tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25606802728738303372024-03-16T01:10:13.895+00:00A Wargaming GallimaufryMusings on toy soldiers, life, family and the world... but mainly toy soldiers.
Gallimaufry: noun - a confused jumble or medley of things.alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.comBlogger504125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-36129355167948417052024-02-26T19:55:00.000+00:002024-02-26T19:55:05.881+00:00Fantasy: Realms of Imagination<p> On Sunday my son and I made a trip to the British Library to see the Fantasy: Realms of Imagination exhibition. I'd been meaning to go for ages and when I finally got round to booking tickets a few weeks ago, discovered there were only a few left on the very last day.</p><p>The exhibition brought together books and manuscripts documenting the development of fantasy literature... everything from Beowulf to Neil Gaiman, via Swift, the Brothers Grimm and Studio Gibhli</p><p>Despite living in London since 1987 I've never actually been to the British Library... can't think why, and I definitely need to go back for another visit. The exhibition was, not surprisingly since it was the last day, really busy. There were a few confused looking small children who I guess had been dragged along by parents who expected to see a lot more Harry Potter, rather than Lord Dunsany and Susanna Clarke! It was a fascinating look at some real foundation stones of the genre and an excellent day out. I've come away with a long list of authors I hadn't heard of that I need to go and research! There was a small Warhammer display which I thought was surprisingly low-key... especially as the exhibition was sponsored by Wayland Games.</p><p>Here are some highlights of the exhibition...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbgJkGEhuwsFI_XjGGO51Fk7m_ZcTc8bl7ZovPgINsBT3ppgVLd-nKUQ-rq52TthvbVxjcCzHhEGJBpj7m2AyBc1JdGEiBKR4lJPqy4oXtM9OqwkkJwE_iWLwJZtLfEpCp_01C38Q0faMKyslwhH-7CjGXotwCZCSnkvc2w1sLM3MC6ssB6iPI2qgDK4/s2711/20240225_133218.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2422" data-original-width="2711" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbgJkGEhuwsFI_XjGGO51Fk7m_ZcTc8bl7ZovPgINsBT3ppgVLd-nKUQ-rq52TthvbVxjcCzHhEGJBpj7m2AyBc1JdGEiBKR4lJPqy4oXtM9OqwkkJwE_iWLwJZtLfEpCp_01C38Q0faMKyslwhH-7CjGXotwCZCSnkvc2w1sLM3MC6ssB6iPI2qgDK4/s320/20240225_133218.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sir Gawain & The Green Knight</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrUOAsxVa8F9zSRhr0llXAqfB-7u7eskYZyZzY2JRbDu39jn31GjEOei06HHIKbFG7gbXbeArOLS-chNYasfaKTMjzFZhK8fcyMDaytxuTo2nAO7NyPR-t_78T-DijZ8dyB6FQnU7PYCwcnD2UWxZ4Au9yh6pnRZxr0yAo0yiiISUXR8b8hs61iTUExg/s2280/20240225_133306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2280" data-original-width="2118" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCrUOAsxVa8F9zSRhr0llXAqfB-7u7eskYZyZzY2JRbDu39jn31GjEOei06HHIKbFG7gbXbeArOLS-chNYasfaKTMjzFZhK8fcyMDaytxuTo2nAO7NyPR-t_78T-DijZ8dyB6FQnU7PYCwcnD2UWxZ4Au9yh6pnRZxr0yAo0yiiISUXR8b8hs61iTUExg/s320/20240225_133306.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notes by Tolkien for the 1955 BBC radio adaptation</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1LRoIHshTuk93ULdwUh68smDEwQYWNiHDjYiJnsQfmySaNZFXi804E-yBcTBK9FDSax6uL-_rnhfbKCOoDUmVFvNqauHk1Xux_8ZFH79Q5vhqGxxcM-ty4f9lNczUjt4wkFTVVkkJDivxBiIjRDpRPFG_T4A3RiOU5ECiBOKIppTn8gMy8pzYp_kbWg/s3925/20240225_133310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3925" data-original-width="2154" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1LRoIHshTuk93ULdwUh68smDEwQYWNiHDjYiJnsQfmySaNZFXi804E-yBcTBK9FDSax6uL-_rnhfbKCOoDUmVFvNqauHk1Xux_8ZFH79Q5vhqGxxcM-ty4f9lNczUjt4wkFTVVkkJDivxBiIjRDpRPFG_T4A3RiOU5ECiBOKIppTn8gMy8pzYp_kbWg/w176-h320/20240225_133310.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gandalf's staff</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWexfEYMSTkBIRR5ILAvudxiC6cu65sIsLc8fURiEVWpzr0PBsdIQgShSfy7qgDwzW2HQBIovhoeTI2CJsgz-CZkZI_5h4RcWljHv56mJpI_YY3fFdRJTqAx9LwPXGwJA__0np_XRqodqHeE9Tis9nb3KMYNyPgFnn31RHYfZaeqbSarEOAFvkrz8XMM/s4000/20240225_133600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWexfEYMSTkBIRR5ILAvudxiC6cu65sIsLc8fURiEVWpzr0PBsdIQgShSfy7qgDwzW2HQBIovhoeTI2CJsgz-CZkZI_5h4RcWljHv56mJpI_YY3fFdRJTqAx9LwPXGwJA__0np_XRqodqHeE9Tis9nb3KMYNyPgFnn31RHYfZaeqbSarEOAFvkrz8XMM/s320/20240225_133600.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beowulf</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobmcoWsLEK9QANilFAJftFPtHyTCSdqSL52u6h-Zq9jbwVjjTN0d-6TSTEqen7jxKyoUMavR9mDynIwiQ8qF5vim1cNteqGkLIjYttSlrKTVV7y1E4sVZMZ23d7EpblPbF-AvpdelSY3k9SQ5SP0VHuWRcyG1U5jU0rHqytKfVgt5q9JJ-XQj9oCjp9Q/s3211/20240225_133828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2055" data-original-width="3211" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobmcoWsLEK9QANilFAJftFPtHyTCSdqSL52u6h-Zq9jbwVjjTN0d-6TSTEqen7jxKyoUMavR9mDynIwiQ8qF5vim1cNteqGkLIjYttSlrKTVV7y1E4sVZMZ23d7EpblPbF-AvpdelSY3k9SQ5SP0VHuWRcyG1U5jU0rHqytKfVgt5q9JJ-XQj9oCjp9Q/s320/20240225_133828.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Palin's notes for Monty Python and the Holy Grail</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXDpDCk_zQNv-p7JLR_3FpEMrcQQbD9AV-OXw1SFfK548S1tXLmcyWjNOCHOW2wFIxISHAdywbcpQ5josQbbIyHI4rKwMlMuArO7y-bFZu9d-_NzSXBA0pUJPV8MxO9v5sUd7PHWLR5mBYZf0vAW-VTfquy05h77tz12jYKQ6YJVZ6p7qwsTNCzvgMAs/s4000/20240225_134314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXDpDCk_zQNv-p7JLR_3FpEMrcQQbD9AV-OXw1SFfK548S1tXLmcyWjNOCHOW2wFIxISHAdywbcpQ5josQbbIyHI4rKwMlMuArO7y-bFZu9d-_NzSXBA0pUJPV8MxO9v5sUd7PHWLR5mBYZf0vAW-VTfquy05h77tz12jYKQ6YJVZ6p7qwsTNCzvgMAs/s320/20240225_134314.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustrations by Piranesi</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3Ddf_llX99Lir6cIhguzbM4bIjXyJKXfQKprFChHXiCqc4SY6tm4TBoMBFqTynnF0B7cHgWeAG7AGBFZvqVY1wNTyXQ2SNS_Vi21xf646qMHaMkGLUM1sVhBqQ4bGq1eH1ChfDeLgT7C47BS8d3eknxA5LQUe8Nh0InJV7m8irv_guz0B7Ced_9DNP0/s3158/20240225_134408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1754" data-original-width="3158" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3Ddf_llX99Lir6cIhguzbM4bIjXyJKXfQKprFChHXiCqc4SY6tm4TBoMBFqTynnF0B7cHgWeAG7AGBFZvqVY1wNTyXQ2SNS_Vi21xf646qMHaMkGLUM1sVhBqQ4bGq1eH1ChfDeLgT7C47BS8d3eknxA5LQUe8Nh0InJV7m8irv_guz0B7Ced_9DNP0/s320/20240225_134408.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and notes by Susanna Clarke for her novel Piranesi. If you haven't read it, you really should!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih60g5La8HY1wElpevDCaC16G87cbl-9AEZEDX_a6SAR28tQ6EOwL8mz6nAFJMJnGR97OMOR2JuTh9800jzlcHfnaVCXINE9zvPMSj1mLxG9FossnRRt0RRUZnH-a-9syn7JKNpuB-HdbMCavu9lxq8Aj1mDnxEv3qthGMwp_yYseuMAlmBZCOb0qmNms/s4000/20240225_134609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih60g5La8HY1wElpevDCaC16G87cbl-9AEZEDX_a6SAR28tQ6EOwL8mz6nAFJMJnGR97OMOR2JuTh9800jzlcHfnaVCXINE9zvPMSj1mLxG9FossnRRt0RRUZnH-a-9syn7JKNpuB-HdbMCavu9lxq8Aj1mDnxEv3qthGMwp_yYseuMAlmBZCOb0qmNms/s320/20240225_134609.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gormenghast</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdN061D2SRVBsRXbh0zQbFV7tBGqGWvPEr2v8gFG4zKWuz1PmSwdCxE-yQSCzfqQrITdg13CJ4uf6yc2RblIzd4zcfse1EGrBBZQQCfCt6Gu1PMrMIPSoqaXKOJjVz7k-wrl04wx4l0_es1hLyU0rn2oInJ_oqNNJLuX42f-0bUjXxqYPzTtAD0AkyIk/s1770/20240225_134814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1758" data-original-width="1770" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdN061D2SRVBsRXbh0zQbFV7tBGqGWvPEr2v8gFG4zKWuz1PmSwdCxE-yQSCzfqQrITdg13CJ4uf6yc2RblIzd4zcfse1EGrBBZQQCfCt6Gu1PMrMIPSoqaXKOJjVz7k-wrl04wx4l0_es1hLyU0rn2oInJ_oqNNJLuX42f-0bUjXxqYPzTtAD0AkyIk/s320/20240225_134814.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovecraft</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTlGuMBU09fxDeSiHl0a-f-5GDV9N7WQv6XU0AmoekjwYaRUhwzePuFq0FHsyOPMXraIKeaxNDX6h9N1Tv9wtdsl6oAaUEfCyKPizPIci-ni_NBeFd1l35At6ECVR6tjjnSn1Z_xFbPchB2pVFmEMOLNOsReVoqOr70EFn92kbR2neCuB11i3fhyphenhyphenTnXg/s4000/20240225_135601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTlGuMBU09fxDeSiHl0a-f-5GDV9N7WQv6XU0AmoekjwYaRUhwzePuFq0FHsyOPMXraIKeaxNDX6h9N1Tv9wtdsl6oAaUEfCyKPizPIci-ni_NBeFd1l35At6ECVR6tjjnSn1Z_xFbPchB2pVFmEMOLNOsReVoqOr70EFn92kbR2neCuB11i3fhyphenhyphenTnXg/s320/20240225_135601.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice in Wonderland</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNAYo9dVR9CyhlV9NZU8E75BVewQhelCDufaf6YntfaCo1KWqYb63Wv1feEHC4I6Wyxg0cDe3w-U-FCDZwTj-mIQqX6NKwI14O3eoMucOwv7bAIhh9VJK-jSEEc-ytbgu3SIbDBtT9SJg6J7fcUyQaIy84e11GpqSzaa6FQ0IQAorlZ55d7xmlxCvkdk/s4000/20240225_135747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNAYo9dVR9CyhlV9NZU8E75BVewQhelCDufaf6YntfaCo1KWqYb63Wv1feEHC4I6Wyxg0cDe3w-U-FCDZwTj-mIQqX6NKwI14O3eoMucOwv7bAIhh9VJK-jSEEc-ytbgu3SIbDBtT9SJg6J7fcUyQaIy84e11GpqSzaa6FQ0IQAorlZ55d7xmlxCvkdk/s320/20240225_135747.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil Gaiman's Coraline</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wxs3xPvET4QcSUHseJNuK1j-Zvl81mbydM0ftcz6YM3Z-gpBBZTUwgzQ1Ich2sQl22nrE_obRwwfm_vy0Y0QzlkoAVK-4hT4iqP7HaQN1E7f-B-BKHM_PjVutUlGbNpYsaWlFJmQe60_sWjdEugxOoX4MF8DwEfzP0TDF5h8_q4ve_OzDPKVy6iQv8U/s4000/20240225_135755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wxs3xPvET4QcSUHseJNuK1j-Zvl81mbydM0ftcz6YM3Z-gpBBZTUwgzQ1Ich2sQl22nrE_obRwwfm_vy0Y0QzlkoAVK-4hT4iqP7HaQN1E7f-B-BKHM_PjVutUlGbNpYsaWlFJmQe60_sWjdEugxOoX4MF8DwEfzP0TDF5h8_q4ve_OzDPKVy6iQv8U/s320/20240225_135755.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lewis' Map of Narnia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNSK2pIoHXqahcTnJtY6yTT5gOisQP-KNmK8QIUcQVTNJg5ywTSzyBzkkxNrFs4DgJnRez6ngYZP2F4jcZZotrmSNepSsE1gSt6W70xBiyqD6ui4WWZoNFA5XslXlSROjpw8zZJTUz0WkfK2AmfgCcln4a3WsasduFZrcsvNxsxYrTWdAAyg6GSvsBZA/s4000/20240225_140030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNSK2pIoHXqahcTnJtY6yTT5gOisQP-KNmK8QIUcQVTNJg5ywTSzyBzkkxNrFs4DgJnRez6ngYZP2F4jcZZotrmSNepSsE1gSt6W70xBiyqD6ui4WWZoNFA5XslXlSROjpw8zZJTUz0WkfK2AmfgCcln4a3WsasduFZrcsvNxsxYrTWdAAyg6GSvsBZA/s320/20240225_140030.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Colour of Magic</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-26304333945820664212024-02-19T18:36:00.003+00:002024-02-19T18:36:56.097+00:00Painting update #3 - Epic ECW<p>Partn3 of my recent painting update....</p><p><br /></p><p>More additions to my Covenanter figures... these started with the freebie sprue that came with Wargames Illustrated last year and, thanks to some donations from friends and some cheap buys on eBay, I now have a decent army with around 9 or 10 battalia plus some artillery, cavalry and dragoons, all for a bargain price. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XdXMC3ZpVCnjr-kBU5AsWzPIEhms4I7tiOVKfLvgzj9iSZf13n52iggI4Ucd82ojspmobJ-vgad3QWeC9I6cFOUWYCOSQxB-hsU0wJ4smHwPcB3u47aqtER5tQH8_vc0JWH4VHoBp9h35AA_AyaB4Yi-a5nzDuB8lsID7SyZLVOTm04OkdNFzrhz9Tg/s3566/20240214_204828.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1742" data-original-width="3566" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1XdXMC3ZpVCnjr-kBU5AsWzPIEhms4I7tiOVKfLvgzj9iSZf13n52iggI4Ucd82ojspmobJ-vgad3QWeC9I6cFOUWYCOSQxB-hsU0wJ4smHwPcB3u47aqtER5tQH8_vc0JWH4VHoBp9h35AA_AyaB4Yi-a5nzDuB8lsID7SyZLVOTm04OkdNFzrhz9Tg/s320/20240214_204828.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0_d1yfFTTWtPJRhsmyYotIghMJYe5F_kiE1yg3fXQDZEbp2lg9nmR5YfmcQZddIsaZ1si9WGZW7bf0oPiIc1k-Midd5EyARfYhW0aN_9SMtC2X0YTTKjBqgNvpa_sDMvWFjP36JqE9QPZpkhyYzMJokljiMZNCSwFE735DyI184JyrsgLG7aOyzOsYk/s3965/20240214_204854.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="3965" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP0_d1yfFTTWtPJRhsmyYotIghMJYe5F_kiE1yg3fXQDZEbp2lg9nmR5YfmcQZddIsaZ1si9WGZW7bf0oPiIc1k-Midd5EyARfYhW0aN_9SMtC2X0YTTKjBqgNvpa_sDMvWFjP36JqE9QPZpkhyYzMJokljiMZNCSwFE735DyI184JyrsgLG7aOyzOsYk/s320/20240214_204854.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZpVx8IFmit-3vdEpEaN3U62GVk291cOAcLgaUNFGpvIg7jmk3E7QgehMQyQ5EimgHHWMwuToiF2-ZpiYnfJX3AvHlgUgLZOplVqS9VMwwFNB2FdxlY4U-91u5LINrApaJtGpw65WWmBMzqqEOag4dgl2XctuntKAlKwPUGouoNCxmy-UjvPsXdqwHlY/s3992/20240214_204903.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1615" data-original-width="3992" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZpVx8IFmit-3vdEpEaN3U62GVk291cOAcLgaUNFGpvIg7jmk3E7QgehMQyQ5EimgHHWMwuToiF2-ZpiYnfJX3AvHlgUgLZOplVqS9VMwwFNB2FdxlY4U-91u5LINrApaJtGpw65WWmBMzqqEOag4dgl2XctuntKAlKwPUGouoNCxmy-UjvPsXdqwHlY/s320/20240214_204903.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>They're very nice to paint and the blocks of 10 figures on a base gives a good impression of depth. The 'Epic' scale works well and is apparently a good match for Peter Pig figures. I'm working through the sprues, as well as a box of ECW cavalry and some more generic ECW infantry who will do for opposition . Unfortunately the Highlanders that I'd need for Montrose only come in the rather expensive box set but I understand these will be available separately later in the year, and possibly another WI freebie</p><p><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-87483013197569362162024-02-17T08:06:00.000+00:002024-02-17T08:06:30.711+00:00Painting update #2 - 2mm Parthians<p>As well as painting large 40mm figures for the 3 Musketeers, I've also been painting at the other extreme and adding more 2mm units for my Strength & Honour project. I've been putting together armies for Romans and Parthians/Sassanids and figured they'd need a decent number of light horse units to match the legions. The figures are all from Antonine Miniatures (via Warbases). Next on the list are some teeny elephants for the Sassanids...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJsrX8LgO-wBLSLpWYGzLvjUPRXNMnXTDMD6u7lg-WgTV6Ev0h3gX4wVfEC-sLp2TmHX8z97YLPhDQ55ETumXsWYbKkqm5_QuBXcOvyQ2c9MGwkJZs1tOhQndhQi6HRB3_RQPrC95lzxqQNyFJLTLh2tJNu4mdFA_V5hS-JRPufeY9NHhum1J6858CMQ/s3864/20240214_205216.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1988" data-original-width="3864" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJsrX8LgO-wBLSLpWYGzLvjUPRXNMnXTDMD6u7lg-WgTV6Ev0h3gX4wVfEC-sLp2TmHX8z97YLPhDQ55ETumXsWYbKkqm5_QuBXcOvyQ2c9MGwkJZs1tOhQndhQi6HRB3_RQPrC95lzxqQNyFJLTLh2tJNu4mdFA_V5hS-JRPufeY9NHhum1J6858CMQ/s320/20240214_205216.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Roman Legions, auxilia and cavalry</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwXxagbwQyBW8zYirW7HfpSEpNxUkHHvAnNmpkyUx0P3KWz69IZm9fDv_Tk9cOA1kg6zQdeYlH0Qe5KFC8IE9hYei1idxl9r0iNLEVuKswJ2H0sr3Hl4jstCYOjLmejDYRkoLffAFN7HzSYeqZymwvFUA6kbE5GbLaZOejPoKN2DAI-9KLTzwzJw8s-o/s2546/20240214_225106.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1819" data-original-width="2546" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwXxagbwQyBW8zYirW7HfpSEpNxUkHHvAnNmpkyUx0P3KWz69IZm9fDv_Tk9cOA1kg6zQdeYlH0Qe5KFC8IE9hYei1idxl9r0iNLEVuKswJ2H0sr3Hl4jstCYOjLmejDYRkoLffAFN7HzSYeqZymwvFUA6kbE5GbLaZOejPoKN2DAI-9KLTzwzJw8s-o/s320/20240214_225106.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwp2jepRwNJ-_9UFjNVAP9aCb0yt9woJ5wsIij35ggreSpaEhx68qsAwKShmYE0m7-o6ymqFU4hmpU1y5LV6nwzL14pKIV3dkJ7aQznMhX42oRc4h312oEh92-8uc_tmY7EAKjVqOdi0BPfaFKzDWdoi-JdO5x5NXWakxofCH9fP59F05ZvJ_wNrix9s/s3047/20240214_205413.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2090" data-original-width="3047" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwp2jepRwNJ-_9UFjNVAP9aCb0yt9woJ5wsIij35ggreSpaEhx68qsAwKShmYE0m7-o6ymqFU4hmpU1y5LV6nwzL14pKIV3dkJ7aQznMhX42oRc4h312oEh92-8uc_tmY7EAKjVqOdi0BPfaFKzDWdoi-JdO5x5NXWakxofCH9fP59F05ZvJ_wNrix9s/s320/20240214_205413.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Parthians/Sassanids... a core of cataphracts and lots of light horse</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzFict_bsd0i2PyNxdJMTFAbHLfTTgiDWS15LSAkfB1ZTxzejF-lIL4AEjDs-X8BurFwAcYsgz3RYSOA_enqePP_WqHlFMCwcc3DFt0ZWoosf2S0B5ce8btL-GnhTeibzppiZOZbomU14bUEi3WxkFmvw4BCw73kesNzmokcY9gcSPg8QSpVUANzq6YEI/s2007/20240214_225138.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1496" data-original-width="2007" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzFict_bsd0i2PyNxdJMTFAbHLfTTgiDWS15LSAkfB1ZTxzejF-lIL4AEjDs-X8BurFwAcYsgz3RYSOA_enqePP_WqHlFMCwcc3DFt0ZWoosf2S0B5ce8btL-GnhTeibzppiZOZbomU14bUEi3WxkFmvw4BCw73kesNzmokcY9gcSPg8QSpVUANzq6YEI/s320/20240214_225138.