From Jonathan Aird I've had fairly limited gaming time in the last year, the odd game of DBA/Hordes of the Things, a few skirmish games and that's about it for figures. I've been involved in some play by mail games including the Solo Wargamer's Association tournament which was a lot of fun and only took up a few evenings for each player (except the umpire - Chris Grice - who must have put in a lot of effort running the games). The lunch time group of gamers still meets one lunch break a week at work - we've continued with a hard fought chariot racing league, gladiatorial combats, as well as various mini-boarclgames and card based games and even the occasional game of DBA. It's quite amazing what can be fitted into 45 minutes or so.
Computer gaming has stopped completely - and it will probably stay that way until I decide it's worth updating my PC to something a bit more capable than a 486 with no CD-ROM! Basically, I'm in the Stone Age, and I can't load new games - and don't have the memory required to run them if I could! I get to play on the Internet occasionally, and I must say it's getting to be very tempting the number of game sites is incredible, and the content is so much better than even two years ago. There are some great downloads - free rules, even complete boardgames. Does all this mean the end of paper magazines? I expect so, eventually, although I find that I usually have to print things off to read them - so perhaps it'll just be a change of delivery system. Send off your subscription, the magazine is emailed to you at regular intervals, and the printing is down to the reader. I think you wrote about Irregular Miniatures Toy Soldier style figures a little while ago. I got a few to paint up and enter in the Toy Soldier category of the painting competition at the annual Model and Games Show in Letchworth. I got some Malburians which I painted up as the French 38th Line Regiment circa 1720, and also some Confederates and Boers which I painted up as Boers. All the figures had a fair bit of flash, and took some cleaning, but they turned out to be quite nice and painted up well. I took Silver and Bronze! I guess I should point out that there were only three entries in the Toy Soldier class! Still, it made a change, and I found that after painting a few, I thought that itd be a nice idea to do some Little Wars style of gaming sometime. I probably would spend less time cleaning the figures if I had a couple of hundred to do though. I recently picked up MWAN #32 from Caliver Books; there's a lot of interesting stuff in those old issues. I intend to try out Terry Gore's Dark Age Skirmish rules from #32 very soon.
From Michael Montemarano : There are lots of wonderful WWII Eastern Front and Soviet materials, especially atlases, available from Col. David Glantz who is the author of the recent book on Kursk and many others. He will e-mail you a catalog (5 pages) if you contact him at rzhev@aol.com. Could you post an inquiry to the readership for sources, especially in English, and websites or other net material, on the French in Mexico 1863-67? I have a considerable library, but am looking for even more as I am working on a Camerone game, directly inspired by the legendary (no other word will do) Hal Thinglum Rorke's Drift game, which I remember from Origins/GenCon '88 in Milwaukee. I still have the rules - which may clue you in as to why I have so much stuff in the basement. Now there's some ancient history and the heck with WRG.
From Peter Berry of Baccus@baccus.com: Partizan Press will be releasing the new version of FORLORN HOPE in April. Will cost about 15 pounds and be packed full of goodies including the most comprehensive set of ECW lists and guides available anywhere; information about dress, equipment, uniforms and flags. I've got the draft in front of me and I think it is doing to be quite spectacular. ffiditor~; Note: Peter is the author of FORLORN HOPE,- I've got a copy and they are a nice looking set of ECW rules. Anxious to see the revised version!)
From Alan Wheeler : I've been a subscriber for as long as I've know about MWAN. Over the years I've added the very early issues that I had missed to my collection and I think I've got most of them. This past summer I had the time to go through all the issues at leisure and reacquaint myself with the contents and style of MWAN. It was a great and enjoyable experience. Two all-time favorite articles came to light once again. The first is the article SOLO WARGAMING by John Paris in Vol 9, #5 (May-June, 1991). This kicked me off on a tangent into solo wargaming at the time and I'm still there. The second was Stephen Lawrence's A VIEW TO A KHARKEE: THE INDIAN MUTINY which spanned Vol 7, #1 through Vol. 7, #5 (1988-89). Id just come back from an extensive stay in India when that appeared, and, having visited the Red Fort and other Mutiny sites while there, this series inspired me to go over the edge on an Indian Mutiny army, and I'm still there. Stephen's work was monumental at the time and is still the most complete single source on the topic. I'd suggest that if you are ever short on material for an issue, it would be good to reprint these two items in your present day upgraded format for those who have never seen them. There are other articles ripe for reprint, of course, but these are my favorites. The best single issue, of course, was the Terrain Special, but I'm partial to that because I always like to dream about my new table that is seemingly always under construction mostly in my head.
