Pages

Thursday 20 February 2014

Miniature Wargames with Battlegames Issue 371

Whilst we were out visiting the WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? show today, the Post Office delivered the latest issue of MINIATURE WARGAMES WITH BATTLEGAMES magazine.


The articles included in this issue are:
  • Briefing (i.e. the editorial) by Henry Hyde
  • Forward observer by Neil Shuck
  • No Christmas ceasefire: The continuing tales of a wargames widow by Diane Sutherland
  • Fantasy Facts: The latest releases for genre fans by John Treadaway
  • The gentle art of the Active Umpire: The use and abuse of your gaming buddies ... by Andy Copestake
  • Send three and fourpence by Conrad Kinch
  • Work in progress: A wargamer's toil is never-ending by Dillon Browne
  • Videbo vos in litore: Roman sandals on the shores of ancient Britain by Chris Hahn
  • Granddad's battle: The capture of Lingevres 14th June 1944 by Graham Burke
  • Salamanca's siren call: Part 5: command, movement and shooting by Henry Hyde
  • The rise of the Boxers: Rebellion in China against foreign powers by Dave Tuck
  • Vivat 2013: The first ever Austrian tabletop show by Franz Ehart
  • Well oil be!: add alkyd colours to your repertoire by Stokes Schwatrz
  • Recce
  • The Secret Eye Candy Pages: Vapnartak 2014 by Henry Hyde
  • The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal report by Henry Hyde
I particularly like Conrad Kinch's 'capsule armies' idea and the article about Chris Hahn's solo wargame without miniatures.

As usual there was plenty in this magazine for me to read and I am still of the opinion that – at £4.25 per copy – it is still great value for money.

2 comments:

  1. Bob. I received mine yesterday, too, and found it a very good issue with plenty of thoughtful articles and ideas.
    The 'capsule' armies are a good idea, and eminently suited to Portable Wargame style games. One could take it a step further and create armies that can serve more than one purpose: late war Napoleonic Spanish, for example, could fight not only the French, but also Patriot forces in South America, and - if one isn't too fussy - could also attack the Alamo and flee at San Jacinto. Peninsular War British can fight alongside the Spanish, or against them at Montevideo. Buenos Aires and as Patriot auxiliaries, take on War of 1812 Americans and various Indian Princes in Hindoostan.

    Dillon Browne's ECW game with a square grid looked interesting; I may ask Henry if he can put me in touch with him.

    The one thing I don't like in MWBG is Fantasy Facts - just a review of products for SF gaming in which I have no interest - though I understand the subject has many devotees.

    Best wishes,
    Arthur

    ReplyDelete
  2. Arthur1815,

    The 'capsule armies' do suit the Portable wargame concept very well indeed, and like you I had ideas about possible multi-use armies. For example, rifle-armed troops in white-ish clothes with white or coloured turbans or bare heads can serve pretty well anywhere from Afghanistan to Morocco. Likewise European-style troops in khaki drill uniforms and sun helmets can fight on colonial battlefields from 1885 to 1920, and my white-uniformed Egyptians can fight in Mexico against the Juaristas, in Egypt against the British and the Mahdi, or even in Turkey against the Russians … and that is without considering their uses for imagi-nation armies.

    I would have liked a bit more information about the gridded ECW game myself, and would be interested in anything that you find out.

    The Fantasy Facts section is one that I glance through (I never know what Steam Punk items might be of use!), but as it is only a few pages out of a publication that I otherwise read from cover to cover, I can easily ‘tolerate’ it.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment. Please note that any comments that are spam or contain phishing messages or that come from Google Accounts that are 'Unknown' will be deleted.