Update: Hannibal and The Fall of Carthage

I previously reviewed the game Hannibal: Rome v. Carthage here, and a little bit of Andrian Goldworthy's The Fall of Carthage here. Here's some updates concerning both. 

The new edition of Hannibal has some new rules that make it a somewhat different and better game. In the old edition the game immediately ended with the capture of Hannibal or Scipio Africanus. This is no longer the case. If Hannibal is lost, Carthage loses major prestige (5 political control markers, which is about the equivalent of a province) in addition to any political losses from simply suffering defeat in a field battle. This occurred while we played a game recently and it greatly hampered the Carthaginians, as you might expect. What we think we learned is that losing Hannibal might not necessarily spell defeat for Carthage if they are already in a decent position. It seemed incredible that Carthage lasted 4 or more turns after losing their best general by the third turn. For a change, I did not play Hannibal...but I could have used this rule back in the 90s.

I finished reading The Fall of Carthage and I am please to see such harmony between its contextual political, social, and military review of the Second Punic War and how the Hannibal game plays. The concept of losing political ground based on battlefield defeats rings true. The reluctance of the armies and their commanders to commit to battle - and even their lack of ability to force their enemy to engage - also rings true with the game mechanics for activating army commanders. If it seems hard to get things done sometimes, that's because it was that way. Don't forget how the limits of communication affected the ability to gather intelligence and make decisions. The players get to view a game board map of the western Mediterranean and at least see what forces are currently in the field. The real commanders did well to know what was happening in the nearest provinces. 

Again, I highly recommend both the game and book. 

Summer Project: FOW

I mentioned in a previous post that I was interested in building the Hermann Goring Division and the US 3rd Division forces for an Italian campaign. I have purchased some platoon packs of infantry, but before I start painting them I thought I would work on some vehicles that have been waiting too long in box on a shelf in my home office. I'm sure some of you know the kind of thing I'm talking about here.

Anyway, I am working on a platoon of Stug G IIIs, a couple of US trucks, a couple of Flak Panzers, and a couple of SdKfz 251/9s. The Stug Gs will have a spot in one HG panzergrenadierkompanie, as might the US trucks. I thought I would paint one of them to look like it was captured and redone in dunkenkelb. I'll probably leave the canvas in US Army olive or dark green. 

I'll post some pictures later of the finished models, but in the meantime I thought I would show a picture of resin models soaking in mildly soapy water. I'm pretty sure the blue-gray color is not just the liquid soap; I'm pretty sure that is the reagent or whatever it is that sticks the miniature after the molding process. As the Battlefront folks suggest, clean the resin models before painting!

I'll be up front here - my miniatures and my photos of them probably won't knock you out. But I think I can say that I'm probably one of the few hobbyists who will show you a picture of miniatures taking a good soak after a good toothbrush scrubbing. 

Also, here's a picture of the Stug G IIIs and US trucks drying.

Missionary Ridge: WI Online Bonus

I submitted some guidelines for playing Missionary Ridge to Wargames Illustrated, with the intent that the bonus material might appear somewhere in the magazine or as an online bonus. It has the hallmarks of a tricky battle to portray, even if you have enough troops for the tabletop: lots of terrain that will make a different game based on ground scales and movement rates.

Take a look at the online article and see what you think. You can also download a PDF of the article there.

Of course, there's some good gaming still in the magazine article for the siege of Chattanooga - and that focuses on Sherman's less than orderly attack against Cleburne's position on the right flank of Missionary Ridge. I think that part of the battle often gets overlooked in light of the heroic Union actions that took place along the main line. In actuality, Sherman's assault was supposed to be the big victory.

Free RPG Day 2010

I wrote a news story for the Chattanooga Times Free Press about the fourth annual Free RPG Day. You can read the online version here.

My thanks to Erik Mona and Wes Schneider of Paizo Publishing for taking time to offer comments for the article. Also, my thanks to Katie Page of Porter Novelli who commented on behalf of Wizards of the Coast.