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXb0pTUXRbcBGYKhFbb0dvUkRhgZdX5L8tw1iEsVtxYkgAKNIpIYJojjR0Ke3uaLQooO53E4e9f3OjHJH3Zd5bmOak1oLVm0ieaWZrWnkYl_uIFGDbCdUXqY_LPMPRUQevx390lC1K4DkiYTN0rr0GV5nxWvCnmkthC8T3D_0Wk87A3KZPvaiU3DhzVkI/s3938/20240214_205425.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2149" data-original-width="3938" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXb0pTUXRbcBGYKhFbb0dvUkRhgZdX5L8tw1iEsVtxYkgAKNIpIYJojjR0Ke3uaLQooO53E4e9f3OjHJH3Zd5bmOak1oLVm0ieaWZrWnkYl_uIFGDbCdUXqY_LPMPRUQevx390lC1K4DkiYTN0rr0GV5nxWvCnmkthC8T3D_0Wk87A3KZPvaiU3DhzVkI/s320/20240214_205425.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-78789060894823094022024-02-15T15:16:00.005+00:002024-02-15T23:11:17.943+00:00Painting update #1 - 3 Musketeers<p>Still no gaming here due to family health issues (hopefully normal service will be resumed sometime soon), but at least that's let me catch up a bit on painting. I'm a notoriously slow and half-hearted painter and tend to have little fits of painting and then long lulls so the upside of all the turmoil at home has been a bit of focus. Incidentally if you want an example of the opposite to me, take a look at Eric the Shed's huge painting output at <a href="https://shedwars.blogspot.com/?m=1">Shed Wars</a>!</p><p>I have 3 projects on the go ( I never seem able to focus on 1 thing at a time!), and all very different.</p><p>First up at the big scale end, I've made a bit of progress on the 40mm 3 Musketeers figures from Steve Barber Models.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOVTM5P-844CQOiCPcpOwD_oRpkY_Jt9-9p19Xi-FqDBy4ywdYvS5BFLo81m2IgsNDpgRYKR0mvPBDoE92dxDFANrPpbPaHZsYfWriimT2PUaHzJTtPRuNu-cvkStZ_XbwtVPfLwCugBAFhzaPkoUe-dw-m6O7_xCk1IYiGuSNw5lUWd_FVYfdRM9rVI/s2320/20240214_204323.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1740" data-original-width="2320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOVTM5P-844CQOiCPcpOwD_oRpkY_Jt9-9p19Xi-FqDBy4ywdYvS5BFLo81m2IgsNDpgRYKR0mvPBDoE92dxDFANrPpbPaHZsYfWriimT2PUaHzJTtPRuNu-cvkStZ_XbwtVPfLwCugBAFhzaPkoUe-dw-m6O7_xCk1IYiGuSNw5lUWd_FVYfdRM9rVI/s320/20240214_204323.jpg" width="320" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Musketeers including Athos, Porthos and Aramis</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>I realised that I needed a few more Cardinal's Guards to match the Musketeers</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCv0b6sfNJ4Ff3NJwyBTSiGVxfiZBpD8tFRCiHShIAAMrFPbdMOvIeru6lTRKaIVFxmVR4g9K_9w-JIt7Adeu9b_nOsYRP6ncgyhLaxMlRnvn1HmzH2iCBh8rgfxM1VWToDdaWDLwGlIfqu5C1T4jxq0i1gmCluLPIlbAWuIaDLmluKWY3WQETbyot1Dc/s2426/20240214_204227.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2180" data-original-width="2426" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCv0b6sfNJ4Ff3NJwyBTSiGVxfiZBpD8tFRCiHShIAAMrFPbdMOvIeru6lTRKaIVFxmVR4g9K_9w-JIt7Adeu9b_nOsYRP6ncgyhLaxMlRnvn1HmzH2iCBh8rgfxM1VWToDdaWDLwGlIfqu5C1T4jxq0i1gmCluLPIlbAWuIaDLmluKWY3WQETbyot1Dc/s320/20240214_204227.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cardinal's Guards including Rochefort (booo!)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">I probably don't need much more in the way of figures as this was always intended to be a small skirmish game, but of course I do need some civilians as well. These are from Eureka Miniatures... a little smaller than the Steve Barber ones but pretty close. I'll also have a look at Irregular who do some 42mm Musketeers... maybe some mounted figures...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XYUWuqP7FrikENJhnu8YBz2uBFiiuPwlQrBvTwYXQFnR0a59pNtFs47NuD8GQBomprn61D4CHMdEJSa9Kgkx-CQi8gdZscyLZDtWPgYtOvm_NzfhgiP4P3kz1FUlCEbGKDz9-S-Pm-NNxQ5yBfEl83bdaILQkfpGR3OSCZE93Ik_l1G2BC7LvQIZ3NA/s2330/20240214_204408.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1832" data-original-width="2330" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XYUWuqP7FrikENJhnu8YBz2uBFiiuPwlQrBvTwYXQFnR0a59pNtFs47NuD8GQBomprn61D4CHMdEJSa9Kgkx-CQi8gdZscyLZDtWPgYtOvm_NzfhgiP4P3kz1FUlCEbGKDz9-S-Pm-NNxQ5yBfEl83bdaILQkfpGR3OSCZE93Ik_l1G2BC7LvQIZ3NA/s320/20240214_204408.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A 'hired blade' who will do for a pre-Musketeer D'Artagnan, Constance Bonaceiux and Planchet, armed with club (or possibly a baguette)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-6223734085617892442024-01-20T17:34:00.001+00:002024-01-20T17:35:07.321+00:00More Metagames<p> Since I picked up a couple of the old Steve Jackson Games Metagames range from the 80s last year (Battlesuit and Olympica), eBay keeps tempting me with more suggestions which of course are hard to resist. Some of the Metagame range go for silly prices, or at least the sellers are asking silly prices... I doubt many of them actually sell. Being a frugal Scot I tend to ignore most of the expensive games but a couple of real bargains came along recently which I couldn't resist. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQOBh6DySMJZk32IA-UukaDyR6OfKBubpzLVGfEJ9CDZd4TYD3cCivt_gchoqLQ6v7nDcG3_h29gFSumBohMDPMXnfnAcXh9vzaXyb0PqkGnlAPm8tYhg-luKCbajeN8IvoFdF38854uHXk3SPg7XLSozavbX7kbe4GI5Jb6UhOK1XpBrVtREcD4ydufA/s3364/20240107_161832.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3364" data-original-width="1951" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQOBh6DySMJZk32IA-UukaDyR6OfKBubpzLVGfEJ9CDZd4TYD3cCivt_gchoqLQ6v7nDcG3_h29gFSumBohMDPMXnfnAcXh9vzaXyb0PqkGnlAPm8tYhg-luKCbajeN8IvoFdF38854uHXk3SPg7XLSozavbX7kbe4GI5Jb6UhOK1XpBrVtREcD4ydufA/w233-h400/20240107_161832.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPC2U-bUh1qTX9YVcQsoSSjV3ZFlZnoBvVwQmMTVwK58hOEKOwv2dgyOrerxHXggGoD5otlu3j595mSnr1Flc4fpJpmm8BASJuqCKGANDyZQdnXPNR5OdMpxNdDS7Feykyzhr4v4_A6bqzw82fRywddTygVeJ9fXoqCd-Sav_jwh3KbyVhz5CqArDBSo/s3700/20240107_161839.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3700" data-original-width="2249" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVPC2U-bUh1qTX9YVcQsoSSjV3ZFlZnoBvVwQmMTVwK58hOEKOwv2dgyOrerxHXggGoD5otlu3j595mSnr1Flc4fpJpmm8BASJuqCKGANDyZQdnXPNR5OdMpxNdDS7Feykyzhr4v4_A6bqzw82fRywddTygVeJ9fXoqCd-Sav_jwh3KbyVhz5CqArDBSo/w244-h400/20240107_161839.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>First up is Fury of the Norsemen from 1980. The cover art is... erm... very much of its time... I'm not sure a game would feature the same illustrations today unless it was in a knowingly ironic way! The game looks interesting and focuses on raiding and pillaging a village which is depicted on the map.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw63giFQwJ_hpT0vSAUo4Clv7DO0gYOivD2o4Ip6ZA50qbI0Wd9Tb51hybASS5sikPGjwwIumOekq0xs1mRjTrPeJjfThORlFg92dlSzdQxMImRNDLk7XQ2VkddpSMTid28BlY1SC8BizJSzgtYE4Kd4m6e7vFgkptgCiraJ1uVmx286gJRUvHebHAkXE/s3441/20240107_161924.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2923" data-original-width="3441" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw63giFQwJ_hpT0vSAUo4Clv7DO0gYOivD2o4Ip6ZA50qbI0Wd9Tb51hybASS5sikPGjwwIumOekq0xs1mRjTrPeJjfThORlFg92dlSzdQxMImRNDLk7XQ2VkddpSMTid28BlY1SC8BizJSzgtYE4Kd4m6e7vFgkptgCiraJ1uVmx286gJRUvHebHAkXE/w400-h340/20240107_161924.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkVh3ub2gCOdvQcz7gMvc1m3g2ci2NP2rriMIOEAD7hKzFEUc5v5uUzNYwGrj4BHv0hfH0IeBriRqswzPaUjvjc39udYzw0WzDMFDuPYGl0l0My74HrrM5HQjeE7EVs9_EXucyvZprk6n8FwaOsuQ6IvhMzOLbsv5kkQkf_NR0iRSD52-feQZF48iO98/s3625/20240107_162008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3625" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkVh3ub2gCOdvQcz7gMvc1m3g2ci2NP2rriMIOEAD7hKzFEUc5v5uUzNYwGrj4BHv0hfH0IeBriRqswzPaUjvjc39udYzw0WzDMFDuPYGl0l0My74HrrM5HQjeE7EVs9_EXucyvZprk6n8FwaOsuQ6IvhMzOLbsv5kkQkf_NR0iRSD52-feQZF48iO98/w400-h331/20240107_162008.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">While the Viking player gets to raid and pillage, the other player has some relatively inferior infantry and militia to guard the monks, livestock and treasure which is scattered across the map. With rules for setting fires, random livestock events and pillaging, it's a bloody but fun game which looks eminently convertible to the Tabletop.</p><p style="text-align: left;">And as if one nostalgia purchase wasn't enough, along comes another one!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1w0Y1q7Z_4gPP2vAob0AKchKysLAIaq_WPgz7vnWdVuM26Q3wrZTQVGWTElRzSE4Ihc6OTMe99YZOIxkFnj6C0pHyMlr8IFNyS09qHvqoN5c5pO-sdC3TZA2Aropb0fHovnp1qu14U1IJRxBXZIDwxQBXN9e0jY8WydGX286bGXrcXYkgXqh0XIJylAI/s3000/20240107_162056.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="1930" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1w0Y1q7Z_4gPP2vAob0AKchKysLAIaq_WPgz7vnWdVuM26Q3wrZTQVGWTElRzSE4Ihc6OTMe99YZOIxkFnj6C0pHyMlr8IFNyS09qHvqoN5c5pO-sdC3TZA2Aropb0fHovnp1qu14U1IJRxBXZIDwxQBXN9e0jY8WydGX286bGXrcXYkgXqh0XIJylAI/w258-h400/20240107_162056.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDKljBONlf3d_-5rk1ttv_trEl70ftOa0W4AH3NLaBwImcV6yoK-tNHzKJjBDBH0eKPnn2B22KJYZzaSbvzBCZpK48W0L0IdBCq7oVtwzWiCPQEPSRWap1wZpgU3NNxUyNa6_aq3Va5K9Ni3BlaztAjfM8fdwVi017Xw9ZYbDJn5KRIYh5EF4RmKtXLc/s3000/20240107_162113.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="2077" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEDKljBONlf3d_-5rk1ttv_trEl70ftOa0W4AH3NLaBwImcV6yoK-tNHzKJjBDBH0eKPnn2B22KJYZzaSbvzBCZpK48W0L0IdBCq7oVtwzWiCPQEPSRWap1wZpgU3NNxUyNa6_aq3Va5K9Ni3BlaztAjfM8fdwVi017Xw9ZYbDJn5KRIYh5EF4RmKtXLc/w278-h400/20240107_162113.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Ram Speed (1980) is a 'bronze age' naval game of Mediterranean sea battles. The map comes with a bizarre, and quite annoying, watermark design of a coin for some reason. The game also comes with 40 counters of various ships and markers for damage, fires etc. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIR43uJIf0yUeC2B-aWOFZXcg_jG2YwVwYlZxFnGpSkdgvjC3ErA8Ogr2fIlvYt8HfYdWEr2b1UohXpPrR6Q6fx5U4txmTTamUzkyvJvcY6Y8sxBeeDWL6W3Sgyilr27f_CtxISvabfp7LyD_2Y4nFtXNe8LKoTtbCAPdHPhGXyDWMNwg-M0VAblsSBQI/s4000/20240107_162249.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIR43uJIf0yUeC2B-aWOFZXcg_jG2YwVwYlZxFnGpSkdgvjC3ErA8Ogr2fIlvYt8HfYdWEr2b1UohXpPrR6Q6fx5U4txmTTamUzkyvJvcY6Y8sxBeeDWL6W3Sgyilr27f_CtxISvabfp7LyD_2Y4nFtXNe8LKoTtbCAPdHPhGXyDWMNwg-M0VAblsSBQI/w400-h300/20240107_162249.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">Attacks can be made by missile fire, ramming or shearing off oars, and boarding. There are also rules for ship mounted catapults etc which, I suspect, might be a bit of a stretch historically but sound fun. I don't think it's the most complicated or strictly accurate set of ancient naval rules but, a fun portable game and again probably very adaptable.</p><p><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-45150555553363607162024-01-07T20:49:00.004+00:002024-01-08T08:01:33.848+00:00Belated Happy New Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNVkc6Yz89hvo6ER370-c-8JWLjgzPlRYnAM0kKARa8i0sLcjwjcmw5kOgNWRIIVgeW5-bMCvKEOFeI3DfrUVBr_Hh9JJpdTWkMlDiOvhsdtmiF1FvYJu7oUq9WH37Qmgl0SntqWTCE80rk-eiwUVhK8avWQ3CDAB7rpQ8e8eCraoHNbEr456KKHTgf4/s1200/XPT2T2DMMVBRVIJIPDJTPBENNM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNVkc6Yz89hvo6ER370-c-8JWLjgzPlRYnAM0kKARa8i0sLcjwjcmw5kOgNWRIIVgeW5-bMCvKEOFeI3DfrUVBr_Hh9JJpdTWkMlDiOvhsdtmiF1FvYJu7oUq9WH37Qmgl0SntqWTCE80rk-eiwUVhK8avWQ3CDAB7rpQ8e8eCraoHNbEr456KKHTgf4/w400-h300/XPT2T2DMMVBRVIJIPDJTPBENNM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Normally, like most other bloggers, I'd have posted a recap of 2023 and some ambitious and unachievable plans by now. Unfortunately our Xmas and New Year took a bit of a hit due to some unexpected family health emergencies which meant cancelling travel plans, A&E visits, an unplanned foray into the horrors of a pre-xmas supermarket and lots of worrying, until things settled down. Thankfully, things are now a bit more stable and life is getting back to 'normal'.</p><p>So my overdue look back at 2023...</p><p>On a personal level it was a bit of a mess with job restructures, the risk of redundancy and a health emergency (a different one this time!) with my mum back in Glasgow... all resolved now and generally all for the better!</p><p>Gaming wise it was a busy and good year... cowboys, Kingmaker, Strength & Honour all had repeated outings. I discovered 2mm figures are much, much better than I'd thought and I'm now enjoying painting up my Romans and Parthians (more on these in another post)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPWbEh12FpWkKLRJyhxFsk7xielZaiRnPFjb04J-gjKcwGgCBcYmoJ3r0glZvQ-Dy0pfVNA40u54dXMbgXQct34BguBjdHf9vljE63ZQIlDBrACfWOIhqY9N7mGbyKIFaC0t_kOzQw4gIerbWc6381ThQTr528ygZK8A6Ds1aI5X1AQYcTGCQkwXehJk/s400/20231028_153017.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMPWbEh12FpWkKLRJyhxFsk7xielZaiRnPFjb04J-gjKcwGgCBcYmoJ3r0glZvQ-Dy0pfVNA40u54dXMbgXQct34BguBjdHf9vljE63ZQIlDBrACfWOIhqY9N7mGbyKIFaC0t_kOzQw4gIerbWc6381ThQTr528ygZK8A6Ds1aI5X1AQYcTGCQkwXehJk/w400-h300/20231028_153017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">New game, Mythic Commander also looks ideal for small-scale gaming.</p><p style="text-align: left;">At my regular games at Eric the Shed's (<a href="https://shedwars.blogspot.com/?m=1">Link</a>), games were mainly of the Black Powder/Hail Caesar/Pike & Shotte variety with some excellent boardgames thrown in for good measure... especially Mosaic.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrKLKgsNMCBFVe06gd6ePl2zRbKRQbyhWs2eCYq5xw0rBMBCVotLPB4td4F7vbPJsJpWNLWOx7LM_U9B-dUhOtIoxB0yG9joa20I-pj7sLD8H1y3N9dnDGpiaoPcFT84mIanlPpQZ6uUQM98IULU3sztktKCrkNNhg5XKzdw9zcueg328MCNOo7BJLN0/s400/20230123_204108.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrKLKgsNMCBFVe06gd6ePl2zRbKRQbyhWs2eCYq5xw0rBMBCVotLPB4td4F7vbPJsJpWNLWOx7LM_U9B-dUhOtIoxB0yG9joa20I-pj7sLD8H1y3N9dnDGpiaoPcFT84mIanlPpQZ6uUQM98IULU3sztktKCrkNNhg5XKzdw9zcueg328MCNOo7BJLN0/w300-h400/20230123_204108.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">As usual my plans for 2023 were pretty much ignored as I found new shinier things to distract me, but for 2024 things are, hopefully, a bit more committed... more 2mm goodness, finish my 40mm Musketeers (nothing like a bit of variety in scale!), and add to myt ECW project. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I succumbed to the freebie sprue of 'epic' scale Covenanters in an issue of WI and, thanks to donations of unwanted sprues from friends as well as a couple of eBay bargains, I now have a decent number of Battalia as well as some boxes of infantry and cavalry acquired at Colours... more than enough to be getting on with!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyLixUBzeUGnKRzH-OS7rkAj1-hnYLI94g8wLxKNblplqxVG1RuKMHq3_jD-5dstLS2E7K98RV8Hll9py3gELmprtYRh2u9rozBGMuYnUC_J9tJKbct5UYi3QtZbUHODBGEb-7JHA-Gj4YXjOAnMXS_SjwWXd5d5bcSKz1m_yuWDxm3caFTjiXqVbnm0/s3519/20240107_164413.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1986" data-original-width="3519" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyLixUBzeUGnKRzH-OS7rkAj1-hnYLI94g8wLxKNblplqxVG1RuKMHq3_jD-5dstLS2E7K98RV8Hll9py3gELmprtYRh2u9rozBGMuYnUC_J9tJKbct5UYi3QtZbUHODBGEb-7JHA-Gj4YXjOAnMXS_SjwWXd5d5bcSKz1m_yuWDxm3caFTjiXqVbnm0/w400-h226/20240107_164413.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">No doubt other random things will come along as well! So belated Happy New Year... I hope it's a good one!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-88710781779134335132023-12-24T23:36:00.002+00:002023-12-24T23:36:42.848+00:00Merry xmas!!<p>Well, thats it... nearly time for St. Nick to make his appearance. I hope you all get a chance to put your feet up, play with toys, and have a lovely Xmas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7d0LOvFtVZM59T3OjkJzNaRtAEkUG1LCX9W0fqzPSqpsikW3sgAT-T1qJFmiD1FnyoLuQ9yiioyoad63cDF8vF_LFeR8WLWXI9ULbLr5bb6B5-uOG6FaSm9hODJRBQXjtWdp77DMmajXg7VrNDSvKLrs3F8qwVuMrlnZ43-mwmjBmZNYRac3rr6jlBTs/s752/FB_IMG_1703446016346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7d0LOvFtVZM59T3OjkJzNaRtAEkUG1LCX9W0fqzPSqpsikW3sgAT-T1qJFmiD1FnyoLuQ9yiioyoad63cDF8vF_LFeR8WLWXI9ULbLr5bb6B5-uOG6FaSm9hODJRBQXjtWdp77DMmajXg7VrNDSvKLrs3F8qwVuMrlnZ43-mwmjBmZNYRac3rr6jlBTs/w426-h640/FB_IMG_1703446016346.