New free stuff!

 

Battle Card: This is a series of simple one page/postcard 10 minute solo games by David "Undaunted" Thompson. The series is announced on BGG and it will cover a wide range of WW2 stratgic subjects. What is neat is that there is a pnp of Market Garden (illustrated above) on BGG which is well worth a download. 

There is also a web based mini-app (whatever that may be!) to play with. 

Cry Havoc: Some of you may remember Cry Havoc from the distant past. I lost track of my original copy some years ago. However, there is a thriving community of Havoc gamers (and its many expansions) and they have many projects underway. The news is that there is a pnp introductory game covering Robin Hood and his merry men. Sherwood can be found here. Time for some nostalgic man to man combat!

There you are Mr Mojo!

"Ho there Mr Mojo, where have you been?"

"Sorry boss, things were going **** up with Brexit so I shot over to Crete to paddle board with some Russians."

"Well, now you are back we can crack on, have you had any ideas?"

"Well, loads but....well we had a few beers and stuff so I'm a bit murky on where I got to."

"Good thing I'm doing your job for you then!"

First up, more progress on Stout Hearts as per picture. Nearly final map. Looking to finish this very soon. Play testing next week. The photo does show this is a floppy map, bits of A4 stuck together, but it does look nice in real life.

Inspiration

I have been very happily inspired by a number of developments in other guys wargaming lives:

Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame is getting a lot of interesting applications. This one (of many) from Mark Cordone is brilliant, from the home made map tiles and 2D buildings to the 1/72 micro armies is simply superb (here).

Useful review

I like reviews, especially ones which are useful. A simple like it or not is not helpful. However, there is a great review of my Hue game here.

The reviewer didn't like it all that much but appreciated the experience. The important thing for me is that he thought that it was a good simulation of urban warfare. That is, lots of static shooting and endless assaults. Possibly not a not a fun game for the manoeuvre enthusiast but I take that as a compliment

On the horizon

Against the Odds Magazine have a belated Annual coming out. This time, La Vendée - 1793. I find this endlessly fascinating so it is on my list (see the blurb here).

An apology

Unfortunately, some Google nutter has decided to screw up everyone's Drive links. I know this has affected some of you looking to download some of my files. Please keep trying, I'm working to make all of them available again very soon. Thank you for your interest.

Something for the weekend sir?

No sooner than I post about Stalingrad than I come across another series of brilliant documentaries by Army University Press (US Army that is!). Their series of four videos on the battle for Stalingrad describe the fighting through the lens of current (US) army doctrine. Big boy stuff this with acronyms and very unusual use of English. Really excellent.

One thing to look out for is their staff ride for Stalingrad. There are some brilliant handouts for staff ride leaders and a complete three dimensional environment that, unfortunately, is only available to US Army personnel. 

One other excellent video series that I have come across is by The Operations Room. They specialise in top down animations. The one that blew me away was their first episode of Black Hawk Down. Check it out, it's great! 

Daaarrgh mateys, here be treasure!

 

I'm afraid blogging has taken third place behind two things beginning with B. Neither of which I feel the need to bother you about as they are in the news everyday. However, a little time away from blogging is a useful exercise sometimes and I have just been tinkering a little with things when not working.

I have made an entirely accidental discovery of some old wargames magazines which have been in a box for the last twenty years or so. It has been very enjoyable leafing through them. 

As you will have guessed from the picture, the box contains possibly the complete set of Practical Wargamer plus some special wargames issues from Military Modelling. I am surprised by how many I am familiar with and delighted to find some I really treasure. 

I imagine anyone reading this blog will remember PW, edited by the legendary Stuart Asquith.. If I recall correctly, it was a spin off from Military Modelling. The first issue was in the autumn of 1987, pretty much the same time as the first issue of WI. I think the last issue must have been around 2000 as I had just moved house when it folded. I was much disappointed as I was just about to resubscribe..

