I recently visited our storage unit to look for several wargaming items I needed. Thanks to the light in the unit not working and my torch battery giving up the ghost after a couple of minutes, I didn't find everything that I wanted.
However, one of the things that I did bring home was a small box containing some plastic bits and pieces I think that I may be able to use for my current Belle Époque project. When I got the box up to my toy/wargame room, I went to put it on top of one of the bookcases, and in doing so, I dislodged a copy of MEMOIR '44 ... which fell off and hit me on the head!
Once I had got over the initial shock and began to pick up all the bits that had fallen out of the box, I realised that I had in my hand the game's playing board ... which is a foldable hexed board that has a grid of 9 x 13 hexes that measure approximately 5.25cm from face to face! My immediate thought was this size of hex should certainly work with my Belle Époque armies and has the big advantage of being eminently portable!
The next thing to do was to see what examples of my based figures looked like on the board, and the results are shown below:
The army of the Baggari of Sahel fighting troops of the Zubian Army.
Another view of the army of the Baggari of Sahel fighting troops of the Zubian Army.
This simple experiment shows that this is certainly a workable solution, especially as I already own several different versions of this board.
Just when I thought that I had made a decision, this 'accident' has made me think again.
Looks like a viable downstairs solution to me.
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteIt certain appears to be!
All the best,
Bob
You are right about the Command & Colors boards being very portable. Good fortune that your bases fit so well on them. It's an immediate solution and does not prevent you using something else in future. Nice find.
ReplyDeleteWEK 3,
DeleteThat’s exactly my thinking! It does mean that I can can start ply-testing my draft rules before committing myself to either a hexed or square grid … or both.
All the best,
Bob
Once again you have provided inspiration !
ReplyDeleteMike C,
DeleteLet us say that it was a beneficial accident!
All the best,
Bob
A very sensible solution, particularly given your chosen base sizes. I often use M44 boards for playtesting things - I've got temperate, desert and winter ones! (plus all the relevant terrain hexes).
ReplyDeleteMartin Rapier,
DeleteI will have to pay a visit to our storage unit, but I have all the different M '44 boards in there, including the very large ones.
All the best,
Bob
Great find, Bob…Fortuna had obviously decreed that you should have a ‘lightbulb moment’ through being thwacked on the nut by a solution that was ‘hiding in plain sight’!
ReplyDeleteWhat a helpful accident 👍🏼👍🏼.
Good luck trying out the new rules.
Martin S.,
DeleteIt was a very fortunate ‘accident’ … especially as I had completely forgotten that I had a copy of MEMOIR ‘44 on top of the bookcase!
All the best,
Bob
That is what is called "using your noggin".
ReplyDeleteTomo,
DeleteVery true!
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
ReplyDeleteMy Byzantines go very well on my Memoir '44 board, and I have used it for my Samurai games as well.
Forgot about it when I mentioned all my playing surfaces the other day...
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI’ve used the boards from both BATTLE CRY and MEMOIR ‘44 in previous wargames … but this had completely slipped my mind when I began thinking about terrain for my latest rules.
All the best,
Bob
Is that the lurking copy of Memoir 44 seen hiding at the top of cupboards in your most recent Wargaming Miscellany video?
ReplyDeleteMark, Man of TIN,
DeleteIt is! Well spotted!
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteThe playing surface looks just right for your 15mm Armies- should go well for your games. All the best. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteThat thought had struck me as well when I setup the figures for the photographs.
All the best,
Bob
Looks like a great match of base size and grid Bob - let battle commence!
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteYou are right. The board could almost have been made to work with figures mounted on 40mm-wide bases.
All the best,
Bob
Looks great, and there are lots of terrain hexes too!
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteI was pleased to see how well the bases looked on the MEMOIR ‘44 board.
All the best,
Bob
Aha! Sometimes fate (or nature?) gives us the hint we need. The board looks great with your figures. Perfect size.
ReplyDeleteNundanket,
DeleteVery true on all counts!
All the best,
Bob
Serendipity, but is it good or bad?
ReplyDeleteRoss Mac,
DeleteI think that it was good serendipity, especially as I have several boards from the various versions of MEMOIR ‘44.
All the best,
Bob
Looks like a great solution! -A ready hexed battlefield large to accommodate your units. Sometimes the solution is closer than we first see.
ReplyDeleteRoger,
DeleteIt’s a very attractive solution, and certainly one I am going to give a lot of consideration.
All the best,
Bob