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-25353901113251638302023-12-23T23:56:00.002+00:002023-12-23T23:56:54.458+00:00Last game of the year<p>My last game of 2023 was a huge multiplayer VBCW game organised by Eric the Shed and using his fabulous terrain collection. There's a post on the excellent <a href="https://shedwars.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-very-british-christmas-war.html?m=1">Shed Wars blog</a> with lots of photos which really give a feel for the size of the L shaped table and the terrain.</p><p>My photos show my end of the table and the hard-fought advance that my Lanarkshire miners, backed up by Hamilton Accies made towards the British Mince Pie factory to seize control of the means of production. A great Xmas game and a brilliant way to end the year in good company.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoRRd1KnETVDxFHoS4WeutjhOd8McTwkPBDZ8zXUw-jbrur1VuMul7ro1Qc-59Xmr6rsXDLTQplYmLXdKBCjaXSmZ9VLC5CE-XEnJcOXx4LtNUbk5oEYXGkfRExNXwSGXj6wkpwCAaREnGMDKOC4mZUUn-42Vqu6Q69e5eTAkTBCvG2LFtaRPKNciJAc/s4000/20231218_192501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoRRd1KnETVDxFHoS4WeutjhOd8McTwkPBDZ8zXUw-jbrur1VuMul7ro1Qc-59Xmr6rsXDLTQplYmLXdKBCjaXSmZ9VLC5CE-XEnJcOXx4LtNUbk5oEYXGkfRExNXwSGXj6wkpwCAaREnGMDKOC4mZUUn-42Vqu6Q69e5eTAkTBCvG2LFtaRPKNciJAc/w400-h300/20231218_192501.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6NO_sZFBHTwKO1oyp_dVRbb3EsS5iQBWMz2HLLh-3NFCBPxVvgqDWljhy3Vf0n7IlGFN3RBQZ3tvOfidIogoSCtFYnnU56N3XKSU-8F1N-3Kvl2q5kmqwvnT8ar_0rR_t8S_GJf1HqvFHco_OCl7P5B4nbX15EWq1FibjuLuDeNJbuxoXCvaWhNljrY/s4000/20231218_192505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6NO_sZFBHTwKO1oyp_dVRbb3EsS5iQBWMz2HLLh-3NFCBPxVvgqDWljhy3Vf0n7IlGFN3RBQZ3tvOfidIogoSCtFYnnU56N3XKSU-8F1N-3Kvl2q5kmqwvnT8ar_0rR_t8S_GJf1HqvFHco_OCl7P5B4nbX15EWq1FibjuLuDeNJbuxoXCvaWhNljrY/w400-h300/20231218_192505.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXU008_prXMPFGRWXYVf1-PQcYUZg5rehbLYSn0iaT4wQOP5W8HeA3e7xWbPqUhQboVsWFVsNuPCKAXRjzc2bMHszxUPEwhm7df4yfEsqkuMzWUNJ6Nd2_BnW3DGmu8oz5bcpPfLRC1TNjUoqcrZOgMzrRK1eEkxBRBFGWDpP8e65kJQCM5pb_48z17dE/s4000/20231218_200441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXU008_prXMPFGRWXYVf1-PQcYUZg5rehbLYSn0iaT4wQOP5W8HeA3e7xWbPqUhQboVsWFVsNuPCKAXRjzc2bMHszxUPEwhm7df4yfEsqkuMzWUNJ6Nd2_BnW3DGmu8oz5bcpPfLRC1TNjUoqcrZOgMzrRK1eEkxBRBFGWDpP8e65kJQCM5pb_48z17dE/w400-h300/20231218_200441.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9TUcKG4pWIGJqJd3LcjQiDYquMPRRWLA1q3E6zP7oK-LcHGwuv1fX6ZFsk6IrZQr2TFzf93Dw6YjgiPAPywgkH_igDCKs7OXbELJlnEiyTySb_AAE9xnllDP8VsRAPMPY-u7a1l1AMJhVZeTe3j-_lLY5ZuzKJik6ml2Jf5GGBPI4flVEvDkCvG2StQ/s4000/20231218_200444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB9TUcKG4pWIGJqJd3LcjQiDYquMPRRWLA1q3E6zP7oK-LcHGwuv1fX6ZFsk6IrZQr2TFzf93Dw6YjgiPAPywgkH_igDCKs7OXbELJlnEiyTySb_AAE9xnllDP8VsRAPMPY-u7a1l1AMJhVZeTe3j-_lLY5ZuzKJik6ml2Jf5GGBPI4flVEvDkCvG2StQ/w400-h300/20231218_200444.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7YHBG3QYY5z_fmpJg_1StLSRj0qzA3__9JgQ2W8bF2AlFyZaHqlxZoj_7s6Ny2z57gCT6mDiE7zplNQlqbXwcW-SSewUbJrqMiE-hWPUoiY9S39-e34SN3cdgNs3qg4h9me9SIs0dyZuRcC9v7Sk101x931q-tq8OUSuJ9RUrsUO4OifUYg3TQNal7U/s4000/20231218_200454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj7YHBG3QYY5z_fmpJg_1StLSRj0qzA3__9JgQ2W8bF2AlFyZaHqlxZoj_7s6Ny2z57gCT6mDiE7zplNQlqbXwcW-SSewUbJrqMiE-hWPUoiY9S39-e34SN3cdgNs3qg4h9me9SIs0dyZuRcC9v7Sk101x931q-tq8OUSuJ9RUrsUO4OifUYg3TQNal7U/w400-h300/20231218_200454.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqAEKAd_ccn6cOtmqQfuN3umUr6v-Wse-fU9ZdfTFj5CUsjwCVyWP9ditne-SngCtPvXC50T_IF6HNplXXBtFFMGRiICgcnj33l6hGnac2yzdwaO1vyYPu2LzQqIrspsy2HOR-wJCIzAzBemPbUJeApAO860LTcVNH979cm3XAoM0ljRSwfaQ8FHaQls/s4000/20231218_213450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqAEKAd_ccn6cOtmqQfuN3umUr6v-Wse-fU9ZdfTFj5CUsjwCVyWP9ditne-SngCtPvXC50T_IF6HNplXXBtFFMGRiICgcnj33l6hGnac2yzdwaO1vyYPu2LzQqIrspsy2HOR-wJCIzAzBemPbUJeApAO860LTcVNH979cm3XAoM0ljRSwfaQ8FHaQls/w300-h400/20231218_213450.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WQZmHwePcJk9uoK-1ebTUhfjFollkiO_ykZ-i5nw1piDo0uo4FJFTnJ_DuwIp7ZeS60aoMaDWk6pGQP8oFatmGGZoCNdjS_vdiBTuPCnW5FZhazwc0VFVLw_06iQ-SBJqlYXYQdrdSoP45jkVPJqGVLEiHPfZ5_dLtTuT_9lWnAYHT6j0HWyIcJ4gjs/s4000/20231218_213501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3WQZmHwePcJk9uoK-1ebTUhfjFollkiO_ykZ-i5nw1piDo0uo4FJFTnJ_DuwIp7ZeS60aoMaDWk6pGQP8oFatmGGZoCNdjS_vdiBTuPCnW5FZhazwc0VFVLw_06iQ-SBJqlYXYQdrdSoP45jkVPJqGVLEiHPfZ5_dLtTuT_9lWnAYHT6j0HWyIcJ4gjs/w400-h300/20231218_213501.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8f7sbYrLnQ3BOCQx2z21kdGQa4sib5UECcO7L7PojkNq6Lg_AMetiTe-_Eg61U01OghP8Wdw6zcjeabehXgzFYzLoMFXcp4t-Ivbfnab5kaGo_0u3gLifjTN7Td8gWt0xkbUcdIc6ArftCP565ty0IBeDNg9ckatKmh8U6AaePUtDi6qGmQE8V43oMM0/s4000/20231218_215049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8f7sbYrLnQ3BOCQx2z21kdGQa4sib5UECcO7L7PojkNq6Lg_AMetiTe-_Eg61U01OghP8Wdw6zcjeabehXgzFYzLoMFXcp4t-Ivbfnab5kaGo_0u3gLifjTN7Td8gWt0xkbUcdIc6ArftCP565ty0IBeDNg9ckatKmh8U6AaePUtDi6qGmQE8V43oMM0/w400-h300/20231218_215049.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBI-f116YR20_RgdDo_oXDCG_a-48V6GX3lcuSi89TAg5L-sjID0sFJtQaJj68ANr0D4js9k4ddzmqCByPJkLAyciILbO63SFOCZMql5NM2iEVTa7jseZPlL9nxS1UJcseEV1MdIUXKFgW-pbIhtXiS23GR_PkirIDWKoC8ZtB9HLQH1sV6vYUYsVTGn4/s4000/20231218_220210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBI-f116YR20_RgdDo_oXDCG_a-48V6GX3lcuSi89TAg5L-sjID0sFJtQaJj68ANr0D4js9k4ddzmqCByPJkLAyciILbO63SFOCZMql5NM2iEVTa7jseZPlL9nxS1UJcseEV1MdIUXKFgW-pbIhtXiS23GR_PkirIDWKoC8ZtB9HLQH1sV6vYUYsVTGn4/w400-h300/20231218_220210.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-67687365776915099392023-12-06T18:06:00.003+00:002023-12-06T18:06:52.087+00:00Book Haul<p> </p><p>I used to occasionally pop a summary of books I've been reading on the blog but haven't done that for ages. To be honest, these days I get through fewer books as I've usually nodded off before I've read more than a couple of pages! I might try and pull together a list of recent books soon, but here is a haul of books acquired either as a birthday gift from my son (the Ben Aaronovitch, and Lost Realms), or from the excellent second hand bookshop at Hatchlands, a NT property in Surrey... we were there as it's a nice spot to walk the dogs but it's always worth popping into the bookshop.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyL64RNKSM1sn-sDjwFNVXryCtqyqGU3ghzUzsvkQ_MvltkToggb42xnUALMN2UB4eA8Ju7YxTHdJtDTJETnXIM0dw_zGiPDVBpRV6nsFq7ofcDkiUlB2rOI9UwyKxBoKj-Ome33BhUBYK6mTbMg_m0QzE0ikX2fupzYHpLln0xB9zAbXFVLSFJPVvxY/s3076/20231128_080828.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3076" data-original-width="2750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyL64RNKSM1sn-sDjwFNVXryCtqyqGU3ghzUzsvkQ_MvltkToggb42xnUALMN2UB4eA8Ju7YxTHdJtDTJETnXIM0dw_zGiPDVBpRV6nsFq7ofcDkiUlB2rOI9UwyKxBoKj-Ome33BhUBYK6mTbMg_m0QzE0ikX2fupzYHpLln0xB9zAbXFVLSFJPVvxY/s320/20231128_080828.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">I picked up a 2nd hand copy of Iron Dawn after a random conversation with a man sitting next to me on train from Glasgow to London recently. I spotted the title and asked if it was worth reading... there followed a long chat about ACW Ironclads before he got off at Preston (or maybe he was just running away from the strange man on the train!). God knows what the people sitting opposite us thought!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJYdrCzNXTtkpItcz3aG9h_yBK7OVYjNTNxZ2U4HHj_FeCeNlXPcAWDD3kp82-ubYurqc8zxzBxGW0fbDCICkZR0b8MPZe24Sy5bjOql2bkNh5xQRRdidgee_MHDdxIij0EhOncesXGuOr8HmoxtoxUXisPTpEHZA2dNi03ud8hdZQHkEYNRAa9k2ukQ/s4000/20231130_074706.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieJYdrCzNXTtkpItcz3aG9h_yBK7OVYjNTNxZ2U4HHj_FeCeNlXPcAWDD3kp82-ubYurqc8zxzBxGW0fbDCICkZR0b8MPZe24Sy5bjOql2bkNh5xQRRdidgee_MHDdxIij0EhOncesXGuOr8HmoxtoxUXisPTpEHZA2dNi03ud8hdZQHkEYNRAa9k2ukQ/w300-h400/20231130_074706.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And on a final literary note, I recently discovered this blue plaque to of my favourite authors, Joseph Conrad, just round the corner from my employers main office... I only go there occasionally but had never spotted it till now.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetJl1aJHk1ycdPCOqGAVEvFAzsmKCWZz5BdWyEOz4J273LmkDQWcJsks4HxzF97g7bfCU0SbRZhSwUuI6JgrIERd4Rft_p_taHFwvSpm6q4WY9H3AK6GWYuBKz-GHFkKYkdtbyrjGzvYOM2KhIZm_W1BPNgmqCQuEoypnyoCGRSRDdpaK5l_7WOxRXc8/s3841/20231129_143344.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3841" data-original-width="2001" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetJl1aJHk1ycdPCOqGAVEvFAzsmKCWZz5BdWyEOz4J273LmkDQWcJsks4HxzF97g7bfCU0SbRZhSwUuI6JgrIERd4Rft_p_taHFwvSpm6q4WY9H3AK6GWYuBKz-GHFkKYkdtbyrjGzvYOM2KhIZm_W1BPNgmqCQuEoypnyoCGRSRDdpaK5l_7WOxRXc8/w209-h400/20231129_143344.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-89960581525772842562023-11-29T16:06:00.001+00:002023-11-29T16:06:44.025+00:00Battlesuit take 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPj72e-xxCEIFWEH7Yfd64y9xCkabBsVfmyxH84scSrnSQEIJBToG6LT3s-ikKJkh_VJLI5aJ5cvV6pGSPFlJ8Emfn_XzxZ_sNmHUZKhI4tQa_Ro4zXSFZaVblMGL1lIcp64-djXib0p9SWmBqY1IFVhzdxlmGDtmKkqCImG1tcEbEkuMrI-hIPyqplc/s3844/20231128_101255.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3844" data-original-width="2306" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPj72e-xxCEIFWEH7Yfd64y9xCkabBsVfmyxH84scSrnSQEIJBToG6LT3s-ikKJkh_VJLI5aJ5cvV6pGSPFlJ8Emfn_XzxZ_sNmHUZKhI4tQa_Ro4zXSFZaVblMGL1lIcp64-djXib0p9SWmBqY1IFVhzdxlmGDtmKkqCImG1tcEbEkuMrI-hIPyqplc/w240-h400/20231128_101255.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>A few weeks ago I tried out a solo play of the old Steve Jackson Games game from the 80s Battlesuit. Inspired by this Anthony and I had a 2 player run thorough with my 15mm Laserburn figures standing in for the counters.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bKqsnbz7SzAXQVn_MWUKVhSfBc44q5k5rTJ5ONlSywoULXPKPQYxQC23zSPAUHfqgPXFoUfFAtQT-GSndKteKE32QlyFNnYnNIXFIXLmw-nUHYXtMfIwP8HYuTNs-8lFCDYY7aZNfIU5H12qNRU60IMNK8hJVZPrKdKbSoy7Ik5FCfovmLI54M1FguY/s4000/20231127_200458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bKqsnbz7SzAXQVn_MWUKVhSfBc44q5k5rTJ5ONlSywoULXPKPQYxQC23zSPAUHfqgPXFoUfFAtQT-GSndKteKE32QlyFNnYnNIXFIXLmw-nUHYXtMfIwP8HYuTNs-8lFCDYY7aZNfIU5H12qNRU60IMNK8hJVZPrKdKbSoy7Ik5FCfovmLI54M1FguY/w400-h300/20231127_200458.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Battlesuit came out in 1983 and was a sequel of sorts to Ogre and GEV but this time the focus was solely on individual power-armoured soldiers. The map is much larger than the usual metagame map and has a series of contures and woods marked out: rather than hexes, movement is point to point. Soldiers also have limited jump capability which means they can fly over terrain or hover in mid-air which is great for spotting but does make you a target for everyone on the board!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5t3QJu4aJIWfVNrmfSa9_0U3dP3606g3VTS0GUU4zWIuD5xXcC92hc48DsyDU5b4pzzcw7ga5eDtwLlHMgBMykVjgvCDcNoxEFj0M-xq5zm5pRDrRWWJt-HEzAZ2hlvdHYb-hKqQj1xtmvGS3uB4Lb-CwJthpfGQxqgchvH37i8keTUs7wqZe60jexY/s4000/20231127_200511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5t3QJu4aJIWfVNrmfSa9_0U3dP3606g3VTS0GUU4zWIuD5xXcC92hc48DsyDU5b4pzzcw7ga5eDtwLlHMgBMykVjgvCDcNoxEFj0M-xq5zm5pRDrRWWJt-HEzAZ2hlvdHYb-hKqQj1xtmvGS3uB4Lb-CwJthpfGQxqgchvH37i8keTUs7wqZe60jexY/w400-h300/20231127_200511.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Soldiers come in a variety of levels of toughness and there is an option for unarmoured regular troops but I don't think they'd last long. There are also rules for drones which can help with targeting or can fire on targets. As each soldier moves all the opposition can target them with reaction fire once per turn which means a sacrificial trooper can be handy to draw out all the enemy fire before the rest of your force moves. Damage to battlesuits means they become progressively weaker and may have to deal with shock and panic when they're hit (one of Anthony's soldiers accidentally blew himself up in a panic when he was shot!!).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dfyPkorKFN48rNOzi8RpvfgF8rSTSkZrk7sdGBGzNYuMAggowqYCAq9Ol3ugdZ2Ouc9uiQfwTpydJWTnbGTlnbH9bxawZtVbAMZtIGHnqZmGjoAI3AIYeD7y2tFiCwnKbhU1t4wUdGhZi71mYg_13ZJGYQxblEKKdOZO2_vIH0CsyZxC9yRnAGSECn0/s1936/20231128_080334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1854" data-original-width="1936" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dfyPkorKFN48rNOzi8RpvfgF8rSTSkZrk7sdGBGzNYuMAggowqYCAq9Ol3ugdZ2Ouc9uiQfwTpydJWTnbGTlnbH9bxawZtVbAMZtIGHnqZmGjoAI3AIYeD7y2tFiCwnKbhU1t4wUdGhZi71mYg_13ZJGYQxblEKKdOZO2_vIH0CsyZxC9yRnAGSECn0/w400-h383/20231128_080334.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Finally soldiers can target the enemy, giving a bonus to shooting for themselves or colleagues.</p><p>So, how did it play out? We both initially advanced quite cautiously, trying to use cover and taking long-range pot-shots at each other. Some lucky dice rolling on my part caused some early damage to Anthony's troopers and we both knocked out our heavy weapon support early on. The timing of reaction fire proved crucial... use it all too soon and the enemy is then free to move around at will. </p><p>I eventually threw caution to the wind and had 2 suits hover in the air, risking being shot but giving them line of sight to the skulking enemy, and this proved decisive, quickly knocking out a couple more of Anthony's suits (in addition to the one have accidentally blew himself up!)</p><p>The verdict? It was a fairly simple but effective system which makes for a good evenings game. I've certainly played games with much more complicated reaction and targetting rules which didn't play nearly as well. The only thing we struggled with was establishing line of sight, mainly when soldiers were possibly in the lee of a hill. The rules include a strange system for working this out which involves plotting positions and heights on grid sheet (included in the rulebook). This seemed a bit daunting (I expected to have to do some trigonometry at one point) so we didn't use it but relied on common sense. In hindsight I think it wasn't as complex as I'd thought and we should have given it a go. </p><p>A good rule set given the simple metagame format... I think you do need to play it with someone who isn't too rules-lawyerish though (thankfully Anthony and I play in a much more easy-going style!) as the interruption reaction fire and LOS rules rely on mutually cooperative players I think!</p><p><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-19241823693424380022023-11-17T16:12:00.004+00:002023-11-17T16:13:25.691+00:00Strength & Honour<p>This week's game was a catch up with my friend Andrew and a chance to let him try Strength and Honour with my 10mm paper Romans and Germans.</p><p>It's been a while since I'd played these but I remembered that I need to cut down the forces on the table... it's always tempting to get everything out but it slowed us down too much last time. For this game the Romans had 2 Legions and 2 Auxilia and a single unit of cavalry. The Germans had 6 warbands, some of which were upgraded to Elite or Stubborn which I hoped would help.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNldA66-2aRhxENrg8xlytKjfN5kSuI_MshC4lZz8cUHIRi-jLvzJ58-FWHfeEgQePgcna-OSr8PKNw_gjAM44gSwi9z8GoV04wQH6Kgj78POKn6Q_lNLNGMqP1SY_6MrAm8gL87Ptw-5xxtufUtCswbTri8b57_rmBZ5MjO37OfNh0mwNn7kvmDC2rTg/s4000/20231113_195145.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNldA66-2aRhxENrg8xlytKjfN5kSuI_MshC4lZz8cUHIRi-jLvzJ58-FWHfeEgQePgcna-OSr8PKNw_gjAM44gSwi9z8GoV04wQH6Kgj78POKn6Q_lNLNGMqP1SY_6MrAm8gL87Ptw-5xxtufUtCswbTri8b57_rmBZ5MjO37OfNh0mwNn7kvmDC2rTg/w400-h300/20231113_195145.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8JabGXyx5W9ZY_Wg5J7D6awDHOXloZ0Da4nmVKxJMyjLaK1K8Xy75EOairDH-PmC83De_gdJbBpX0Bq4NArGDGzbpN3nFlf1q0ZDrOPu6LUX9JtPqktYb35RbTn2sVWktVswtFOdKQcmGDDzqeHwJCmOgsBlcH-7uvLAn242ukkea1vwCHyAOfCBvXo/s4000/20231113_195206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8JabGXyx5W9ZY_Wg5J7D6awDHOXloZ0Da4nmVKxJMyjLaK1K8Xy75EOairDH-PmC83De_gdJbBpX0Bq4NArGDGzbpN3nFlf1q0ZDrOPu6LUX9JtPqktYb35RbTn2sVWktVswtFOdKQcmGDDzqeHwJCmOgsBlcH-7uvLAn242ukkea1vwCHyAOfCBvXo/w400-h300/20231113_195206.