My recent cruise gave me time to think about what I hope to do during 2026, and I will be sharing this with my regular blog readers over the coming months.
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.
The First Rule of Wargaming and the Spirit of the Wargame
The First Rule:
‘Nothing can be done contrary to what could or would be done in actual war.'
- From 'The Rules of the Naval War Game' by Fred T Jane
The Spirit of the Wargame:
‘Wargames are played, for the most part, without the supervision of an umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual players to show consideration for other players and to abide by the rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the wargame.’
- Adapted from 'The Spirit of the Game' in 'The Rules of Golf' as published by the R&A Ltd.
Chancellorsville 1-3 May 1863
-
Another trip to the American Civil War and the last in the current series
of 250th Independence Anniversary US battles. This one is Chancellorsville,
an...
WW2 French Buildings for Warfare Game
-
At the Guildford Club we are in the planning stages for a participation
game at Warfare based on the training at Hankley down but actually
portraying th...
The Far Seas
-
*The box art….*
*….and the rear showing some of the counters and a section of the map*
I have probably mentioned on more than occasion that I am hugely ...
New Army Men to the Collection?
-
[image: A Bag of Army Troopers. Cheap Army Men by Tobar]
This Blogpost could just have been another *shelfie*, but I saw these Army
Men for sale in a Nor...
Thursday Night Live
-
Yesterday we had our first game of Gaslands in a while. There were three of
us and we all chose to run one vehicle apiece. We ended up with one of my
favou...
Opposition for the Ottomans
-
The Austrian and allies on the march. Note Balkan irregular light infantry
at the front .
Austrian regiments and Bavarian ones including Freikorps Priel...
Hans Joachim von Zeiten by Elastolin
-
Back in the 1930's Elastolin made a small range of figures relating to the
7 Years War, there were nine foot poses of Prussian Grenadiers and three
moun...
Fnurban #43 Blogger issues: Jon F's work-around
-
You are all probably aware of the issue with Blogger in the past week or so
- Blogger is not updating people's Blog Lists - and the resulting
difficult...
Evaluating WotR rules Take Two. Bloody Barons 2020
-
As previously trailed this was supposed to be a game of Armati, but I
dumped it because...well I wrote a blog explaining why.
I have a stack of rules to ...
A little bit a painting
-
The past few weeks of posts have been mostly about gaming, but I have not
neglected the painting side of the hobby. I have been adding a few more
models ...
Wargaming the French Imperial Garde
-
*French First Army at (fictional) battle of Hildesheim*
I suspect that most, if not all, Napoleonic wargamers have at least one
unit of French Garde,...
American Civil War battles
-
'The Hornet's Nest' - from my own depiction of the battle of
Shiloh April 6 1862.
I've recently discovered a whole series of videos of animated narrativ...
Airfix Ancient Wargame
-
The Roman Army approaches the Barbarian army. The Roman's have 2 light
infantry units and 13 heavy infantry units
The Barbarians have 9 light units and 1...
TRUMPTON- My Collection of Figures.
-
I have collected twenty seven Robert Harrop figures and there are more
single figures to add. The Harrop figures are superb.
The collection of 27 figures...
Spuddling 009 – More DBA
-
The last fortnight has been quiet, NQM-wise and so will the next fortnight
be. There has been more DBA over at Graham’s – Dark Ages pre 1066 with
Arthur an...
The Battle of Chalgrove Field June 18th 1643.
-
This article is my personal interpretation of events. Any mistakes are my
own.
The Parliamentary General Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was not havin...
Sieges, and rules
-
The nights are beginning to draw in after a simply glorious summer.
Activity in FLW land will now move to t'other blog, as new rules are
developed fo...
On the beach!
-
Not actually on a beach but reading about it! On the left, Omaha beach by
Joe Balkoski. Published in 2004 but by no means an "old" book. If you want
t...
Prepping for Aspern Essling & Eggmuhl
-
We're hoping to do Aspern Essling and Eggmuhl next month, which has meant
that I've been doing some quick work bringing the Austrian collection up to
sp...
A New Alliance
-
The recent invasions by the Midlish armies, have led to a new coalition of
the weaker, less aggressive peoples. On the eastern border of the
Midlands, ...
Wild West Town Tabletop Shootout
-
I recently acquired a collection of 1960’s era wooden Old West Buildings
made by Hausser Elastolin. The idea was to marry them with some 1970’s
Timpo Sw...
Return to the Hobby
-
It has been quite a while since I last posted here. When I started my tool
truck business back in 2021, most of my hobby time disappeared almost
overnigh...
WW2 ‘German’ Don Cossacks
-
I've had these in stock for a while now and as I may have work for them in
a forthcoming game it was clearly time to paint them!
They're certainly a co...
Forest Dragon 3D Sculpts
-
A Christmas pressie to myself ...
... and on the inside.
Not the best presentation with their packaging.
Contents are revealed.
