As I have mentioned before on my blog, I became a fan of YouTube whilst I was bedridden. One of my favourite channels is called Budget Model Railways whose creator - Mike Potter - is an enthusiast for building compact layouts that do not cost a fortune.
Not long ago he built an N-gauge layout that fitted into a box that could be carried on the back of a motorbike so that he could take it to his local model railway club. He has since replaced the motorcycle with one that has panniers and has therefore built a newer, highly portable layout that fits into a small (11-inch x 8-inch) metal case.
The layout is what model railway enthusiasts term an inglenook layout. In other words, it is long and thin and is used to solve shunting problems as well as to provide opportunities to run one’s locomotives and rolling stock. (A shunting problem is rather like the ‘Towers of Hanoi’ puzzle. The user has to assemble a train from the available rolling stock in a specific order that is usually randomly generated by stock cards.)
Having seen his completed layout, it struck me that the methods he used might be transferable to wargaming so that wargamers could create a ‘wargame in a case’. In other words, a larger version of the ‘wargame in a matchbox’ concept that users could take to their local club or on trips away from home.
This concept appeals to me, and I already have several ideas that are based around the fast play 3 x 3 version of the Portable Wargame, coupled with the possibility of running a small campaign. I know that other wargamers (e.g, The Perry twin's TRAVEL BATTLE, Daniel Weitz's 3D printed versions of HOPLITE and the PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME) have already done something along these lines so I am not venturing into totally virgin territory.
It’s certainly an interesting little project that I could work on in parallel with larger ones, and it could enable me to do something that I am currently unable to do easily, which was to wargame away from home.
Please note that the screenshots shown above are © Budget Model Railways.
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