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>There wasn't a lot of subtlety to this game. The Germans charged forward with the right flank leading the way and pulling ahead of the other warbands. The Romans decided to sit tight and let the warbands come to them, especially as one of the legions had the advantage of a hill to sit on. The warbands have the advantage of gaining a bonus for charging and for rear support, which was largely cancelled by the Romans being uphill and there followed a tight tussle with legions and warbands being pushed back and forth... gradually the Setback cards were beginning to mount on the German side. The Romans were proving a bit too robust and able to hold off the charges. </p><p>Once enough cards have been acquired (without knowing the values on them) each player can call "Homunculus Est" and ask for the total to be counted. If it has reached the army breakpoint then the game is over or the army may become fatigued (calling it at the wrong time can be a bad thing for the challenging player though). Andrew was becoming very tempted to call, but decided to go for one more round of combat. A wise move as my Elite Bodyguard was charged in the flank by the Roman cavalry and then driven back by the stalwart legion on the hill, and more seriously, my Commander was badly injured and had to leave the field resulting in a Disaster card which added even more points to my tally. Sure enough the Germans decided that they'd had enough, leaving the Romans a little battered but very definitely in command of the field.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0VEh8DuBegkw0wKqJJB31WLfI6_pmy_ZiSqV3dA6r33UmddLbm5EynUDBCow8UOhRt49cAueX_XaIXMxOp4Oqvj-Yko8FEcT_wTADxP6YH4y07ujpMfj3Ix2UKLp9KMp4fpgtSUBvBvIgHyQ7VZDJEULDtNTRdnoh4no664xFFVT9CZAhsegdkXYvXU/s4000/20231113_200051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0VEh8DuBegkw0wKqJJB31WLfI6_pmy_ZiSqV3dA6r33UmddLbm5EynUDBCow8UOhRt49cAueX_XaIXMxOp4Oqvj-Yko8FEcT_wTADxP6YH4y07ujpMfj3Ix2UKLp9KMp4fpgtSUBvBvIgHyQ7VZDJEULDtNTRdnoh4no664xFFVT9CZAhsegdkXYvXU/w400-h300/20231113_200051.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>S&H is quite abstracted... units don't become weakened by combat but become disordered or rout and the effect of combat is felt at an army level rather than by individual units. For me this feels right when each unit is a massive warband or a Legion but I think Andrew found it a little too abstracted. </p><p>I have my recent order of cavalry to build my Parthian/Sassanid army in 2mm which should give quite a different experience I think.</p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-78903380208823929712023-11-12T09:32:00.004+00:002023-11-12T11:27:39.911+00:00Warfare 2023<p>Off to Warfare yesterday afternoon. Since it relocated to Farnborough, it's a much easier drive to get there despite the challenges of roadworks.</p><p>The show is spread over 2 days and hosts a lot of competition games as well as a decent spread of traders and demo/participation games. I didn't arrive till the afternoon and it didn't feel overly busy but that might be a reflection of the space and timing.</p><p>I picked up an order of more 2mm figures from Warbases and have succumbed to the power of a freebie and picked up some of the Warlord Games 'Epic' ECW range. I got my free on in a copy of WI and some friends have kindly given me their sprues that they weren't going to use, so I've been caught, hook, line and sinker by the Warlord Games marketing strategy!</p><p>The games on display ranged from ok (it was interesting to see a few that opted for a much simpler terrain set up than the usual <i>show standard</i>) to some really excellent games.. a special mention for the Guildford Wargames Club's 1940 game with some very accurate local terrain (admittedly I'm a bit biased as they're my old club and it was nice to see some of the guys from the club)</p><p>Some photos... I didn't take a huge amount and apologies to the clubs where I haven't remembered who was who!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCaGrS9n7fWne9PTEDum5UeA6z4CAHwwAyjpkfXlyiRRHNu6J4KjWjGcAlRJuIrDNuGZCw1nblM53BUCrMEq9Op-LX5OeauV8kDI_c6u15LsPAeMHxNIT_oVgMFonpR9Q0TzSoepI6cg7UfKDBynFbSYrbAt18k6BdHoMqKbc23lZkumlj-i1s0KSZTk/s4000/20231111_140346.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYCaGrS9n7fWne9PTEDum5UeA6z4CAHwwAyjpkfXlyiRRHNu6J4KjWjGcAlRJuIrDNuGZCw1nblM53BUCrMEq9Op-LX5OeauV8kDI_c6u15LsPAeMHxNIT_oVgMFonpR9Q0TzSoepI6cg7UfKDBynFbSYrbAt18k6BdHoMqKbc23lZkumlj-i1s0KSZTk/w400-h300/20231111_140346.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excellent Isandlwana game by "Combined Oppos"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzB_E6R7XbK8x9j9diZgDhYgLo2yzUMmJ47_GJYHqVZ0DSKLZvyw1GgiLYQWx2rztKg-pghRMvj_RPEKGgoqyZmz7ng6UgoXfFudjKjKVBOZJdLYEhnpo7DHmsP3Q9Y7dbvR7V9DWgDUhZz2bZAdTeR9sYG04hu-xGQ_dXkndXocxpGd3IQJNFos_Uys/s4000/20231111_141809.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzB_E6R7XbK8x9j9diZgDhYgLo2yzUMmJ47_GJYHqVZ0DSKLZvyw1GgiLYQWx2rztKg-pghRMvj_RPEKGgoqyZmz7ng6UgoXfFudjKjKVBOZJdLYEhnpo7DHmsP3Q9Y7dbvR7V9DWgDUhZz2bZAdTeR9sYG04hu-xGQ_dXkndXocxpGd3IQJNFos_Uys/w400-h300/20231111_141809.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dornier Down by Shepway Wargamers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikrFv2vrWrVjmZbzOnSQwjpjHrkarZJs7Fp-AD1TNDveSC1sABww0ru1o31JoaAEIUx3ihlgd61HApblGsakRAQQ1QmgNP_ddhKCxmzpmnINJ609u_ISpJ7pYf37ETRY3YeFtwuAR14EcImNR0h74BJtDsTaKYoxsDkXLsH4IRevwVXW8HL4q6PW9FLTk/s4000/20231111_141814.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikrFv2vrWrVjmZbzOnSQwjpjHrkarZJs7Fp-AD1TNDveSC1sABww0ru1o31JoaAEIUx3ihlgd61HApblGsakRAQQ1QmgNP_ddhKCxmzpmnINJ609u_ISpJ7pYf37ETRY3YeFtwuAR14EcImNR0h74BJtDsTaKYoxsDkXLsH4IRevwVXW8HL4q6PW9FLTk/w400-h300/20231111_141814.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-XDtfXUKxiY4-R4jFiaBsuq_VjkfnpNOCCSYsE3DWAxRkMG0hUAEWxsPqPRtvxk0XXIkigUrSFwvGLcswnv2cGBCk90wSE7mgosJ0jYZ-6459U1t2UrRy9HBqchD2x8_fW02d81v4X3Sf2RyyC5rSqAS0XwHr7J_E1frxrr46z9jPrFPMOVk5h_QCyI/s4000/20231111_141821.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-XDtfXUKxiY4-R4jFiaBsuq_VjkfnpNOCCSYsE3DWAxRkMG0hUAEWxsPqPRtvxk0XXIkigUrSFwvGLcswnv2cGBCk90wSE7mgosJ0jYZ-6459U1t2UrRy9HBqchD2x8_fW02d81v4X3Sf2RyyC5rSqAS0XwHr7J_E1frxrr46z9jPrFPMOVk5h_QCyI/w400-h300/20231111_141821.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoviMyTasbOQ26I2vZN7uHqsPpCp7RQ9sULgr2AzJnh-FcObOVEfxtmNjBWc3BpHV0cLZu0z7TfegbP6si3emqtQ__ceLIyyvga1GRfKd5-OtwQmqUbLMckasriSNeVHbyZ41OIwktD4UCfQ0o5QejCRCKr6noK0xNerhf1u1JEaeAzSNaH4Ua-IGHTUM/s4000/20231111_141824.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoviMyTasbOQ26I2vZN7uHqsPpCp7RQ9sULgr2AzJnh-FcObOVEfxtmNjBWc3BpHV0cLZu0z7TfegbP6si3emqtQ__ceLIyyvga1GRfKd5-OtwQmqUbLMckasriSNeVHbyZ41OIwktD4UCfQ0o5QejCRCKr6noK0xNerhf1u1JEaeAzSNaH4Ua-IGHTUM/w400-h300/20231111_141824.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefM-uJHTfQ1GuR27TwMB9VhJvwaFUftJsX8W1fsgBHMsHIgolERl7Xe7pt3JtpWBUAlrSvQIs9cXHUYWk1-gU9XAtbNHjG7GgAsLAwtmQPojyPIl1b-mFHWElm2hzdKtO0RBSPII6txSYyct7R34UzZ2Lx_EG3bpJkaFrsdu9NrzzNAi3m3UuDhUuL2g/s3855/20231111_141832.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2422" data-original-width="3855" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefM-uJHTfQ1GuR27TwMB9VhJvwaFUftJsX8W1fsgBHMsHIgolERl7Xe7pt3JtpWBUAlrSvQIs9cXHUYWk1-gU9XAtbNHjG7GgAsLAwtmQPojyPIl1b-mFHWElm2hzdKtO0RBSPII6txSYyct7R34UzZ2Lx_EG3bpJkaFrsdu9NrzzNAi3m3UuDhUuL2g/w400-h251/20231111_141832.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hex-Wing... ECW witches on broomsticks. Sorry, I don't know who out this on but it seemed popular</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8rHwbYJaB9LHm6l8ZN06zzliJ7uS-TussKvmmoTN8l9wnwQnEp8MHD7sDeTpe9MhMPrTVedNWtuUx2cxo26l1dmoPL3uI07TzeOZovAJTytBP806r3NYftr-2VmKEINQ32c3AcZUCX72hzeXgwZ9pwDJqLNUIzvh8em5UZKN7koNh28ioi_RqD9y0qg/s4000/20231111_142933.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8rHwbYJaB9LHm6l8ZN06zzliJ7uS-TussKvmmoTN8l9wnwQnEp8MHD7sDeTpe9MhMPrTVedNWtuUx2cxo26l1dmoPL3uI07TzeOZovAJTytBP806r3NYftr-2VmKEINQ32c3AcZUCX72hzeXgwZ9pwDJqLNUIzvh8em5UZKN7koNh28ioi_RqD9y0qg/w400-h300/20231111_142933.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The excellent Guildford 1940 game... really nice terrain</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx_VC3xHAuDM7exITlEHuZnsrjPbtb-HUvp3eX08ICamk1w_oJRiHElr5-IatqQjtNKepeVoHAgQfnwmvG8ZFSiP3cNfHDc8_nBVqbx0dVjM9sVlWp4tqbHfYJ30vK2xYIru_asUXLQC9bX5hxSDY7yCQKXTllhYzz6NRR5lipIWZqChAxxfYXxatsLI/s4000/20231111_142944.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx_VC3xHAuDM7exITlEHuZnsrjPbtb-HUvp3eX08ICamk1w_oJRiHElr5-IatqQjtNKepeVoHAgQfnwmvG8ZFSiP3cNfHDc8_nBVqbx0dVjM9sVlWp4tqbHfYJ30vK2xYIru_asUXLQC9bX5hxSDY7yCQKXTllhYzz6NRR5lipIWZqChAxxfYXxatsLI/w400-h300/20231111_142944.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZZYO4OSYbCUAhohn72d776E0oyLVHN1n1D7xenDkVttjEEHg97VBhSm3SQP2kxkfEvPGxMPJKfMKXvyDYhyphenhyphenz-S0RCs5mYiWktaqMPEv84O_1RalybJLbfWrDSAsmYQbj3P8x9TUispQLHfJ28nf-wFbrs4cdCzEGmOyifU9OoPEuEJUaS1hONs8Vpr4/s4000/20231111_143729.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZZYO4OSYbCUAhohn72d776E0oyLVHN1n1D7xenDkVttjEEHg97VBhSm3SQP2kxkfEvPGxMPJKfMKXvyDYhyphenhyphenz-S0RCs5mYiWktaqMPEv84O_1RalybJLbfWrDSAsmYQbj3P8x9TUispQLHfJ28nf-wFbrs4cdCzEGmOyifU9OoPEuEJUaS1hONs8Vpr4/w400-h300/20231111_143729.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something Vietnamy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcObDhwb50LeZpE5qeyztQMEKTX6SEhyQ0w-u6jmXmheuPKvwf3g0uCJ5IpgKYXRIk8yB368xEmGq3GuwXTW06uRHcG8BHPeqXtelN0iPfgXiV2Rb893_lYR3a7ImuBhAoFZzQ3P5jmtdY2d-rBTFn-wBG7om4U5z4xQYEz9Pnc0vo9TtHbzSGYyS46M8/s4000/20231111_143737.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcObDhwb50LeZpE5qeyztQMEKTX6SEhyQ0w-u6jmXmheuPKvwf3g0uCJ5IpgKYXRIk8yB368xEmGq3GuwXTW06uRHcG8BHPeqXtelN0iPfgXiV2Rb893_lYR3a7ImuBhAoFZzQ3P5jmtdY2d-rBTFn-wBG7om4U5z4xQYEz9Pnc0vo9TtHbzSGYyS46M8/w400-h300/20231111_143737.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""source sans pro", helveticaneue-light, "helvetica neue light", "helvetica neue", Helvetica, Arial, "lucida grande", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #6d6d6d; text-align: start;">Palestine 1938 by Deal Wargames society (I think)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kacGsxfavYl7FcqAP3CzySBc-7-Ij8o57ZdFDPPL0o4wQ8Nts4Ax7HqPKt0cnVC7U303Jeme8M7BfoNPYEmM_PHccRgNG1g5sYM-rxczQv0FSianwzGNdEvNExiB5GzRZ3M5TMefBld0krw9Dw0bmd0iF6VJgYwwlIG-wdGbaoGZLY_p4gPj2OEP7CQ/s4000/20231111_143814.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kacGsxfavYl7FcqAP3CzySBc-7-Ij8o57ZdFDPPL0o4wQ8Nts4Ax7HqPKt0cnVC7U303Jeme8M7BfoNPYEmM_PHccRgNG1g5sYM-rxczQv0FSianwzGNdEvNExiB5GzRZ3M5TMefBld0krw9Dw0bmd0iF6VJgYwwlIG-wdGbaoGZLY_p4gPj2OEP7CQ/w400-h300/20231111_143814.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delhi 1803 by Crawley Wargames Club</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm32crM-8laa-mq2tT3NWi_PAPJo6vZMoQmogCWnzublPEdT5rT7DEh3mJBkSqxlCao4FrUTglSvFa2qDIcw0h7D2Gz23SdTgYlHit4oSO8ouG0_VhYtSlCDQv7on1z8lUQru0qApJPo4FxIGX3g6AURaEiugP9TRgquV3i_V0bp4cK5Pr5wkWMcMlY08/s4000/20231111_151358.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm32crM-8laa-mq2tT3NWi_PAPJo6vZMoQmogCWnzublPEdT5rT7DEh3mJBkSqxlCao4FrUTglSvFa2qDIcw0h7D2Gz23SdTgYlHit4oSO8ouG0_VhYtSlCDQv7on1z8lUQru0qApJPo4FxIGX3g6AURaEiugP9TRgquV3i_V0bp4cK5Pr5wkWMcMlY08/w400-h300/20231111_151358.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ulundi by The Three Musketeers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GTKKK61KIVIq-ToAB5_ObyGAWzwSOqz2aka13oHK2UvGleHW90dEdM2heSMV4fw7DOm-y4k7Oij6rGVXYql_jzvEvnDWU5XBCEBifPi1wWtgsV6UfXhl8wTJS1XxjH7NYPszrPWD1oR8oiHZu4w4ZxS2xBdBUyxcXinH5fPemBMIi0HtZZjCEC7eBFY/s4000/20231111_151401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0GTKKK61KIVIq-ToAB5_ObyGAWzwSOqz2aka13oHK2UvGleHW90dEdM2heSMV4fw7DOm-y4k7Oij6rGVXYql_jzvEvnDWU5XBCEBifPi1wWtgsV6UfXhl8wTJS1XxjH7NYPszrPWD1oR8oiHZu4w4ZxS2xBdBUyxcXinH5fPemBMIi0HtZZjCEC7eBFY/w400-h300/20231111_151401.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-46791393086674217072023-11-05T13:23:00.006+00:002023-11-05T13:24:28.209+00:00Battlesuit-solo play<p>Off on a very short trip back home, up and down to Glasgow to visit family</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjV8ooYtYreB0q-1aqxT6XoHt74HrhHyDaahfsd1HQ0v1UNiqic9B1piHbjt4MFCgE0Cfdj3qlYBIFbfUz5C0OM-x5ZWw6Otkvs9mj01NmvtTlPPFQoAc8RuV9MnCaMqy9GTeIpthbYV0pwHygrK5LhouflBsSTYWgpMpySkSreGzJL0j1WOkZTFCTkM/s3442/20231105_115723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2197" data-original-width="3442" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjV8ooYtYreB0q-1aqxT6XoHt74HrhHyDaahfsd1HQ0v1UNiqic9B1piHbjt4MFCgE0Cfdj3qlYBIFbfUz5C0OM-x5ZWw6Otkvs9mj01NmvtTlPPFQoAc8RuV9MnCaMqy9GTeIpthbYV0pwHygrK5LhouflBsSTYWgpMpySkSreGzJL0j1WOkZTFCTkM/w400-h255/20231105_115723.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Since I was mostly on my own I decided to try out my recent purchase of the old Metagame Battlesuit which I'd picked up at Colours</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4kQtFSWlCrRznnBfpFMy3epqWDEPwhV_ofRz1tsrpGxEwCLPdhFjjQryDCpTFRLsbuC7WeLRgkGC8q2P2HxJQt2-q1oBmhyphenhyphenTJ-bkUlgINkapCPgy9ZE7Hr-rLHJSk71iIAWaaVcAK57_-I6v8Pm9c3q5UcpDj4-jjXOZrPSCZNFjXHGVOVrO66XImKA/s3957/20231104_121027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3957" data-original-width="2458" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd4kQtFSWlCrRznnBfpFMy3epqWDEPwhV_ofRz1tsrpGxEwCLPdhFjjQryDCpTFRLsbuC7WeLRgkGC8q2P2HxJQt2-q1oBmhyphenhyphenTJ-bkUlgINkapCPgy9ZE7Hr-rLHJSk71iIAWaaVcAK57_-I6v8Pm9c3q5UcpDj4-jjXOZrPSCZNFjXHGVOVrO66XImKA/w249-h400/20231104_121027.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ACZnrINckC3Gb5l85_tctrSpSxUfit7Sx0syEkyukkgPL2frYVo7JzXRtzqf5Ida3NC_i3M2KToJcQ4DKI3XBi_R6RqACBvShNE-TQgC2lKA_G2zYF6pBd4VK0f2iw64VCBGxP8eTAzbPvPgDf29g0IytZyQSsokqYJW48d9jF8gfckcyR7xTZMv6jQ/s3820/20231104_121037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3820" data-original-width="2220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ACZnrINckC3Gb5l85_tctrSpSxUfit7Sx0syEkyukkgPL2frYVo7JzXRtzqf5Ida3NC_i3M2KToJcQ4DKI3XBi_R6RqACBvShNE-TQgC2lKA_G2zYF6pBd4VK0f2iw64VCBGxP8eTAzbPvPgDf29g0IytZyQSsokqYJW48d9jF8gfckcyR7xTZMv6jQ/w233-h400/20231104_121037.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnFxntBXG5ZlJEjAfncjVZHv-FyBzOtFrxyLzZLa7DnsfUN5Y-fmAvWdzBnekrnR6sF22dhGazd_GZBUkKmQvgfoWb9eMvV7RhSczWI3M12tjz6qJcL-FFHTgCIXVyUwsIVkRV085zr4yyeS33u8aHqwkBxO5m728GWdgk1eXu0nqziks8Ui_9kZCoEag/s3969/20231104_112803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2852" data-original-width="3969" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnFxntBXG5ZlJEjAfncjVZHv-FyBzOtFrxyLzZLa7DnsfUN5Y-fmAvWdzBnekrnR6sF22dhGazd_GZBUkKmQvgfoWb9eMvV7RhSczWI3M12tjz6qJcL-FFHTgCIXVyUwsIVkRV085zr4yyeS33u8aHqwkBxO5m728GWdgk1eXu0nqziks8Ui_9kZCoEag/w400-h288/20231104_112803.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>It's an interesting skirmish game... not too complex but with some interesting reaction fire rules. Since it was a first playthrough I made a few mistakes (misreading the CRT in a couple of places) but I can see the game has some good potential. Definitely worth a replay, perhaps using my 15mm Laserburn figures which would look the part and wouldn't be out of scale on the map</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi951xDi58TsX-XrbuiawscPXY-yRJTH5_XU4g-UZAtyhtCHXWxpQHByRMQ4nLckD6SlwBvE6Qjyma9UAxzeL_DwA-yXmF8cpSPpYciVEVGnhk9js68Lk9-2R9CfosIY8COZWvntOEHamvbnMFJIp4Jj6hw8OeBSHfrZEdNFI3THHvdQ4qEm4syPU3l0So/s3082/20231102_164844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3082" data-original-width="1969" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi951xDi58TsX-XrbuiawscPXY-yRJTH5_XU4g-UZAtyhtCHXWxpQHByRMQ4nLckD6SlwBvE6Qjyma9UAxzeL_DwA-yXmF8cpSPpYciVEVGnhk9js68Lk9-2R9CfosIY8COZWvntOEHamvbnMFJIp4Jj6hw8OeBSHfrZEdNFI3THHvdQ4qEm4syPU3l0So/w255-h400/20231102_164844.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbBolcsuNQPnVe4zbH6snpX1nsBVQAeNer59oxcEIKu7HQ9ha5TlqiEIn34dryl1Tu5f-C_5zJaH99WVo2gGW5BuQYiWkKt_YZkSrjgKX3IX9A0fiCOv1wc3CobsHPvT9Y3dapR38rzLyZHKCOVDY5TiOu2Y_QNDCESH_SxlmP65e8J7Bx8EV62q0MbM/s3281/20231102_164850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3281" data-original-width="2109" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbBolcsuNQPnVe4zbH6snpX1nsBVQAeNer59oxcEIKu7HQ9ha5TlqiEIn34dryl1Tu5f-C_5zJaH99WVo2gGW5BuQYiWkKt_YZkSrjgKX3IX9A0fiCOv1wc3CobsHPvT9Y3dapR38rzLyZHKCOVDY5TiOu2Y_QNDCESH_SxlmP65e8J7Bx8EV62q0MbM/w258-h400/20231102_164850.