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Wednesday 18 February 2015

Miniature Wargames with Battlegames Issue 383

The March issue of MINIATURE WARGAMES WITH BATTLEGAMES magazine arrived in the post this morning, and I although I have yet to read it in detail, it looks like being yet another excellent issue.


The articles included in this issue are:
  • Briefing (i.e. the editorial) by Henry Hyde
  • World Wide Wargaming by Henry Hyde
  • Forward observer by Neil Shuck
  • Teddy O'Rorke: The continuing tales of a wargames widow by Diane Sutherland
  • Fantasy Facts by John Treadaway
  • Tyrell's crisp attack: Skirmishing on the Isle of Wight, 1377 by Dan Mersey
  • Mongol campaigns in Syria: Part 3: The Battle of Al Salamiyya by Mick Sayce
  • Gravelines: Wargaming with Vauban fortresses: part 4 by Henry Hyde
  • Command challenge: Paddling in the Piave by Steve Jones
  • The sands of Sudan: Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing by Carlo Pagano
  • Wednesday night fight: Borney-Colombey 1870 by Dave Tuck
  • The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal report by Henry Hyde
  • Send three and fourpence by Conrad Kinch
  • Hex encounter by Brad Harmer
  • Recce
  • The Featherstone Annual Tribute by Henry Hyde
I particularly liked:
  • 'The Wargamer's Project Process' section and flowchart that is included in Neil Shuck's Forward observer (I know the various stages of the process very well indeed)
  • Steve Jones's Command challenge scenario 'Paddling in the Piave' as he demonstrates how an historical scenario set in 1809 can be adaptable to several other periods
  • Brad Harmer's tribute to the work of the late game designer John Hill

16 comments:

  1. I must get that one. Skirmishing in the Isle of Wight! Perfect!

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  2. Legatus Hedlius,

    Nowadays the closest you might get to skirmishing on the Isle of Wight is a slight disagreement in the queue at the butchers!

    All the best,

    Bob

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  3. I went digital with MW last year. Always find it a bit frustrating having to wait for my copy when other subs are mailed out early...

    Looks a good issue though. I shall await the email in Friday!

    A

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  4. Andy McMaster,

    I get both the printed and digital versions, and I find that very useful. I like to read the paper version but the digital version is convenient if I am away from home.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  5. I went digital partly for cost and partly for 'space'. Too many mags! But I'm finding it harder to read all the digital copy. It's hidden away on my tablet. Out of sight. The hard copy used to sit next to the loo and was dipped into most days as always to hand!

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  6. Andy McMaster,

    I have a vigorous policy of going through my collection of magazines every twelve months and cutting out any articles that I want to keep. These are then filed in plastic wallets that are stored in ring-back binders in my home office.

    I also have a large collection of other printed resources stored as PDFs. These are things that I have scanned myself or downloaded from the Internet.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  7. My problem with war game mags is that I can't bring myself to throw them away which stops me from buying them - silly but there you go! I will try to buy this one to support Henry's valiant efforts.

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  8. Stryker,

    I used to buy all the wargames magazines every month, but over the years they became very 'samey' ... so I gave up. When a Henry took over MINIATURE WARGAMES WITHE BATTLEGAMES I decided to buy it. I liked the way he had changed it (more text, fewer photographs put in to bulk out the magazine, good regular columnists) and became a subscriber ... and I have not regretted that decision.

    Some years ago I culled my collection of wargame magazines ... and have never regretted doing so.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  9. As a one time editor of a wargaming magazine (The Courier, I could not help but note the several articles that Mr. Hyde had to write to fill out this latest issue. I feel that it , again, shows the lack of support that the hobby gives to its media and those who labor in the trenches trying to support the hobby. As interesting as Blogs are, much of what is in them could easily be turned into an article and sent on to MW to be distributed to those who do not read blogs or may not read the potential author's blog. My other pet peeve was the number of copies that were passed on to freinds or xeroxed for their enjoyment with subsequent loss of revenue to the original. Sorry for the rant but it just hit me wrong!
    Dick Bryant

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  10. Dick Bryant,

    Having been the editor of THE NUGGET in the past, I agree that there are times when one has felt the need to write the odd piece just to fill out an issue. It is also true to say that I would occasionally have complaints that a particular issue was 'a bit thin' ... to which I would always reply that I looked forward to receiving something from the complainant for a future issue.

    To date I have yet to receive anything from a complainant!

    There was a time - before I began blogging - when I wrote articles for several of the UK-based 'glossy' wargames magazines. Payment was often very slow coming ... and in one case I am still waiting to be paid some fifteen years on! It rather put me off, and at least with blogging I don't expect to get paid for sharing my ideas. I could be tempted to begin writing for a 'glossy' again if I knew that I would be paid reasonably promptly and that I did not have to 'push' any particular manufacturer's products.

    I am all too aware that some wargamers feel that they have a right to copy and distribute other people's work, whether it be photocopies of rules or magazine articles or 'home cast' figures. I once challenged someone who tried to pass off some rules that I had written as their own ... and they did not even have the grace to apologise. They tried to justify what they had done by saying that they had converted the metric measurements that I had used into Imperial, and that this made it a 'new' product.

    All the best,

    Bob

    PS. I have no problem with people who rant as long as it is justified. I do it myself so I can hardly complain when other people do it as well!

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  11. Bob,
    As one who has had a few articles published in MWBG I must tell you and your readers that Henry and Atlantic publishing have always paid promptly and you should have no qualms about submitting articles to them. It would be good to see your PW material reach a wider audience.
    Regards,
    Arthur

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  12. Arthur1815,

    That is very reassuring to hear. I had a feeling that Henry and Atlantic Publishing were a bit more 'professional' than some of the publishers I had previously dealt with.

    I may well send something in to MINIATURE WARGAMES WITH BATTLEGAMES about my Portable Wargame ideas as I am sure that they might be of interest to some wargamers.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  13. Dick's comment hits a nerve with me despite being able to say that I have at least occasionally contributed something to the Courier and to Battlegames and others but its been a few years now. Money has never been an object but I would prefer to write an article that would either be potentially useful or at least interesting to at least some readers but every effort over the last few years has come out sounding to me like some old fogie who is out of touch and cranky about the hobby today (which I'm not even if I don't get out much)

    Maybe if I could figure out why more than a dozen people bother to stop by my blog it would help me find a topic but that remains largely a mystery as well! Time to put my thinking cap on and find something positive to write.

    Ross

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  14. Ross Mac,

    In my opinion, there is no way that are you an old fogey! (Well you certainly aren't when compared to me!)

    I would love to see you write something about your 40mm imagi-nation armies and rules for MWBG. I find what you do inspirational ... and I am sure that I am not the only person who does.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  15. Glad you liked the John Hill tribute. It wasn't the nicest thing in the world to write, but at the same time, I'm glad I got the opportunity to do so.

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  16. Brad Harmer,

    I thought that you did a difficult job very well indeed.

    Having had to write several obituaries myself, I know how hard they can be to put together. My approach was to write mine in the form of a public 'thank you' to the deceased person ... and yours seemed to be written in a similar fashion.

    All the best,

    Bob

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