Most interestingly, I found that I had read and remembered all your editorials over the years and apparently had mentally helped you suffer through your early problems with MWAN, the difficulties with your first computer (humorous now given your current sophistication with the machines), all your various armies, and "get-em-done" painting schemes (I was inspired at one point to start painting before dawn, like you), the layoffs from painting, and more recently your on again and off again painting periods. It's sort of like I know you well, though we have never met.
MWAN has been my only print source on wargaming for some years now ... and I find myself looking forward to your listings of URL's and other addresses each issue as that expands my wargaming world. I purchase from your advertisers, keep up on new releases through your reviews, and enjoy the rules sets, even though I tend to paint slowly and steadily building up my armies, and wargame only a bit. Please don't change a thing. With my last renewal I sent in a want ad for an out of production item and got an immediate e-mail from the new manufacturer that solved all my problems. Life can't be any better than that! So, here's my renewal, one more time. Thanks again for all your efforts, your personal sharing and honesty, and kindness to all your readership.
(Editors Note: Thank you, Alan, for your most kind thoughts! As far as I'm concerned, you put into words every goal I have had with MWAN and every reason why I contlnue, and will do so for many years to come, MWAN. I don't have subscribers or advertisers, I have friends. You are quite correct, Alan - there are a great many excellent articles in past issues. My goal is to go back to MWAN #1 and redo all of the issues at some point in time - actually, when I retire. I would then have the time to devote to such a massive project. I am very pleased you enjoy MWAN, Alan - thank you again!)
From Phil Wood I have enjoyed the last few issues of MWAN with the articles about 6mm gaming. Six mm gaming has been largely neglected in the wargaming press, although lately several articles, such as those in MWAN and other magazines, are starting to renew interest in this scale. I can only hope that this will continue to grow because I believe that 6mm gaming is a great option for many gamers thinking about a second, third, or fourth historical period to become involved with. I like the smaller scale because I believe it fits in better with the scale of the rules. I don't get too concerned with basing the little devils. I just paint the base dark green and dip into grass. I usually will scrape the grass off the edge of the base when dry and use a black marker around the edge to finish the game piece off. I will then spray the piece with a clear matte paint to better hold the grass in place. I'm not real sloppy or careful while painting the base. If you notice someone, from a distance, walking across an uncut field or pasture, you will very seldom see the leg below the knee and never the feet. This does not mean you can't be neat, but you need not be overly so.
From John P. Kelly : I read your remarks about mounting 6mm troops. I have also been struggling with how to mount up my 6mm Napoleonics and SYW troops (the SYW guys have only a coat of primer so far but my Nappy British are totally done). I really like many of the pictures on the web of large bases. Nevertheless, I would like to find a system such that one stand equals one battalion. I can not practically pick the damn things up if a stand is less than 1" by say 3/4's". I think that George Nafziger's Imperial Bayonets lists the frontage for various Nappy era battalions. They range from about 360 feet to about 450 feet so this would give a scale of 120 to 150 yards to the inch. I am not sure exactly how Frank Chadwick came up with his frontages for VOLLEY & BAYONET, but they seem to be a little off. I know he used a spacing of 22 inches per file, though some countries used 27" per file. I guess it is close enough. For the time being I think I might mount 12 Adler figures in three rows of four each on a 1" by 3/4s" base, representing one battalion. I will probably adapt the CLASH OF ARMS boardgame system (Leuthen) as without hexes, it is a lot simpler and I like it a little better than the systems used in the Gamer's boarclgames. If you come across any great solutions then be sure to write them up in MWAN.