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybj0lJIb4H6OZCC1glxEX2fuMx9z2feCeK90GGKLFKlXaXBArqL5RUPIZPIQ9toYysP3vu8XsQqVR6qReSPkPwxILk-Sitf9NRdiX_wE1OLA281TLV2SrlLIRKnII4ElGW1B9vDiPQoCo4NaCKNIQYeVbECOAt6PfY3fZwH87_3W8FBW52qqMDLGJSQk/s2351/20231102_165006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1630" data-original-width="2351" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybj0lJIb4H6OZCC1glxEX2fuMx9z2feCeK90GGKLFKlXaXBArqL5RUPIZPIQ9toYysP3vu8XsQqVR6qReSPkPwxILk-Sitf9NRdiX_wE1OLA281TLV2SrlLIRKnII4ElGW1B9vDiPQoCo4NaCKNIQYeVbECOAt6PfY3fZwH87_3W8FBW52qqMDLGJSQk/w400-h278/20231102_165006.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5faUaYwKwa_bzLiMIn7LVsX7bpdnBvyL3ImbxWlMDicXBsV8xgXlQ5kTf-ePk-UcjUoO_PwqGyDZbzVnvFAXnI7ftMQIKcfHJgS0meU-Vzz9cSBon4p069mNmFlwUwAmcN1sEce-bdc1sOrTNhU4FWAsTfNuVEb5g1aYi-Qji_TMGlEjmc4YOEurBs_k/s3281/20231102_165023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2091" data-original-width="3281" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5faUaYwKwa_bzLiMIn7LVsX7bpdnBvyL3ImbxWlMDicXBsV8xgXlQ5kTf-ePk-UcjUoO_PwqGyDZbzVnvFAXnI7ftMQIKcfHJgS0meU-Vzz9cSBon4p069mNmFlwUwAmcN1sEce-bdc1sOrTNhU4FWAsTfNuVEb5g1aYi-Qji_TMGlEjmc4YOEurBs_k/w400-h255/20231102_165023.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>I also had a chance to look through my latest Metagame nostalgia-acquisition, Olympica. This isn't one I'd come across before but has some interesting mechanics with one side being able to use tunnels for shelter/movement and being able to 'compel' the enemy and reposition them. I find the compact format and design of these games makes for some interesting design features... they don't always work but the success rate is pretty good.</p><p><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-30789129047052034482023-10-28T16:20:00.005+01:002023-10-28T16:21:03.618+01:00More 2mm Romans<p> I've completed my 2mm Roman army. I say completed... I still need to add some skirmishers and it'll be tempting to add more infantry but there are enough here for a decent force in Strength & Honour: 3 Legions, 2 Auxilia and 2 Cavalry.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7EEdVC_QSf1YhnD7QGPQrEVu0LOuwfKTVpQDucBwtvBNiapONSsBoFmH8PVrfnGkBAKsy3_FRvXe5Cz-coRqj4GN0dQ3wGfHqHSOQq6koMJb5rLwrEMideqKp7AbjbqNG0ut5x9ohAlDew2ExcSzBHck3lWt_nCS1BkGRmQMbUiD1oLsda5hGhgN5Hj8/s4000/20231028_153017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7EEdVC_QSf1YhnD7QGPQrEVu0LOuwfKTVpQDucBwtvBNiapONSsBoFmH8PVrfnGkBAKsy3_FRvXe5Cz-coRqj4GN0dQ3wGfHqHSOQq6koMJb5rLwrEMideqKp7AbjbqNG0ut5x9ohAlDew2ExcSzBHck3lWt_nCS1BkGRmQMbUiD1oLsda5hGhgN5Hj8/w400-h300/20231028_153017.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7b8z9_eLE9T9W_sd8ewUsqqYo3AU2Njs-97gX4Q6ieORKrbEADPOJ0xdJ-ua3R93j4e1v5WAt2WYAOPU3dYOtsGZOfhOz71UPknFCh5FAOHYjCSNV0grElB7N5yPit29i-H-uwDMnBfSacryYuG5fNZAO1Djk6LwJTC-mxcqxAs6L4qNey8k3TaeRbc/s4000/20231028_153102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7b8z9_eLE9T9W_sd8ewUsqqYo3AU2Njs-97gX4Q6ieORKrbEADPOJ0xdJ-ua3R93j4e1v5WAt2WYAOPU3dYOtsGZOfhOz71UPknFCh5FAOHYjCSNV0grElB7N5yPit29i-H-uwDMnBfSacryYuG5fNZAO1Djk6LwJTC-mxcqxAs6L4qNey8k3TaeRbc/w400-h300/20231028_153102.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>The figures look really effective en masse and have been really nice to paint. Next, on to the Parthians...</p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-64390011241305066382023-10-20T08:19:00.002+01:002023-10-20T09:07:06.412+01:00First attempts at 2mm<p>I've been increasingly tempted to have a go at painting up some 2mm armies... not sure why but there's something impressive about seeing an army that looks like <i>an army</i>. I blame seeing Mark Backhouse's demo games for Strength and Honour.</p><p>Last month I picked up an order from Warbases when I was at Colours. These are from the excellent Antonine Miniatures range. I'd also looked at Irregular Miniatures... their figures are based on smaller stands whereas the AM figures come in blocks. I'll probably get some Irregular at some point to see how they compare.</p><p>Since I already had some 10mm paper Romans and Celts, I decided to go for a different theatre and have headed out East. My plan is to build Roman and Sassanid/Parthian armies... can you tell I've been reading the excellent Harry Sidebottom books!!</p><p>Anyway, here are my first couple of efforts...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqWWaTpxRIzjDA4DNSpiLW7ib7F81-Sus5VWMOSJOcy1eJB2uHQQ-qi8aQT2IMT4GQsSIgM5cfgnQwWQJFzpPSzAent4tapo6l-oLVAqQGc05XVWwoFkV8ap2DwwgioCfwhd-1P2gR8bZilOV6EkUY5L2QKSTmkKW4GZGjbseV76h8MzWfZUQ7l6j3cc/s2894/20231019_235509.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1803" data-original-width="2894" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqWWaTpxRIzjDA4DNSpiLW7ib7F81-Sus5VWMOSJOcy1eJB2uHQQ-qi8aQT2IMT4GQsSIgM5cfgnQwWQJFzpPSzAent4tapo6l-oLVAqQGc05XVWwoFkV8ap2DwwgioCfwhd-1P2gR8bZilOV6EkUY5L2QKSTmkKW4GZGjbseV76h8MzWfZUQ7l6j3cc/w400-h249/20231019_235509.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legionaries </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzWqVPqbBYUY5bzg3YqmbLYZIZlpz-ZW5xja65XCEMWHq9ppz1E85nAvuu52AXE78_mrIjv2g-fqOIqAeEZEL3G05DupYl3Fc0DoUyjd4umxl-nZqXu47JvnnTxhCREM6ViJ9TdtJcUvi7hNPAvPSJ5sR3YWWSk4MqjN34ZIwPF6SMkiUbRHBCtYifV4/s2869/20231019_235527.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1783" data-original-width="2869" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqzWqVPqbBYUY5bzg3YqmbLYZIZlpz-ZW5xja65XCEMWHq9ppz1E85nAvuu52AXE78_mrIjv2g-fqOIqAeEZEL3G05DupYl3Fc0DoUyjd4umxl-nZqXu47JvnnTxhCREM6ViJ9TdtJcUvi7hNPAvPSJ5sR3YWWSk4MqjN34ZIwPF6SMkiUbRHBCtYifV4/w400-h249/20231019_235527.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cavalry</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">I've enjoyed painting these and they look impressive en masse. A handy tip on the 2mm wargames FB group (and from Mr Backhouse) was to invest in some paint pens and these have been really useful, especially on the infantry. I have some Auxilia to paint next and then it's on to the Eastern Horsies</p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-64268660370779619332023-10-07T20:44:00.003+01:002023-10-07T20:44:39.041+01:00Star Trek Away Missions<p> A chance to try out a new game last week... Star Trek Away Missions. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjcQJ8j7l-PBOYlPWFRBdVKb4yl6I9x6GNddwEwIOJW_LBEr9tngH01_WvY6fg7oBqLSvKgjzXpidJ2dkbnxBYSH2st9LZgokqCICCFnlYoHZHB9RAEJ3qEtuxt3jjIh-C5aZKPDaOf58TuMv8sbLxHpSlnu-25ZsX23cHo-m4C5H7bMl5bxq1qttgAE/s246/pic7537925.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="246" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHjcQJ8j7l-PBOYlPWFRBdVKb4yl6I9x6GNddwEwIOJW_LBEr9tngH01_WvY6fg7oBqLSvKgjzXpidJ2dkbnxBYSH2st9LZgokqCICCFnlYoHZHB9RAEJ3qEtuxt3jjIh-C5aZKPDaOf58TuMv8sbLxHpSlnu-25ZsX23cHo-m4C5H7bMl5bxq1qttgAE/w400-h398/pic7537925.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>This pits small squads against each other inside a spaceship after the Battle of Wolf 359 (I have to confess I had no idea what this was!). There are various expansions but we had Federation vs Borg. Each side has different objectives which felt very Trek... the Borg were attempting to take control of various systems in the ship, and of course assimilating enemy crew members. The Federation were (I think) trying to repair various systems. It felt like it would be possible for both sides to score points without necessarily coming into lots of conflict.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GtX_FpPpv8YQ2zYq8lkdCpI48VglOcZoH9UqqpA6V4xOl_nf7g29eMgBJENShTVCWEnnB_QmLiRHPbNt_b8AsW8JUUOyYBSIc08i47FW_fhUHltoLQ-_AwntoRe_zXduiFCi-ZTVUL9Nqqg0O_ssDP7RxuuvmKdtW9NIuKX5TiGbwyjZgMgQOallzP4/s4000/20230926_194702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GtX_FpPpv8YQ2zYq8lkdCpI48VglOcZoH9UqqpA6V4xOl_nf7g29eMgBJENShTVCWEnnB_QmLiRHPbNt_b8AsW8JUUOyYBSIc08i47FW_fhUHltoLQ-_AwntoRe_zXduiFCi-ZTVUL9Nqqg0O_ssDP7RxuuvmKdtW9NIuKX5TiGbwyjZgMgQOallzP4/w400-h300/20230926_194702.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Visually it reminded me a lot of games like Imperial Assault or the Wizards of the Coast collectible Star Wars game. There were 2 different decks of cards to keep track of, some of which allowed interrupt actions and some giving upgrades and weapons. These also contained scoring opportunities. It was a bit tricky keeping track of all of these but that was more to do with my simple brain than the game itself.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhU55j31Qc3TKrGc-dvykrdJqLNcIdXgcDN-ZfvNbUtpHFCds9PeY8br-wHiaRRzygz4h-p-jhrHlkG9MzjW_J0uYC89R4SBSOIF5FBCD5gc52KyA65lCHVFvFD2OTnLdqEDO-Urb0UZWiuBlcijWoKVlz53kJy7smYd3rCk-M-6V7DBwBYf8y1G_5es/s4000/20230926_194708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhU55j31Qc3TKrGc-dvykrdJqLNcIdXgcDN-ZfvNbUtpHFCds9PeY8br-wHiaRRzygz4h-p-jhrHlkG9MzjW_J0uYC89R4SBSOIF5FBCD5gc52KyA65lCHVFvFD2OTnLdqEDO-Urb0UZWiuBlcijWoKVlz53kJy7smYd3rCk-M-6V7DBwBYf8y1G_5es/w400-h300/20230926_194708.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Good fun and a close result. My only reservation is the limited range of scenario settings. Although the victory conditions and the configuration of the map vary, the games are all set on the same ship which felt a little limiting and maybe a missed opportunity (unless, of course, there are future expansions on the way for this)</p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-90882197674014030442023-09-21T16:55:00.000+01:002023-09-21T16:55:45.991+01:00Black Seas: first try out<p> I had a long overdue game with my friend Andrew last week and we decided to dig out my Napoleonic ships. <i>A while ago... actually nearly 4 years ago!! </i> I painted and rigged some of the Warlord Games ships that they produced for Black Seas. These were mainly the freebie Frigates and Brigs that came with Wargames Illustrated but I'd added a few 3rd rate ships to bolster my fleet</p><p>Their last outing was about 3 years ago (I'm always amazed how time flies by... I'd assumed it was much more recent) when we tried out Post Captain. These are a very detailed set of rules from ODGW who produce General Quarters. I liked the rules but they are <i>very</i> detailed and not to everyone's taste. A while ago I managed to pick up a very cheap starter set of Black Seas but hadn't had a chance to try them out. So, it was time to hoist the sails, splice the mainbrace and swab a deck or 2.</p><p>I think naval rules are difficult to get right... either you go for a very detailed, granular approach like Post Captain, or a simplified but playable approach (and risk oversimplifying things and losing the flavour of the period). A simpler approach is very much what Black Seas does. It's very like the WW2 game Cruel Seas with ships making 1, 2 or 3 moves depending on their speed with simple turning and tacking rules. Speed is dependent on your angle to the wind and is indicated by a wake marker that sits under the model in a simple but effective way.</p><p>We went for an easy starter game with a Frigate and a Brig each and didn't add in the range of optional rules which are included... apart from fire, because setting a ship on fire is always fun!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhbQ1qGe6MQ3wa4u5Prnsiu6t8tbyM2vOyHHslHrk8bBrm5wRqrWAZ4y5UZScFFrovCYqWYF6KuPt9aKxDpeDiygGA4zem5YaBNTTZGXvqMPZ_avW6gLFzW8iO5NBvBLzm9XkdtL7Lu_hwIVlCA4bOXswvo9J43HC-IVLtcBXWsL0vI0sLviiyuqIoUk/s2486/20230913_194835.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1989" data-original-width="2486" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhbQ1qGe6MQ3wa4u5Prnsiu6t8tbyM2vOyHHslHrk8bBrm5wRqrWAZ4y5UZScFFrovCYqWYF6KuPt9aKxDpeDiygGA4zem5YaBNTTZGXvqMPZ_avW6gLFzW8iO5NBvBLzm9XkdtL7Lu_hwIVlCA4bOXswvo9J43HC-IVLtcBXWsL0vI0sLviiyuqIoUk/w400-h320/20230913_194835.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">In the first couple of turns I was able to concentrate both my ships fire on Andrew's unlucky Brig which took a battering and quickly struck its colours. We made a mistake about when to test for morale here so it surrendered more quickly than it should have but we kept this consistent for the rest of the game so it didn't make a huge difference.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU29FHbRHt9vSq1idwNpx_NHz0UbfLM3_STpUtd_0A-EMOJA6a0fOkeOgKh8Pbd_yXhKPKUiAw2P32WncoH0-IyRUqm--9wHZD4LwL100lG1ZHA8-_SZejwVLFKuRJAbQO0GDBpfuojFICgKFck4urG-Gs6SJ3E8W9RNJd3pL6X7L2KGsZ_QW66QEhgZM/s4000/20230913_193659.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU29FHbRHt9vSq1idwNpx_NHz0UbfLM3_STpUtd_0A-EMOJA6a0fOkeOgKh8Pbd_yXhKPKUiAw2P32WncoH0-IyRUqm--9wHZD4LwL100lG1ZHA8-_SZejwVLFKuRJAbQO0GDBpfuojFICgKFck4urG-Gs6SJ3E8W9RNJd3pL6X7L2KGsZ_QW66QEhgZM/w400-h300/20230913_193659.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMEx_UjAsE1k2gtRAq97HK07B3Sci1FqyROwf_txkmlVRPpd9iCnRotezpeFfg2QOaPGuUanETbqnKeMvg-vHLh39lKmcCrtstzP6PVV8WO0mIoTg7hdgXEVlkg6cGAIxxjDqaEze8bAqwrVMvV2rePreZUl3RMQwOEmYgIPpoFagevxnxjDlzct0X1c/s4000/20230913_195345.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMEx_UjAsE1k2gtRAq97HK07B3Sci1FqyROwf_txkmlVRPpd9iCnRotezpeFfg2QOaPGuUanETbqnKeMvg-vHLh39lKmcCrtstzP6PVV8WO0mIoTg7hdgXEVlkg6cGAIxxjDqaEze8bAqwrVMvV2rePreZUl3RMQwOEmYgIPpoFagevxnxjDlzct0X1c/w400-h300/20230913_195345.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3F2vBnA7uug0zGSQng7jEUQGZfrdmetYDKUvfPv-E7BZwg12Ggan-qbzKq0dmScoiYjYbFrLw_nxxE5q4hLgZEkIDN0v3jXgrA_dksua9bxMPI4kmpOq1u7w_5gfn0PODuPEfOMXs5EDXXKpoCxgeXHC8_Zixudq2b-E_YYasnxAUPja0S7d0rk4vmY/s3703/20230913_201415.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2695" data-original-width="3703" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3F2vBnA7uug0zGSQng7jEUQGZfrdmetYDKUvfPv-E7BZwg12Ggan-qbzKq0dmScoiYjYbFrLw_nxxE5q4hLgZEkIDN0v3jXgrA_dksua9bxMPI4kmpOq1u7w_5gfn0PODuPEfOMXs5EDXXKpoCxgeXHC8_Zixudq2b-E_YYasnxAUPja0S7d0rk4vmY/w400-h291/20230913_201415.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Damage in Black.Seas is handled very simply... heavy and light guns cause a fixed amount of damage while carronades cause a bit more but only at shorter ranges. There are rules for different types of shot etc. There's always the chance of a critical as well. Despite losing his Brig, Andrew had been slowly causing hits on my Frigate, managing to cross my T at one point and inflicting extra raking damage. In exchange I'd managed to cause a fire on his ship but annoyingly he quickly doused this.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNF2JEByytzA2bkyWO35qxZ34bqJHWp8nxZjinwvHofgptVUh_VMvkaPp-eHrNeZ_icr795_44vjFkAndKfjRU46yOl8khZYs41Jy3Y8rWyVAPb4y0xhs4roqY0zpdvk8-ybDLAw_r6wsiMMpUnANQlJtWvhkvvQy0Jba7bwFSnCUw7OD4xzj92T8_Vk/s4000/20230913_204028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2637" data-original-width="4000" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNF2JEByytzA2bkyWO35qxZ34bqJHWp8nxZjinwvHofgptVUh_VMvkaPp-eHrNeZ_icr795_44vjFkAndKfjRU46yOl8khZYs41Jy3Y8rWyVAPb4y0xhs4roqY0zpdvk8-ybDLAw_r6wsiMMpUnANQlJtWvhkvvQy0Jba7bwFSnCUw7OD4xzj92T8_Vk/w400-h264/20230913_204028.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect raking fire</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqf_Ujb5dNlJTAWnIw6A9pIkUpXmKCcOa10PQf6qKeocjpyNItQVgx2xq7fgkO8wlalSKy9PY0AWUU2786wslnN7RJqESH3Es3WZboO44ErtucUxC-JJwfXpN-ww6QxFNhi0rIq15V7JUd7GR4NPg4LWxGQVJpibWbhDb_IXHtzjLifo6W8u7sixASRmI/s3474/20230913_203736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2656" data-original-width="3474" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqf_Ujb5dNlJTAWnIw6A9pIkUpXmKCcOa10PQf6qKeocjpyNItQVgx2xq7fgkO8wlalSKy9PY0AWUU2786wslnN7RJqESH3Es3WZboO44ErtucUxC-JJwfXpN-ww6QxFNhi0rIq15V7JUd7GR4NPg4LWxGQVJpibWbhDb_IXHtzjLifo6W8u7sixASRmI/w400-h306/20230913_203736.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lucky shot starts a fire on the French ship</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Both of us were becoming increasingly damaged and some poor steering on my part led to a collision, and both ships struck their colours leaving my Brig to claim the honours.