Poltava (2)....

more stuff!

My last post on this game included the Swedish tactical considerations map. Steve has now, very kindly, sent me the Russian tactical considerations map. I think this is such a good idea. Possibly a little difficult to do for a large game, but certainly very effective for a game this size. Nice one! 

Hopefully the game will be available commercially at some stage.

Poltava......

game launched!

The Poltava game that I helped playtest was designed as a freebie for the Swedish Army Museum's exhibition of wargaming that runs through to January next year. The event has now launched and there is a very nice review of the exhibition on the Dalauppror blog. No feedback on the game yet but it will be interesting to see what people think of it.

There was an interesting comments from Kaptain Kobold on my earlier post about how much scripting was required for the Poltava game. Poltava is a complex battle. I thought that the postcard game dealt very well with the phases of the battle. The following picture illustrates the objectives that the swedes need to hit before they can win.

It works really well and is a great illustration of how wargames can provide a platform for learning about history. It is also challenging and fun!

I hope that the game is successful and that Steve Kling takes the system forward to further battles. He has mentioned Yorktown and I think that a full set of AWI battles would be a nice idea.

By the way, I have come to think that if I wasn't English (whatever that might mean) then being Swedish would be my next option!

Secret game.....

no secret any more!

One of my 6 by 6 games was labelled "secret game". It is a bit of a cheat since I had already played more than six times since Christmas.

I have been privileged to have taken part in the play testing of a new game "The Battle of Poltava 1709" by Steve Kling. Steve is a real expert on the Great Northern War. His company Historical Games Co. has published Fields of Battle Vol 1 covering 8 battles of the GNW and also a brilliant GNW compendium in two volumes. 

I'm a big fan of small games which are exemplified by the battles in Vol 1. I'm also a big fan of Sweden and the GNW. So, I volunteered to do some play testing for a post card game which will be given away to visitors to the Swedish Army museum in an exhibition that starts this month featuring wargames through the ages.

As you can see, the game really is a post card game with an A4 map and 30 counters. The Armemuseum Facebook site blows the gaff on the game. 

The game is a mix of the FoB rules and the Postcard from the Revolution series by Mike DeSanto. It is very challenging and historical with a really good combination of strategy and luck. 

I'm massively pleased to have had some involvement in this game. I'm not sure if this game will be available commercially but I understand Steve has intentions to use it more widely. The Battle of Yorktown has been mentioned! Very cool.

As this is a bit of a cheat I may well have to put another game into my 6 by 6 challenge.