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on Paizo's Pathfinder adventure module, "Master of the Fallen Fortress." The new Legend of the Five Rings quickstart offering looks interesting too.  

Pictured Above: The cover of "Master of the Fallen Fortress. Paizo advises that if you miss a free hard copy at the local gaming store, you can order a copy from them for $5 (plus shipping) or download a free pdf. Well, you can read all about that by going to its link posted above the picture.

Preview: Wargames Illustrated 273: Campaign For Chattanooga

I pitched the 'Campaign For Chattanooga' as a theme to Wargames Illustrated back in January; Dave and Dan gave it the greenlight and we did a fairly quick turnaround. As it turns out, I also wrote most of the articles for the theme, too. I am looking forward to seeing the Chickamauga piece - it's my understanding that it evolved from a very nice game presented at Cold Wars or Fall In. You can see a preview on the FOW site here.

I believe this is my first venture into a historical period outside of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. I'd love to see your comments on the issue.

The issue also includes Part Two of 'Wargaming the Roman Army'. I'm eager to see how it turned out. I relied a lot on Guy Halsall's Barbarian Migrations, which I have reviewed in prior posts, to bring out some subtle points on the nature/character of the Late Roman Army.

Living History at Chickamauga Battlefield

I got to do a news story on the 37th Georgia Living History Regiment while they appeared at Chickamauga Battlefield Park last weekend. They gave interesting talks on camp life, equipment, and recruiting. They also performed a number of different musket-firing drills. 

You can follow a link to the online version of the Chattanooga Times Free Press here.

The above photo is one I took with my old digital camera. A much cooler slide show of images taken by the staff photographer may be found at the bottom of the online article.

Fort Christmas

While in Florida, I visited Fort Christmas, which is at the southeastern edge of Orange County (Orlando). The park contains a replica of Fort Christmas, built as part of the United States' campaigns against the Seminole Indians in the nation's second war with them.

The original fort was abandoned within three months, its purpose ended by the army's southern advances. The replica has two 20' x 20' blockhouses and a few buildings. The original is long gone. I'm sure it didn't have central air conditioning in the blockhouses, as the modern version, but no complaints from me on that point. 

The replica was built as part of an initiative to celebrate the nation's bicentennial.

If time had allowed, I would have visited some of the other prominent Seminole War sites, especially the replica of Fort Foster and the Dade Battlefield.

Summer Reading: The Fall of Carthage

The blog took another break last week while I spent some time in Florida visiting relatives, playing on beaches, and lazing about. I took some time to put some paint on some Late Roman infantry and some fantasy miniatures. I may post some pics when I have completed those small projects.

I have been reading Adrian Goldworthy's The Fall of Carthage in my spare time. The author attempts to place the three Punic wars in context with each other and the wider Mediterranean world, and not solely in juxtaposition to Rome. He defaults to Polybios whenever he presents differences in evidence or traditions. Even then, he is careful to point out the limitations of the ancient historical accounts. Furthermore, Goldsworthy does his best to put the reader in the frame of mind of the ancient world and not let the modern thoughts on political and military motivations drive the narratives.


From a gaming perspective, I think there's plenty of material here for creating and modifying Carthaginian army lists. For that matter, its probably worth a look for its review of the naval aspects of the First Punic War.


I highly recommend this book. It's a good introductory to the period. Even if Goldworthy has made errors - and I am no expert who can say what's right and what's wrong with it - I still think the reader will come away with a better understanding of the big and little pictures of Rome's wars with Carthage.

Wargaming the Roman Army - Online Extras

Wargames Illustrated asked me to write a piece (which turned into a two-part series) on the Roman army from a wargaming perspective. This was what I considered one of those Holy Grails of tabletop gaming assignments - right up there with the Vikings and the First Crusade. 

The first part appears in issue #272, right in the midst of the biggest collection of Napoleonic articles I think I've ever seen assembled. I'm honored that my work was included in such a magnificent endeavor. 


