Over a fortnight ago I read on Tradgardmastare's blog (The Duchy of Tradgardland) that he had managed to buy a copy of John Ruddle’s book about collecting Britains model soldiers. I decided to buy a copy ... and after a brief search I found and bought a copy via eBay (as can be seen from my recent book review). I have since spent several relaxing hours scanning its pages ... and it brought back memories of John Ruddle's garden wargames.
I have previously written about John Ruddle’s garden wargames (here and here), and I re-read what I had written … and this gave me quite a bit of food for thought. In particular, the following had particular significance:
'John's garden was laid out to represent six countries: Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, and Turkey, and areas that include Flanders, Africa, Arabia, and Northern Italy are regularly fought over. The actual layout was in no way geographically accurate, with the lawn acting as the 'sea', the paths as 'rivers', and the various flowerbeds and rockeries as the countries. ... Besides an army, each country had a navy. The British had two battleships, two cruisers, eight destroyers, and six torpedo gunboats, and facing them was a German force of one battleship, four cruisers, six destroyers and four torpedo boats. The French was unique in that their navy had a pocket battleship.'
One of the British battleships in harbour. Two of the six torpedo boast are moored alongside just behind her.
The French pocket battleship Richelieu moored alongside in the main French naval base. A French destroyer and two French torpedo boats can also be seen in this photograph.
It set me wondering if I might have gone off in the wrong direction with my Belle Époque project. Perhaps I might have been better to follow John Ruddle’s example and used six real nations but with imaginary geography. It would certainly make some things like place names a lot easier, and as I found with my recent Franco-Prussian War of 1810, a simple map with real place names is perfectly workable for use in an imaginary wargame campaign.
Its certainly something that I need to think about.
Both ways of doing it fine by me. The use of 'real' maps is certainly easier, as is the use of 'real' names, but I can see it over complicating things a bit - the potential use of minor roads, for instance, can make it awkward working out troop movements. On the other hand, an imagination may not be restrictive enough. I suppose it depends on the particular scenario. Love that British battleship.
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteI am currently thinking of trying to draw a map based on my experience of drawing a map for my recent Franco-Prussian War of 1810, but with major roads added. The map will not be geographically accurate but will have recognisable place names.
The model battleship is very similar in style to my own ‘cartoon’ models, which is why I like it.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteInteresting that John's Book has helped you with your Imaginations themed Project. At present my MYSTIC HORIZONS Project only exists as a series of Battles - I've no map and background history thought out and it all seems to work. Sometimes we can over complicate things by getting into to much detail. Anyway- all the best to you Bob. Regards. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI like a good backstory to my imagi-nations, and even though your current project doesn’t have one, I get the sense that you have some form of backstory in your mind, even if it isn’t written down anywhere.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
DeleteYes- you are right, I do have a few ideas regarding a Back Story for my MYSTIC HORIZONS - though nothing finalized- also I have thought about a Map- again not firm ideas as yet.
Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI’m not very surprised as your project had the sort of coherence that implies some sort of backstory, however tenuous that might be.
All the best,
Bob
Certainly easier than generating names though there are generators availabale as well as lists of fictional places from books, film, etc. Oldenheim and Hesse-Damall have officers named after famous scientists and composers as an easy way to do it.
ReplyDeleteBrian Cameron,
DeleteVery true! I also use names from fiction for my officers etc. For example, the Napoleonic officers mentioned in the battle reports in my PNW book were all detectives who served with Maigret.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
DeleteAs a uni student in Auckland I had a wargaming Law student friend who used the names of the litigants and plaintiffs in various court cases that appeared in his textbooks. A seem to recall the demise of a certain Brig-Genl Scoones (CSA) during the early stages of an ACW campaign...
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteThat’s as good a way as any to find names for characters. I’ve tried various sources myself, but tend to come back to fictional characters from books that I’ve enjoyed, although my Russian General Provgorat is actually the abbreviation of my current Masonic rank of Provincial Grand Orator (ProvGOrat)! It was just too good not to use!
All the best,
Bob
A good point on using real countries as a basis for our games, rather than ImagiNations, as I can see it does potentially save a lot of time and effort. Certainly something to ponder for sure...
