Out with 2020 and in with 2021 – Must Contain Minis in 2021

Well, we made it to the end of 2020 and are heading into 2021. What a challenging year 2020 has been. This year certainly went differently than I planned. I am sure it went differently than planned for pretty much everyone.

This was the year that I planned to focus on conventions and promoting my site more publicly at those events. I planned to print t-shirts and to attend a lot of these events. There, I would do what I could to generate content while getting this website more into the public eye.

Sadly, all these events were all cancelled. I am pretty sure that 2021 will go the same way. I am not expecting any large scale events again until closer to 2022. Just the nature of the virus and how long I think it will take to get everyone vaccinated.

This meant that the Ontario Miniature Gaming Conventions Page was not a lot of use this year. That is aside from systematically telling people that events in Ontario were cancelled. I plan to keep this updated though to help fore when events gear up again.

To help the small businesses and vendors that would normally be at those events, I started a new resource page called the Canadian Miniatures Gaming Companies Page. This page remains a popular resource on Must Contain Minis. I also upped the number of articles I wrote and started a YouTube channel.

349 Articles and Videos Published in 2020!!!

As for content, this year has been massive. I wrote 288 posts here on Must Contain Minis, 44 posts for Bell of Lost Souls, and 17 YouTube videos. That is a lot of content for just one person to create as a side hustle. In total, that comes to 349 pieces of content. Wow!!!!

With all of that content, you have to wonder what was most popular. Well, let’s take a look at the top three posts across the three platforms.

Most Popular Must Contain Minis Content of 2020

On Must Contain Minis, my most popular content this year were my articles related to Oathmark. The next most popular would be my Canadian Miniatures Gaming Companies Page followed by my post about Finding the Best Miniatures Wargaming Table.

Over on Bell of Lost Souls, my most popular post was the one I did about Westfalia Miniatures and their Tiger King mini. This post saw over 11,000 visitors. Nice! The second most popular post that I wrote there was my preview of Osprey Games and North Star Military Figures Light Elf Infantry miniatures.

Over on YouTube, my most visited video is again about a product by Osprey Games and North Star Military Figures. This time, it is a review I did of their Frostgrave Knights. I really liked putting this video together and I am glad that it has done so well.

Thank you everyone so much for continuously checking out my content and enjoying what I put out there. It really means a lot to me.

I especially like it when people take the time give some positive feedback and encouragement.

Some Things that Didn’t go as Expected in 2020.

While there is a lot to be happy about this year, there is a lot that has not gone to plan.

First and foremost, COVID-19 knocked everything off track from March onwards. I didn’t see the virus coming and had hoped for a much different year. We all did.

I learned this year, not to book hotels through an online vendor for when you book a hotel for a convention. I had booked a room through one of those internet sites and had to cancel the room as the convention coincided with my province’s first lockdown. The hotel told me that had I of booked with them, I could have got my money back. Because I booked through one of those third party companies, I could not. Lesson learned.

So far, I managed to stay healthy, which is great. My studio space has slowly been taken over by space for working from home, but I am making it work.

I was fortunate with my career that I transitioned to a new role just before the pandemic hit. That new position has let me endure the repercussions of this new reality better than my old job would have. As such, I consider myself very lucky.

With everyone staying at home, I decided to focus more on creating content. In some ways, this is an escape for me, but at the same time, I know a lot of you out there get enjoyment out of this too. I must say that I really like when you comment or click “like” on my pieces of work.

A Big Thank You!

A big shout out goes out to all of your for the support and encouragement this year! Constructive criticism is always appreciated and I always like positive feedback too.

Also, a huge “thank you” goes out to all of you who supported Must Contain Minis through my affiliate links and by visiting my site on a regular basis. That support is going to my web-provider to keep the site going. I really appreciate that your support makes this site self-sustaining.

Thank you for that. Now, you are likely wondering what is to come from Must Contain Minis in 2021. Let’s get into that now.

Must Contain Minis in 2021

So, what is to come from Must Contain Minis in 2021?

Well, there are a few games that caught my eye for next year. This includes old favourites like Frostgrave and Bolt Action, but some new ones too.

I have a feeling that there will be some Sci-Fi coverage coming here. Osprey Games has Stargrave coming out next year. I want to be all over that game when it comes out. Meanwhile, Monster Fight Club announced Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone. I already have some of their miniatures, so I am really curios to see what this game is like. Those are just two titles of what may be coming and every year there is more and more to see.

As for the type of content here, I think you will see more of a transition to product showcases and reviews. With fears of COVID floating around out there, it will be a while before I get a battle report up on the site again. I won’t write them off completely, but there won’t be as many as in years past. You likely noticed that over this year too.

On the flip side, my product showcases and reviews continue to improve so I hope that you will keep coming back here to learn about different miniatures gaming options out on the market. I also intend to share news here and there of things that I think my readers would find interesting.

This includes news of a couple of Kickstarters coming up in January.

You want more specifics? Well…

Anything more Specific?

Wargame Terrain is a big item of coverage for me for the start of the year because it crosses genres and gaming systems. I also have several sets of miniatures to review still, and plan to paint some more of them up too.

I want to get into 3D printing, but Mrs. Must Contain Minis doesn’t agree with me on this one. We will see if time changes that position. I still plan to cover 3D printing companies here and there despite not having a printer. I find the whole subject very interesting. Plus, who knows… Maybe I will get one in the future. I already bought a whole bunch of STL files.

Finally, over the past couple of weeks, I have been busy lining up some companies to work with in 2021. Some of them are my old favourites like Firelock Games and Cigar Box Battles. One of my first supporters was Osprey Games, and I hope to continue to work with them and continue to check out their games into the new year. I love their stuff! On top of these companies, I plan to check out some products of companies new to me including GameCraft Miniatures, Things from the Basement and RM Printable Terrain.

2021 is looking very exciting indeed for content!

Happy New Year and Until next time, Happy Gaming Everyone!!!