Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Back in the summer, my son kindly bought me a copy of the Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell boardgame from Osprey and, finally we managed to give it a go at the weekend

If you haven't read JS&MN (and you really, really should), it's a fantastic Regency period book describing the magical duels of 2 rival magicians against each other and the Gentleman with the Thistledown Hair.  It's hard to describe but has a level of depth and writing that's rare and is (as you can probably tell) one of my favourite books.

In the game (for up to 4 players), you take on 1 of the main characters and via a selection of cards, travel around London and Europe engaging in social activities and using the connections you make to perform magic: these enhance your Prestige, which is important in determining initiative and making social connections, and building your magical power via completing Feats of Magic.  Each turn you can perform 1 action, which is then unavailable until you spend a turn resetting your action points (or 'Stilling the Waters in the silver bowl... there's a lot of that kind of flavour).  Magic is determined by which magical elements (wind, rain, hills, forest or rocks) are active in a given turn/year... these need to be matched to the elements on a Feats of Magic card which will ultimately increase magicianship.

So, for example, as my action I may choose to summon elements of rocks and rain.  I then travel to Geneva to attend a Musical Soiree before popping to Paris to call on Shelley.  The social side is all very Jane Austen and these social actions can either generate more introductions and invitations, or be used to progress your magicianship.  Ultimately this is what counts as, when the year counter reaches certain points, each player needs to 'confront the fairy/Gentleman with the Thistle-Down Hair.  His power steadily increases as the game progresses and the winner is the player with the highest Magicianship when the fairy is defeated.

There isn't much in the way on interaction between players, except perhaps taking cards or companions to deny them to another player, so it would work well as a solo game.  Reviews on BGG weren't great but we both really enjoyed the game... it has alot of flavour and the components are very nicely done.  It's also very reasonably priced so worth trying, especially if you're a fan of the book.

Button House

 I've occasionally posted about visits to castles but haven't been to one for a really long time so instead here are some pics from yesterday's dog walk round West Horsley Place... much more famous as Button House, home of the residents in 'Ghosts'... probably one of the best comedies of recent years (of course the best comedy of recent years is definitely Detectorists!)

Wooooo..... it's the ghost of Lady Fanny Button!

The house is in the middle of Surrey and there has been a house of sorts here since at least Saxon times.  The earliest known owner, Beohrtsige, lost his position as Thane following Hastings and William I settled the estate on the improbably named Walter FitzOther.  It passed through various hands including the Bourchier and Courtenay families of Kingmaker fame.  Henry VIII imposed himself on the Courtenays and enjoyed a 35 course feast in 1536 (stewed sparrows anyone...mmmm....) before deciding that Henry Courtenay was implicated in a Catholic plot and having him beheaded 3 years later.

Other 'celebrity' residents include Guy Fawkes who worked as a footman at the house around the end of the 16th century, and Carew Raleigh who was the youngest son of Walter Raleigh and who allegedly stored his fathers mummified head at the house, as you do.

Around 1640 the owners built a brick facade around the Tudor building which had the benefit of preserving a lot of the interior structure.

Most recently, the house and estate were owned by the Duchess of Roxburghe who, on her death in 2014 unexpectedly bequeathed them to her great-nephew Bamber Gascoigne of University Challenge fame (in a slightly tenuous connection, my son is currently appearing in the latest series of UC).  Along with his wife he decided to set up a charitable trust to manage the estate and create a venue and trust for the arts.

One other interesting event was the discovery, in 2015 while clearing out the late Duchess' belonging for auction, of a preliminary sketch for Frederick, Lord Leighton's famous painting Flaming June, hanging un-noticed on the back of a door!  It later sold for £135 000 at Sothebys.

As well as being the location of Button House, the house has also appeared in adaptations of Howard's End, Enola Holmes and My Cousin Rachel.  We just wandered aimlessly around but there are regular history tours and, of course, Ghosts tours which several friends have been on and highly recommend.

Paint table update: the Germans arrive...

 Finished off the German Escort Flotilla which will face their British enemies in a battle (and a first try of the Castles in the Sky rules) later this week.  These (like the British) are part of Brigade Models Imperial Skies range.

Karlsrühe Destroyer Leader

SA15  Destroyers

VA7 Frigates

Paint table update: Aerial Ships

A while ago I acquired Skygalleons of Mars and Anthony and I enjoyed a game pitting British aerial steamships against German rivals over Mars.  This sent both of us off down a steampunky/Wellsian rabbit hole looking at the whole Aeronef setting.

Easily tempted, I ordered a couple of the very reasonably priced Flotilla packs from Brigade Models and a set of Osprey's Castles in the Sky rules.  It's clear the Scots stereotype isn't far from the surface as this was a nice cheap starter set of figures and rules.  One of the things I really like about Osprey's 'Blue Book' rules is that they are very affordable and if they don't work out, I don't feel like I've lost a fortune in trying them out.

First up is the British Flotilla consisting of a Destroyer, 4 Destroyers and 4 Corvettes...

Last night my wife passed by as I was fixing them to the flying bases.  "Why are they mounted on stands?"... "Oh, that's because they're flying ships".  She gave a little sigh, rolled her eyes and muttered "Of course they are..."  Sometimes I forget how weird this hobby can be to everyone else!

Paint table update: Teeny Tiny Terrain

I've had a little break from Epic ECW painting and added a couple of towns and a Roman Marching Camp to my terrain for Strength and Honour.  Sadly these arrived too late for my recent S&H game.

These come from Baccus' Teeny Tiny Terrain range and are ideal for 2mm scale games like Strength & Honour.  Although they're...erm... teeny tiny...they'd make good villages and towns for 6mm games and would be ideal in an aerial game.