This piece was written by Artem Levakov, one of the most prolific contributors to our recent global WWII campaign, playing 37 games of Blood Red Skies over the course of the campaign. Thanks for your kind words Artem!
Greetings, comrades! My name is Artem, and I play Blood Red Skies. I’ll start off with a little tale from the past. I first received the ‘Battle of Britain’ starter box on August 10, 2019. It was an exchange – a straight swap for a starter set from another wargame, and I think I got the best of the deal! I began to study the game, and everything related to it. I came across a group on Facebook (the famous Ready Room) and found out about the global D-Day event taking part at the time (Warlord’s D-Day 75th Anniversary Campaign –ed.). I was amazed by the event; the website, gamers’ battles affecting the overall picture of action, a visual map of events, special thematic scenarios… But I couldn’t take part at the time, because it required certain types of aircraft, and I only had a Starter Box, which clearly did not fit in with the events of D-Day, 1944! I followed that campaign with envy, but I made a promise to myself that I would build my collection to include all participating countries in order to be ready for the next campaign!
A year passed, and such an event did not re-occur, presumably thanks to the lockdowns of the time. I continued to think about D-Day, and feared that I had missed something incredible. But in July 2020, our esteemed “General of the International Legion of Tabletop Air Forces” – Ken Natt – took this issue into his own hands and launched a similar community-run campaign called ‘The Battle for Britain – 80 years’! It was really cool with the members of the Ready Room battling it out for glory. Finally, I was able to take part, and I played in 14 separate engagements! 2022 saw a similar campaign for Guadalcanal, which I enjoyed, but was only able to get six games in. I had settled into my life as a tabletop fighter pilot, moving from campaign to campaign and passing the time in the comfort of the Ready Room… or so I thought!
On June 29, 2023, Warlord Games published an article on their community website about the launch of the Global Campaign – Operation Critical Hit! I couldn’t believe it! Finally, it was happening! Finally, I would get to play in an official global campaign. After studying the first and subsequent articles, before the start of the campaign, I built an action plan for myself. Firstly, I would play a game per day for the duration of the campaign, and secondly, I would play only on the Eastern Front, as that is my ‘native’ region.
As a result, I played 37 games over 37 days. Like any good pilot, I kept my statistics on the battles conducted and the planes shot down. Here they are!
I was very glad to finally be able to participate fully in such an event! Thank you very much to everyone who had a hand in creating the campaign and to everyone who participated in it! Please, do more of these in the future!
And so I come to my point. These campaigns, or operations (or whatever they may be called) are incredibly exciting and magnificent! When you set your painted plastic/resin or metal models on the tabletop and replay battles of history, they really come to life. Each of us becomes a part of our army or fleets of different nations, so invested we are in our games. It doesn’t even matter if you play the different WWII games, Bolt Action, Blood Red Skies, Victory at Sea. We collectively, despite being from different parts of the globe, engage in the camaraderie of wargaming, and thereafter, over a cup of tea (or another, preferred beverage), we take a look at the state of the maps, learn who has advanced where, and which frontiers have been lost to our respected opponents. That’s what it’s all about for me!
One photo from each of the 37 games I played, in sequence.
This great event is over. Thank you all, friends! I hope to see your endeavours during the next one, whenever that might be!