So here is one of my favourite PW issues.....Winter 1989

This issue featured the work of Clive Lane, a man dedicated to Airfix plastics and hexes. What a great combination. Here are a couple of tasters...

Another treasured magazine is this Wargames Manual from MM in 1983. This featured a fantastic article by Charlie Wesencraft.........

Large scale Napoleonics with each stand a battalion but able to change formation by the positioning of its various elements. A work of genius not seen, to my knowledge, anywhere else.

A great trip down memory lane when magazines were about doing stuff yourself and exploring the boundaries rather than just buying product (which is not a hobby!).

A couple of other things have also cropped up which are great and FREE!

• Crossfire: A booklet of 2' by 2' Crossfire mini-scenarios including a campaign (Volkhov, Russian Front). Hopefully the first of many. Give them a try here.
• Punched Magazine: The e-magazine with a game in it. This time round it focuses on COIN games. Not something I'm a fan off but worth reading nonetheless. Take a look here. In my view, issue 1 was more interesting (Franco-Prussian War).

Hopefully blogging conditions will improve from here onwards!

Interesting stuff for Christmas!

 

Condiments of the season! Hopefully things are well with you all. 

I have been very unproductive in the last few months so, in lieu of anything new from me just at the moment, I present some interesting, and free, stuff for your entertainment. 

Les Guerres Picrocholines A small game from Nuts!, and one I have had my eye on for a long while. Based on the famous adventures of Gargantua and friends by François Rabelais (1534). Nuts! have this up as a free print and play here.

Punched magazine A new on-line wargames magazine with a game in it(!). The first edition is here. The game is Gravelotte 1870, an interesting little rock, scissors, paper game. One that looks like it could be very adaptable to other times and theatres. Invading Russia 1941 perhaps? Well worth checking out.

Able Archer I have been remiss in picking up the Rapid Fire Reloaded rules, on the list for next year. However, I have been tinkering with an interesting RF adaptation covering the cold war. You can find these rules on the Free Wargames Rules website here. Able Archer is a subject I intend to return to in the spring.

Peter's WSS rules Last but not least, Peter has published his draft WSS rules, a bit hidden away here. Brilliant!

Back in the New Year.

Indoors update 4

Follow that, er, sort of T34!

Well, are they Cubans? Well they are now! Previously Imex North Koreans, these chaps are now my generic OPFOR for Latin America, Africa and, possibly, parts of the Middle East. I just need some chaps with RPGs. T34 cunningly disguised as a T34! Bases not yet finished.

Obviously an NCO

Nice to see Simplicity in Practice being given a workout by Mr M J Tar here and here.

Also the concluding episode of Waterloo a la Carte by Mr Crook here.

Despite being indoors still, it appears to be all go!

Indoors update 3

These guys may be Cubans as well! To give the game away slightly, I'm working up a generic Opfor for 1950 through, probably, to 2000. I'm really happy with progress but I'm a slow painter, so pictures next time.

In this week's news.......

Yaah Magazine 8 with Race to the Sea by Herman Luttman. Get it for free here.

Remember Fistful of Lead? Well, its bigger brother is now here. Well worth £5.66!

During the Covid period I have bought virtually no hobby stuff. One of the things I did invest in was the Fistful of Lead Core Rule book, again, just over a fiver. Excellent value for money. A simple system with plenty of scope for hacking, lists for anything from Ancient Greece through to today and all in 56 pages. Nice.

The other thing I invested in was PSC's Northag. For £20 you get a hundred pages covering what appears to be a very simple system. I'm reserving judgement but my concern is around blue text on blue coloured pages. At my age I'm finding it difficult to read stuff and if they make it really difficult I won't bother. Having said that, I'll give it a cooler look in a few day's time.

Indoors update 2

I'll come back to this later but these guys may be Cubans.....

Although I find myself in the garden quite a bit recently, there is always indoors stuff to do. Some of my indoors time has, I like to think, been wisely invested in some of my favourite blogs.

