After building the terrain and creating my own simplified wargame rules, I finally played my first solo game. It was a quick 1.5-hour battle that tested the rules, the teams and my ability to survive against the AI. I lost 8–11, but the game showed me what worked, what needed changing, and where I want to take the project next.

I’ve spent years painting miniatures, but lately I realised that far too many of them were sitting on shelves instead of seeing the tabletop. With game nights difficult to organise, I started looking into solo wargaming—and an unexpected conversation with ChatGPT gave me an idea. Could I create a simple game that let me use the miniatures I already own? Two nights, some cardboard and foam later, I had a small gaming board ready to go. It might be simple, but it has completely changed how I look at the miniatures sitting in my collection.