From Bill Widrick : Well, I have done it! After twenty years of gaming WWII in micro scale, I have changed. I won, on e-bay, an auction for some 10mm Perrin miniatures. The lot included tanks, half-tracks, jeeps, and a large amount of infantry. I managed to pick them up for less than half of what they would have cost new, and almost all were in their original packaging. So I suppose I am now committed to the 10mm scale that is. I am eager to see what they look like painted up. The castings are pretty clean, especially the infantry, and should paint up very nicely. I have also broken down and picked up a new set of rules. A few years ago I picked up FIRE AND FURY and a few packs of ADLER 6mm figures. I really liked the rules, but could never get interested in gaming the ACW. The rules and figures were donated to a history teacher who planned to use them as a tool for teaching ACW history. Wish I could recall his name. Anyway, after seeing the ads in MWAN for BATTLEFRONT WWII, and knowing the quality product that Rich and his crew put into FIRE & FURY, I decided to purchase a set. Very nicely put together I must say. Very easy to learn, and understand. They seem to be very playable once you've used them a time or two and become familiar with the mechanics. The way they are presented is exceptional. Perhaps I won't have to change rule sets for another twenty years. The new scale has seemed to pique Jonathan's, my son, interest as well, so perhaps I will have a gaming partner for a few years. I would also like to recommend an online wargames store to all my fellow MWAN friends. I had never ordered anything from overseas before. On one of my few evenings on the World Wide Waste of time, or the "Net", I was searching for 10mm Napoleonics. I came across THE WARGAMES FIGURE COMPANY - the web address is www.wargames-figures.com in Scotland, if I recall correctly. The store proprietors are Altany Craik and James Speirs. The web site is nice and very easy to navigate, and they have quite a bit to offer. I found the 10mm Napoleonics and ordered some Chasseurs-a-Cheval, and some French and British infantry and Generals. All were from the PENDRAKEN line. I ordered these on February 5th and got a confirmation of my order by e-mail from Albany, and on the 15h, had the figures inmy hot little hands. Very impressive service indeed! I will not hesitate to order from them again, in fact, they offer several lines of 10mm WWII vehicles, guns, and infantry. On the subject of 10mm WWII, I got a nice e-mail from Don Perrin of PERRIN MINIATURES. He has informed me that he will be undertaking the production of the line himself. This line was previously offered by TRUE NORTH PRODUCTIONS. Don hopes to be able to take orders by the end of February. He also told me his miniatures are licensed to CHARRIOT in the UK and are produced under the CHARRIOT name. The CHARRIOT (PERRIN) 10mm WWII line is also available through THE WARGAMES FIGURE COMPANY. The PERRIN line, as I said, should be available from Don in Wisconsin (web site address is www.perrinminis.com).
Editor's Note: Thanks for letter, I just heard from Don Perrin several days again and the line is available now).
From Mark Steinberg : We have been playing Warhammer ancients. I am using Warhammer "Empire" figures. My friend, Scott Hayes, has Romans and Germans. My next project is going to be 25mm WWII using the Harlequin, now ICON figures. I keep coming back to CROSSFIRE rules. I will do Stalingrad 42 and then Winter 42/43. It might even become a mini-campaign. Have you looked at the fantasy rules by Warhammer/Games Workshop called Warmaster? It is really a good set of rules, especially if played without the magic. It is a creative command control limitation similar to DBA/DBM.
From Bruce Meyer : I read you are using the black primer painting method for some of your units. I do also and used to be frustrated by the coverage of most paints when using reds and yellows over black. Cartoon colors, htttp://www.cartooncolour.com/ sells a great selection of Cel-Vinyl artists' paints. They are water based, quick drying and the red and yellow really cover black in a single light coat.
From Col. D. J. Benjamin : This weekend THE LAST SQUARE (Karl & Bev) are having their invitational and I can't miss it. They're hosting two BIG (really big) games: Leipzig and WWII Backhand Blow on the Eastern Front (early '43). Will write you about this unique gaming experience. You should check it out. As an old infantry colonel, my choice is the "Musket Period;" after twenty-six years of WWII/Cold War real work, it's time for fun and gaming! From Kirby Arriolla of PO Box 5566, Oxnard, CA 93031-5566: What ever happened to EMPIRE, EAGLES & LIONS? As long as I am embarrassing myself by asking the above question, what ever happened to Edi Birsan and/or SUAVE' QUE PEUT!"