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXKRDaPhQMfrh0jNVbZk0WwFsUWJ9bgX3YNyElu2EfEc9i4Eu-buC5BzMHmHIz34V06arqU5HffQrxj2pxPfL2gXG7nSOBoXvZe6a-_3dlVYaSGoDIfKwOwn3Dh0aMbBosnbkCmGcELXepucZu2oFyr6KAr8GK9EMslQ4SVgJpwhBrO5__Z5cVgHYsrU/s4000/20230913_204339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2707" data-original-width="4000" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXKRDaPhQMfrh0jNVbZk0WwFsUWJ9bgX3YNyElu2EfEc9i4Eu-buC5BzMHmHIz34V06arqU5HffQrxj2pxPfL2gXG7nSOBoXvZe6a-_3dlVYaSGoDIfKwOwn3Dh0aMbBosnbkCmGcELXepucZu2oFyr6KAr8GK9EMslQ4SVgJpwhBrO5__Z5cVgHYsrU/w400-h271/20230913_204339.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crunch!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">A good game and I was very impressed with the rules... I think the strike a good balance between detail and playability</p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-25828871193256751192023-09-16T16:58:00.000+01:002023-09-16T16:58:05.775+01:00Mythic Commander<p>A friend recently posted on FB about a new set of rules from Modiphius Games which looked very tempting... so much so that I immediately ordered a set. Unusual for me as I'm usually way behind the curve on new things.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawIk5bokutB2YjhkzdKV3_aIQNUPDXBKzTN8MBGjpHhAOSkycOyd_ZoSQ9ZzL-oDMDM7mtm-NqZVuQlfrgzH96-Th2u_bhN00Ga9NrYAok3h4NwMJRwUbXSAMCZCz91Q6dWSZoxZu9lkH_LTJxbgNp2OpX6h0OJd8kvdobkZH1VN5FM7dEkN3VEOfivk/s3694/20230828_200729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3694" data-original-width="2752" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawIk5bokutB2YjhkzdKV3_aIQNUPDXBKzTN8MBGjpHhAOSkycOyd_ZoSQ9ZzL-oDMDM7mtm-NqZVuQlfrgzH96-Th2u_bhN00Ga9NrYAok3h4NwMJRwUbXSAMCZCz91Q6dWSZoxZu9lkH_LTJxbgNp2OpX6h0OJd8kvdobkZH1VN5FM7dEkN3VEOfivk/w298-h400/20230828_200729.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Mythic Commander is a new set of grid based fantasy combat rules... very much a sandbox style of rules that can be tailored to all sorts of settings. </p><p>The game comes in a slim (44 pages) rulebook with all the cards, tokens and counters you'll need, including top down counters for units including infantry, cavalry, chariots, siege weapons, commanders and (because this is a fantasy game) wizards and monsters. It also includes a double sided playmat. When I bought the game I was also sent the pdfs for all the components so it would be easy to replace anything or add to your armies.</p><p>The game owes a lot to Modiphius' Airfix Battles which is no bad thing. Players hold a hand of cards to boost tactics attacks, movement etc as well as spells if you have fielded Magicians. There are several schools of magic to choose from so you can suit the theme of your army (eg fire, nature, death, etc)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggATS2eXUjID0MalPtX-NF6r1Dgs3m_QxZpCh2mLnnin7OJGJuYLuQoiavr9fFyxryLiLgfqxyxGkxrBDJ2eMwwGJ41jzmcqxqAW4PfAEXlVIAXQDg-DKYc8pNY_Bf6k6ozXz6hILheJZea87ObQpq7l9XXoLEmHxT4tpMEHzO1xdcVz2_nNH4H6ex98E/s4624/20230828_200715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggATS2eXUjID0MalPtX-NF6r1Dgs3m_QxZpCh2mLnnin7OJGJuYLuQoiavr9fFyxryLiLgfqxyxGkxrBDJ2eMwwGJ41jzmcqxqAW4PfAEXlVIAXQDg-DKYc8pNY_Bf6k6ozXz6hILheJZea87ObQpq7l9XXoLEmHxT4tpMEHzO1xdcVz2_nNH4H6ex98E/w400-h300/20230828_200715.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>The grid based movement and combat is simple but very effective and both of us quickly picked up the game without too many mistakes. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmfVSg-nF8PJPJgkBjYoTaxcib89jBZWzKlkbNBwalm5ACWXBFLASbH515QguGYzfUdW5hwzioSkPcjIbA5Oaj2NV2F72DO4p0kCpWo7bnH5I-NPVW9hb4m6uWVAtaVq_HpNis-F9UOImcnJvOtEUIWL5y-vs8fAyTaMyOkhhImZ-xwi6OXR4QefLIA4/s4624/20230828_200710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmfVSg-nF8PJPJgkBjYoTaxcib89jBZWzKlkbNBwalm5ACWXBFLASbH515QguGYzfUdW5hwzioSkPcjIbA5Oaj2NV2F72DO4p0kCpWo7bnH5I-NPVW9hb4m6uWVAtaVq_HpNis-F9UOImcnJvOtEUIWL5y-vs8fAyTaMyOkhhImZ-xwi6OXR4QefLIA4/w400-h300/20230828_200710.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCDQ1SOWqipJo0uQb1sknziTjqQ4Zzf4_QPI3w2p0KxZOkJWNmxU5jQIck1EzPhB_qZqT2F_DGGb-UAoYXtEZOFuDyDUavFeUP9WLxWKZ6nU7m6QiyOmJn63e9fRYcZUgmU1h9R2jD95HMQmnoBcJj6a53Fzyyy8xFH35WXc9RDecd_tZqvchoVKrpnk/s4624/20230828_202952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCDQ1SOWqipJo0uQb1sknziTjqQ4Zzf4_QPI3w2p0KxZOkJWNmxU5jQIck1EzPhB_qZqT2F_DGGb-UAoYXtEZOFuDyDUavFeUP9WLxWKZ6nU7m6QiyOmJn63e9fRYcZUgmU1h9R2jD95HMQmnoBcJj6a53Fzyyy8xFH35WXc9RDecd_tZqvchoVKrpnk/w300-h400/20230828_202952.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>What I really liked was the huge range of perks, special abilities, weapons etc that you can vary the basic units with. As this was our first game we kept it very vanilla, and it would be easy to overload a game with too many optional extras. But, it does mean that with a little work you can field armies that reflect your favourite fantasy setting... it would be very easy to adapt the starting troops to a Lord of the Rings theme for example. And of course, if you drop the magical elements then historical armies would work really well. The game themes its armies into 7 cultures eg Skillful, Barbaric, etc. The versions we fielded felt very like Romans vs Britons with some magic thrown in.</p><p>My only criticism would be that some of the components such as the card decks are pretty flimsy. On the plus side though there are a good assortment of counters to mark damage and to remind you who needs to take a morale test each turn.</p><p>Definitely recommended... it has a lot of potential as a toolbox and would make a great travel game: everything fits into a plastic wallet and is very portable </p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-3135147312510129302023-09-11T12:04:00.004+01:002023-09-11T12:05:11.807+01:00Colours 2023<p>Off to Colours on Saturday... one of the hottest days of the year, so a long-ish, hot drive complete with queues on the motorway. Newbury is a bit of a nightmare with side roads closed near the race course. I spent a lot of time going round in circles trying to find a route to the correct car park and was hot and stressed by the time I arrived. So much so that when I walked into the busy main hall I had to immediately turn round and go and sit outside for 10 minutes while the mild panic attack subsided (not just brought on by the event... there are some work and family things which are adding to the stress). </p><p>One of the Newbury club members said they'd had a lot of complaints about the lack of clear directions on their website... to be fair the roadworks aren't their fault but a heads up would have been handy </p><p>I usually think the stereotype of sweaty wargamer smell is a bit of a myth but it certainly wasn't on Saturday! Given the heat and humidity and the crowds it was a bit inevitable I guess...</p><p>The show itself was <i>ok</i>... I think a combination of the heat and my mood meant I was a bit underwhelmed. I only took a couple of photos even though there were some good-looking games there (including a particularly nice Vietnam game which I failed to photograph), so here are my very limited snaps...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUzZmgV_fhaIjj1kuWug4LFtJ0o_vZAg0Hlf-8MFS_hLb8QAKJDSde5EJxrjS4DU59dSqhjehrrKYibgQJYNGPKqN-BQVDAfcWcgXaub2ldt3S6Z1ko0GBKSR8DAGU42YTMvqAHQDEe6r4s0KNzgAnNzq904D3FXHRocdA3f85nvG38K81fNRh3zA8zQ/s4000/20230909_115900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUzZmgV_fhaIjj1kuWug4LFtJ0o_vZAg0Hlf-8MFS_hLb8QAKJDSde5EJxrjS4DU59dSqhjehrrKYibgQJYNGPKqN-BQVDAfcWcgXaub2ldt3S6Z1ko0GBKSR8DAGU42YTMvqAHQDEe6r4s0KNzgAnNzq904D3FXHRocdA3f85nvG38K81fNRh3zA8zQ/w300-h400/20230909_115900.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great looking 2mm Strength and Honour game</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nMaGoYarOpoDxFiJ8qRXZ5hVm9s7qL1K4QgmexKrDhO-cemAyi837jCdfAfETgW_v3gz1vn3SPkVGbJDC-GJBX8in3PYpiPdTbLhCOGWtZTLyLTuwVtwq4QWfKp-BrQLdhq2slswY-ML052fIin1s1_rv5IhJ50gtgELUr99rPAEbVLpocHSd9GsUyE/s2789/20230909_115909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2434" data-original-width="2789" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nMaGoYarOpoDxFiJ8qRXZ5hVm9s7qL1K4QgmexKrDhO-cemAyi837jCdfAfETgW_v3gz1vn3SPkVGbJDC-GJBX8in3PYpiPdTbLhCOGWtZTLyLTuwVtwq4QWfKp-BrQLdhq2slswY-ML052fIin1s1_rv5IhJ50gtgELUr99rPAEbVLpocHSd9GsUyE/w400-h349/20230909_115909.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICz5t4KmmOxwp0jD2NC95tpk3dTeXZx566t5W9ts9AtyFxgiu-SieHf3vfjqYpZve1h4MPR3brhctP1XjtOejgheBazK_gcYJFPYEXctM4KODQAepJ_6oG0UMYCEM8HjoPtwjxLR-IAIOyrCmL6rqObIhuZaYh7_b6gM8NFuCabyYRywdW8-c6WpxOQU/s4000/20230909_131245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICz5t4KmmOxwp0jD2NC95tpk3dTeXZx566t5W9ts9AtyFxgiu-SieHf3vfjqYpZve1h4MPR3brhctP1XjtOejgheBazK_gcYJFPYEXctM4KODQAepJ_6oG0UMYCEM8HjoPtwjxLR-IAIOyrCmL6rqObIhuZaYh7_b6gM8NFuCabyYRywdW8-c6WpxOQU/w300-h400/20230909_131245.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nagashino 1575 by the Newbury club</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">I had a nice chat with Mark Backhouse, author of the Strength & Honour rules and picked up some painting tips for tiny figures. My haul from the show was also fairly modest...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QymZ1Ah0FD21zaeETefD0j_kGPA5qLxOFv5Mi4uUP5Ts4WsaqyAbgDdstmDM-YgAg1Ckve_Vvtdnhbhxs18LdB4AlItC9splzePlt1ZBwfnhn0-ZQDZTJBWZamdrDnBjElMiJsloQfVyXIZe-S95CTYAY-x8kVEbA41tTToYI3sVQOv0OhsDK-4I27Y/s3138/20230910_161144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="3138" data-original-width="1978" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QymZ1Ah0FD21zaeETefD0j_kGPA5qLxOFv5Mi4uUP5Ts4WsaqyAbgDdstmDM-YgAg1Ckve_Vvtdnhbhxs18LdB4AlItC9splzePlt1ZBwfnhn0-ZQDZTJBWZamdrDnBjElMiJsloQfVyXIZe-S95CTYAY-x8kVEbA41tTToYI3sVQOv0OhsDK-4I27Y/w253-h400/20230910_161144.jpg" width="253" /></i></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I got this for a fiver in the bring & buy... I'm a big fan of the Steve Jackson Games metagame series.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbqwpOkalEc42EJ_s8emaXONAwd1rH-_YGpC3zrbOWv_eBQihkYw_OX4usCrjy1KKFfOHr-LTeSo3wJk6kCiVLa3k4naTArLlBbDZ_VecZZXXetAbkgZ4MkIZTnT0zemR9mPgWM2ExKiiShcKdwiuPgWNdrXENMLj7hN5ItR-KeshvJfvw3gtTwKyN-4/s4000/20230910_161216.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbqwpOkalEc42EJ_s8emaXONAwd1rH-_YGpC3zrbOWv_eBQihkYw_OX4usCrjy1KKFfOHr-LTeSo3wJk6kCiVLa3k4naTArLlBbDZ_VecZZXXetAbkgZ4MkIZTnT0zemR9mPgWM2ExKiiShcKdwiuPgWNdrXENMLj7hN5ItR-KeshvJfvw3gtTwKyN-4/w400-h300/20230910_161216.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>2mm Roman troops... this is a bit of an experiment but I think the effect looks great in games like Strength and Honour</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljQY2sDxtpR5J118-4Ff87NgdVRQtFF0BbPVCs7qmUmKrhloBJz3YqFlzND8q1wNonYX9smv59tH6GP5F0lkUd5Rlk732pBSL8iLDOEMtGmMh6PAhfu1KhEpcln7t6RkFzR-gIVvlUOmF3ZRNP8Kyvf-q3D6DZ9pUmVr9vGuqu5Lk17CdSOeR1Y5DSPA/s4000/20230910_161228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljQY2sDxtpR5J118-4Ff87NgdVRQtFF0BbPVCs7qmUmKrhloBJz3YqFlzND8q1wNonYX9smv59tH6GP5F0lkUd5Rlk732pBSL8iLDOEMtGmMh6PAhfu1KhEpcln7t6RkFzR-gIVvlUOmF3ZRNP8Kyvf-q3D6DZ9pUmVr9vGuqu5Lk17CdSOeR1Y5DSPA/w400-h300/20230910_161228.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Teenie-weenie legions</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJe-vRMEMatAq4EPPX_bK7eEqxSdqQJfvFBXK1Gsb7yvGfxOUovTEKdO37tdO8SORbBvoXkp1CJs9ZAV_r9NWiDWJRqJA0Y9Kcyw1gsqRD7zWcpzpuQWBy3fyYqJI0vs4yvFMX8u-OGKja4-MFFH_inR9tSOxrFC1Fdvm7d7nRcBf9t8qfMQNTkEIfqTY/s3328/20230910_161258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3328" data-original-width="2335" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJe-vRMEMatAq4EPPX_bK7eEqxSdqQJfvFBXK1Gsb7yvGfxOUovTEKdO37tdO8SORbBvoXkp1CJs9ZAV_r9NWiDWJRqJA0Y9Kcyw1gsqRD7zWcpzpuQWBy3fyYqJI0vs4yvFMX8u-OGKja4-MFFH_inR9tSOxrFC1Fdvm7d7nRcBf9t8qfMQNTkEIfqTY/w281-h400/20230910_161258.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I've heard lots of good things about these so another set of rules added to the collection</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOY4oxW9zET3r2P8k4YdnPsXymbYMKK17z0cEKalYy50k_H5cb1WDaxn27hHN9QySLi3jZE-leHfjjqvNDpYEzarufr4dLaEfcOWimA2SZDkSt2AvJpg2tf6qxP59HT1K2yWwWX_e3lRaH75x-96LyXJdy1hckEjqAoEGCC_rcY27-iVP5w3WjXv6_M4/s3105/20230910_161323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2182" data-original-width="3105" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOY4oxW9zET3r2P8k4YdnPsXymbYMKK17z0cEKalYy50k_H5cb1WDaxn27hHN9QySLi3jZE-leHfjjqvNDpYEzarufr4dLaEfcOWimA2SZDkSt2AvJpg2tf6qxP59HT1K2yWwWX_e3lRaH75x-96LyXJdy1hckEjqAoEGCC_rcY27-iVP5w3WjXv6_M4/w400-h281/20230910_161323.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A decent discount on some paints</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-91853017913001064832023-08-26T22:18:00.003+01:002023-08-26T22:44:04.601+01:00Castles and gravestones<p> I didn't think I'd be able to squeeze in a history post on this trip to Glasgow but we managed a couple of trips out in between hospital visits, so here goes...</p><p><br /></p><p>First up is Dunure Castle. This used to be a popular family day trip out when I was a wee boy and I still love it. There's been a castle here since the 13th century although these buildings date to the 15th century. Mary Queen of Scots stayed here (of course she did... like every castle in Scotland!!) and its other claim to fame is that in the middle of a struggle over who should be the Commendator of Crossrageul Abbey (a lay person who holds the title to the Abbey) in 1570, Gilbert Kennedy, holder of the castle captured and 'roasted and basted' his rival over a brazier. The rival was eventually rescued and survived the ordeal!</p><p>As today is International Dog Day my 2 hounds make an appearance in the photos...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96AzQt2Bxk236ferFX3KNPUY7v4rk5-DJP5p-j2LY7Qr8V2R2vpP0g01jxKp0tE2fpiT8lSvWtl4wqaqKH1-ZgmwUjcdsD7SvhhDz-vUQZGTH5TJtfi4FfWLBvJQVAu74DGyl79wU5SulWK5-wsP9FXfisLLSbDM_FNeapIMhKmjlXkoOYm9TLHjvBWY/s4624/20230826_121943.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96AzQt2Bxk236ferFX3KNPUY7v4rk5-DJP5p-j2LY7Qr8V2R2vpP0g01jxKp0tE2fpiT8lSvWtl4wqaqKH1-ZgmwUjcdsD7SvhhDz-vUQZGTH5TJtfi4FfWLBvJQVAu74DGyl79wU5SulWK5-wsP9FXfisLLSbDM_FNeapIMhKmjlXkoOYm9TLHjvBWY/w400-h300/20230826_121943.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92ORnE3gAp4NR-Jcapd7f05qUxViJjGMSvB8znVm2yKrTb3_EoED8OpgVHwq7ySMCJ9iCPmi_M191clrJ0WpIPtWoxKZrQyKZ-y1kQTAM5Qnyl00dcVCdz9tpsr99HNGXSyTjDnVJbvHdxcdvELJbk0HAzBMh1V0Bb6mLJujVkH_hmFs9mca-HtL-9ag/s2665/20230826_130035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1747" data-original-width="2665" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92ORnE3gAp4NR-Jcapd7f05qUxViJjGMSvB8znVm2yKrTb3_EoED8OpgVHwq7ySMCJ9iCPmi_M191clrJ0WpIPtWoxKZrQyKZ-y1kQTAM5Qnyl00dcVCdz9tpsr99HNGXSyTjDnVJbvHdxcdvELJbk0HAzBMh1V0Bb6mLJujVkH_hmFs9mca-HtL-9ag/w400-h263/20230826_130035.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4tc7SBgHE7fVIyCHbm---SXIzWBIbaacbZkQFReZY80iFml6UWNG-jRkxQ1-R8MIASEipqWl5mn-V1JAyYiTmwu-RJNcepKOPGcUfZvwSjr5WxYXapE4gP_YMo-0WkZFD1FvesUBrtzXT6tXPAq-SDd26ErpALs97i4Ifgh_zmnOlFe_lUm2mpgG5DU/s2067/20230826_122516.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2067" data-original-width="1908" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4tc7SBgHE7fVIyCHbm---SXIzWBIbaacbZkQFReZY80iFml6UWNG-jRkxQ1-R8MIASEipqWl5mn-V1JAyYiTmwu-RJNcepKOPGcUfZvwSjr5WxYXapE4gP_YMo-0WkZFD1FvesUBrtzXT6tXPAq-SDd26ErpALs97i4Ifgh_zmnOlFe_lUm2mpgG5DU/w369-h400/20230826_122516.jpg" width="369" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 15th century doocot</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0X33VPKDd_g5djugi2JdL_2N5jFR9f6L7tl1YyUSVtWr5Aw2tTe-GsC1p1TY-0z7q4gkZv9X2tmJGLDUCxfCQM0UHRDv9EH8y90ZfqGcnrYVLgzz4QNa3NTIuVm8Jvb2fAojceJWfS6BoMCknAxe4j445BN1q2qEilbu3yeXvWlLeEbEyCqiOWmNxeTw/s3899/20230826_130253.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2924" data-original-width="3899" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0X33VPKDd_g5djugi2JdL_2N5jFR9f6L7tl1YyUSVtWr5Aw2tTe-GsC1p1TY-0z7q4gkZv9X2tmJGLDUCxfCQM0UHRDv9EH8y90ZfqGcnrYVLgzz4QNa3NTIuVm8Jvb2fAojceJWfS6BoMCknAxe4j445BN1q2qEilbu3yeXvWlLeEbEyCqiOWmNxeTw/w400-h300/20230826_130253.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleo guarding the beach against raiding Vikings.