Heads up!

Some news in briefs

Just a few things coming to light....

1. A Spoiled Victory

This solo game of the Dunkirk battle and evacuation by White Dog Games is currently available for free! This is official. A new spiffy version will be out later in the year.

2. Perfect Captain Napoleonics

The Captain is a genius and produces some great rules. The latest news is that:

Well, we're into the French Revolutionary Wars in a big way, with some 10mm Austrians, French, some Russians and some North German troops. We want to make integrated systems whereby searching the rules will be a thing of the past; every system will be such that all modifiers are "built-in", so you won't even need a quick reference sheet to plod through them. The is ONE root system for almost all die rolls. Every army will act differently, so you'll know you're playing Austrians rather than the French with less positive modifiers....

We also agreed to make things as simple and fast-play as we could. We want a historical result without a lot of sitting around and fiddling- you'll always be moving and fighting and watching your well-organized plan going to pieces. The counter-mix will be almost zero.

A campaign system will be so connected that it is as if it is going on at the same time as the tabletop game.

Interesting and even more interesting.

3. BBA, not as big as first thought!

I have received a very helpful comment from Chris about smaller scenarios for BBA.

Just an FYI re BBB (as the author): in response to popular demand, in recent months I have created a number of smaller 'starter scenarios', with just a few units and simple(r) terrain, on a 4'x4' table. These are intended primarily to help new players learn the rules before they play a Big Battle, but of course are also suitable for when time and space etc are more limited.

These smaller scenarios include:
Montebello 1859
Langensalza 1866 (you can find a couple of players' photoreports on the web)
Spicheren 1870
and there is also a nice Latin American one, Tacna 1879.

All of these are in the BBB Yahoo group files:
https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info
and some are also on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127771552@N03/sets

Well worthwhile checking out.

Something for the weekend Sir?

A painting experiment!

In keeping with this week's WSS theme I'm getting on with a long delayed job of putting together some more Baccus 6mm troops for the new hex grid game. These have been sitting around for years. The good thing is that my chosen scale (24 infantry, 15 cavalry per unit) fits with the pack sizes from Baccus. Mine are just based in a single rank on three 40mm bases instead of two deep on one 60mm for Polemos. 

The next two regiments in the nude!

I'm starting off with two additional foot regiments. I'm not jumping in at the deep end with more because I need to decide not only what team they will play for but also how I'm going to paint them. I have been building up a Bavarian army (no surprise there!) but have yet to decide on their opponents.

However, I am vaguely unsatisfied with my normal painting style. A traditional back undercoat, acrylic block painting and a gloss or satin top coat. This produces a serviceable and attractive figure (without loads of effort) but quite dark. Not helped so far by my choice of a dark green base colour, but that an easily be changed.

So, I have been mulling over alternative painting approaches and decided on an experiment:

• The first regiment will be spray undercoated with white acrylic, washed with black then block painted and finished in the usual way.
• Regiment two will be sprayed with Chaos Black in the normal way but will be dry brushed white before blocking and sealing.

I do not regard myself as a good painter, far from it, but I think I can deliver a  reasonable job. I'm most proud recently of some old H&R 6mm chaps for a Jacobite rebellion game (more on this anon). Limited vegetables on the bases and not varnished (for some reason). Very proud of the hand painted flags tho!

The photographer could do better!

So, this experiment will decide the method to be used to complete my Baccus armies for the WSS hex grid game. I have everything I need to get this on the table, including metal, paint and commitment! I also intend to try out some different colours for the bases and see what takes my fancy.

You say Dybbol and I say Duppel

Lets call the whole thing off!

I wonder if Fred Astaire ever went to Schleswig-Holstein and what his chosen pronunciation would be? The reason I mention this is that, following my post the other day in which I mentioned Chris Pringle's BBB rules, I have had another look at the scenarios that go with it. The Yahoo BBB site has plenty of these including the battle of Dybbol from 1864. An epoch shaping battle for the Danes.

From an interesting Danish website

My main problem is that I have very little space, too many children and not enough time. BBB looks great but would be just too large. However, there is a solution to this by using a Command and Colours variant. My attention has been drawn to Pete Belli's wide range of variants for Battle Cry, CCN and M44 on the Boardgame Geek.

I have a weakness for both Command and Colours and also the use of miniatures. Pete's work is just great. Here is a picture of his Dybbol scenario played on a Battle Cry board.

I have always viewed the Commands and Colours games as kits that, pretty much, can represent any battle or campaign at any scale. Pete Belli's many adventures go to prove that. Its also a great excuse for not painting up lots of plastic soldiers!

Not the battle of the magazines...again

More inspiration than I can shake a stick at

I haven't posted any thoughts on wargames magazines recently, largely because they have been very uninteresting. I do take the usual suspects and find that Wargames Soldiers and Strategy is generally not only the best produced (with the shiniest, thickest paper) but also the most informative. That, of course, depends on their chosen theme for the issue. Wargames Illustrated is only occasionally interesting and, unfortunately, Miniature Wargames is a bit variable.

This month, things have picked up a bit with new and interesting things to ponder.

