regarded wargaming ongoing conflicts and it seems to be ‘divided' with valid 'pros and cons' for both sides. This meant that I needed to do some closer considerations regarding this, and even if some seems to be fine about it I’ve come to that conclusion to postpond my planned miniatures and modern wargame for now, pending until time seems more appropriate for it. As a reader of this blog I'm curious to know how do you feel about wargaming historical or modern scenarios or ongoing conflicts? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment-section below.

Another thing about that list; Even if I 'completed' a Heeresfeldbahn rake and could 'check it off the list', I'm still got a couple of coming projects to my German G-scale military train. -You can't have too many wagons, can you!?

2024 was also the 80th anniversary for D-Day and 40th anniversary for the 'V TV-series'. It puts things in perspective as it is as long time from present day to the V-TV series was aired, than it was from 'V' to D-Day. 40 years between both (!).

2025 - What to expect

By looking at which blog posts which attracted most (and less) viewers last year, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue the monthly 'Workbench updates' nor continually reports from running sessions with garden railways on a regular basis in 2025. I'm not going to totally quit them, but I will probably collect up contents from more and post them in fewer blog posts instead.

Even if it was helpful to have a list, which obligated me to finish off old projects with slow progression, I'm not going to be that specific for 2025. But I do have some thoughts of what I will do more of this year; Except for wargaming the 'too recent conflict', I plan to finally finish up the list from 2024. 

As many of you probably already know I'm a fan of the 'Old West', and I would like to use the Cowboys I painted up in 2024 in more games in 2025. Perhaps while trying out (and reviewing) new and free rules as that's in the scope of my 'budget wargaming'.

I am very thankful to all of you that during the last year have been following my blog, reading it, and contributes with your comments. It all means a lot to me and you all makes it worth creating this blog I hope you all will continue follow, reading, comment and share your thoughts in 2025 as well. 

I wish you all the best for 2025, and I'm looking forward to keep following your blogs!

Happy New Year!!