Not in any particular order, we have:

Alex and Grant of TPA pondering Nevsky

The Payer's Aid  This is a must view site for anyone interested in board wargames of any sort. Alex and Grant have a prolific output of reviews and unboxings. They are well informed, engaging and a pleasure to watch. Also, plenty of back catalogue if you need an excuse to do some serious research.

Othais says howdy!

C&Rsenal As a wargamer I have a passing interest in weapons. I also have a well developed fear of firearms but do enjoy the history and mechanics. This channel is presented by  a nice chap called Othais. This guy is a real expert, he knows his stuff and his videos roll along at a fast rate of knots. Excellent mechanicals as well as some live shooting. I love the sound of a Lewis gun in the morning, it sounds like victory! I really can't recommend this more highly.

Tigers at Minsk - West front scenario

Battlefields and Warriors  Norm's blog covers a lot of ground, from AARs of cool games (such as the Hexasim games on Ligny and Quatre Bras), to small scale figure battles and, of course, Norm's own rules such as TaM. I have some real favourites such as Norm's excellent comparative reviews of tactical systems. Norm's posts are well written and comprehensive and well worth sitting down with a beer to read.

North Africa scenario

Grid based but not always Peter's blog continues to impress me. He is currently running a WW2 North Africa campaign using his own version of Tank on Tank rules and some excellent campaign rules. 

FOO Afghanistan

The Company Leader: Leadership Lessons from the Tactical Level of War. A serious blog feeding back a lot of real life military learning from the various US training centres. Highly recommended, especially for their Tactical Decision Games (TDGs). Some of the articles are well worth wargamers taking notice of, in particular, sustainment of advancing forces and maintaining vehicles in a combat environment. 

BTW the picture of Cuban soldiers not enjoying their morning run is a clue to one of my side projects......a little painting exercise.

Indoors update 1

Hi folks, a quick update on indoor stuff!

Just after my last post I got the lurgy. Luckily it was fairly mild, the physical side wore off quickly but it does leave you rather tired. The the rest of the family had it, again very mild so we are now all fit and well but staying indoors as per instructions.

I have noticed from other's Blog posts that there is a general torpor about. I'm feeling the same. I am trying to get some stuff done but everything seems to take three times as long as usual. 

Latest project is to re-purpose and repaint some A&A Miniatures French tanks for Brutal Simplicity. Here is the evidence, a B1, an S25 and a Panhard 178. Actually quite nice models (of around 10-12mm) spoiled by my heavy handed painting. However, now very usable for my own purposes!

I'll try and get back to normal by doing some more quick short posts this week.

Lovely to see other's blogs at the moment, a great way to stay engaged!

Note to self: French tank colours - 894 Cam Olive Green (too dark), 977 Desert Yellow (just right), 874 Tan Earth (OK but dark after wash), 819 Iraqi Sand (my usual tank dry brush). Next time try layers including cream and blue, you know it makes sense!). 

No exit strategy? Check out free stuff!

Well, OK, this bit is not yet ready but will be soon and will also be free! First scenario draft map for Brutal Simplicity 1940. Possibly "Not like a Stonne-Wall!". Based on OHW 18 but is being modified somewhat.

The real free stuff below illustrates that there is no such thing as a wargames industry, just wargamers who like wargames and are happy to give stuff away to cheer people up. The evidence is as follows:

1. Free C3i mag (#25) including Battle for Moscow game by Frank Chadwick! If you don't have this it is well worth it.

2. Free Yaah! mag (#8) including Race to the Sea 1914 game. Announced by Flying Pig but not as yet available from Wargames Vault.

3. Free Nordic Weasel game: Five Men at Kursk, be quick it ends today (US time). Nice game!!

4. Free Instant Thunder: An air game which looks like a simpler version of Wing Leader! The virtues of this game have been extolled by Kaptain Kobbold so look out for it here.

