Now that my life seems to be returning to some degree of stability after the recent upheavals due to the renovation of our main bedroom and my hospital treatment, I think that it’s time that I gave some thought to putting together the next Portable Wargame Compendium.
As those of my regular blog reader who follow the Portable Wargame Facebook page will already know, the Fourth Portable Wargame Compendium was reviewed in the August issue of MINIATURE WARGAMES magazine ... some nine months after it was published! This review – which I thought was very balanced and honest – was accompanied by an aside from John Treadaway, the magazine’s editor. A screenshot of this is shown below:
I must admit that when I first read it, this comment rather annoyed me. I thought that is was sarcastic and represented an attitude to wargaming that considers pretty – and sometimes rather tedious and unimaginative wargames that emphasis style over content – as being somehow superior to the PORTABLE WARGAME and similar wargames (e.g. The DOMINION OF ... rules and Neil Thomas's ONE-HOUR WARGAMES).
Well, I can assure my regular blog readers and purchasers of the previous compendia that I will be ignoring the 'advice' that the next issue should have a picture on the cover and sticking to the existing house-style.
The covers of the first four Portable Wargame Compendia. A 'scholarly tome'? I don't know about that ... but to date, they have sold quite well, even though the cover don't have any pretty pictures on them.
I have no idea what is going to be in the next compendium ... but I'll certainly be writing regular progress reports as it comes together.
Bravo Bob! Stick to the established PW style. If John T had actually read the book, he would have seen plenty of colour illustrations and several articles that are equal to anything published in MW these days. You can count on me for proofreading &c. and I hope to put together one or more articles for you too. Any idea for publication date?
ReplyDeleteGlad to read your operation went well and the wargames room is back to normal! Best wishes, Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteIn actual fact, JT’s comment has spurred me to write a blog post about what I term the ‘cult of prettiness’ and ts insidious influence upon the hobby. I hope to publish it tomorrow, once I’ve given it a final Polish.
Thanks for your kind offer to help turn the text of the next compendium into ‘a scholarly tome’. I’m sure that it will sell as well as its predecessors.
I’m still suffering some discomfort, but nowhere near as much as I did a week ago. With luck, it should clear up by this time next week.
Please give our regards to all the cats and kittens,
Bob
Who is this mysterious Pole of whom you write?
DeleteArthur1815,
DeleteIt has to be that great Polish writer, Joseph Conrad!
All the best,
Bob
Surely the real question you should be considering, in terms of the cover of your next Compendium, is -- like the question being contemplated by the passengers from the 'B Ark' towards the end of the Hitch-hikers' Guide to the Galaxy, about the wheel they'd just invented -- WHAT COLOUR SHOULD IT BE?
ReplyDeleteToby E,
DeleteAh! Now that something I have yet to think about. I was considering khaki, desert yellow, or feldgrau … or I may just go with black and white!
All the best,
Bob
Bob, you also need to consider the colour of the cover text and the contrast with the background : the white text used on PWC4 would not, I think, work well on desert yellow.
DeleteBest wishes, Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteA well-made point! I’m sure that I can find a suitable colour for the cover text.
All the best,
Bob
Keep in mind your target audience. By number five everyone who has copies of the first four knows what to expect... Content, not glitz. A certain mega corporation based in the UK makes a three hundred plus page tomb. It's rules content is likely under thirty pages, the rest is fluf and glitz. Personally, I would rather have rules and a few pictures for flavor, but I grew up in the hobby in the era of Charge, The Wargame, WRG and Battle Magazine.
ReplyDeleteSince you are fo
WEK 3,
DeleteThanks very much for sharing your opinion … which I totally agree with.
Years ago, we had a plenary game at COW (the Conference of Wargamers) where we were split up into teams and given the task of developing a wargame about the Battle of Tanga. One group took Warhammer as its model, and came back with plans for a range of rule books, a Tanga Codex, a special range of Tanga figures, Tanga T-shirts etc. We had a great laugh about it … but truth be told, it seems to have become a commercial model for many wargames these days.
My old fashioned view is that wargaming should be as ‘open source’ as possible. If people want to base their rules on something that I’ve written, I’m happy, just as long as they acknowledge their starting point.
All the best,
Bob
Excellent news! I'm looking forward to seeing what's on the menu for this edition. For the cover color, what about purple? Perhaps you can appease a certain editor by putting a border on the cover? 😁
ReplyDeleteBob, feel free to include any Dominion material that may be submitted. I am old enough to know that I am not the font of all knowledge!
ReplyDeleteSteve