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Friday 20 January 2017

The Portable Wargame book: An update

I have just received an email from Lulu.com that informs me that the copies of the PORTABLE WARGAME book that I ordered have been printed and are on their way to me.


As I know that quite a few people have ordered copies from Lulu.com (at least forty at the last count!), this means that their copies must also be on their way to them or perhaps have already been delivered. Some of those who bought the ebook version (which I know is already available from Lulu.co and Amazon) have already been in contact with me and seem to have been quite pleased with their purchases.


Thank you very much to everyone who has bought a copy of my book, and please can I ask you to write a review on Lulu.com or Amazon if you enjoyed it. I have already had a few ideas for at least another book that would develop certain aspects of the rules (e.g. adding a little bit of additional complexity for those wargamers that want it and suggesting ideas for mini-campaigns). I am also thinking of bringing out a book that would include the rules for my PORTABLE NAVAL WARGAME.

24 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the quick success of your book! I have a couple of books in my Lulu Wish List including yours. Next "good" discount voucher from Lulu and I will be adding ours to my library.

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    1. Jonathan Freitag,

      A very sensible course of action! I hope that you don't have to wait too long before you get a good discount voucher.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. I bought the eBook and am now off to buy the softback.
    Scribbling in the margins on an iPad isn't as intuitive as doing it in a book!

    I'm interested in follow ups.
    Regards

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    1. Nobby,

      I hope that the softback doesn't take too long to arrive ... and that your iPad survives!

      All the best,

      Bob

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  3. My paperback is on its way. It will probably get here on Monday. Review will be forthcoming in a few weeks.

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    1. John,

      My order is supposed to arrive today.

      I hope that you enjoy reading the book when it finally arrives.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. Hopefully this weekend. Inauguration day does mean the Federal government is off. The post office does still function but there won't be any delivery today. I am hoping for tomorrow but not holding my breath. :D

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    3. John,

      My order arrived late this afternoon ... and they look even better than I had expected.

      I hope that your copy arrives soon.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    4. Hi Bob,
      The book arrived last Saturday. It has been a very enjoyable read. I even have the same vinyl chess mat you used for your smaller games. Fortunately, I have a larger games mat so I can play bigger battles.

      1 Question: In the list of modifiers, you allow a flanking unit to gain +1 to the die roll when in close combat. However, there is a -1 for a unit that is flanked. To me, this feels like a double penalty along with the advantage to the attacker. Did you mean only if it fights to the flank? As well, in the battle report, this -1 was never mentioned during a flank combat. Just wondering what the correct interpretation is.

      John

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    5. John,

      My intention was that when attacking the flank or rear of an enemy unit the attacker should have an advantage and the attacked unit should suffer a disadvantage. This may appear to be a double penalty, but if a unit allows itself to be flanked or attacked in the rear, it should suffer severely as a result.

      According to my contemporaneous notes, I did adjust the scores and adjudicate the results using the appropriate changes to the D6 die scores ... but when I typed them up I seem to have omitted the changes. (This happens when you fight the battle and take the photos on one day, but don't do the write-up until the day after ... and you cannot find the notes that you made until you have finished.)

      Sorry if this led to any confusion.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    6. No worries, Bob. That was the only bit I was perplexed by and only because it was not spelled out in the play-through.

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  4. So its not out in paper form at Amazon.com yet?

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    1. Chris,

      Amazon hasn't listed the printed versions yet ... but should do so soon.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  5. I had a note from Lulu yesterday that my soft back edition was on its way via standard mail - hopefully that might meant tomorrow, but more likely Monday. Will certainly be happy to post a review.

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    1. David Bradley,

      I've had an email from Lulu telling me that my order should arrive today.

      Please write a review if you think that the book is worth recommending to others. It will help anyone who might be interested to decide whether or not to buy a copy.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  6. I had a dream the other night that I had just read the Portable Wargame book and subsequently had started painting figures, collecting terrain and arranging games.

    How much of this dream will come true?

    Time will tell.

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    1. Jim Duncan,

      Hopefully it will be a dream that comes true!

      All the best,

      Bob

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  7. Dear Bob, my copies are also in the post. I also have an e book version but much prefer to have a physical copy.Aside from making me happy I also hope that your book can encourage new blood into our hobby. Joy and elegant simplicity ! Thanks very much for your hard work and the pleasure your blog brings.

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    1. Chris Platt,

      Thanks for your kind compliments about my book and my blog.

      I wrote the book in the hope that it would encourage new and existing wargamers to try grid-based wargames. I also wanted to show that it was possible to fight fun wargames that were relatively inexpensive.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  8. Bob,

    I bought your ebook. Like it very much.
    Still a question: in your turn, you move your units one after another. So e.g. you have 3 units: unit 1 moves and attacks enemy A, then unit 2 moves and attacks enemy A again, then you move unit 3 and attacks A gain. So A can defend (and thus battle) 3 times. Is this correct?
    Thus: no movement and attack at once with all your troops, then battle with all your troops. This would mean: 3 units versus one.
    What is the correct interpretation?

    Cheers,

    Lex

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    Replies
    1. Lex,

      I very pleased to read that you enjoyed my book.

      I am a little confused by the second part of your question. (In the first part of your question your interpretation is correct.) The turn sequence for each unit in turn is:
      Move or
      Move and Fire or
      Move and initiate Close Combat

      Therefore you cannot NOT move and attack an enemy unit unless it is just to Fire at the enemy unit OR because you are already in an adjacent grid area and can initiate a Close Combat without having to move.

      The only limits on how many of your units can attack an enemy unit during a turn are physical ones (e.g In a Close Combat all the grid areas adjacent to that occupied by the enemy unit are already occupied OR - in fire combat - there is no direct line-of-sight).

      i hope that this answers your question, but if you want further clarification please get back in contact.

      All the best,

      Bob

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    2. Lex,

      I've re-read your question again, and may have misunderstood what you asked.

      Your interpretation is spot on. Each of your units moves and fights in turn. They do not all move first and then fight. Thus an enemy unit can be attacked by three of your units ONE AT A TIME. They cannot all move up to the enemy unit and then attack the enemy unit together.

      I hope that I have now understood your question correctly and provided a useful answer. If not, then please key me know.

      (I may have confused you because I chose to resolve all the Close Combats in my explanatory Colonial battle in the same part of the description. I did than so that readers could more easily follow the process.)

      All the best,

      Bob

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  9. My copy arrived on Saturday and went straight into action. 2mm Soviet vs Wehrmacht, followed by a Franco Prussian game. Next up 15mm WW2 Sikhs vs Wehrmacht. Great stuff. For some reason having the rules in book form focuses the attention. Daft, but true - in my case anyway!

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    1. Barry Carter,

      That is amazing ... and extremely encouraging for me to hear! I hope that other wargamers get the same level of fun and enjoyment for my rules.

      All the best,

      Bob

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