If the pressures of the day are causing stress and consternation, take some pleasure if you can from the following:

Bob Cordery has published this picture (and others) of his Portable Wargame as implemented by other people. This is a brilliant 54mm adaptation by Mike Lewis. Lovely, reminds me of Clive Lane's 20mm hex grid game.

Peter has started a new North Africa campaign which looks fantastic!

Disgruntled Fusilier is busy adapting Neil Thomas' Introduction to Wargaming WWII rules in an interesting manner.

And finally, PSC's Battlegroup Northag has hit the glossies this month so expect more action shortly (it was due to be released at Salute but this is now postponed so at some stage soon).

None of this makes up for Boris telling us that our loved ones are going to die but you have to take comfort where you can. Good luck to all!

Happy Holidays!

Work in progress.....

Tanks, small maps, possibly OHW rules and a campaign? Nuff said at this stage, early days but it probably involves Russians and stuff.

Bookses....

Due to confluence of birthday and Christmas I have some books, hurrah!

Interesting translation from the Swedish, not yet certain how useful this is...

Lots of numbers in this one which will be useful, the main argument presented by the author is open to discussion though.

Game ideas in this one....

This one is a long felt want, great book following up the author's long ago Miniature Wargames articles which I still consider excellent references.

Plea for help!

I have developed a very strange (but perfectly legal!) interest in the US Army's weighted unit indices/weighted unit values methodology. I am, unfortunately, unable to find the declassified WEI/WUV I, II and II methodologies. Does anyone have access to these? They must be around somewhere. Please leave a comment if you have any info. Many thanks. 

Best Christmas read......

Norm has done an excellent job on his annual update, a nice read on Christmas Day or, of course, any other time!

Best wishes to everyone, hopefully 2020 will be a great year for all of us!

Normal service.....

Well, not quite normal service but a tentative first post after a lot of frenetic activity. One thing has caught my eye recently, what appears to be the first sighting of the 10mm NORTHAG project coming to fruition. I think this is very exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like, the indications are that it will not be a straight port of Battlegroup. I have a couple of ideas around this subject which I am mulling over quietly.

I am making sure I don't jump off into another project before the current Hue game is completed, however, here are a couple of really interesting things:

• Two Fat Lardies: The guys have kindly released a free PDF of their Blitzkrieg in the East supplement for their I Ain't Been Shot, Mum rules. You can find it here. No scenarios but plenty of great army list information.
• Jozi's Tin Men: This blog covers a lot of things I really like. One recent set of house rules covers the use of Squad Hammer (from Nordic Weasel) for Hammers Slammers. You can find them here. If you can use Squad Hammer for sci-fi combat you can use it for modern combat.

Lots of food for thought!

Hibernating or what?

The answer is "or what" rather than hibernating but the effect is very similar! As someone infamous once said "When I hear the B word I reach for my revolver!". Nuff said.....

As to plans for this year, the fact that we are nearly in March means my planning is made much easier. Last year I only managed 20 or so posts and met none of my initial objectives. Not so much a lack of enthusiasm or effort, more that I was sidetracked on to the development and publication of Ramadi. Now that feedback has been received and digested it is pretty positive overall. A couple of glitches in the rules which I have sorted with FAQs and some very interesting thoughts on how the system might be developed.

So, as to plans for this year....

1. Stout Hearts: This is a Ramadi development into Normandy 1944, working version of the map as above. This tells the story (or allows you to live the story) of a British infantry battalion attack through difficult terrain against variable opposition. The design is going well having resolved a couple of tough issues, given that the scale is different and I have to make account of ranged fire combat.

2. Hue: Not saying much about this yet but the battle for Hue is another excellent subject for solitaire urban combat.

3. Steel, Steel, Steel: Again, another take on the Ramadi solitaire model but much larger scale covering the southern attack of the battle for Kursk. 

Other interesting stuff.....

