Up Periscope 2: Free games

 

Even though I have continued to be busy, I have found some time to keep an eye out for new and interesting free games. Here are some of the most interesting!

IWO: Neva are a new wargames publisher and their first couple of games are now available. One of these is Iwo Jima: Hell on Earth. However, Neva also offer a free post card version (Iwo: Lite) as pictured above. This is available from their website if you subscribe to their newsletter. Go to the Iwo Jima page and wait for a popup to appear. BGG page here.

Panzer Cavalcade '41: A really interesting solo game on a post card. As you can imagine, the player leads German forces into the Soviet hinterland in 1941. Some interesting rules and procedures which require some careful study. The game is available here. BGG page here.

Bloody Omaha: Lombardy Studios have made available a play test version of their draft solo Omaha beach game. Very much worth a look here.

Desert Sabre: A solo game on Desert Storm using some novel mechanics. This is a game that can virtually play itself. Downloadable from the BGG page.

That's all on my list at the moment, let me know if I have missed anything exciting.

Up Periscope! The Battle of Wulfswade

After some months of real life I have returned to periscope depth! I have a fair few things to share. One of them is the You Tube channel of James Atherton. His channel showcases the imaginary world of Half Land. An old school fantasy land with dwarves, orcs and Viking types. As well as a few hoplites! 

He has fought many battles in describing the fictional wars of the inhabitants. He uses his own rules, skirmish and medieval, as well as campaign rules. His battle videos are remarkable, using a few dozen figures, lots of corrugated cardboard and some trees they tell vivid stories. They remind me of stories from the Mabinogion told to me as a youngster. 

I love his stuff and strongly recommend that people just take a look and feel the enthusiasm.

Red Metal: Nearly there...

I have managed further work on the rules, lots of tidying up and simplifications. I have now completed the counters for the play test. The pic above is a test shot before I print onto labels. They are just about OK for size, although I have lost a bit of definition. Fine for a trial version. Aha, just noticed in the pic that I have some small errors to correct on the counters. It always pays to try things out first!

Red Metal

 

This is a bit of a side project that I have been working on for some months, if not years. The mission is to use OHW as a basis for a period specific set of rules. These will be hex based and use 6mm models. The main idea is to use the OHW scenarios and force generation method but use a slightly more sophisticated set of rules.

The time and place is Russia 1943. I wanted a bit of a Panzer Blitz feel with less units and a smaller play area. I also want a simple activation mechanism with a single die roll combat resolution. We will see how successful I am shortly!

I have nearly completed units in 6mm for both sides with all of the army options. However, I really want to test the rules out using counters and a hex map as this will be quicker. Some of you may recognise the map above as OHW scenario 5. Using 4" per hex, the 9 by 9 grid is equivalent to the OHW 3ft square. Sample counters:

Events have a habit of happening, hence the lack of activity on the blog in recent times, but I'm aiming to test it out and report back with a copy of the inevitably revised rules soonish! 

A tale of three books.....

 

This is not a good, bad and ugly type review. Just some reflections on what I have been reading recently. 

The first of the three is James Holland's Savage Storm. I have read possibly all of his books. I have enjoyed them all and some of them have improved my knowledge immensely. I found this one a different kettle of fish. I don't think this is the fault of the author. Some things ticked me off very quickly from the incongruous 1907 bayonet on the cover to the number of barrels on a nebelwerfer (one page says five and the next six, either or both could be correct). What I found most difficult was the the lack of a clear narrative. The constant diversion into individual's personal histories made it difficult to follow the story. The writing is fine, I think the problem is the editing. I think I'll get Cassino from the library. 

I watched a WW2 TV episode with the author of this book. It looks at the beliefs and attitude of the German soldier on the eastern front through their letters home. An interesting book, pretty much on the academic side. If you have read the works of Omar Bartov, Michael Burleigh, Christopher Browning (or even Daniel Goldhagen, but I'm not intending to start a debate on that one), then this is a valuable addition to the story. Nice to have 50+ pages of footnotes!   

I got this for my birthday. A fictionalised memoir of a Churchill tank troop commander. Written in 1957, I have no idea how this escaped my attention for so long. A great read and a really useful perspective on war fighting in NW Europe. 

So, that's the end of book club for this week. More to follow in due course.

Sam Mustapha's Eisenhower

Mr Steel's initial overview of these new rules from Sam Mustafa is really good and well worth your attention.

I have to say that these rules have awakened me from recent slumbers. Having heard news of their development I checked out the introduction videos on Sam's website. 

I don't have any of Sam's other rules. I have pondered them over the years but have not adopted them. They are obviously very good rules, concise, complete and integrated. Everything that you need is built in. I think that is one of the reasons for my not getting into them. I am not a rules as written person and I much prefer something that can be hacked.

This is the difference with Eisenhower. It is a corps level game which gives great scenerio possibilities, Op Epsom is covered in the rules. Units are battalion, initiative is by division. The combat rules are very simple (just roll some dice, unlike the complex table in Rommel). It is played on a square grid (12 by 8), which could just as easily be a hex grid. It can be played with miniatures of any scale or using counters. Therefore it is very hackable. 

I have purchased the POD version via Amazon. As Mr Steel comments, the paper and the binding are poor. PODs can be produced with far better quality than this. However, the layout of the book, diagrams and illustrations are great. Pity it wasn't on nice heavy shiney paper like Helion does.

Nice wings comrade!

 

Another quick Zvezda diversion, a 1/144 LaGG 3, Pre-war colours to match the red leather outfits and the pointy hats with red stars on them. They were hastily scrubbed over with green paint at oubreak of war in 1941. The cowling, air intake, cockpit frame and stabilisers were in red brown undercoat (957 Flat Red), fuselage and wings are silver grey (989 Sky Gey). Elevators in bare metal (997 Silver) and rudder in red (817 Scarlet). I like the flat metal plates on the fuselage to stop the exhausts from setting fire to the pilot.

The LaGG 3 was a bit of a dog, so probably a good job that Lavochkin ditched his co-designers at this point.