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Tuesday 27 February 2018

Other people's Portable Wargame battle reports: Cavalier 2018

One thing that I really regret about not making it to CAVALIER this year was the opportunity to see Mike Lewis and Anthony Morton running a PORTABLE WARGAME using 54mm-scale figures. Luckily Mike has written a blog entry about the game, and he has illustrated it with some excellent photographs.



As I wrote in a commented on his blog, 'I was struck by how similar the whole game looked to the battles fought by Joseph Morschauser, who was – of course – the inspiration for my PORTABLE WARGAME rules. Mike’s terrain and figures look beautiful, and I love the very simple but very effective trees and built-up areas. A truly inspiring wargame!'

Reading Mike's blog and seeing the photographs has certainly given my somewhat lagging spirits a bit of a lift, and when I begin feeling a bit better I hope to stage a PORTABLE WARGAME of my own.

Please note that the photographs featured above are © Mike Lewis.

24 comments:

  1. Great looking battle - Little Wars meets Morschauser meets Cordery!

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    Replies
    1. Maudlin Jack Tar,

      It does look good ... and I regret not being well enough to see it at the show.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. Hi Bob,

    I reckon if those pictures had been taken in black and white they would be a dead spit for the Morschauser look! I like the way the woods and buildings have been done and if I recall you made some L shaped representational buildings some time ago.

    It certainly looked a very impressive game.

    All the best and get well soon,

    DC

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    Replies
    1. David Crook,

      I did think of making the photos black and white ... but decided not to because they looked too much like photos of Morschauser's wargames!

      The hollow/L-shaped buildings and woods work very well with the square grid, and I really must re-visit that idea soon.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. I love the terrain as well. Representing buildings is a challenge at this size and scale.

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    3. Stephen Briddon,

      As I commented elsewhere, they are simple and elegant.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  3. Very interesting way of doing the terrain. Everything fits together so nicely!

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    Replies
    1. David Cuatt,

      It is simple and elegant, and seems to go well with the 54mm toy soldiers.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  4. Really eye catching. I do like the elegant solutions for trees and villages.
    Alan

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  5. Bob, I was looking forward to your report on the game(s) from CAVALIER, so I feel your pain. And since I was terribly ill for 11 straight weeks, I know what you had to endure.

    I will be moving, this summer, to a teaching job in a location where the wargaming population will be 1, which is myself. I am looking at playing the Portable Wargame solo, possibly using my 40mm SYW figures.

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    Replies
    1. Justin Penwith,

      The problem that I have with colds etc., goes back over twenty five years. I caught a virus that affected - and still affects - my brain chemistry, and made me so ill that I was off work for six months. Since then, every time I catch a cold or 'flu, it takes weeks to get well again.

      I hope that you enjoy your new job, and with luck you might actually be able to use the late 18th/early 19th century version of my PW rules.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. I came down with a sinus infection, at the same time as catching the flu, a year ago February. I've not gotten over the sinus infection, still. So, I really do empathize with long-term illnesses.

      Yes, I am VERY MUCH looking forward to your Age of Reason rules.

      Delete
    3. Justin Penwith,

      Infections in the sinuses can be excruciatingly painful and really debilitating (I know from personal experience). To suffer from that sort of infection for a year must have been awful. I hope that you can get it sorted out soon.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    4. Bob, did you link to Mike's blog or do you have it listed in the sidebar? I did not see it here, but perhaps I did not look closely enough.

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    5. Ah, you did. It just does not show up on my work laptop unless I mouse over the text link.

      Delete
    6. Justin Penwith,

      For some reason the sidebar link hasn't updated to the latest blog entry.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    7. Justin Penwith,

      For future reference, the link is: http://mikelewis.info/littlewars/

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. Elegant, simple, looks good... I like it.

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  7. Very well done, a very attractive boardgame/playset look and a good advertisement of sorts for PW!

    Last year I played with the idea of similar terrain for Huzzah since I had a few semiflat trees from playsets and had seen pictures of something similar but decided not to go there. I'm glad someone has done it and done it so well.

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    Replies
    1. Ross Mac,

      It looked very attractive, and hopefully it will generate some interest in the rules.

      Having seen how good it looked, I am thinking of producing something similar.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  8. What a charming set up. That table would have drawn me like a magnet.

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    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      I suspect that this game was attractive to quite a few people ... and total anathema to those who like to see so-called 'realistic' figures and terrain.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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