The Foreign Correspondent, for example, has the following interesting bits:

• Balloon to Balloon combat in 1870.
• A review of Chris Pringle's Bloody Big Battles.
• Wurttembergers (hurrah!) in the Siege of Paris.
• The Battle of Schleswig, 1848.

The Battle of Schleswig is unfortunately feeding my growing interest in the Danish wars of the C19th which also reinforces my interest in the Baltic. On the other hand, I think I'm going to save some money by not investing in BBB. I don't say this in a critical way. The review of the rules is excellent and gives a really good insight. Think Fire and Fury with 1,000 man bases. It is simply that the intended types of scenario are far too big for me to handle with the time and space at my disposal. I suppose that I should have realised that Bloody Big Battles was actually about Bloody Big Battles! Having said that, the scenarios would be of great interest. Time to resub to the FC!

In looking at magazines, I'm really looking for inspiration. Miniature Wargames this month (February 2015) does provide some of that.

• An 1809 campaign games with a very useful map and OB!
• An article on Rapid Fire at 21 years old.
• A big selection of reviews.

Its the reviews that have caught my eye in particular as they are wide ranging and cover some interesting stuff:

• Battle on the Lomba, a book about the SADF in Angola (AK47 old style!).
• GMT's Glory's End/When Eagles Fight games. I have the magazine edition of When Eagles Fight and I have been very tempted to get in on the table during my Tannenberg researches.
• Class Wargames, a book about left wing wargames of the C20th including Guy Debord's game of war. I find the latter extremely interesting as I have a copy of the game (with cardboard counters) on my bookshelf. This has gone straight on my wish list. I recommend the article on Geographical Imaginations which links through to an e-copy of the book on the Kriegspiel site which also hosts a computer version of the game (which is shortly to be relaunched). Every now and again we need a healthy input of real intellectual dimensions and you can get that from both of these sites.

Debord playing his game with his wife, loser does the dishes. 

Much to ponder but hopefully not too much to knock me off my immediate course of action. I survived last weekend's diversion to Stalingrad, although I took an immediate dive into the War of the Spanish Succession and Neil Thomas' One-Hour Wargames. His Horse and Musket rules are perhaps one of the better ones in the set because the combat engine replicates really well the degrading of units by fire over time. Expect another hex grid conversion imminently!

Stalingrad ideas

Trying to maintain the aim!

Like many wargamers I am prone to changes of directions on a whim. Today's whim is Stalingrad, one of my perennial interests.

The direct cause of this wobble in direction is a small book: Stalingrad: Battle Atlas Volume I by Anton Joly (ISBN 9791093222035).

  

I found this by accident on Amazon. It is a POD, produced by Amazon itself. It is in faux typewriter style but, on closer inspection, is quite nicely produced and very well set out.

My main interest in Stalingrad is the fighting for the city between early September and the launch of the Soviet counterattack in November. The dynamics of this urban battle are simply stupendous.

I have invested in David Glantz's Armageddon in Stalingrad Volume 2 covering the September to November 1942 period. This is a great book but the maps are simply not that good. Some are simple reproductions of wartime sketches, and none the worse for that, but it is difficult to get a true sense of the war on the ground.

This little book provides the following:

• weekly OB
• weekly estimate of force strengths
• weekly global situation map at sunrise
• daily partial situation map at sunset
• daily summary of key actions supported by some photos and quotations from key players

From a quick review I am beginning to think this book will be very useful. Volume I covers 13 September to 13 October. Volumes II and III are also available.

Pros:  I like the style and the very logical structure is good. Subject to some cross checking, the data will be very useful.

Cons: Small maps and some of the detail is blurry (or is it me). Maps would be better with greater definition (and full colour A3 on shiny photo style paper in my own happy universe!) but are usable. No detail below major formation or supporting assets (army artillery etc).

Overall. very handy and well worth the investment.

Tom Smith's Stalingrad Central map

Coincidentally, Panzer Blitz showed up in the BGG Hotness. I played Panzer Blitz to death in the 1970s and remember it fondly (and the panje carts). On taking a closer look I find that Tom Smith has produced three Panzer Blitz maps covering Stalingrad City. Hmmmmh, stroking long white beard, what could a chap do with a Panzer Blitz map of Stalingrad? 

Time for a steady hand on the tiller, and seeing what I fancy doing when I get up tomorrow!

On to Arras!

Nearly there.....

I have had man flu and a dose of hard work, neither of which are good for me. Emerging this weekend with a sore head I have determined to get back into action at Arras.

I say, is that Arras?

Order of battle

I have had another go and am happier with the improved version.

Invading Germans in Krupp-Protze carrier

Scenario map

I am now officially happy with the map and don't plan to change it unless play testing reveals something weird. The next job is to markup the starting locations and reinforcement hexes. 

Counters

I have really enjoyed putting together some counters. 

Infantry Tank Mark 1 Matilda

These icons are modified Junior general images. I plan to play test using these rather than new toys.

Light Yank VIB

Rules

I now have a working draft set of rules, hurrah. So very nearly ready to go!

My Arras page now has the latest version of the files so please have a look and let me know what you think. I'm looking forward to getting some counters sorted out this week and perhaps a first go next weekend.