Editor's Note: Don't know, Kirby; perhaps someone else knows.
From Robert Piepenbrink : As regards your Peninsular War Project, you seemed to be having some organizational troubles. Let me try to help: the short answer is that British line and light battalions did have ten companies. But the companies were often smaller than their French counterparts and the British often maneuvered by Divisions of two companies. To counter a 120-casting French line battalion, I'd build a 1000-casting British line battalion, including one flank division of lights and grenadiers and add a rifle detachment of ten if your rules can stand such, and of 20 if they can't. You're about 5:1, and while rifle companies had a paper strength of about 100, fifty would be much more likely in the field. Might consider upgunning the French a bit for balance. Very common in the Peninsular to see a British battery of six 6-pd guns attached to a division, where the French had eight 8-pd guns (actually five and a howitzer vs; six and two howitzers, and at your level, this might make a difference). Yes, Spanish battalions are four companies for line and militia (lights are six) but do consider a 1' Battalion, where two companies are grenadiers in really spectacular bearskins.
Editor's Note: Thanks for information, Robert, fun to think about).
From Paul Trapani : Received MWAN #109 today; as usual, an excellent job! WOW - your editorial was very deep and yes, very psychological. As I read it, parts touched my interest and concerns about the hobby. If I may, let me as a friend, share my thoughts on the subject. I have reached a point now that I don't worry too much about unit sizes, amount of figures that one should have or 15mm vs 25mm. I try not to load my head with too many different time periods. Hats off to you. I don't know how your store all of what you do in your mind, but I can't. As you know, I have been steadily building up more clients to paint for. Naturally, this takes up more of my time for my interest. I only paint 25mm's now. This is way I am doing it. I sold all of my 15mm and 54mm and other partial units, terrain, etc. I started by ordering all of Foundry's Zanzibar Arabs. 25mm - yes Darkest Africa. This way I can start fresh and with smaller conflicts. I guess you could call it down-sizing.
I also have the ROLL TO YOUR RIFLE card rules from a copy of the HELIOGRAPH. I played this game at the London War Room with Vince Clyant and Ken Haffer. Great rules and fast/fun. I also want to do solo with the rules. I love the Colonial period. I plan to continue from now on in this period. Personally it freed up all my cluttered thoughts that I had in my mind about what period that I would start next. Once again, yes, very psychological hobby. I used to worry too much about table size and try to have the biggest table that I could have. Now I don't. I used a 4' X 8' and sometimes clear off the kitchen table and go to war. All terrain pieces are portable. I used painted or dyed sheets for ground cover and various colors of felt for roads and rivers, etc. Totally portable, nothing permanent. It took me a long time to come to this point but I feel like a big weight was lifted from my head. A friend of mine from Virginia told me about how he makes some of his terrain pieces. He goes to a Dollar Store and buys pot holders. The ones with the tin on top and bottoms of cardboard. He said he turns them over cardboard side up tin side down. He simply glues fences, trees, etc., on them and decorates these. He said that with the tin side down, his pieces have lasted ten years and still look great. The tin is thin enough that it doesn't look like a step up on the gaming table. Why didn't I think of that? Just thought that I would let you know. The ones that I found so far have two in a pack in two different sizes. Hope I did not confuse you with all my thoughts and hope you can maybe use my method or pass it on to others in the field. I think that every wargamer will eventually come to this point in time of decision making if not already.
Editor's Note: Thanks for your letter and thoughts, Paul, congratulatlons on reaching the point in the hobby you feel comfortable with! Appreciate your thoughts.)
