Early this afternoon the Post Office delivered the latest issue of MINIATURE WARGAMES WITH BATTLEGAMES magazine.
The articles included in this issue are:
The articles included in this issue are:
- Briefing (i.e. the editorial) by Henry Hyde
- Forward observer by Neil Shuck
- Graf von Sutherland: The continuing tales of a wargames widow by Diane Sutherland
- Fantasy Facts: Be prepared for low flying Tsukumogami by John Treadaway
- Flagstone fleets: Naval wargaming on the patio by Phil Dutré
- A trader among us: Observations from an invisible presence by Helena Nash
- Salute Twenty Fourteen Show Guide
- Welcome to Salute 2014
- Sculpting Commander Maud: Creating the Juno Beach Master by Michael Perry
- Painting Commander Maud: Applying colour to our show figure by Kevin Dallimore
- Commando forward!: Recreating the relief of Pegasus Bridge by David Barnes
- Lest we forget: WWI was not what you think it was by Alan Patrick
- Salute 2014 Games
- Salute 2014 Plan of the Show Area
- Salute 2014 Traders
- Pelennor fields forever ... : Lord of the Rings at Salute 2014 by Peter Merritt and John Treadaway
- Barbastro 1837: Whatever happened to the first French Foreign Legion? by Chris Thompson
- Salute 2013: Painting competition winners
- Send three and fourpence by Conrad Kinch
- Salamanca's siren call: Part 6: melee and morale by Henry Hyde
- Recce
- The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal report by Henry Hyde
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Flagstone Fleets sounds like an interesting read :-)
ReplyDeletePhil Dutré,
ReplyDeleteFunny you say that ... but I thought that as well!
(I have a patio covered in large, square paving slabs, and the idea that I could use it for wargaming is very appealing.)
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteOne could also ignore the outdoor setting and simply play using a sqare grid on a blue cloth.
My knees protest too much if I crawl around on the floor or ground...
Interesting to see a whole squadron, rather than one ship, per square.
Regards,
Arthur
Arthur1815,
ReplyDeleteThe same thought had struck me regarding using the rules on a tabletop rather than on my patio ... and for much the same reason!
I make an exception to crawling around on my hands and knees when it comes to LITTLE WARS ... but I only do that once or twice a year.
All the best,
Bob
Gentlemen,
ReplyDeleteThe game is a typical example of a design based around the contraptions available: size of the grid & size of the miniatures could not be changed, hence the decision to use squadrons of ships per tile. Also, because it's an outdoors game, no additional bookkeeping or complex rules were allowed, hence using the number of ships per squadron as "hitpoints" left. This resulted in some very simple rules, purely with the intention of creating a fun game, rather than an accurate portrayal of naval warfare.
Our main goal was to play an outdoors game, and the naval game was the best choice given the circumstances. If the color of my patio would have been green, and the tiles would have been a different size, we would probably have converged on a game using green plastic army men & tanks.
Phil Dutré,
ReplyDeleteI think your game is an excellent example of a design that makes the maximum usage of the resources that are available. I like the idea of having one squadron per square as the tactics of the age tended towards 'follow my leader', with the ships of a squadron acting as a single unit.
I think that simple rules can - and in your case do - produce a reasonably accurate representation of that era's naval warfare. I have seen - and used - far more complex rules that were not as good as yours.
I enjoy fighting wargames outside, but as I get older my arthritis makes kneeling down (and getting up again) uncomfortable and sometimes very painful. At COW last year I made the decision not to try to keep getting up and down during our LITTLE WARS battle, and ended up sitting or laying on the grass for over two hours ... and it was great fun!
Have you every tried LITTLE WARS? I heartily recommend it as a game. It is fun, cheap, and - unless you really do want to spend a lot of time painting your figures - quick to set up. It would be an ideal game for you to use with your plastic toy soldiers and tanks.
All the best,
Bob