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Saturday 31 December 2016

The Portable Wargame book ... is almost ready to be published!

After a few trials and tribulations, the text of my PORTABLE WARGAME rules has been uploaded to Lulu.com and proof copies of the hardback and paperback editions should be on their way to me in the next fortnight. Once I have had a chance to check them, the book will go on sale.


This book contains chapters entitled:
  • Introduction
  • A brief (and incomplete) history of gridded wargames
  • Some basic rules
  • Grids: Hexes and Squares
  • Definitions
  • Units ... and how to represent them on the tabletop
  • Design Notes
  • Going Solo and the Sudden Death Option
  • Portable Wargame Rules: Late Nineteenth Century (Including Colonial)
  • The Portable Wargame in Action: The hunt for the Mahdi
  • Portable Wargame Rules: Early and Mid Twentieth Century
  • The Portable Wargame in Action: Soviet Combine Arms Assault
  • Appendix: Some thoughts on wargame design
  • Bibliography
  • Endnotes
The book will be available in three versions:
  • Hardback (costing £14.99)
  • Softback (costing £5.99)
  • Ebook (costing £2.99)
It is being printed and distributed by Lulu.com, and once it has been proof read and approved for publication it should be available online from Lulu.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Once the book has been approved for publication, I will write a blog entry to that effect.

36 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Johntheone,

      It was a labour of love that became rather tedious to actually get into print. (I spent hours yesterday having problems with the Lulu website thanks to problems with my Internet access and some sort of glitch at their end.)

      I do hope you will buy a copy. I have quite a few interested potential buyers, and I would like to start the New Year by making the book available as soon as I can.

      All the best (and thanks for your support and encouragement),

      Bob

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  2. Congratulations and I look forward to buying it.
    Alan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tradgardmastare (Alan),

      Thank you for your support and encouragement ... and I hope that you buy the book and enjoy it.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Well done Bob- do like the Cover- very nice. Good luck with sales. Cheers. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev. Robertson,

      Cheers old chap! The photo is a colour version of one of the images I used to illustrate the second of the battle reports that I included in the book.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Great - I am really looking forward to it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike Lewis,

      I hope that the proof copies will reach me in about a week or so. Once I have checked them, the book can be made available for sale ... which I hope will be by mid to late January.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. Well done Bob.
    I will buy a copy.
    Just out of interest will the rules work for the NW Frontier in the 1920's - light tanks instead of cavalry? I do like the 1:56 Vickers tanks :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nobby,

      Cheers! I hope that you enjoy reading the book when it is finally published.

      As far as the rules go regarding light tanks in a Colonial setting ... well as far as I can see the rules can easily accommodate their use, but you might want to arm some of the tribesmen who have to fight them with some form of anti-tank weapon, just to make things a little less one sided.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. In that time the Pashtuns were using the petrol bomb (before Mr. Molotov put his name to it) and IED's made from 'dud' aircraft bombs. They also had mortars, I believe, although they are not exactly a precision weapon :0)

      Delete
    3. Nobby,

      It will not be too difficult to include petrol bombs in the Close Combat rules (plus 1 for tribesmen carrying petrol bombs in Close Combat with light tanks) and IEDs would be equivalent to a 'one shot' minefield.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. Marvellous, I will certainly be getting a copy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Benjamin of Wight,

      With luck the book should be on sale within two or three weeks ... and then you will be able to buy a copy!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  7. Looks very good. Looking forward to adding it to my bookshelves some time in January. I'm particularly interested in the WWII section. Hope it dos well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David Bradley,

      I hope that you enjoy reading the book when it is published in the near future.

      The photograph used on the book's cover was taken during the second of the two explanatory battle reports that are featured in the book.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  8. I can't wait to add it to my wargaming library.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jhnptrqn,

      I hope that you enjoy reading the book and using the rules in due course.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  9. Great New Years present to the hobby!! I will buy the e-book version (the only way I read anymore). What program did you use for writing the book?

    Happy New Year

    Dick Bryant

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dick Bryant,

      Thanks for the compliment!

      The book should be available in a variety of epub formats, and will be on sale very soon after the book is published.

      I used MS Word to write the book, having made sure that the template I used matched the requirements of Lulu. If I was not an experienced IT user, the templates that Lulu have available for download take you through the page and text layout etc. very simply, and even a complete novice should be able to produce a book ... assuming - of course - that they can write! You should have no problem, and downloading the template from Lulu does not commit you to using them to print and distribute the end product.

      Have a great New Year!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  10. Replies
    1. Stephen Briddon,

      You shouldn't have to wait too long! Hopefully it should be on sale by mid January.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  11. Hi Bob,

    Oh very yes indeed! I will go for a hardback and an Ebook version and am confident it will galvanise me into some form of effort for the new year.

    Very well done old chap!

    All the best,

    DC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David Crook,

      Thank you for your support and encouragement ... and hopefully you will enjoy reading whichever version you buy and that it will inspire your wargaming in 2017.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  12. Thank you for your work Bob! I will be joining David in getting a hard hard-copy and an electronic version. This is an excellent incentive to finally overcome my Dread Fear of Painting and table some real armies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pete,

      As you will see from the battle reports in the book, you don't have to own even medium-sized figure collections to use these rules, so painting a couple of armies will not be a chore for you ... I hope!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  13. Tha is great news Bob. Your posts are always a great source of ideas and inspiration. A happy new year to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris Platt,

      Thanks for your very complimentary comment. I hope that you and yours have a great New Year and a wonderful 2017.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  14. I will gladly join the list of prospective buyers. Certainly a Kindle version and maybe a hard copy if you would offer to sign it for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim Duncan,

      I'll be only too pleased to sign a hard copy of the book for you. Get in contact when it goes on sale and let me know if you want a soft or hardback version,

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  15. I will get a softback version easier to store with my limited space

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Johntheone,

      Cost and storage space were some of the reasons why I opted to produce the book in different formats.

      I hope that you enjoy the book when you buy a copy in the near future.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  16. Definitely interested in buying a copy. It will be in book form, but will have to make up my mind whether hard or soft back. Unfortunately what I prefer and what my finances prefer are often two different things...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      One reason for the decision to make the book available in several formats is to keep the cost down. I'm sure that lots of people would love to be able to buy the hardback version, but can more easily afford the paperback or electronic versions.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  17. Hi Bob
    I look forward to buying a copy of your book! It sounds right up my alley. Thanks for all your effort!
    Bert

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pastor Mueller (Bert),

      Well, the book is now on sale via Lulu.com, and I am told that it will be available soon from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that you do buy a copy and enjoy reading it and using the rules.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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