Today is the last day of my Christmas holiday, and I decided that before I go back to work tomorrow, I should try to do some more tidying up in my wargames room (‘toy room’!). I managed to do more than I did two days ago … which is not saying much … and several large plastic sacks of rubbish (mainly paper and unwanted cardboard boxes) have made their way to the waste recycling bin.
During the tidying up process I found my old, damaged wooden chess/backgammon board. It used to be kept on a table in our conservatory, but the action of the Sun weakened the glue in its joints, and one day – when one of our cats was chasing the other – the board got knocked onto the floor and the edge of one side of the board to come adrift. As a result, my wife gave it to me to ‘fix’, but with the proviso that it was not returned to the conservatory when it was. It has sat – under a pile of other stuff – in my wargames room ever since.
Gluing the broken parts back together took almost no time at all, and as I was admiring the results of my ‘expert’ skills, I remembered that Richard Brooks had used a similar board to design SOLFERINO IN THIRTY MINUTES. It then struck me that the board – which forms the lid of the box in which the chess and backgammon pieces are stored when not in use – could form the basis of a small, portable wargame. The box the board ‘sits’ on is lined with brown, soft material, and is deep enough for storing 15mm-scale or smaller wargames figures as well as any necessary dice, dice shakers, and other games impedimenta that might be required. As to rules and figures … well Joseph Morschauser’s ‘Frontier’ rules are a good starting point and I have a set of suitably-based 15mm Colonial figures that I used for the SAVE GORDON! game that I made many years ago.
I decided to see what the whole thing would look like if I put these various elements together ... and here it is:
Whilst it might not be the best solution to the problem of creating a small, portable wargame, it has made use of bits and pieces that I already had and that were otherwise not being used. It also has the big advantage of not requiring a lot of setting up to play, which in my current circumstances is a big plus.
All I have to do now, is try it out ...
During the tidying up process I found my old, damaged wooden chess/backgammon board. It used to be kept on a table in our conservatory, but the action of the Sun weakened the glue in its joints, and one day – when one of our cats was chasing the other – the board got knocked onto the floor and the edge of one side of the board to come adrift. As a result, my wife gave it to me to ‘fix’, but with the proviso that it was not returned to the conservatory when it was. It has sat – under a pile of other stuff – in my wargames room ever since.
Gluing the broken parts back together took almost no time at all, and as I was admiring the results of my ‘expert’ skills, I remembered that Richard Brooks had used a similar board to design SOLFERINO IN THIRTY MINUTES. It then struck me that the board – which forms the lid of the box in which the chess and backgammon pieces are stored when not in use – could form the basis of a small, portable wargame. The box the board ‘sits’ on is lined with brown, soft material, and is deep enough for storing 15mm-scale or smaller wargames figures as well as any necessary dice, dice shakers, and other games impedimenta that might be required. As to rules and figures … well Joseph Morschauser’s ‘Frontier’ rules are a good starting point and I have a set of suitably-based 15mm Colonial figures that I used for the SAVE GORDON! game that I made many years ago.
I decided to see what the whole thing would look like if I put these various elements together ... and here it is:
Whilst it might not be the best solution to the problem of creating a small, portable wargame, it has made use of bits and pieces that I already had and that were otherwise not being used. It also has the big advantage of not requiring a lot of setting up to play, which in my current circumstances is a big plus.All I have to do now, is try it out ...
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Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteGreat idea and I have a similar set sitting in the loft which has been unused for years - methinks perhaps a new lease of life is called for.
Certainly a cheap option and mention of the Solferino game had me reaching for the copy of the rules you kindly sent me - purely for casual browsing with no thought of a associated project of course....;-)
All the best and be careful what you throw out!
DC
And it is recycling! Bob, we're saving the planet.
ReplyDeleteTim
David Crook,
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I would never have thought of it under other, more normal, circumstances.
'Solferino in Thirty Minutes' would certainly be a good place to start with a set of workable rules as well; I used Morschauser's 'Frontier' rules mainly because I had the Colonial figures to give it a try.
All the best,
Bob
Tim Gow,
ReplyDeleteIt makes me feel good all over to know that I have done my bit!
All the best,
Bob
It certainly looks well and should be portable. I've found this is as major concern as it allows me to play games in the pub.
ReplyDeleteConrad Kinch,
ReplyDeleteThe only problem with portability is making sure that it is not turned on its side when it is being moved. Until I add some means of 'fixing' the figures in place during transportation stage (possibly the use of magnetic sheet, as the figures are fixed to steel washers), there is a danger of the figures getting damaged.
All the best,
Bob
Is January universal "wives of wargamers" tidy-up/clear-up/clear-out/why-do-you-have-so-many-books/noboy-else's-husband-has-room-of-their-own/where-is-the-baby-going-to-sleep/I'm-throwing-this-out month?
ReplyDeleteBut she did buy me an Airfix Saturn V for Xmas
Geordie an Exiled FoG,
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly listed as such in my Filoxfax diary for 2011 ... along with 'I need a new dress for Burn's Night/St. George's Day Dinner' weeks and 'The guttering needs clearing out' fortnight.
All the best,
Bob
An Airfix Saturn V rocket eh? I never owned that particular model but saw one made up once. It was BIG!!!!