During a recent visit to Bluewater with Sue, I happened to go into the centre’s branch of WHSmith and bought a copy of the latest issue of MINIATURE WARGAMES to read whilst she did her shopping in Boots, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer etc. (Bluewater has numerous places where one can sit whilst one’s ‘other half’ shops.)
It’s some time since I has bought a copy and there was no freebie to entice me to buy one, but I knew that reading it (or even just flipping through it) would easily fill the time I had to wait.
In my opinion, the stand-out articles in this issue were:
- Conrad Kinch’s SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE: ALL THIS AND A WORLD WAR TOO, in which he examines the issues raised in a recent YouTube video from MIDWINTER MINIS that is entitled ‘The BIG PROBLEM with historical wargames’.
- Jon Sutherland’s HAM & JAM: NORMANDY JUNE 6th 1944, which looks at how to recreate the glider-borne attacks on the bridges over the Caen Canal and Orne River.
- Chris Swan’s THE FIRST L.R.D.G., which is about the Senussi Campaign that took place in Egypt from 1915 to 1917.
- David Tuck’s SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN, which is about wargaming the wars that took place in 1845 to 1851 and 1864.
There was lots for me to get my teeth into, and as several of the above were part one of a series, I’ll be looking out for next month’s issue.
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteGlad you found some articles in the magazine that you find interesting and entertaining. As far as War game magazines go - I balk at paying $18 AUS for a magazine which may only have a few pages of interest to me...when Wargames Illustrated first appeared I use to buy every copy - now, I don't - I'd rather spend my money on TAMIYA Acrylic Paint and model Plastic Kits. I bought a Jagdpanzer 1/72nd Kit by 'Trumpeter' this morning for $20.25...much better value than a magazine. Best Wishes. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI’m not surprised that you no longer buy a wargame magazine if it costs $18 AUS! I certainly wouldn’t unless I was guaranteed that I’d find each and every article of interest. Like you, I could find a much better use for that sort of money.
Good luck with building your latest kit.
All the best,
Bob
Good day Bob! We have made out move to California and are getting settled in by taking a few days vacation.
ReplyDeleteI watched the video and it left me at odds with the BiG pRoBLeM premise.
I don't think playing as "the baddies" in any game is necessarily an endorsement of their overall philosophy, unless the game is trying to bring people around to that philosophy. If I were to play as the Axis or the Confederate army it wouldn't be because I'm suddenly for genocide and slavery. It would be due to me choosing that side because they have an interesting situation or because that's how the coin toss ended.
I think my willingness to play the scenario also hinges a lot on what the scenario is pushing. Am I a Nazi commandant running a concentration camp? Eh, hard pass. Am I a Union general running a POW camp? Being a native North-Easterner I have zero sympathy for the Southern cause but I could be persuaded and I'd do my best to run it humanely even though I know POW camp were brutally run by both sides.
And that attitude opens up another can of worms. If a player is going to take the side of the baddies but then chooses to play them with modern sensibilities and none of the warty truth, is it even historical wargaming anymore?
But whatever. I am not a serious historical wargamer. I enjoy Red Vs. Blue what-if games between Imaginations rather than historically accurate battles.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteIt’s good to read that your move has taken place and that you are taking time to settle in.
It would be very easy to dismiss the issues raised by the video as an example of wokery, but it does wargamers no harm to occasionally think about what they are gaming.
In the world of professional wargaming, it’s sometimes very difficult to find people willing to take on ‘red’ or ‘black hat’ roles, particularly if the topic being gamed is what we in Wargame Developments term a ‘black’ wargame. These examine the darker side of conflict and can - in the right context - be a very good way for the participants to see situations from more than one point of view, including that of the enemy. It very helpful for players to get to ‘know thine enemy’ and not to assume that they are going to do what you would do in certain circumstances.
I do have concerns about some hobby wargamers who seem to enjoy creating and wargaming with units that are known to have committed atrocities. Luckily these seem to be rare individuals, but they do exist.
I’m currently working on an Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War project, but have no plans to include any SS or NKVD units. Mine are going to be rather sanitised versions of the two sides, and will probably be halfway between real and imaginary. In other words, they will wear reasonably correct uniforms and use appropriate weaponry BUT the units and formations will not be intended to represent real ones.
I do take issue with your last sentence. I happen to think that in order to create workable imagi-nations capable of fighting imaginary wars, you have to be a historical wargamer … or at least be a wargamer who has a more than passing understanding of history. From what I have read of your work, you certainly fall into this category.
All the best,
Bob
My view in the comment section of that video questioned whether playing fictional evil factions was actually any better than playing as real people who committed evil deeds.
ReplyDeleteLook at the deviant behaviour of Slaanesh or the totally barbaric Khorne.
Not really your fun loving nextdoor neighbour types.
Khusru,
DeleteI didn’t read the comments on the video, but I agree with what you have written here. In some ways, I think that having imaginary forces committing atrocities rather than real ones is certainly not very different, and in someways, it’s worse as it gives the players a let out excuse that it’s only made up.
All the best,
Bob