From Brent Oman : Bob Jones recently decided to take a step back from heavy involvement in the hobby, and elected to get out of the game business entirely. I've purchased the majority ownership in Piquet from him, effective prior to Cold Wars. The plan is to continuously improve our product, everything from availability to new product. An exciting time at Piquet! We just released Forgotten Heroes (Vietnam War), and Anchor of Faith (Pike and Shot - ECW/TYW) and Theatre of War (campaign system) are planned for release at Historicon. Our supplements now cover ancients (Archon), Medieval/Renaissance (Band of Brothers), the tricorne era (Cartouche), Napoleonics (Les Grognards), ACW and FPW period (Hallowed Ground), colonials (Din of Battle), WWI (Barrage), WW2 (The Blitzkrieg), and Vietnam (Forgotten Heroes). Planned are supplement scenario books, providing an outlet for innumerable house rules and scenario ideas. I'm as excited about the system as I was when we first started playing around with the new ideas. I just love the game - it's the only system that I've ever played that seems to replicate the fog/confusion/strange events of battles that I've read about. Of course, that's my biased opinion!
Editor's Note: Sorry to hear that Bob has moved away from the hobby but congratulations to you and good luck w1th Piquet!
From Timothy Boyd : I was 5 when soldiers entered my life. I came downstairs for Xmas in 1952 and there on a chair by the Christmas tree was a castle my father had secretly built for me (we used to get the FAO Schwarz catalogue, but, as much as I longed for them, we had no money for the beautiful but very pricey things in it). The drawbridge stretched out onto an ottoman in front of the chair and up and down the ramps, on the drawbridge, and on the many towers were gleaming metal knights. Every year after that, till I was about 14, there would be one Marx set for Christmas, and a second one for my birthday (3 days after Xmas--which was definitely a bum deal--always, from certain stingy relatives the same refrain, "This is for Xmas--and your birthday." My wife, Carolyn, hates this so much that she holds an unbirthday for me every 28th of June!). Then there was a gap from about 16 to my early 30s (college and girls intervened), and then I started up again and here I am, 20 years later, with thousands of painted (and, alas, unpainted) figures and military books cramming the bookcases. I am a very spoiled boy of 53! But--that was a digression.
What I really wanted to ask was: how did you get started on the FPW? Although I had read Michael Howard's book years ago (it needs replacing, doesn't it- almost no maps, even for the most complex battles, few or no illustrations, and it should be about twice as long, considering its factual density), it was David Ascoli's Day of Battle (with the addition of the maps in the Osprey Mars La Tour volume), plus Richard Holmes' The Road to Sedan which inspired me to reopen those boxes of figures I had invested in about 1986 and start painting. I will be very curious to hear what inspired you...
From Sam Mustafu : Thought you'd like to know the results of my 6mm / 15mm / 25mm painting experiment. I was trying to figure out which scale is the fastest to paint a 3" full of French Napoleonic figures. I did 60 6mm, then I did 26 15mm figures, and finally 10 25mm figures - in each case, I filled a 3" square base. The 6mm figures won hands-down for speed. I still don't like them, though. No offense - just not my cup of tea. They're too tiny for me to appreciate the artwork. Artistry is 80% of what I like about playing miniatures, so that's out. 15's and 25's came in about the same speed. I used Old Glory for both. I was surprised by this. I did fairly detailed jobs on both - I trimmed the edges of cuffs and turnbacks, and painted eyeballs and lips, etc, on the faces of my 25's. Still, I found that 15's have become so detailed that if you try to do a good job, the speed advantage is lost. I can paint about 3 of them per 25, so it's a tie. Thus, my decision: 25mm I'm going to start a new Napoleonics project in 25mm, starting with the French. 10-12 figures on a base. Do you have any idea who, if anybody, carries Front Rank figures in the US? So far I've only found British-based retailers, which means I'd have to payanother 25% postage when ordering.
In MWAN #110 I wrote that I "winced in pain" when I read the sloppily written pieces in some game publications. Well, I read my own article and winced in pain when I realized how pompous and snotty I probably sounded, trying to correct everybody's language. So please consider this a formal apology. In the case of two games I cited, I was quoting titles as they were advertised in MWAN some issues back. But in the months between when those were printed, and when my article appeared, some of the authors made corrections in those titles, so my observations are no longer valid. I guess I just should have kept my comments to this: I'll always be baffled by the seemingly contradictory facts that gamers, as a whole: 1) are well educated people, 2) pay fanatical attention to detail when painting or researching, and yet: 3) don't seem to care about misspellings or sloppy presentation. Maybe I'll just have to make a tee shirt for myself that reads: "The Anal-Retentive Wargamer." I just think if you're going to ask somebody to pay thirty-five bucks for a product, or if you're going to put your ideas out in the public domain for all to see, you could at least take the time to do it well. But that's just my two cents' worth. Again, I apologize for any umbrage or offense, and I promise I'll restrict all future contributions to articles about wargaming itself.
