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Post by Brian Cameron on Mar 9, 2023 11:38:40 GMT
I was intrigued my the Age of Penda. The Dark Ages isn't really my thing (though I still have a box of 25mm figures lurking in the recesses of the toy cupboard) but I bought the PDF for a fiver and its an interesting little system which I could imagine adapting for pike and shot. Now that period has the whiff of gunpowder which it needs to get me going!
A bit more inspiration from the day.
Brian
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Post by spiritofethandune on Mar 9, 2023 12:17:30 GMT
Brian,
Still not your period but Dan Mersey initially devised the rules for 13th century medieval warfare (he published them as 'Scottorum Malleus' in a wargames mag). His favourite period is the Dark Ages and he altered the rules accordingly (the medieval version had tactical options for knightly charges and longbow arrow storms). Anyway, I'm glad you like them, they've made Dark Age gaming much more fun for me.
Cheers Anthony
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Post by manoftinblog on Mar 10, 2023 7:29:27 GMT
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Post by davel on Mar 10, 2023 9:08:30 GMT
Great photos of the game
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Post by Brian Cameron on Mar 10, 2023 10:38:19 GMT
Anthony,
Medieval 1000 - 1300 is another period I once engaged with and I still have the 25mm figures from the late 70s / early 80s. And the Saracen army that went with them. Another period where I wrote my own rules becuase the popular WRG style games couldn't reproduce the tactics of medieval battles such as Thielt and others whose names I'd now have to look up. Basically coming down to being the one with the last fresh reserve to pile into the unformed mess which was slogging away.
I think a lot of the appeal of wargaming for me has always been to research a period and then devise a design to capture the flavour of that period as simply as possible. I certainly find that it brings out the attitude of playing the period and not the rules. The appeal fo small actions with big figures for me is that they are relatively 'light' with a good fun element eg my 'Watch the wall my darling' smugglers game although I found the period/setting very interesting when I started reading it up.
The limited number of figures required to be painted is quite appealing though tracking down/making what you wnat/need can be quite a difficult process, certainly by comparison with 28mm. There is, however, what I think Mike referred to last Saturday as the 'thrill of the chase' element.
Brian
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Post by manoftinblog on Mar 10, 2023 11:24:28 GMT
Brian, For me too, researching and converting or making the figures is all part of the fun. Quote from Featherstone that I have on my Man Of TIN blog
“The pleasure does not begin and end with the actual playing of the war-game. There are many pleasant hours to be spent in making model soldiers, painting them, constructing terrain, carrying out research into battles, tactics and uniforms ..." Donald Featherstone, War Games 1962
It’s almost like preparing for local panto or the school play etc. Rackety theatricals of the concert party, one pace forward! First you have ‘casting’ the characters, researching and preparing all the costumes, scenery, rules and scenario (Script), then a performance or two ... followed by the “reviews” or games reports. After possibly taking your production on tour (gaming shows) there is the anticlimax afterwards, lack of mojo etc. This is solved only by and starting working on the next project / production. (Is the panto / school play / play metaphor / comparison to toy soldier gaming wearing or stretching thin here?) No surprise however that Wells and lots of his writer friends / toy soldier enthusiasts also enjoyed toy theatre. manoftinblog.wordpress.com/h-g-wells-little-wars-floor-games-toy-theatres-and-magic-cities/manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2020/12/12/penny-plain-and-tuppence-coloured-rls-the-toy-theatre-of-war-and-early-wargaming/
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Post by Brian Cameron on Mar 11, 2023 12:09:53 GMT
Mark, thanks for the two fascinating links - I'll be spending soem time reading through in detail and tracking the links. As it happens one of my memories of early schooldays is of making a small toy theatre which I spend hours playing with at home. I'm intrigued by the notion of playing out the battle of Waterloo as a theatrical production! In another link with model railways, quite a few exhibiters frame the front of the layout to make a more theatrical production of it. A friend of mine regards exhibiting a layout as a 'production' which needs to be carefully thought out.
Perhaps because my interest in wargaming is rooted in my interest in history (I was fascinated by the subject from my first lesson about stone age man) my gaming has a lot of continuity when it comes to favoured periods (eg the 19th century) but if something is a 'light' project then it might disappear into a box and not re-emerge for decades (I always used to write 'years' but realise it's often a longer period!). I don't suppose 'Watch the wall' will get more than an occasioanl airing but it involved only a modest expenditure and was a lot of fun throughout the process so well worth while. I've two similar projects in the works for big toy sodiers as well as the large current 28mm Boxer project. Bbutterfly? me? Yes, and very enjoyable it is. Brian
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Post by alastair on Mar 14, 2023 15:44:23 GMT
I finally got round to writing up a blog post on last weekends day with some photos... link
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Post by oldminer on Mar 14, 2023 18:52:07 GMT
Thanks for the writeup, that was fun. The smuggling game does look interesting, more of a table size for my needs. The armored train attack is just cool. How does one attack an armored train with a rifle?
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Post by manoftinblog on Mar 14, 2023 21:41:36 GMT
Brian Your model railway as framed theatre is a very interesting point . I have somewhere via the old pen shop on eBay a Waterloo toy theatre play ‘penny plain’ (uncoloured black and white) pictured in the Toy Theatre www.ebay.co.uk/usr/theoldpenshopI thought it might be a future source of Peter Dennis style paper soldiers / Paper Boys. Another project for another day ... As you say the smuggler game can go in a box file easily and be brought out whenever needed for a quick game. Captain Smudge will get his revenge one day (once he’s found another expendable bunch of cutthroat pirate smugglers, sorry that should read import export business men ... Mark Man Of TIN
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