My club has decided to embark on a rather ambitious project to be completed within the next eight months. This entails building a length of wall with parts of two major redoubts forming the end sections for a multi-section three-dimensional 25mm terrain board. Upon completion, this will be used as the centrepiece for a series of linked scenarios encompassing several phases of a siege campaign. There will be a series of interchangeable backdrops including a port and several town streets and a town square.

The project is ambitious for several reasons. It involves a lot of research so that the gaming can be based on a variety of rules and periods (1660-1850 roughly). It requires a great deal of labour as the completed terrain can be used on a tabletop of five or six feet in width. Finally, it involves several club members, who share deferring expectations for the multiple roles that the terrain will fill.

So far, we have collected lots of reference material including books by Christopher Duffy and gathered samples of Styrofoam squares and plastic facades. The leader of the club team is a professional architect and has made most of his own terrain. He has been studying plans of various fortifications for the timeframe and looking at what buildings to include in the town.

The overall concept is to develop a series of scenarios that allow for a sequence of events. This would become a standard series for use at conventions. The first scenario may involve a fight in front of the town walls. The second, based on the defeat of the garrison, would cover the envelopment by the attacking force with many major trenches with connecting parallel trenches, and finally efforts to create a breach sufficient for an assault. The garrison would attempt to sally to delay the envelopment or destroy enough siege equipment to discourage the attackers. A third scenario could either be an assault if the breach is made, or the arrival of a relief force to once again battle before the walls with a sally by the garrison.

Creation of a harbour would allow for attacks by pirates or enemy naval forces possibly with amphibious attacks on the town.

Since this will be a major endeavour, I shall report on it over the next months.