AN INTRODUCTION TO WARGAMING by John Sandars. (74" x 54"; 150 pages; 8 pages of photographs and numerous black-and-white line-drawings. Pelham Books Limited - £4.95p.)
A long personal acquaintance with the author made me feel reasonably certain that this book would be a sound, eminently practical and competently written manual with a strong slant towards his beloved Western Desert warfare. In none of these expectations was I disappointed, rather I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of new aspects in a field where it is becoming increasingly difficult to find fresh facts. Step-by-step John Sandars builds up his narrative so that it faithfully conforms to the book's title and a reader new to the hobby will gain a very fair and comprehensive background knowledge from these pages.
Being quite outstanding in the fields of model making and wargaming in the World War II period, the author naturally tends to slant his practical examples towards this period at the same time as he imparts enough basic information of other periods to encourage his readers to seek out more detailed information of the military historical eras in which they might be personally interested. On the other hand, if the readers interest lie in modern wargaming then I doubt if there has been any other book written which puts him more into the picture and, on these grounds alone this book should be read in stimulation of a neglected (if wargames-wise) period of warfare far removed from Napoleonics and Ancients.
Having gone to a considerable amount of personal trouble to adequately organise my own professional and writing life, I can admire the manner in which John Sandars, after retiring from the Royal Navy in which he reached the rank of Lieutenant-Commander, has organised his own activities so as to produce a fine first book - it is hoped that others of the same calibre will follow.
SKIRMISH WARGAMING by Donald Featherstone. (9 1/4" x 6 3/4"; 100 pages; 11 photos and 10 drawin, Patrick Stephens Limited - £2.95p.)
At the time of going to press with this magazine the review being written by a highly qualified wargamer - Mike Blake of Skirmish Wargames no less - is not to hand. So, rather than miss the Christmas trade, here is an advance note of the contents of this book. It is designed to stimulate interest in Individual Wargaming with a few "personalised" figures fighting to rules which cover every conceivable action they can make. Each Individual warrior, whatever his historical period, has his own personality, fighting ability and experience reflected in the miniature by the admirable simplified rules specifically conceived for this book by Mike Blake, Ian Colwill and the late Steve Curtis.
There are ten scenarios in narrative form which set out the essential background and take the reader up to the point where action begins - leaving him to fight it out from thereon. The scenarios begin with the Viking raid in 850 AD; English archers in France, June 1429; English Civil War cavalry action 1643; The Jolly Roger 1715; The 95th Rifles in the Peninsula, 1813; The French Foreign Legion in Mexico 1866; The Massacre at Isandhlwana 1879; The Old West 1888; First World War trench raid 1916; and Street fighting in Cassino 1944. The book is rounded off with figure sources and conversion ideas and suppliers of models and accessories suitable for this style of wargaming. If you want a really frank appraisal by a man who has forgotten more about this than I know, read Mike Blake's review next month!
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© Copyright 1975 by Donald Featherstone.
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