From Mark Brown : I reread MWAN 109 for the 5th time last night. In your editorial you mentioned difficulty in painting horses. Here is a tip I got from Chuck Vadun years ago. Prime the horse, either white or black. Let dry ... then paint the entire horseflesh tones, tans, light browns and even some oranges. Then take Van Dyke brown (oil Paint) and paint over the base coats. Let sit and then wipe off with an old t shirt etc. The longer you let the oil paint set the more it stains the base coat. The different base coats give a variety to the color scheme. You can then go back and paint markings, socks and facial markings. The last step is to paint the horse equipment.
From Wes Rogers : I just got Issue 110 yesterday, and as usual it was great. You remarked in your editorial that you were having trouble getting motivated with one of your (many, many) painting projects. It struck a chord of sympathy, because I am going through a similar lackluster phase.
I have a complete Seven Years War Russian army all primed and ready to go, which has been sitting forlorn in its little painting drawers for almost two years now. When I look at them, I just go "Bleah!!". I also just bought three bags of Old Glory 15mm Austrian Napoleonics -- Landwehr, light troops, and Tyrolean partisans. It took me only about 10 minutes to pick up the figures, but that's 300 figures to paint. I started on the grenzers (I need them badly for my Bavarian campaign), but then put them aside and started fondling a bunch of 25mm archers I had bought a few months ago. My hands seemed to act with a will of their own: I watched helplessly as they gathered up the poor grenzers and stuck them back in their drawers, then primed up the archers and started in on them. It was such a feeling of guilty pleasure! So now the archers are almost done, and the Austrians have joined the Russians in limbo. Maybe it's because doing the grenzers seemed like an assignment, and thus lost all its joy? Sam Mustafa's article about the rise of "dark" gaming was illuminating (excuse the pun). He may have struck the right idea.
"Modern kids" have grown up in an era where no gory detail of violence in the real world is spared them, so they are unable to romanticize about warfare. If they go in for gaming, it may be that they want it as divorced from "reality" as possible; thus the legions of orcs and science fiction tanks. Also, there is a lot of science fiction on TV and in the movies for them to identify with, but really no dramas about war. However, in the end, it is still gaming, which is good. If nothing else, they'll learn a lot about statistics. Craig Martelle's article about wargaming in Russia was something else, wasn't it? Incredible that Mr. Semibratov' carved all those figures by hand; they look wonderful in the picture. Do you know what the American equivalent of Plastoline might be? It would be quite a coup if you could get him to publish his rules (hint, hint ... ). I also liked Doc Wren's computer gaming column this issue. It is good that he is not afraid to criticize a game if he thinks it is deserved.
From Charlie Clay: After being a subscriber and occasional contributor to MWAN for over 10 years, I shamefully let my subscription laspe. I've decided it's time to get back with the program both in subscribing to and supporting your fine efforts and I'm sending a renewal your way.
I've kept up with most of the current issues, though, by buying copies from a hobby store I visit. I guess that's not a bad thing because I try to make sure I make some purchases every time I visit even if it's only magazines or paint. We have to support those precious hobby stores in our area or they're liable to go away!
