December Lockdown Project (1) Pick your Dystopian Apocalypse

I suspect Boris may be telling Porkies when he says he will lift the national lockdown in the UK on Dec 2nd. Ok he may well rename it, but I don't see much changing. This will mean I need a December hobby lockdown project. My November project is to paint 30 "engines" worth of Blood Red Skies aircraft, and I'm on 28 with a week to go, so I'm hopeful.

So assuming our PM is going to run true to his record I'm going to need a project for December. This time I'm going to plan to actually play some games, which will mean solo. There are two options I'm looking at - Fallout Wasteland Warfare, and Zona Alfa.

Fallout Wasteland Warfare (FWW) by Modiphius Games has a lot going for it. Interesting game mechanics, brilliant and detailed background, cool models, an integral solo game mode to name a few. FWW is set in a future alternate history where the US has been devastated by a nuclear war with China. You play as a band of survivors who have grown up there or have just emerged from a "Vault" (nuclear shelter) 200 years after the bombs have dropped into a world changed forever and inhabited by radiation mutated ghouls, super mutants and all manner of mutated creatures and you need to explore, survive and rebuild. It is based on the popular Fallout series of computer games and although it looks quite daunting with all manner of cards and different dice it plays very well and feels authentic to the original source material. I probably have enough models to play but will need to do some crash painting before I can really start. 

Zona Alfa (ZA) is about a gang of unsavoury individuals entering the forbidden Zone - it's unspoken but it is clearly based on an alternate Chernobyl. You enter to explore and loot, particularly looking for the highly prized "artifacts" created by the radiation then escape out to get rich selling your ill gotten gains. Like FWW the Zone is inhabited by strange mutated creatures and zombies, not to mention other gangs similarly trying to make a quick buck who may or may not be hostile.  The rules (by Osprey) are much less developed than FWW but have a very strong Alt - Soviet era theme very similar to the STALKER computer game series, and are workmanlike and relatively brief. Unlike FWW there is no specific solo play rules or campaign system, but the creatures in the Zone operate on a form of artificial intelligence that should mean solo games are possible. I already have plenty of suitable painted figures so this is also a bonus. 

I realise both these games are a wee bit dystopian but they fit my requirements well at the moment. I suspect I will end up going for ZA as it will require (I hope) less effort at start up. Also I get to drink Vodka to get in the mood.