Happy New Year, people of Westeros! Welcome to the last article of 2023 for ASOIAF. We will be celebrating all the events of 2023 and the community who have defined it. From the GTs to the content creators we will be handing out awards similar to last year’s celebration.
Wellbeing
For some this time of year brings not only joy but some challenging times. It can be lonely for people and for others the financial pressure can be overwhelming. If you’re struggling, there’s no shame in seeking help. Reach out to local community organisations, charities, or support networks that may provide assistance during challenging times. Together, we can lift each other up.
Acts of kindness have a ripple effect. Extend a kind word, lend a helping hand, or simply be a beacon of positivity. You never know the impact you can make. Amidst the hustle and bustle, don’t forget to prioritise your well-being. Take a breather, indulge in activities that bring you peace, and listen to what your mind and body need.
Remember, the holiday spirit is about love, connection, and understanding. Let’s make this holiday season one where everyone feels valued.
The Iron Throne Award: Polish Championship 2023
This award is for the tournaments that showed the rest of the tabletop wargaming games that ASOIAF is here, it is a big game, and has a grand community.
In 2022, the LGT, French, and Polish Nationals became some of the biggest events in Europe, and the world. I have never heard of such large events in these countries for other tabletop games outside of the obvious 40k, the teams involved with setting up the events should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved as it is truly a remarkable feat.
The Polish Championship for 2023 was the biggest event of the year with 171 players all taking part. The attendance is a phenomenal achievement and shouldn’t be understated. The teams at Warfactory should be incredibly proud of what they have done with this event, and the community is so thankful with what they have done. Congratulations to everyone involved!
There were many other grand tournaments and nationals in the next year with some becoming a lot bigger. I am excited to see many others show up and be big events in 2024.
The White Wolf Innovation Award: Board Man Gaming
Last year we celebrated the events in Leeds for coming up with unique rules to bring some different flavour to events. This year we will be celebrating Board Man Gaming and his “What If?” series, which brought a very different story to the world of ASOIAF with homebrew Units, Characters, and Missions to represent the changing story.
When ASOIAF TMG began, its concept was to be anything that can happen from the point of King Robert Baratheon’s death. Board Man Gaming has played a narrative campaign coming up with some new rules to decide the fate of Westeros in this new story. There have been some crazy twists and turns from the original story whilst still having some familiar beats throughout.
There is still a war between brothers with Stannis and Renly but this time one holds King’s Landing and the other is a laying siege. Boltons still become a threat but are looking to take Casterly Rock not Winterfell. The Free Folk still attacked the North, but found it defended by the North instead of assisted by the One True King.
I love everything Board Man Gaming has done, and I am looking forward to their future content.
Check Board Man Gaming’s “What If?” series here – https://boardmangaming.wixsite.com/boardmangaming
The Silver Prince Award – People’s Champion: BrianMcG
This award is for the event that puts fun first for the sake of the players. By reputation alone it is considered one of the best events of the year, with all players speaking praise about their day at the event. I have decided to expand this into allowing a content creator to win it specifically for championing a fun experience for all people who take part in this game.
Last year’s winner was the Ribble Rumble event win. Ribble Rumble was run by the Ribble Warriors, who are a Preston-based Wargaming Club set up in 1990’s. Ribble Rumble happened again this year and the ASOIAF side of the event would not have happened if it wasn’t for Brian. As always, the focus for Rumble is for the players to have fun when they come to play. A good example for this is the club only takes 5% of ticket price, so after food and venue costs, all money is put back into prizes.
The biggest prize is always for Most Sporting. The event also was able to achieve the melding of experienced players with less experienced players and it worked very well due to all the positive feedback. Being there myself this year, I was able to see this firsthand. It was truly a wonderful experience, and the venue staff were very welcoming.
Players make events. Congratulations to everyone involved with the event and thank you to Bannockburn for continuing to champion the best experience for the player.
Check out Brian’s blog and round up of Ribble Rumble 2023 here – https://brianmcgonigle.blogspot.com/
Crown of Love and Beauty – Artist Award – Stefan Mielcarkiewicz
A brand-new award this year is dedicated to some fantastic talent that have painted miniatures this year. I hope to see a wider range of painters in the next year to have a harder time of deciding on the winner, but this has to go to Stefan Mielcarkiewicz for his unique style of painting that captivates me.
You can check out more of Stefan’s work here – Stefan Mielcarkiewicz – Instagram: mitch.scribbles
Azor Ahai – Leading the Way – Hits n Crits
This award goes to the team that is leading the way in recognition for others.
The Hits n Crits Team are producing some fantastic content over on their YouTube Channel, even teaming up with the legends at Imperial Minis to give great insights on the recent update to the game. It is however their highlighting of amazing hobbying that has resulted in them receiving this award. Celebrating the amazing talent of others is an incredibly kind act and allows many more to witness the beauty forged.
Further to this they also show off the competitive community in the form of sharing some awesome lists designed by players. I haven’t seen anyone find a way to celebrate the talent of those who can form a well-oiled force before Hits n Crits did this.
Congratulations to everyone involved in making this happen over at Hits n Crits! I look forward to seeing the future content of this team.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HitsAndCrits Instagram: hitsandcrits_gaming
The White Walker – Most Anticipated – Welsh GT
This award goes to the events that look to be the most promising for the future. In 2021 we saw a great attendance from the LGT which tripled in size in 2022, so this award is for what I predict will be the same for an event in 2023 leading into 2024.
Here Be Dragons 2 was a wonderful event from the summer of 2023, and the next is in spring 2024. It is the next big event in the line-up for the UK tournament scene. Duke’s Gaming and Scaddman helped to create the brilliant event and are working hard to do the same again. This is the event I am most looking forward to next year and I am not alone in that thought. The memory of Carlo winning the Martell Starter roll off is forever in my memory looking just like this meme…
I will see you all at Pontypool next year. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Duke’s Gaming – https://dukes-gaming.com/
Final Thoughts
2024 is jam-packed with tournaments and events across the year. With the community growing bigger by every passing minute, events are overflowing with interest from veteran players who now have a diverse pool of people to play against, and new players who are excited to play more of this amazing game. We will try our best to cover as many events as we can and celebrate the community throughout the year.
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.