I've recently changed companies that I work for and like most people that put a crimp in my hobby time for a while. I'm active with historical wargaming on the internet, and a lot of times that type of gaming seems a lot less hassle than miniatures and makes it easier to enjoy a couple of hours of precious leisure time. When it comes right down to it, though, there's nothing quite as much fun for me as getting a nice terrain board laid out, some good looking troops on the table, and having a good dust-up with friends. I'm lucky in that I game with a group of guys that have been wargaming as a group for almost ten years now. My buds of THE RIVERBLUFF IRREGULARS of Memphis, TN, get all the credit for making our hobby an enjoyable event for me. We're a widely diverse group of individuals that all share a love for miniature wargaming, and no matter what else goes on in our lives that always brings us back together. All it takes is a phone call, an e-mail, or a cup of coffee somewhere and we're off and running on a new period or dragging out veteran figs and rules and updating things. Our games, and the appearance of our troops and terrain, have steadily improved over the years as we seem to challenge each other to regularly "raise the bar" we shoot for in our wargaming. We take a lot of pride in our games and regularly support conventions in our area with quality miniatures events that are fun to play in within a wargame convention setting. Our club's homepage is at http://members.nbci.com/KH Clay/RBIClub.htm
Just to share some of our activities over the last year, we seem to be following the latest hobby trend and are moving toward larger figures and skirmish level rules. New periods for us in 25mm scale are Ancients (Warhammer Ancients in 25mm stole us away from TACTICA in 15mm), Pirates (aren't those new resin ship models great?), World War II (early and late war NW Europe, East front, AND the Pacific!), "The Three Musketeers", and Dark Ages (Vikings, Normans and Saxons for the rereleased PIG WARS rules). All of these have made it on our table over the last year or so. Something else I've noticed is that we're all a lot more inclined now to buy painted and game ready figs (thank goodness for convention sales and the auctions on eBay) than before. When the fever is on and you're ready to play, sometimes by the time you buy and paint all those figs you've already cooled off! About the only smaller scale venture in our group right now is a 20mm Vietnam game shamelessly stolen from an old MINIATURE WARGAMES magazine. This game features LtCol. Kilgore's Air Cavalry from the movie APOCALYPSE NOW attacking a Vietcong held village in our "Charlie Don't Surf!" scenario that will appear at NashCon in Nashville and WarFair in Atlanta this spring. Wargames that are inspired by movies have always been a club favorite, and seem to be very well accepted in the gaming community at conventions as well. The nice thing about those type of games is that someone doesn't really have to be any kind of an expert or well read on battle or period of history to really get into the spirit of the game. All they had to do was have previously seen the movie and they're right in the thick of it! I'm enclosing a copy of "Darrrrgghh Matey!", our club's fast and bloody rules for 25mm Pirate battles. They are deliberately short for ease of play at conventions, work very well as written, and any situation encountered that isn't covered by the rules is taken care of by "Frei Kriegspiel" type decisions made at the table or by a dice throw if all else fails. I hope they go over well in MWAN. I'll include the text here, and attach a word document formatted as requested in MWAN. They're great fun!
Editor's Note: Good to have back, Charlie! I remember you well!
From Davide Pastore I've just finished reading your editorial in MWAN #109 (faithful reader of yours since #77. I wonder how many others exists here in Italy) where you enquired about e-mail wargame campaigns, soliciting info from the readers. Well, I'm proud to show you a website related to such a campaign: http://digilander.iol.it/vakeyn/banzig.htmi
There is only a LITTLE problem: it's written in Italian. Er... With the artworks, maps and related numeric tables of strength you should be able to understand - more or less - the up and downs of the war. Sadly the masterwork of the website (the official daily newspaper! being a shameless propaganda folio exalting my armies and spreading mud over the rest of the world, with a particular penchant for personal defamation towards enemy commanders) has no figures... Also written-only are the after-battle comments by each player on everyone else, more often than not of such a stuff that, historically, a reparatory duel would have to be called. Just a brief intro: this campaign is our group's second tryf and is set in Germany, Spring 1813, between a coalition of Austria (yours truly), Russia and Prussia, against two (later three) French commanders; fought on the little-known state of Banzig (loosely modeled on Saxony).
The game is a grandtactical/strategical one, with the brigade as base unit and a move for game day (once a week, in the real world). Each player sends his orders (and dispatches to other people: there is not direct communication between players) to the Game Master, who in turn sends back the results. Ideally each battle would have been represented in a tactical scale, but we try this only once (related site is http://digilander.iol.it/vakeyn/drul.html
A pointless and marginal hollow victory of yours truly against the despicable froggies) for we noted that the other (unemployed) players tend to became a little restless. Ours is a Kriegspiel-type system (players have not to fuss with the minutia of the rules - they just explain to the Game Master what they want to happenf afterward he does all the calculations). This of course requires a lot from the players: namely, faith, good-temper, sportsmanship, ability to accept a setback without TOO MANY arguments, etc... The website is sadly still unfinished (shame on me).