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgix1O2RipD5hwJlFkl1glA2vdGj4Qb0zMn4M7lREMNMFD4hpffTGCkzA0hxtdhTBmndSZ6SHltJzyebiN7wSks9xhPlib1pW1bXgN0shvTBVpJ2aGwAQP1yJvMOl2DGKYmllhSoMEMmaQoyEl5EcRo-7NHsuKwubA_KQUyzjigyNqZ2jqsL39EWQFc-Ck/s4624/20230826_131629.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgix1O2RipD5hwJlFkl1glA2vdGj4Qb0zMn4M7lREMNMFD4hpffTGCkzA0hxtdhTBmndSZ6SHltJzyebiN7wSks9xhPlib1pW1bXgN0shvTBVpJ2aGwAQP1yJvMOl2DGKYmllhSoMEMmaQoyEl5EcRo-7NHsuKwubA_KQUyzjigyNqZ2jqsL39EWQFc-Ck/w300-h400/20230826_131629.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And Cisco on the look out for anyone with treats.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">A couple of days earlier we went up to Loch Lomond and the very pretty (but busy) village of Luss. Mainly famous for being the location for TV soap Take the High Road, Luss is a lovely spot on the shore of the Loch. In the churchyard I came across a Viking Hogback stone. These are carved and decorated grave markers.. in this case from the 11th century. The information board suggested it may be linked to a Viking raid on Luss and Loch Lomond in 1263</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNuRJVcCXoSFAGyeUCuPg1oMKGL7h17lvfzu7pjlBdReKmbM3Qce6BwsbOFzxiNyqDZGwDcy7hQmiSvHP2QmUQN-svTyMS6cB9NQS2rZSPo2ixiKv0tehRtXBU6_H_4-P2j-FfmgJH3TSUOe5LyU_DVadA1h9Xlz4AxpEGU51xb5Eq9N8QPNDJuLNAdE/s4624/20230823_115125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNuRJVcCXoSFAGyeUCuPg1oMKGL7h17lvfzu7pjlBdReKmbM3Qce6BwsbOFzxiNyqDZGwDcy7hQmiSvHP2QmUQN-svTyMS6cB9NQS2rZSPo2ixiKv0tehRtXBU6_H_4-P2j-FfmgJH3TSUOe5LyU_DVadA1h9Xlz4AxpEGU51xb5Eq9N8QPNDJuLNAdE/w400-h300/20230823_115125.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-23732689179719312722023-08-24T16:23:00.000+01:002023-08-24T16:23:56.688+01:00Hello, old friends...<p>Another trip back home to Glasgow to see family and keep an eye on my mum who's currently in hospital.</p><p>Usually I try and find something historical to post about, but I suspect this trip is just going to involve trips back and forward to the hospital so that's going to be unlikely.</p><p>I was also up in June and ventured into the loft in my mum's house. This was my family home from about the age of 2 and there is all sorts of junk/family heirlooms up there (anyone in the market for a Spanish donkey circa 1972??). In amongst old family photos and lots of tat I did come across some genuine buried treasure which I'd believed were long gone.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitcUU3QyRzAic9o3wEmBBF6JvL11EmwoRuDvKK8kxN-za6OrXEUg_cQUb6M5qUAuocFhrutJ00DZug410g4QVzDJSZ8hH1rEKrCQPmI_FNO6rof__OTMoBIgL9gITPMTQByJmiPN11FCqbjbVgtj0KaoKmitEiT5F2_XC5NC3qTaBzg1-BWDkf1KV7ZWw/s1281/games-workshop-ad-19811.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1281" data-original-width="988" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitcUU3QyRzAic9o3wEmBBF6JvL11EmwoRuDvKK8kxN-za6OrXEUg_cQUb6M5qUAuocFhrutJ00DZug410g4QVzDJSZ8hH1rEKrCQPmI_FNO6rof__OTMoBIgL9gITPMTQByJmiPN11FCqbjbVgtj0KaoKmitEiT5F2_XC5NC3qTaBzg1-BWDkf1KV7ZWw/w309-h400/games-workshop-ad-19811.jpg" width="309" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Back around 1978 I spotted an advert in a now defunct British Scifi magazine called Ad Astra for some new-fangled company called Games Workshop (I wonder what happened to them?)...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVyWs04b5aZbwlojb4sBTyutQF6tnaUcf4rF56gEKVPmq3I4GRWfECZUdux-HeyT3Y0TeGNKnfwAcc62rWG6ceE9G5IIgOtd4Ko0__7g2rjdUsk27cw8Y0yEzrpWKIG7GKKtoCEeB4tqsl55rb0RIp2R9oC9PcfyozQy7HMq25KEsrr0p1oi_O_XNPYI/s3851/20230818_225009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3851" data-original-width="2978" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVyWs04b5aZbwlojb4sBTyutQF6tnaUcf4rF56gEKVPmq3I4GRWfECZUdux-HeyT3Y0TeGNKnfwAcc62rWG6ceE9G5IIgOtd4Ko0__7g2rjdUsk27cw8Y0yEzrpWKIG7GKKtoCEeB4tqsl55rb0RIp2R9oC9PcfyozQy7HMq25KEsrr0p1oi_O_XNPYI/w309-h400/20230818_225009.jpg" width="309" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>I don't know if I'd heard of roleplaying games already or if this just caught my attention but I bought the D&D boxed set. It was a truly life-changing moment... I still remember the game arriving in the post and my amazement at a box containing so little and yet full of so many possibilities. This is the 'Holmes' edition of D&D and covers characters up to 3rd level. It leads neatly into AD&D which was the path I merrily trotted down over the next few years.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEYFW_5d-k7um6RF-NMjYhrH4MVG0x31HyMvrw4rapjjpjCHFR321jrwGK6gLiRQE44fsf1R-y2ALIjXJ6MaN3Xb1lDBcNliC-lwLBJ6f7X4MSgejNjuzofMHGHkWShL-38JlUyx5aFw9RlaWCWWOcZ7MHpURfqAo-VgHG9YR0tTFtt5FLZHVvaeMAhs/s3925/20230818_225144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3925" data-original-width="2975" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEYFW_5d-k7um6RF-NMjYhrH4MVG0x31HyMvrw4rapjjpjCHFR321jrwGK6gLiRQE44fsf1R-y2ALIjXJ6MaN3Xb1lDBcNliC-lwLBJ6f7X4MSgejNjuzofMHGHkWShL-38JlUyx5aFw9RlaWCWWOcZ7MHpURfqAo-VgHG9YR0tTFtt5FLZHVvaeMAhs/w304-h400/20230818_225144.jpg" width="304" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZX4KKsDFF9sdSO9qPXV3R8-ZSbS4M_ybTafaHI6cGMT4G3-fFAOY1lsSujbV5v26GmNUWI58pkI088TQjINGoEcdWiIxRjmAFkTtMk6P4jhOwk7eirAg0ydo4SVh2rrcbLFijvLa_KdhVAH5AwYhAQ4hToMMO4_2OuN3kKnE8KGRisTh6w284JiYHno/s3865/20230818_225215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3865" data-original-width="3142" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZX4KKsDFF9sdSO9qPXV3R8-ZSbS4M_ybTafaHI6cGMT4G3-fFAOY1lsSujbV5v26GmNUWI58pkI088TQjINGoEcdWiIxRjmAFkTtMk6P4jhOwk7eirAg0ydo4SVh2rrcbLFijvLa_KdhVAH5AwYhAQ4hToMMO4_2OuN3kKnE8KGRisTh6w284JiYHno/w325-h400/20230818_225215.jpg" width="325" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>The boxed set came with the rule book, a set of dice (which I still have) and an introductory scenario... B1: In Search of the Unknown which is a proper dungeoncrawl. The box is sadly long gone. And finally in the pile was the 'Giants...' set of scenarios which i think I acquired on family holiday to the USA.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfSAqASi7CmNivzpCvjOYzTaDqBzf5NxpSnc1NGT0do4MsiRbt1ypOJOGC_2CMjGhOk3d96zLKhy71uhL6vy0KXnGrBHiZEIZTPH5DOihdDosA0gTVTfgeiSPCnp1oCaJ0H-vnhYerlfhT8rka5mb9E_EM7SNuhK-m0GBVBcJIg2OhzH8wv_XEu5wP-w/s2335/20230818_225042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2335" data-original-width="1855" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAfSAqASi7CmNivzpCvjOYzTaDqBzf5NxpSnc1NGT0do4MsiRbt1ypOJOGC_2CMjGhOk3d96zLKhy71uhL6vy0KXnGrBHiZEIZTPH5DOihdDosA0gTVTfgeiSPCnp1oCaJ0H-vnhYerlfhT8rka5mb9E_EM7SNuhK-m0GBVBcJIg2OhzH8wv_XEu5wP-w/w318-h400/20230818_225042.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SPUydi79hZD9PpJFu9a9xw0L8Lf84AGxCfT0dUzB3Pp_D0dCvkfzI6eyJ0VnboM43L7McUG__yaU3Zbxnyoz7i7vu_yTsXwnyfkOFCM9gLcbi1ojPwnEg65wbtoF_CHZkaS-be4ziG1cVT6I8hV120n4fu-NmI48rImv_cUOrR2d_uDV9q0MtRhdd10/s4224/20230818_225129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2163" data-original-width="4224" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SPUydi79hZD9PpJFu9a9xw0L8Lf84AGxCfT0dUzB3Pp_D0dCvkfzI6eyJ0VnboM43L7McUG__yaU3Zbxnyoz7i7vu_yTsXwnyfkOFCM9gLcbi1ojPwnEg65wbtoF_CHZkaS-be4ziG1cVT6I8hV120n4fu-NmI48rImv_cUOrR2d_uDV9q0MtRhdd10/w400-h205/20230818_225129.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8n_XHo4wfrhHfuSvvCO0c5z9c0Jvj9nADWu3UErmC0jmYo4JlR2kY1DwYUbf1VHQGBbXO0HYGsLZLBKjwnrA48k9NvPLb8uaxoZsqyZn0K_VtCcL7JaloS_AawynxGphwci_UX8-uXXmlQBQ1HgQdweT_JwCe5Z0l2bY-CrbnNa-3cSN-qz2oI6blyts/s4490/20230818_225155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4490" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8n_XHo4wfrhHfuSvvCO0c5z9c0Jvj9nADWu3UErmC0jmYo4JlR2kY1DwYUbf1VHQGBbXO0HYGsLZLBKjwnrA48k9NvPLb8uaxoZsqyZn0K_VtCcL7JaloS_AawynxGphwci_UX8-uXXmlQBQ1HgQdweT_JwCe5Z0l2bY-CrbnNa-3cSN-qz2oI6blyts/w400-h254/20230818_225155.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE2qRIo0KqAvSraB2hJ19VQw42wHKtFMBdNbm14TvZq0nwtAsQVnf3n6BwWC7jVmUQjALHrcJ77Dzkp7OJuJdPm3970ow1_YI1SvK4IT5zaqe0n7dm3F5cxMfl3ZvT0TIHhNtye2Q-uPMJz2VtwZKEoR9un9ZpCT0Be1zkO8nZJANfUtsdU1jakZAmx1o/s4586/20230818_225231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3321" data-original-width="4586" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE2qRIo0KqAvSraB2hJ19VQw42wHKtFMBdNbm14TvZq0nwtAsQVnf3n6BwWC7jVmUQjALHrcJ77Dzkp7OJuJdPm3970ow1_YI1SvK4IT5zaqe0n7dm3F5cxMfl3ZvT0TIHhNtye2Q-uPMJz2VtwZKEoR9un9ZpCT0Be1zkO8nZJANfUtsdU1jakZAmx1o/w400-h290/20230818_225231.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>In these days where RPGs are a commonplace game its hard to remember how game-changing something like D&D and the other early games were... I remember the confused look on my friends faces when I tried to explain the concept to them. Eventually D&D, along with other games like Gamma World, led me to my local wargames club (the Glasgow & District Wargames Society) and a whole new world of toy soldiers and wargames. So this book is the starting point that set me off on a hobby that has lasted 45 years and introduced me to lots of good friends... I must admit I had a real emotional reaction to finding it again. </p><p>I also found my set of Superworld which we played quite a bit an Uni. Not a bad game as I remember</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2SaE_FDlkCruAoDkIlI-UyWF94ANqZY217z_Wnk4xmcQxYfE5my4wy4rKK2Nbx4NnpRnQgrsSZ6Vb3XZ44cZ3rpFXFjqw0cAKKULD1tby2P3lgIOaUC5rURDJDMoMvv5WOp1edToAQEyd_DPN-8Y6mxrqhchS9-Cl2iVX8Ko9PvzihADNSqt3GOUVIY/s3817/20230818_225253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="3817" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2SaE_FDlkCruAoDkIlI-UyWF94ANqZY217z_Wnk4xmcQxYfE5my4wy4rKK2Nbx4NnpRnQgrsSZ6Vb3XZ44cZ3rpFXFjqw0cAKKULD1tby2P3lgIOaUC5rURDJDMoMvv5WOp1edToAQEyd_DPN-8Y6mxrqhchS9-Cl2iVX8Ko9PvzihADNSqt3GOUVIY/w400-h323/20230818_225253.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-83623209395166295492023-08-09T09:34:00.004+01:002023-09-30T09:22:07.079+01:00The Return of the King(maker)<p> My Kickstarter copy of the new edition of Kingmaker arrived back in March but has been sadly unplayed since then.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHa06mv68kuw6UEuCQ6C3376wpQi_VkCQpVxvu5-WqneAxlNSToSI5gAKo2UNgkIvv6vXV0kita26ANwQBxx_y5_q5T8I9WRpGXcHCVPvXyhze5MXGlfPbfKa5RVnL3CTKkXqwRWODfvCTMgen6ru-IGlwO5u8ylEGLDrQCTglavQzYyElV0kzgpDS6s/s4624/20230806_151948.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHa06mv68kuw6UEuCQ6C3376wpQi_VkCQpVxvu5-WqneAxlNSToSI5gAKo2UNgkIvv6vXV0kita26ANwQBxx_y5_q5T8I9WRpGXcHCVPvXyhze5MXGlfPbfKa5RVnL3CTKkXqwRWODfvCTMgen6ru-IGlwO5u8ylEGLDrQCTglavQzYyElV0kzgpDS6s/w400-h300/20230806_151948.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>[There's a post about the newly arrived box here... <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2560680272873830337/3226403608760603758">Link</a>]</p><p>This week we more than made up for it with 3 games in a week! The first two games were 5 player versions (original KM takes 6 players, the revised Kingmaker 2 can accommodate up to 5) and the 3rd game was a 2 player head to head.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ThOIm88peW09gVYyKUpItV7tAYTCpQhLaqYT2NSkQaaCFgsq-hFWBWm_k73yOd_jFikQwVeaPz71njuoetaMyFSfvCLYjPJFSA_8AKoskHKOwHCzHkbDoz0lpj2NlXNTpKSRzT-ga8rjBkbGNcssVkPv8VuZ7089cMFg-CEFHd9InpNuNYRHKRB2rQk/s3092/20230803_202907.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2542" data-original-width="3092" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ThOIm88peW09gVYyKUpItV7tAYTCpQhLaqYT2NSkQaaCFgsq-hFWBWm_k73yOd_jFikQwVeaPz71njuoetaMyFSfvCLYjPJFSA_8AKoskHKOwHCzHkbDoz0lpj2NlXNTpKSRzT-ga8rjBkbGNcssVkPv8VuZ7089cMFg-CEFHd9InpNuNYRHKRB2rQk/w400-h329/20230803_202907.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>In the 1st 2 games we also used the preset factions. One of the issues in Classic KM is that having a duff or brilliant starting hand can really mess up the opening moves... this version gives everyone a selection of Nobles, Titles (ie the Earl of....) and offices (eg Admiral of England or Chancellor etc), as well as a selection of Bishoprics, Towns and mercenaries. These all give you additional troops as well as control of towns and castles. Using the preset factions makes it all a bit more balanced. In the final 2 player game we randomly allocated cards. Even then. Some of the more powerful cards (eg the Marshal of England or Lord Percy) are held back until later.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4dQ29smwZPteLe9A9uzvefwJpoagF8mIk6IvqZmd63lIvKYuo0WkadKxilw0j6DDy3Yn0vC6WCRvP0CN3HTQvynYMi-s5ORjgMtLOgXHyZE8Ws38yD0AQtRQRmstmsjmLeChGokARuZGK0pX7rMMUNw6Y-Do9oMwnpfjGm5aOC1EaZhUly7D2i0CjXs/s4624/20230806_151852.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4dQ29smwZPteLe9A9uzvefwJpoagF8mIk6IvqZmd63lIvKYuo0WkadKxilw0j6DDy3Yn0vC6WCRvP0CN3HTQvynYMi-s5ORjgMtLOgXHyZE8Ws38yD0AQtRQRmstmsjmLeChGokARuZGK0pX7rMMUNw6Y-Do9oMwnpfjGm5aOC1EaZhUly7D2i0CjXs/w300-h400/20230806_151852.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>We made a few mistakes but all in all the games worked really well.. the updated rules make it a much faster game (we reached a conclusion in an evening) and avoiding some of the stalemate positions that KM always seems to descend into with large stacks of Nobles glowering at each other from either end of the country. Now you can win by gaining prestige from holding Offices, winning major battles etc, as well as controlling Royals. The old tactic of sitting back and waiting doesn't really work any more.</p><p>Each game featured all the things we love about KM... treacherous battles, people dying of plague just when they thought they'd found sanctuary in a city and wheeling and dealing to form alliances. </p><p>It was interesting to play the 2 player variant which I'd never tried before. It worked well: obviously there's less subtlety in tactics... you <i>know</i> you're going to be attacked by your opponent and there won't be any deals to be struck... but it made for a challenging and fun version. As usual when playing against my son I had my arse handed to me but the Prestige points swung wildly... at one point he was almost in a position to win (thanks to his possession of Henry VI) but the King was summoned to an embassy at Ravenspur. My noble, Lord Scrope swooped in and seized the king, dispatching the accompanying Lord Hastings... all the Prestige points swung my way and balanced the game! But then more enemy Nobles piled in and we had to fight the 2nd Battle of Ravenspur where Scrope met a brave but doomed end. A great conclusion to the game.</p><p>The game also includes 'Classic' KM for the nostalgia value but more interestingly it includes 'Extended Classic KM' which adds some interesting variations to the rules including fatal storms at sea, treachery and pirates!</p><p><br /></p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-7967108824590322302023-08-01T08:56:00.002+01:002023-08-01T08:56:23.374+01:00Some new painting projects<p>The last few months have seen one of my regular slowdowns in painting with nothing for months, but in the last few weeks I've made a bit of an effort to re-start a couple of projects which I'd bought figures for. I posted about these at the end of April so for me this has been really speedy work!!!</p><p><br /></p><p>The first was inspired by my visit to the Little Wars Revisited games day <a href="https://wargaminggallimaufry.blogspot.com/2023/03/little-wars-revisited-games-day-2023.html?m=1">(LINK)</a> back in the spring. The range of bigger figures on show reminded me that I do like the larger scale and inspired me to have a look at starting something new in a larger size than 28mm. My only other figures in larger scales are my 54mm Northwest Frontier figures. After a bit of pondering and hunting around online I settled on a setting that I'd always wanted to do and which wouldn't require a lot of figures... The Three Musketeers. It's one of those settings that lots of gamers seem to dabble in, judging by the number of blogs and posts that I came across. I settled into that pleasant part of a new project... perusing figure ranges and working out combinations of figures, before eventually settling on the lovely range of 40mm figures from Steve Barber Models. These are really lovely looking figures although the range isn't huge, I picked up 4 Musketeers to start with although I now have some Cardinals Guards on order. I also added some figures from Eureka... these are a little smaller in some cases (Constance and Planchet are a bit weedy although Rochefort is a good match) but they should work well alongside the Steve Barber figures. There are also some 42mm figures from Irregular which I may check out for a comparison at some point...