Can you tell what the...
Winter Break: A Beary Simple Wargame
-
*A Beary Simple Wargame *made it out of the box today. My daughter set out
the terrain while I cleaned up lunch and we played while the boys took
their...
Warp Speed into 2025
-
The last year has been quite challenging. I suffered a stroke in November
2023 and have spent the last year or so in recovery. I'm not there yet, but
do...
Update and WIP
-
[image: Merry christmas wallpaper design]
Well, it certainly has been eventful, this year. Shortly after my last
post, far too long ago, some things...
Blog Closing…
-
This blog will be closing down on 1st July. I have a fairly expensive
hosting package that I no longer need as I am only running Black Hat and
selling pain...
New Accessions – tidying up …
-
So, 3 items under the camera … Chris gave me a P&G SU-76i quite a while
ago, and I’ve been meaning to get round to it … the SU-122 I did years ago.
It’s a ...
Solo Play Testing
-
The next Seven Years Wargame with the "Usual Suspects" has moved to the
right by a couple of weeks. One of our group, who has been unavailable for
a few ...
Warplan 5/5 Campaign System
-
I'm afraid I couldn't find a way to reproduce the snazzy double headed
arrow in 5/5 in the text so will have to do with this instead.
Warplan 5/5 came o...
Take the High Ground
-
“Take the high ground”. These were Captain Scarlett’s latest orders in the
ongoing campaign to repel the Teutonians from Albionia’s green and pleasant
lan...
Initial...
-
...deployments.
Seconds out...first two rounds, of 15. In the Blue corner (US invaders):
On the right flank, a unit of US Regulars, an artillery battery, a...
I have been wargaming for as long as I can remember. One of the first toys that I was bought was a wooden fort that was garrisoned by assorted lead soldiers ... and I have never looked back!
The first wargames book I bought was CHARGE! (although I had taken out [and repeatedly read] Donald Featherstone's WAR GAMES book beforehand [and many thanks to John Curry for republishing it!]).
My first 20mm figures were the good old Airfix Guards Infantry and Band (in shocking pink!), soon followed by others as they were released, and by 1968, when I bought my first metal Hinton Hunt 20mm figures, I had a large collection of World War II figures, tanks, guns, and aircraft.
I was a founder member of WARGAME DEVELOPMENTS and have been the treasurer and membership secretary ever since. I have also organised – along with Tim Gow - the annual conference (COW – Conference of Wargamers) for more that fifteen years.
My main interests are wargaming any wars from 1850 onwards, although I have a special interest in Colonial, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II wargaming. I also have a special interest in wargames that use square or hex grids for movement and weapon ranges.
Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteA Happy New Year to you too!
All the best,
Bob
A good new year to you and yours
ReplyDeleteThe Good Soldier Svjek,
DeleteMay I wish you and your family a great New Year.
All the best,
Bob
Happy New Year to you, too, Bob. 👍🏼
ReplyDeleteMartin S.,
DeleteMay reciprocate and wish you and your family a great 2026.
All the best,
Bob
Happy New Year to you BOB and Sue- may 2026 be a great year for you both.
ReplyDeleteKev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI wish both of you a very Happy and Healthy New Year.
All the best,
Bob
Happy New Year Bob, and best wishes for 2026
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteWishing you and your family a wonderful 2026.
All the best,
Bob
And a Happy New Year to you both too :)
ReplyDeleteLee.
Lee,
DeleteMay I reciprocate, and wish you and your family a wonderful New Year.
All the best,
Bob
Happy New Year to you and yours Bob.
ReplyDeleteJim
Jim Duncan (Jim),
DeleteI hope that you and your family have a wonderful and healthy New Year.
All the best,
Bob
Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteMay I wish you and your family a Happy New Year.
All the best,
Bob
And the very same to you Bob!
ReplyDeleteNickN,
DeleteI’d like to wish you and your family a great New Year.
All the best,
Bob
Happy New Year to you and Sue and everyone!
ReplyDeleteWe can only hope this year will be an improvement over last year in some ways!
Fitz-Badger,
DeleteMay I wish you and your family a wonderful New Year, and - in the words of the song - hope that ‘things can only get better’.
All the best,
Bob
A good new year to you and yours Bob, hopefully it will be a good one for us all.
ReplyDeleteDonnie McGibbon,
DeleteI wish you an and your family a great New Year … and hope that the world will be a better and safer place for us all.
All the best,
Bob
HNY, Bob! Here's to lots of games in 2026
ReplyDeleteGary S,
DeleteMay I wish you and your family a wonderful New Year … and look forward to lots of games in the next year.
All the best,
Bob
Happy new year bob, I'm looking forward to another year of your blog
ReplyDeleteMr. Pavone,
DeleteAnd a Happy New Year to you too!
My recent cruise gave me time to think about what I hope to do during 2026, and I will be sharing this with my regular blog readers over the coming months.
All the best,
Bob