ReplyDeleteI like Bob's 1891 imagi-world and have considered using his version of the US for building ACW regiments. A good medium between real life and imagi-nations, I think.
DeleteSteve J.,
DeleteIt certainly has advantages, which is one reason why I’m giving it serious consideration.
All the best,
Bob
Jennifer,
DeleteI’m glad that you’re finding my 1891 Imagi-world useful. I certainly enjoyed creating it!
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteThe simple answer is do both; taking Ion's (archduke Piccolo) example his "chromatic" armies seem to have done double duty in several campaigns . The Grant's C18th armies happily performed as their Imagi-Nation selves while also filling in as historical armies.
Try both as alternatives and see which works best.
Neil
Neil Patterson (Neil),
DeleteI started out with something similar, and then got myself ‘diverted’ into creating full-blown imagi-nations. I somehow expect that in the end I’m going to end up with some sort of hybrid.
All the best,
Bob
Great idea! Sounds like a lot of fun. Perhaps a few ' minor' powers could be added like Italy, Belgium, Poland and Afghanistan to serve as diplomatic and military bones of contention between your major powers. They could be smaller and incapable of resisting the major powers on their own but they could offer a bonus in the form of one or more allied units to the power that controls them by Alliance or conquest, along with allowing movement through them to get at an enemy.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteThat’s pretty well the lines I’m thinking along. I’ve already got enough renovated, varnished, and rebased figures in my collection to represent Britain, France, Germany, and Turkey as well as Hadendowa tribesmen, generic Arabs/Sudanese, an Indian princedom, and a small Balkan nation. I also have quite a few as-yet-to-be-renovated Austrians/Romanians, European colonial troops, and subSaharan African tribesmen. That seems to cover most of the bases, although I’d like to add some Russian and Chinese at some point.
All the best,
Bob
I've always found it very hard to engage with made up stuff, so even my "imaginations' are based on real armies and countries.
ReplyDeleteMartin Rapier,
DeleteMy imagi-nations (and their armed forces) have always been based on real countries. I think that it helps to ensure that the ‘feel’ right.
All the best,
Bob
Martin and Bob -
DeleteI take the same attitude. All my armies are modelled - with varying degrees of closeness - upon real ones. Possibly the most distant are my 'Chromatic' armies, though even there, Ruberia (Red) is vaguely British, Azuria (Blue) vaguely French, Turcowaz you can guess, and Izunrud-Zeleniya is vaguely Russian. There was to be a Grauheim (Germany) as well, but I don't think that will happen, now.
For names in the Ruberian army, I have gone for various versions of red: Colonel Carmine, Generals Scarlett, Redmayne and Reddington, Rose and Radish, Vermilion-Jones and Garnet ... Blue is less easy to accommodate, but I find French wines and liqueurs a fine source of names...
I have a lot of fun with names...
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteIt’s your use of colour-related names that started me off down the road I’m on with my Belle Époque project.
I think that by giving imagi-nations some basis in the real world helps make them feel more realistic. I seem to remember that Phil Barker had a Soviet-style imagi-nation that used North American names because they were ‘Red’ Indians!
All the best,
Bob
Probably the names I'm proudest of belong to the warring pike-and-shot armies of the second quarter of the 17th Century: Severia and Austeria. They stand in for, of course, Sweden and Austria. I've yet, however, to put together a campaign project for them, though I do have the armies.
DeleteCheers -
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteWhat excellent names! You really ought to use them if and when the opportunity arises.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob, I don’t think you have taken a wrong turn at all. I much prefer Imagi-Nations then real countries. It allows a lot of freedom. Some historical wargaming is very good as well but it is a lot more work and I don’t like the constraints of having to follow a historical script which has been already written. I am enjoying reading your ideas and the world you have created. Thank you - Quinn
ReplyDeleteGlory to Ruritania (Quinn),
DeleteI’m still unsure what to do. John Ruddle’s setup was a combination of real countries in an imagi-nation framework. In other words, the geography was imaginary and nothing like the real world. I suspect that I will end up with a combination of the imaginary and the real … but I’m having all sorts of fun thinking and planning what I am going to do.
All the best,
Bob