Sufficient to say that the Kaiser Armee allowed itself to be divided, sent astray, being surrounded by the enemy, cut off from supplies and lastly soundly defeated by the Emperor - quite a outcome, I'm proud to say. Last note: the music you might hear in the opening page is fruit of hours of painstaking wrestling of yours truly with the piano. Hope it ("The KronPrinzMarsch") will at least SEEMS to have a Napoleonic flavor... P.S. - Of course, excuse any syntax/grammar error of mine! I assure you that my Italian is somewhat better.
Editor's Note: Thanks for e-mail, Davide - very good to hear from you and glad you enjoy MWAN. Thanks for the information
From Chris Hahn: I much enjoyed the latest issue of MWAN. It would appear that FIRE AND FURY is getting a lot of "play" in that everyone seems to be adapting the system to other periods. Well, if it's a good thing, there is no need to not adapt. Anyhow. With regard to your Peninsular Project ... I have yet to purchase the revised THE SWORD AND THE FLAME rules, but way back when, I did experiment with command and control with the Colonial Forces. What if you had a Company Officer, and a Company Sergeant Oust like TSTF) individually mounted? In order to ease the movement burden - with some 120 figures in a "typical" French infantry unit, divide the company of 20 into three sections of six figures. Each section could be commanded by a corporal. Each section would be mounted on two 3-man trays. The light company would remain individually based to reflect their skirmishing role. A line company might also be set up this way in order to reflect French flexibility.
As for the English, I cannot recall the source, the I read once somewhere that a typical Line Battalion averaged 600 men, in 10 companies of 60. They had grenadiers and light infantry too. Organized along the same lines as the French, a British battalion would number 100 figures, organized into five "divisions" of 20. Ten figures one "division" would be light infantry and ten of another would be grenadiers. The breakdown for the English would be one company of two sections of four figures, perhaps mounted in line on a single base or tray. Like the French, each British company would have an officer (captain?) and a sergeant. And, like the French, the light company could be mounted individually.
From Robert Richardson Is there anyway of perhaps starting a gamers contact column. The idea is to list gamers who have moved or dropped out of gaming for awhile and wish to make contact with new gamers. The reason I point this out is my own group started out as the Tampa Bay Garners in the 1970's. We numbered some 78 gamers at one point. But in 30 years, many have moved/etc., and broke down into many smaller groups averaging six to ten people. My own group had about eight people but this has changed as well. Now I am all alone for the past five years and I would really like to game. I have SYW in 15mm with about 5,000 painted up. In addition, I have about 45 Ancient 15mm Armies (about 15,000 figures painted up). I attempted to get a local hobby shop involved and spoke to some of the young college guys who might be interested. Though it seems they were more involved with fantasy type games in the backroom of the shop so that failed. I've attended conventions - two are held each year in Tampa but I see only a few faces of gamers I once knew. I am now near 50 years old and unlike our old club in the 1970's where people from 14 to 78 were in the club, the average age being 25-35 years old, it now seems as if the groups are more clannish! I am well read, over 4,000 books in my personal library, polite, and have'helped on company in England design their MesoAmerican figure line on Incas and Enemies. I am also somewhat versed in Sanskrit (Indian) language of three years, it takes 12 years for a master degree. So I am now helping another company design Ancient Ionia 500-900 AD and Khmer, Lopburi Champa Kingdoms of South Asia. I have a degree in art and history and gave up a recent trip to South America for National Geographic last year and the World Explorer's Club due to a bout with cancer. Any help you can give me in getting back into gaming and finding some gamers in the region would be appreciated very much.
Editor's Note: Thanks for letter, Robert. I remember us meeting in Tampa Bay at the convention several years ago. Perhaps an MWANer in the Tampa area would be interested in contacting you. Re a column you could list yourself as a contact person in John Stafford's excellent "Wargame Clubs of the World' - I would think this might be worth a try. Good luck! Glad to hear you have recovered from your Illness, Robert.
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© Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum
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