There are a number of other areas to explore this year, as and when time permits:

• Rebels and Patriots: I have this in mind to adapt to the Vendee campaign in revolutionary France. I wish I could find some 10mm (or 20mm even) peasants with scythes.
• Lock n Load's World at War 85: This is on the verge of coming out via Kickstarter. One thing to look out for is the free starter pack (A Matter of Bridges) which looks like a great introduction to the system and is FREE. There is also a Nations at War starter kit which is also FREE!
• Nordic Weasel Squad Hammer: Lots of activity on this front over the winter including a free (pay what you want I mean) Squad Hammer Core rule set. We are waiting to see if sales will trigger the issue of an open licence to make new versions. If this is granted then I can see myself having a field day with the system (a major distraction warning here!).
• Butlers Printed Models: There has been a tidal wave of new stuff from BPM ( including a 6pdr Portee) so I'm planning on several purchases in random areas and periods as the year progresses.

Lots of other ideas to pursue as things develop this year but there is so much uncertainty that who knows what will happen. Cheers all and belated happy new years all round!

Seasons Greetings!

Well, it is that time of year again. Just a quick post to say Happy Christmas to all in Blog Land and do a quick pre-Xmas round up (pending a more fundamental review of priorities in the New Year!).

1. Christmas therapy

Well, as you can tell from Cruel Seas E-Boats above I have got the free ones from WI and am giving them a paint job. They are not yet finished but it is very enjoyable to have a straightforward task to play with that requires little brain power. I just wish I'd got the Vospers as well. Never mind.

2. More boat stuff

Not directly related to Cruel Seas, I have been reading two of the best ever books about the First World War at Sea.

They are great in every respect and better on the second and third reads. I'm reminded of some DBA type naval rules by Colin Standish in the old WI (when it had articles in it). Something to ponder for next year but it would have to be 1/6000!

Actually there is a big read across the Cruel Seas as I'd love to mount a destroyer attack on the High Seas Fleet battleships and sink a few with torpedoes.

Note to self, I must get Robert Massie's book Dreadnought, the pre-WW1 arms race is extremely interesting and has a few learning points for today.

Also, following Norm's very interesting review of Decision Games' Battle of the River Plate I'm tempted to get their Coronel and Falklands Folio game.  

3. A short history of hexes

As someone who generally favours hexes for wargames I have been very interested in a couple of recent blog posts. The first, from which the picture below is taken, is by Jon Petersen and it tells the story of wargaming in occupied France in WW2. I picked this up from Battle Game of the Month.

An interesting story in itself, not least because of the number of the group's members who were killed, wounded and imprisoned by the Germans during the occupation. From a hex and wargames point of view, the story suggests that the French group started using hexes in 1939 and this later became the basis for their game rules designed in 1943. One of the pictures in the blog looks very familiar!

  
This was a particularly interesting find because I have been rummaging around in the RAND organisation publications following a reference on BGG and found their first hex based game was in 1952. Interesting that the French were well ahead of the University of Imperialism as some people call the RAND organisation.

4. and finally.....

I had completely failed to notice the hit indicator passing the the 100,000 mark. I suspect this has much to do with the Russians and/or the Chinese but my thanks go to all of you who have read and commented on my blog this year, I'm grateful for your supportive and helpful comments.

I'd also like to flag up some of the blogs that I regularly read because of their interesting content and irrepressible enthusiasm:

• Battlefields and Warriors: This is Norm's blog as noted above. Well written and wide ranging and also featuring his monumental post on re-fighting the Bulge this December.
• Grid based wargaming.....: This is Peter's blog covering some great campaigns and also some very interesting simple rules.
• Jozie's Tin Man: This is a really useful blog with a whole load of free stuff on it including Trench Hammer support materials, useful AWI material for OHW and some rules for a hybrid of Squad Hammer and Brigade Commander.

and not to forget all the others I read and enjoy.

All the best and Happy Christmas! 

Reasons to be cheerful!

Reason 1: A short but sweet review of the Ramadi game by ToBG (watch at 08.25). I'm nervous about reviews of this game so it is nice to start with an enthusiastic one!

