Sometimes the very insular nature of our hobbies can be isolating. I know for many of my peers that is part of the appeal of these pastimes. Finding some solitude away from the unrelenting streams of work, responsibilities and bullshit that gnaw away at our daily lives. Hell, an hour away from the internet and endless Whatsapp group chats and ‘can you just…’ lectures, to disconnect and take pleasure in the simple joy of painting a plastic moon man or dreaming up a D&D scenario. I get it man.

However, sometimes it’s nice to make the occasional pilgrimage to one of the UK’s gaming meccas and share the fruit of your solitary toils. To break bread with other like minded souls, to fawn over the assembled lead and plastic hordes and sigh ‘I used to have that skull chucker when I was a kid’. With that in mind the good people behind Middlehammer have organised a weekend of gaming and chillers taking place at Warhammer World in sunny Nottingham. You can find further details HERE

Long term CH readers may recall that a few years ago I was very excited for Jonathan Green’s You Are The Hero book, the story of Fighting Fantasy. Well he’s back at it with a second volume in the works. With a successful Kickstarter campaign in place to fund the project, YATH2 looks set to be just as popular as it’s predecessor. If you want to get involved with that head on over HERE and throw some sheckles at this potent tome as I believe they are accepting late pledges.

You Are The Hero was released at the first ever Fighting Fantasy Fest, a wonderful event that took place in London a couple of years ago. In keeping with that tradition there will be a second FF Fest to coincide with the release of the new volume. Once again Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone will be the guests of honour and they will be joined by a host of artists and writers who contributed to the realms of Titan and beyond. AFF/ Titan/Judge Dredd RPG maestro Marc Gascoigne has also just been announced as a guest and I am already giddy at the prospect of finally having an opportunity to punish him with questions.

There will be stalls selling all manner of Fighting Fantasy related wonders, Advanced Fighting Fantasy participation games, opportunities to meet and greet the creators with more fun to be announced. Early bird tickets are selling fast so get in quick to pick one up at the discounted price. The events page is HERE On a personal note I’ll add that Fighting Fantasy Fest was easily one of my most pleasurable convention experiences. Sometimes these type of events have a propensity to dry me out very quickly. Social interaction is draining for me, shuffling around and waiting in lines in stuffy rooms full of excitable blokes can quickly become exhausting, however FFF avoided that fate. It was well planned and professionally structured but still felt like a casual gathering of fans rather than ORGANISED FUN. I met great people, there were mercifully few knobheads and I made some new friends and I can’t wait to do it all again. See you there!

PS…looks like we’ll be throwing together another Corehammer games day in the near future so watch this space for announcements. Here’s High On Fire cos that’s where I’m at right now