Welcome to 2015!

Whats on the wishlist for the new year?

Well I have done my project update for the new year so this is a list of the things I either have on my wish list for the year already or things that I am currently pondering. Time, funds and family duties will ravage this list as they always do. However, as each year goes by, I find myself with more and more things to look at, play and buy. Compared to even ten years ago (let alone 40) this is truly a golden age for wargamers and long may it continue.

Rules

All sorts of rules, old and new, on the menu for the year:

Sample Blucher piece

• Blucher: A Napoleonic Campaign and Battle game by Sam Mustafa. This is really interesting not least because it appears to be based on a very simple game engine, where units are brigades, and it can be played using cards instead of miniatures. Indeed, there will be a card pack for the 100 Days.
• Crossfire: Reprinted and therefore back on my list.
• Bloody Big Battles: Chris Pringle's latest set of rules with scenarios for European 19C battles. He was the author of TAC and Warring Empires, the latter spawned the Principles of War series (which was never as good as the original!). Looks good, from Caliver Books at £18.50 for the rules (including some scenarios) and the same again for a scenario book.
• Polemos: Yes, must get round to these, ECW and Great Northern War, although the latter is out of print.
• Hordes of the Future (HOF): I've mentioned this before. Played on a square grid (which takes my fancy) and has some nice miniatures to go with it.
• Chain of Command: Having encountered Bolt Action with its very primitive game engine, I am more inclined to run with ChoC, especially now is has such well developed scenario support, including the pint sized D-Day campaign.
• PBI III: Not sure about this at all. I have I and II. I like the grid and think that some of the rules give a most realistic impression of modern warfare. I don't like the pre-game or the buckets of dice approach. Sometimes I think I just need to go back to the original AK47 which, happily enough, Mr Pig is selling as a PDF.

Games

I'm looking forward to all of these greatly:

Fields of Battle Volume 1

• Holdfast: I got Holdfast Russia 1941-42 for Christmas and am looking forward to playing it once I can get some table space. I understand the next Holdfast episode is Korea so I think I'll be saving myself for the Bulge when it arrives, hopefully in 2015.
• Fields of Battle: Eight battles of the Great Northern War by Steve Kling from the Historical Game Co. I hear this is nearly ready for release. I'm really quite excited!
• Stalingrad solitaire: Another one by Steve Kling and I can't wait for this. One of my favourite subjects. Supposedly due out after the Great Northern War game.
• Espania 20: Just out from Victory Point Games. The latest in their series of small Napoleonic games, this one covering Bailen and Salamanca and looking very nice. VPG are a little pricey so I might have to put this one on the back burner ($44.99 and no mounted map). 
• Tannenberg 1914 and Masuria 1915: Two folio games by Decision on one of my favourite areas of WW1. I have been lucky enough to get some good deals on folio games in the past so will be looking out for these two.
• Heroes of Normandy: I got this last year and I haven't really got into it yet but may decide to invest in 21 PD counters and the recently released Commonwealth troops box before they go out of print (which is inevitable).

Stuff to explore

There is a lot of interesting stuff around that bears further exploration, so not recommendations at this stage:

Berserker Games: Operation D-Day

• Solitaire PnP games: I have just come across a large range of solitaire games by Berserker, new publisher to me. Everything from colonials to sci-fi. They look interesting and I may just try one out (Manchuria, D-Day or Viet Nam?).
• Billy Bones: Billy makes paper soldiers of the ECW and ACW. What is tempting me is the set of soldiers for Montrose and Covenanters ($7.50 from Wargames Vault). This contains all I will ever need to fight Montrose's battles in Scotland.
• Five Core Company Command (PnP rules): From Nordic Weasel, the producers of the popular Five Core skirmish rules, these use up to twelve squads/vehicles a side. I'd like to see an AAR of these.
• No end in sight: Another Nordic Weasel, this time at a lower level covering squad level tactics for any time post-WWII. The reviews look good and note a similarity of effect to Crossfire.
• Corner of a Foreign Field: Morningstar's dirt cheap two page modern skirmish rules. 
• 2 by 2: This looks like a little gem. This uses 2mm troops on a 2 foot square table to play quite large battles. And its free.

Things to play

My list of things to get out of the cupboard and play. Actually its not even that far, these games sit on a shelf within arms reach!

Back of the box

• Manoeuvre: A great little Napoleonic game that I want to use to get my kids into some proper games (i.e. that aren't electronic!).
• Remagen, Faiaise, St Lo and 1914: Opening Moves: All small Minden Games awaiting a spin.
• Day of Infamy (Pearl Harbour), An Loc, Fighting Eagles (WW1), Death before Dishonour (Santiago 1898) and Clash of Lions (Sinai 1967): All small games from High Flying Dice that also need some exercise.
• D'Overlord a Berlin: A Vae Victis area movement game covering 1944 to 1945 in Europe.
• Four Roads to Moscow: The ATO 2010 annual including games by Mike Rinella, Ted Raicer and Roger Nord. All folio sized games on the Barbarossa campaign.

Phew! My wish for the year is that things go well and everyone has a safe and rewarding year. May the force be with you and may we all get some time for hobby stuff!