When I first contacted our illustrious editor he suggested I submit an article about the various discussion groups that I host/moderate (all on Yahoo Groups). After a few months I’ve decided to get off my duff and send in a brief overview of each of these groups in hopes that you, the colonial gamer, might find interesting enough to join. My goal for each of these groups is to bring like-minded gamers and historians together in an effort to share information, to talk about gaming ideas, and to share a bit of long-distance camaraderie. And while I do know about The Colonial Wars Yahoo group, sometimes a specific period can be lost on such a broad-brushed group. Anyway, without further ado, here are the groups, in order of creation.

19th Century Conflicts in Canada: Formed in March of 2003 this group was set up originally to discuss the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870. However, it now covers the War of 1812 through the North West Rebellion of 1885 (anyone up for a bit of Riel?). There is a lot of information on this group that covers a wide variety of Canadian subjects. One will find rules and other related files, photos of figures along with period artwork, links to related subjects on the web, and several databases of information. While not truly a colonial group, the Riel Rebellion certainly qualifies as such. The group has 73 members, but hasn’t been very active of late. There has been some talk of some of the members hosting an event during the 140th Anniversary of the Battle of Ridgeway, slated for 2006 at Fort Erie.

Deutsch Ost-Afrika: One group that I started as the owner, and then stepped down to moderator, is the Deutch Ost-Afrika group. I was having time constraint issues at one point earlier in 2004, and so Greg Geraldi volunteered to take over the Ost Afrika groups as owner. While the focus is on East Africa, any sort of German colonial topic is welcome. Myself, I was thinking about starting a 20mm World War One East African project using both C&Q Equipment Company and I.T. Miniatures, but now my focus is heading to Sud West Afrika using the Falcon 25mm figures (supplemented by the Ral Partha Boers). There are rules, links, tons of pics and artwork and other goodies onboard. The 137 members are very helpful and the amount of message posts is decent, if erratic.

Yanks Up the Yangtze: From the name of Greg Blake’s rules for 1920s China, this group actually used to be on SmartGroups as Small Wars of the United States. While the focus is indeed China during the gunboat era, any U.S. colonial War 1870-1940 can be discussed. There are 57 members onboard, and traffic is hit and miss. Again, lots of goodies can be found ranging from rules to links.

The Spanish-American War: This was one group I was enticed to start by another gamer, and let’s face it, I do have an interest in the period. The 62 members here discuss not only San Juan and Manila Bay, but the Philippine Insurrection and the Moro Wars have their place on this group. I am ably assisted by Chris Sebolt as co-owner. This is one group that should have more traffic as this conflict really brought the United States into the imperialistic world, but posts again are hit and miss. Rules, articles, links, databases and artwork abound within.

The Cape Frontier Wars: I was motivated by the 1st Corps 28mm figures so much (see my review of some of their figures in Issue #146) I decided to gather as much information together as I could in one location. Admittedly, this group sees little message posting (having only 22 members), but it does provide a good starting point for anyone interested in the various Kaffir Wars. There are some period related files, artwork, links, and databases, and such experts as Chris Ferree and Tim Stapleton are members. I am hoping that this group will continue to grow as my 8th Cape War project gets rolling. One of the most positive things to come out of this group is that we were able to place a 100 Club order with 1st Corps and soon we will see native levies added to the 1st Corps line.

The Maori Wars: This group is my newest venture into colonial gaming, the Maori Wars. I have toyed with the idea of gaming the Northern (Flagstaff) War for some time having read the excellent article that appeared in Command Magazine a few years ago. Then Old Glory and Eureka both came out with 28mm Maoris (curse them both!). While I have yet to actually purchase figures for this period, I have been collecting books and starting a bit of research in this area. I am fortunate to have many knowledgeable members on board, including many Kiwis. I am also fortunate to have Trevor Brabyn as co-owner. Trevor’s passion for things Maori serves as a constant source of inspiration. This group is fairly active with 37 members, and has several photos of figures, and has the usual links, files, and databases.

Some of you have probably been a member of a Yahoo group in the past, and probably got hit with spam emails. Rest assured, I monitor the groups closely in an effort to keep spammers away (I approve each member, no one can just join). Therefore, I am hoping that some of you will become members of one, some, or all of these groups. The groups can only survive and thrive due to the members’ participation, and there are some excellent persons on each group who make hosting them worthwhile.

Discussion Groups Links:

19th Century Conflicts in Canada – http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FenianRaids
Deutch Ost-Afrika – http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/OstAfrika
Yanks Up the Yangtze – http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/YangtzeYanks
The Spanish-American War – http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/SpanAmWar
The Cape Frontier Wars – http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/CapeWars
The Maori Wars – http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/MaoriWars