Reason 2: I was recently watching a Lindybeige You Tube video about memoirs, true or false. Mr Beige was as entertaining as usual but in this one he mentions a book: "From the city, from the plough" by Alexander Baron. A fictionalised version of the story of the 5th Wiltshires in Normandy but, essentially, a memoir. This was written in 1948 and sold a million copies. I had never heard of it even after reading continuously about the war for sixty years (OK so I mean from the mid-1960s when I learnt to read!).

5th Wiltshires were part of 43rd Wessex Division, brigaded with the 4th Somerset Light Infantry. Ring any bells? Well Sydney Jary's 18 Platoon were in the Somersets. The periods covered by the two books overlap in Normandy.

I say this with absolutely no hesitation, Baron's book is the very best book I have ever read about British infantry. The language is lyrical, almost poetic. The story is brutal. Watch Mr Beige's video linked above and hunt down a copy. You will not be disappointed!

Reason 3: I have been looking for a 20mm Hummer with a GPK turret. You would think this would be easy but it is not. I dropped a note to Peter at Butlers Printed Models and suggested it would be good to have one of these. He said he would put it on their to do list. He emailed last week to say that it is now ready!

So I have a parcel to collect tomorrow with one grenade launcher and two 50 cal versions. Really good value for £5.50 each. I think I may be cheeky and ask for some more turret options!

Buffering.......

I have much going on in thinking terms, including the Ramadi design, so its time to unburden myself on the interweb.

New stuff.....

There appears to be quite a lot of interesting things on the way and some have already arrived.

Red Alert: Just on Kickstarter this is another Richard Borg/PSC collaboration. Command and Colors in space! Not sure its my cup of tea but interesting nonetheless.

Sticks and Stones v2.0: Tiny Battles have refurbished Sticks and Stones, the first of their Platoon Commander games, with redrafted rules and new player aid charts. I'm a big fan of Platoon Commander. As I already have this game, I'm really pleased that there is a free download of the revised rules/PACs which is available now.

Barbarossa: Kicking in the Door... A Russia 1941 campaign game for platoon level rules (of whatever ilk). I came across this on Wargames Vault here. It looks like a really substantial piece of work at the princely sum of $4.95 for the PDF. One for my Father's Day list I think!

New books.......

Well, new to me anyway. Stout Hearts by Ben Kite is a detailed technical description of how British forces actually did things in NW Europe. Lots of technical detail with good snippets from combat veterans. Also written by a real soldier so it has much veracity. Bolt Action players should read and inwardly digest :).

The Defense of Hill 781 by James R McDonough. Another book by a real soldier (his Platoon Leader memoir from Vietnam was superb). This one is a Duffers Drift re-run featuring an unfortunate Lt. Col who is condemned to purgatory (the US National Training Centre) and must successfully overcome the resident OPFOR to get to heaven. Excellent descriptions of how to lead a combined arms mechanized battalion in modern combat.

Last but not least, Losing Small Wars by Frank Ledwidge. This is a book by a former Naval Intelligence Officer. This one analyses the failings of the British Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. Brilliant, well written and insightful. If you need to read a book about the real world this is excellent. Also a brilliant exposition of the need for strategic leadership and a book I would happily take to work and make my colleagues read (along with Platoon Leader and Hill 781).

I have been playing Zombie in My Pocket, a free solo RPG. Very simple and quick. I was incited to do this by Alan on The Stronghold Rebuilt. A potential candidate for re-purposing into a modern house clearing game (Battle Drill 6 brilliant YouTube video). Also, I am being incited to play Norm Smith's Tigers at Minsk again after seeing this great replay on Sound Officers Call.

I knew the unburdening would work, my current themes seem to be centered around platoon level combat and realistic combat mechanisms. Time to get to work on the Grey Zone project again, hence my sniper icon at the top. Thanks for listening folks!

Sorry about the spelling, I seem to be speaking American today.