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5lJH5sTLOrUwgIe6lfFdikS4P7aRsFWvF-KKF6-b5D-EF1Un-dsnkPuYFweAmlyUotVL6gE_iVXoM-tbsNnFPwzPXgdWfIh8JkY2w4T_EsgnIVjGRtd8z2nwVjyj-muN8aClPKtUHQD7XRSXS63LZsmjoiHABrpGorPRDgQt2Sho55y7jd_DCPbVtIA/s2398/20230726_223741.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1961" data-original-width="2398" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh5lJH5sTLOrUwgIe6lfFdikS4P7aRsFWvF-KKF6-b5D-EF1Un-dsnkPuYFweAmlyUotVL6gE_iVXoM-tbsNnFPwzPXgdWfIh8JkY2w4T_EsgnIVjGRtd8z2nwVjyj-muN8aClPKtUHQD7XRSXS63LZsmjoiHABrpGorPRDgQt2Sho55y7jd_DCPbVtIA/w400-h328/20230726_223741.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>In terms of rules there are a few options... Osprey's En Garde is designed for exactly this setting but I also have a set of Donnybrook which I bought years ago and have never played, and my old copy of GW's Legends of the High Seas which I think would work well.</p><p>The other project is another one that just about everyone seems to do at some point.. Mythic Greece. I guess most of us are of an age where Ray Harryhausen is a big influence and everyone loves Jason and the Argonauts, right? I'd been looking at this in a larger scale as well but eventually decided that the Foundry 28mm were the best option in terms of the sheer amount of stuff that was available. A lucky check on eBay showed up someone selling some of the Argonaut range as well as a few other figures so i snapped them up. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcYucdWPTiZMYEZtcYVzn_PVocN0C4WDncDU-U-UtFrvP9Zi0pO2zPE-6E_kvRMWzXvPEgT8oCLFaaZ-dCb3zIgxTAqt9-aBzfp3JUxUFVG2xfMMNVtLSnRf9-Rm4HwjTJFXmWT6dUK8M2AgoOxa6tXZnpEiLCXt9fY0Ei4XczrJChNvmd0VeLgJ8fEU/s2725/20230726_223649.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2335" data-original-width="2725" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcYucdWPTiZMYEZtcYVzn_PVocN0C4WDncDU-U-UtFrvP9Zi0pO2zPE-6E_kvRMWzXvPEgT8oCLFaaZ-dCb3zIgxTAqt9-aBzfp3JUxUFVG2xfMMNVtLSnRf9-Rm4HwjTJFXmWT6dUK8M2AgoOxa6tXZnpEiLCXt9fY0Ei4XczrJChNvmd0VeLgJ8fEU/w400-h343/20230726_223649.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5rV9-z3YG-f2Y0Qufo24X125aLYP4X6_Ilh8wGzrXU4xtd0-E950KuwbY-ZJMMYSUoD0lNSsSUbHVGDwib3rA3fM_7m3T0ogan553LnoLGBK8bd-mF2FjmnyEeKBL947CEJGEKIGHzf4LZUysvcXn4AGkmqCBLhJkzsgD7JGlfp5VdF5-WF0-1UES2w/s2647/20230726_223544.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2153" data-original-width="2647" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc5rV9-z3YG-f2Y0Qufo24X125aLYP4X6_Ilh8wGzrXU4xtd0-E950KuwbY-ZJMMYSUoD0lNSsSUbHVGDwib3rA3fM_7m3T0ogan553LnoLGBK8bd-mF2FjmnyEeKBL947CEJGEKIGHzf4LZUysvcXn4AGkmqCBLhJkzsgD7JGlfp5VdF5-WF0-1UES2w/w400-h325/20230726_223544.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>I also bought a set of the Tales of Men Myths and Monsters rules which are designed for exactly this setting although, again, GW might be a good option with few tweaks to their Lord of the Rings rules. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6G3aEvB7yv02NgxIp5OG5_r1UqDmI-LbC8Zhqnn5xI8SvvB4Xq81h51L2xHHRcc_P8f-mUmMdhEwWo2ym7i-oUS9PUcpOGw5IBWC-ld-zpiWYo343hf8klXxv7Pct9CYQwX9gfYnmBsFnk2XU3Fqn-rjD6aCxytSKuayr8goOMy0Gkb6OcgB7CUbc4-0/s400/s-l400.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="272" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6G3aEvB7yv02NgxIp5OG5_r1UqDmI-LbC8Zhqnn5xI8SvvB4Xq81h51L2xHHRcc_P8f-mUmMdhEwWo2ym7i-oUS9PUcpOGw5IBWC-ld-zpiWYo343hf8klXxv7Pct9CYQwX9gfYnmBsFnk2XU3Fqn-rjD6aCxytSKuayr8goOMy0Gkb6OcgB7CUbc4-0/w273-h400/s-l400.png" width="273" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>For inspiration I borrowed Stephen Fry's Mythos from the library as an audiobook... I've been doing a lot of long car journeys recently so audiobooks have been ideal. I've now ploughed through all 3 of his books... Mythos, Heroes and Troy. I can highly recommend them all, especially the audio version although this does seem to hinge on whether you enjoy Stephen Fry's style of writing and delivery or find him annoying. I loved them but reviews seem very split on this point.</p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-22522741636385928042023-07-30T08:00:00.002+01:002023-07-30T08:02:08.570+01:00Long lost treasures<p>A recent venture in the loft uncovered a few long-lost treasures which haven't seen the light of day for many years (certainly not since we moved to this house back in the mid-90s)</p><p>The loft is a terrifying place full of chaotically arranged boxes of figures and games as well as years if accrued junk that, for some reason, we decided to put away... <i>just in case</i>...</p><p>So here are the excavated treasures...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Iyj-lDHQ-FtUPNjHDLg-0b296a1_JXaTdoM4I83SGLemKZXauhfwR1s2js8SyALS9wu1vgoKy6tGCbzHc6BXtZ2Ygy-SxBUUUEWmM8d4h-6-53ZjeCczY3oDU0TdKH8oC7867RbyEX2FHuoFK8OJF8lYonUNQHbhxU454r5G4SvFgauJG10gICIGpkE/s4624/20230730_074639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Iyj-lDHQ-FtUPNjHDLg-0b296a1_JXaTdoM4I83SGLemKZXauhfwR1s2js8SyALS9wu1vgoKy6tGCbzHc6BXtZ2Ygy-SxBUUUEWmM8d4h-6-53ZjeCczY3oDU0TdKH8oC7867RbyEX2FHuoFK8OJF8lYonUNQHbhxU454r5G4SvFgauJG10gICIGpkE/w300-h400/20230730_074639.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviBmcTnnIcEq_IMAMEEUWWPGbJ6U-l3i-chJ56RCTu-aEul5TlVB0OnceqExEUfzVxrrLlGrC4OhElxX2xEFVX324gZgfpuJEiffFZxbsJLZ24xvRdix-mD3nNXvHhSDeUbEtpFcZ3gUHqk5Dem2yvjOEmclYitZsp_8KD4ZeZhh-D10vMKtlgKMVFZk/s4624/20230730_074726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviBmcTnnIcEq_IMAMEEUWWPGbJ6U-l3i-chJ56RCTu-aEul5TlVB0OnceqExEUfzVxrrLlGrC4OhElxX2xEFVX324gZgfpuJEiffFZxbsJLZ24xvRdix-mD3nNXvHhSDeUbEtpFcZ3gUHqk5Dem2yvjOEmclYitZsp_8KD4ZeZhh-D10vMKtlgKMVFZk/w300-h400/20230730_074726.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Ogre... doesnt really need an introduction. Giant robot/tank faces off against a range of more conventional troops and usually crushes them all mercilessly. Like a lot of my early games, these games all came from the long-gone Games Gallery shop on Glasgow's Great Western Road. This was played to death back in the 80s</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdUWPSNR5n106hQ9kt_ji15BkY1mC_7UP8YvMX57-pmCEQoYFzrjCbiFC65GzmcEyuQL96HI0tQatRgy5tZjffDGYeLnJgRpP2GIjT1BOue0zGcAr5oiK1bkXv6BJ6SHSwtGZ_8VZAgjgjZ7PfhdzdRU4QKwkwbmqcLBaDUKXmYOW3mcgJZGVYPTmEn0/s4624/20230730_074820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdUWPSNR5n106hQ9kt_ji15BkY1mC_7UP8YvMX57-pmCEQoYFzrjCbiFC65GzmcEyuQL96HI0tQatRgy5tZjffDGYeLnJgRpP2GIjT1BOue0zGcAr5oiK1bkXv6BJ6SHSwtGZ_8VZAgjgjZ7PfhdzdRU4QKwkwbmqcLBaDUKXmYOW3mcgJZGVYPTmEn0/w300-h400/20230730_074820.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCFgAyV-4L8gFjcwj5X27fLQifIC9li-731Io6tMP5zMz5mzPQ9DxsZ68ZdeRyoWHU_nwAx7UUVeNSANKABq0LLZ-JXrvlVAf_7K7tjKeB62G3ANok028olCAL-zdnRrjOE8Z4b3qqa2lx7cHQd7KlEbAytNt0bopSURFUq1EcbF-q8cOBHMdN4XNknM/s4624/20230730_074935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCFgAyV-4L8gFjcwj5X27fLQifIC9li-731Io6tMP5zMz5mzPQ9DxsZ68ZdeRyoWHU_nwAx7UUVeNSANKABq0LLZ-JXrvlVAf_7K7tjKeB62G3ANok028olCAL-zdnRrjOE8Z4b3qqa2lx7cHQd7KlEbAytNt0bopSURFUq1EcbF-q8cOBHMdN4XNknM/w400-h300/20230730_074935.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Black Hole... another game from the Metagaming range. A great concept, these pocket sized games were a bit variable in quality but the range contained some real gems. This game is set on a doughnut shaped asteroid with a black hole at its centre (probably best not to think about the science too much!). Missiles launched off one side of the map reappear on the other edge circling the play area which always caused chaos.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOry49YADR941RxLcXDJ838ABqEjhLm5pPeDJM-JcFRxKwK3CY1WnvrWQdU2JLqWoM4Wz9GQ65_bXg26TYqnePftni-4Qvu-0hfjTv_HKaStdDge2jM4F7c23sJKpGUPnFILpg2hnuXOAmZJCdG-G0OahVAV26INU5SglY1oyJtvTc05zUodOaDfs8Uk/s4624/20230730_075044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOry49YADR941RxLcXDJ838ABqEjhLm5pPeDJM-JcFRxKwK3CY1WnvrWQdU2JLqWoM4Wz9GQ65_bXg26TYqnePftni-4Qvu-0hfjTv_HKaStdDge2jM4F7c23sJKpGUPnFILpg2hnuXOAmZJCdG-G0OahVAV26INU5SglY1oyJtvTc05zUodOaDfs8Uk/w300-h400/20230730_075044.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7GKYGXhBvDCY_O5fayp2DTm5bejUyQhd2hQQKtSF-vLakEe_AEcDmLF0iAOnQytHsoOoeTpTTxJLrwqynFgIg-rI1DOVyeeKnlLtHi8RIm176W84h4w4j23VnFD1WMuH-USgDfISpvlxeeGV7DG4V0cQJiyyvrz571rd7RKCUMsudbDq6sgUd1TK242w/s4624/20230730_075152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7GKYGXhBvDCY_O5fayp2DTm5bejUyQhd2hQQKtSF-vLakEe_AEcDmLF0iAOnQytHsoOoeTpTTxJLrwqynFgIg-rI1DOVyeeKnlLtHi8RIm176W84h4w4j23VnFD1WMuH-USgDfISpvlxeeGV7DG4V0cQJiyyvrz571rd7RKCUMsudbDq6sgUd1TK242w/w300-h400/20230730_075152.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Car Wars... another one that doesn't need an introduction. It's gone through lots of evolutions since this first version. I loved the ability to design your own cars and probably spent far too many hours doing that back in 1981. Having played and enjoyed Gaslands more recently it'd be interesting to see how this hold up today.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0nwTIygMnXALsdX9qp9Sj91FTnGhAKUYHKDQvN1qyCQe2X_pblUi_Wb7RqENZREGX2oOTJriwSYMsI9pEsa8sxiG1cbbbVqSNRcqDY2-BdwM3E-8uJ-LXHFco8ofGHBhdwOi-r69rwTvzgT9ucP9dphEz0eQ56FV0SOlzRZJzngQno3vyM8Y_Ds4Vq0/s4624/20230730_075247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4624" data-original-width="3468" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0nwTIygMnXALsdX9qp9Sj91FTnGhAKUYHKDQvN1qyCQe2X_pblUi_Wb7RqENZREGX2oOTJriwSYMsI9pEsa8sxiG1cbbbVqSNRcqDY2-BdwM3E-8uJ-LXHFco8ofGHBhdwOi-r69rwTvzgT9ucP9dphEz0eQ56FV0SOlzRZJzngQno3vyM8Y_Ds4Vq0/w300-h400/20230730_075247.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBD6xvy1d6SAv0LoS483FplU00cX6csB8xXBEovY04GAzp1ZvZZqeUAkVeC-oSdHLaWya67EhYxvR_L8eW3jdShc4T9Ym7OVPHq19lyluxUYtNntUNNaDzGYX3WbMSW-0WOFsU2HqkFEnz3-1VMAds25m55KNT2ZJrYsPkREVOBU8UYznH4SzgF0fKiwI/s4624/20230730_075404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBD6xvy1d6SAv0LoS483FplU00cX6csB8xXBEovY04GAzp1ZvZZqeUAkVeC-oSdHLaWya67EhYxvR_L8eW3jdShc4T9Ym7OVPHq19lyluxUYtNntUNNaDzGYX3WbMSW-0WOFsU2HqkFEnz3-1VMAds25m55KNT2ZJrYsPkREVOBU8UYznH4SzgF0fKiwI/w400-h300/20230730_075404.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Valkenburg Castle. This one's a bit more obscure. It was published by Task Force Games in 1980 and is very much in the Metagaming style. It comes across initially as a dungeoncrawl but at its heart it's really a tactical wargame, exploring and fighting through differently levels of the titular castle. There are various scenarios and a campaign game. I have a memory of mainly playing this solo.</p><p>It's interesting to look at the maps and counters in these games in light of the quality components we now expect as standard... some of them are really quite rough and ready (definitely Valkenburg Castle!), and yet I had hours and hours of fun from these. And all at a bargain price!</p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560680272873830337.post-60245401657266088452023-07-13T23:01:00.001+01:002023-07-13T23:01:13.301+01:00Ravenfeast<p> There haven't been any blog posts for few weeks. We had a blissful week away in North Norfolk (so good we immediately booked to go back again in September!) but returned to lots of shenanigans at work and some tricky family issues which have absorbed all of my time and energy.</p><p>Game-wise I played in an excellent ECW game at Eric the Shed's. Incidentally if you haven't had a look at it, Eric has now launched a brilliant wargaming event business. His blog post about it is <a href="https://shedwars.blogspot.com/2023/04/some-very-exciting-news.html?m=1">here</a> and the link to the Shed Wars Experience site is <a href="https://shedwars.co.uk/">here</a>.</p><p>Last night I played a fun Viking skirmish game using Ravenfeast... these rules are available as a free download <a href="http://www.ravenfeast.com/">here</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0i2lmwfqFifUVQrY2YxvrH7vUs5xBWhRoKtLQpXbSNhdJvy22G_XRtgYfjX_DbBJhj7GgTFHhpAL55hfAaR1U-syEmsPfWxbpubaqKVyQ_o-OM06NT04_yfYP2zwP-3I-2e2xg-2eKnklUch904kk82LLLr5vCsmAa2M0gfHF5uxVYL0aFY4DHbmp04/s1975/20230712_205548.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1975" data-original-width="1760" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh0i2lmwfqFifUVQrY2YxvrH7vUs5xBWhRoKtLQpXbSNhdJvy22G_XRtgYfjX_DbBJhj7GgTFHhpAL55hfAaR1U-syEmsPfWxbpubaqKVyQ_o-OM06NT04_yfYP2zwP-3I-2e2xg-2eKnklUch904kk82LLLr5vCsmAa2M0gfHF5uxVYL0aFY4DHbmp04/w356-h400/20230712_205548.jpg" width="356" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>The game is very much at the small end of skirmish gaming and our scenario challenged my Viking Jarl and his warband to break through to the coast and their waiting longship, while the Saxons were intent on stopping them. I tried racing for the safety of the coast and avoiding a fight if possible (not very Viking, I know).. each player has a bonus card and mine gave me a turn of unrestricted movement in rough going so I'd planned to slip into a nearby wood and leave the Saxons in my dust. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd66Cv6x1u4lMC9Hg190YkOBFu36gp4gY_e60inywBde_97oviTDQ7Kuf31CWAuL9AeMNp5pga4HvVshxy4pOBzcL3bu87GLj9nIbbfAn8Y5LkVz1ucZPaSne_yS-qiUt0Y4g66iZud9pZvGsWZFEhKnetXipBuYEm_XNJSrG4UgeQL1KCyKHquuqmFy8/s4624/20230712_195043.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd66Cv6x1u4lMC9Hg190YkOBFu36gp4gY_e60inywBde_97oviTDQ7Kuf31CWAuL9AeMNp5pga4HvVshxy4pOBzcL3bu87GLj9nIbbfAn8Y5LkVz1ucZPaSne_yS-qiUt0Y4g66iZud9pZvGsWZFEhKnetXipBuYEm_XNJSrG4UgeQL1KCyKHquuqmFy8/w400-h300/20230712_195043.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiBIlb9t5Oq6tNMDfejHMfA95pRfMWIwtIpkVToPosXWDsehsBlagrf20CAglkp0uXI1TMDHcRQq77UaxiOUDCY2cmYHyCR6ECfruLRItKGC4CAT7_1hcetp_rQK_FiXUIIHI8vu_BX0RtE6qrLr3OWkXRehKU_76p1mmE2AIvNzqpM0pFi9JBWwWLxI/s4624/20230712_195048.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiBIlb9t5Oq6tNMDfejHMfA95pRfMWIwtIpkVToPosXWDsehsBlagrf20CAglkp0uXI1TMDHcRQq77UaxiOUDCY2cmYHyCR6ECfruLRItKGC4CAT7_1hcetp_rQK_FiXUIIHI8vu_BX0RtE6qrLr3OWkXRehKU_76p1mmE2AIvNzqpM0pFi9JBWwWLxI/w400-h300/20230712_195048.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5E12fsq4R-mzZ3SuJvu_rvD86TZZLAXFjPMwI0nc5udju1WsD9_rLZQg0B2Ae2Jg_c3P-6sDBoC-InLmPeJFhanFz5rMdIzppJHcD0aHE5eVKr1BUSO66FM9dCfzGyX49BC1JQp69h-earJjLqIKokSBDZENjofPD_b8g8zpwIaKwPDzCcic0NYJ9FM/s2731/20230712_200749.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2715" data-original-width="2731" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5E12fsq4R-mzZ3SuJvu_rvD86TZZLAXFjPMwI0nc5udju1WsD9_rLZQg0B2Ae2Jg_c3P-6sDBoC-InLmPeJFhanFz5rMdIzppJHcD0aHE5eVKr1BUSO66FM9dCfzGyX49BC1JQp69h-earJjLqIKokSBDZENjofPD_b8g8zpwIaKwPDzCcic0NYJ9FM/w400-h398/20230712_200749.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p>Sadly the Saxons very unsportingly mobbed my Jarl and prevented him from reaching the safety of the trees. He made a very heroic last stand but eventually fell to the Saxon hordes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvpEKkba-tiq_ISVB1_VP3njrup8scTeK_oxjdfDa6W1vKuv--lbYSpen5xmVfvfm95PvsL0asgC3f9GDN_gIAZe9GCm7QpTPKAXlz9faB2s5PTauH6aXH0kqE53dC7S661KEAmyWlZpteRvBfRYQAK3KfUD1O9MsKnvC0NhNgKzc97q9KFFk4TECgEo/s4624/20230712_203326.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3468" data-original-width="4624" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvpEKkba-tiq_ISVB1_VP3njrup8scTeK_oxjdfDa6W1vKuv--lbYSpen5xmVfvfm95PvsL0asgC3f9GDN_gIAZe9GCm7QpTPKAXlz9faB2s5PTauH6aXH0kqE53dC7S661KEAmyWlZpteRvBfRYQAK3KfUD1O9MsKnvC0NhNgKzc97q9KFFk4TECgEo/w400-h300/20230712_203326.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">The figures were Anthony's newly-acquired 40mm Vikkngs and looked great. Ravenfeast aren't the most sophisticated rules but are dead easy to pick up and play with.</p>alastairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15012644168758721189noreply@blogger.com0