In the past I have been one to decry the ready-availability of everything as the instigator of jaded wargame palettes and the general decline in the quality of the hobby. Yet, I believe I have recaptured some of my early excitement by discovering a ready-availability of my own. I contend that we older hands have not tired of wargaming, but have simply exhausted the stimulous of something new. The troops which line the shelves of our wargames rooms cover the range of major periods and fighting styles; and over the years we have been through fashions and fads, going deeply into one era then another until now our collections are vast, our knowledge sizeable but our enthusiasm is low. However, I have rekindled my excitement and opened up a whole series of possibilities by mixing periods! Before purists and arch-realists throw up their arms in horror, or some manufacturer bring out 'Time Warp -- Napoleon's advance on Imperial Rome', I ought to explain that this means the use of various types of troops employing their indigenous styles of warfare against enemies different from those they normally face, yet the confrontation being set in a historically-founded situation. Set out below is a selection of ideas for games in this concept, many of them have brought me both enjoyment and tough military problems. Tanks + World War II vs Napoleonic Cav + W.W.I = Nazi Invasion of Poland World War I vs N.W.Frontier + Arabs = Mussolini's Abyssinian War Medievals vs N.W.Frontier + Arabs = Crusades Medievals vs E.C.W = 1st Hapsburg Valois War Medievals + E.C.W. vs N.W.Frontier + Arabs = Siege of Malta Medievals vs Jacobite Highlanders = Edward Its Highland Campaign E.C.W. vs Jacobite Highlanders = Covenant War E.C.W. vs A.W.I Indians = Settlement of American Colonies E.C.W. vs N.W.Frontier = Establishment of E.India Co. E.C.W. vs Arabs = Occupation of Tangier Marlburian vs N.W.Frontier = Clive's Campaigns Marlburian vs A.W.I. Indians = American Indian Wars Napoleonics vs N.W.Frontier = Mahratta Wars Napoleonics vs A.W.I. Indians = Tecumseh's Rising Napoleonies vs A.C.W. = Spanish American War Napoleonics vs Frontiersmen = Texan Revolution A.C.W. vs W.W.I. = Franco Prussian War They all give a great deal of fun and can be played using two sets of rules though they demand basic knowledge of the situation and understanding of the periods involved. And believe it or not there are still things to convert and invent .... where do I get musket and machete wielding slaves and how do I make fields of cane for the Caribbean Sugar Wars? Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 176 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1976 by Donald Featherstone. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com