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Tuesday 13 September 2011

The Portable Wargame ... in the Chaco

Nick Huband – who is also a long-time member of Wargame Developments – has taken a great interest in the development of my PORTABLE WARGAME rules. He has fought several battles using the original 'modern' version of the rules, and I have mentioned them in previous blog entries. He also helped me stage the session I ran at COW2011, and brought along his Spanish Civil War figures and terrain for attendees to use.

This evening he sent me a photograph that he has taken of the latest battle he has fought. What was of particular interest to me was that it was set during the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay.


This has ticked a lot of boxes for me. Nick's modelling skills are second to none, and this is obvious from the quality of the figures and terrain that are featured in his photograph. His wargames always look good, and are therefore always enjoyable to take part in. I also love the inter-war era, and have a special interest in both the Spanish Civil War and the Chaco War.

I do hope that there will be more Chaco War battles to follow ... and if there are, I will definitely write blog entries about them.

10 comments:

  1. Looking forward to that as well. Stumbled across the Chaco War as part of a lecture on the Great Pacific War. Both topics had me thinking about how to collect and game the conflicts before I left the hall.

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  2. Paul Leach,

    Both wars have the advantage of being fought by relatively small armies over interesting terrain. I understand that 15mm figures for the War of the Pacific and the Chaco War are now available ... and there are certainly several suitable sets of wargames rules that can be used.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  3. Conrad Kinch,

    Hurrah! ... or should that be Huzzah/Hussar?

    All the best,

    Bob

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  4. That is a very attractive looking game!

    A simple yet effective set up. I think this shows PW at its best. Attractive presentation, easy to set up, a fast and enjoyable game for those occasions when that is what one is in the mood for.

    Sometimes having limits is a benefit.

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  5. Ross Mac,

    Nick Huband is a very good model maker, and uses what appear to be very simple techniques to achieve wonderful results.

    For example, the board is a piece of MDF that he has 'dusted' with green spray paint before he marked on the grid using a brown marker pen. Simple but very effective.

    It is also highly portable, and can be set up (and taken down) in a matter of minutes. It also only needs a small table (e.g. a coffee table).

    The game looks good, and just seeing it makes you want to play it. Like eating food (where your eyes do a lot of the tasting before a morsel has entered your mouth), I suspect that the aesthetic aspect of wargaming is often as much a part of the enjoyment as the actual game itself.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  6. Bob,

    Didn't you write an article on the Chaco War some years ago? Is it something you'd be able to post as a download on one of your blogs?

    I had been thinking an 8 x 8 board would not be big enough for a PW2 game, but these pictures certainly show otherwise!

    This is why your blog is the best--always good ideas popping up!

    Best regards,

    Chris

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  7. Chris,

    Thanks for the very complimentary comment.

    I have a PDF version of that Chaco War article somewhere on my computer. If I can find it I will make it available in some way.

    The 8 x 8 grid is certainly large enough to fight a battle using the original version of the PORTABLE WARGAME rules, but the current version - PW2 - is designed with a slightly larger grid in mind.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  8. Geordie an Exiled FoG,

    Nick Huband is an excellent modelmaker, and the models he produces and figures that he paints always look very attractive. They always seem to have a 'play with me' appeal about them that is very difficult to resist.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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