Anyway - when I took a look at the Roman army, I went all the way back. There's few figures for the earliest warriors, but a fair number of worthy substitutes and - you guessed it - lots of opportunities for conversions. Here's a link to the Wargames Illustrated extra online content for some cool conversions by Matt Parkes (see picture on the right for a sneak peak at the even bigger sneak peak of Wargaming the Roman Army). 

FOW Dogs & Devils

I recently purchased Battlefront's Dogs & Devils, which focuses on Anzio but gives a lot of info regarding the Italian campaigns post-Sicily to the march towards Rome. I mentioned Wargame Illustrated's coverage of the supplement not long ago and I can say that I think the book lives up to the sneak peak and additional material found in the magazine.

I have long wanted to build a unit based on the Herman Goring Division, and they make an appearance in Dogs & Devils, along with the US 3rd Infantry Divsion and the Allied Devil's Brigade (I believe James Garner appeared in a movie about them back in the 60s). They all look like interesting forces to put on the table.

Loot

The summer project blogs are in progress. In the meantime I thought I'd share some thoughts about some fun card and board games that don't take a long time to learn or play.

Loot is a great little card game where the players assume the role pirates attempting to gather up treasure ships.

Each player maintains a hand of cards that fall into the following categories: 

• Numbered and colored pirate ships. Color indicates fleet affiliation and number indicates strength; I believe there is 5 or 6 fleet colors and strength runs from 1 to 6 - or maybe 7.

• Captains. These are colored according to fleet affiliation. Each fleet only has one captain.

• Merchant Ships. These have gold coins imprinted upon them, indicating value. I believe the lowest value is 2, and the greatest is probably 8 or 10. Seems like most fall in between 4 and 6. 

• The Admiral. 

Gameplay

Players put merchant ships into play and attempt to claim them by playing the strongest fleet suits upon them. Captain cards trump, but a player may only introduce one that is affiliated with the pirate fleet they put into play on a particular ship. A player may never put more than one colored fleet against a particular merchant ship. The Admiral is kind of a wild trump card, but he is not all-powerful. 


I have fun whenever I get to play this game, and I highly recommend it for those looking for a good - and short - game that requires a little thought, but yet is not complicated. Four or five players can finish a game in about half an hour.
 

Upcoming Blogs

I've hit a few stumbles this month. Various writing projects have piled up and they have taken a lot of time and effort. That said, I've got some blog ideas that I've been working on in my head at least. 

One is an ambitious look or three at summer projects, both gaming and modeling. I'll also offer some thoughts on inspirations for role-playing games of different genres. Finally, I've got a few Wargames Illustrated pieces coming out this summer that I'll chat about.

Nottingham and the Beginning of the English Civil War

Outside of the Commandery in Worcester, I wasn't looking for any particular sites related to the ECW theme. As it turns out, I kept stumbling across them. On the walkway up the sandstone hill on which Nottingham Castle rests, one can find a marker dedicated to King Charles' attempt to rally Royalist support (see picture to the right).

Dan F of Wargames Illustrated advised me that Nottingham was a Parliamentarian stronghold and that "approximately three men" joined Charles.

Set into the side of the sandstone hill is the pub Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which claims to be the oldest pub in all England. Nice sandwiches and beer - the staff was nice too. Maybe the three Royalist recruits had a pint there before embarking with the king.

Worcester and the End of the English Civil War

I like to visit historical sites. While I have never written anything on the English Civil War, I enjoy studying it. 

We visited the Commandery Museum in Worcester during a holiday trip to England a few years ago. The audio tour leads you through the last desperate hours of the Royalist cause as you walk through the medieval building (which began as a monastic hospital). I recommend spending an afternoon there if you are in the area.

Review: Wargames Illustrated 271

It's been kinda quiet on the blog this week. Frankly, it has been crunch time on several competing deadlines and I just haven't had the time to keep up with the blog. 

I received my copy of WI 271 this week and I got a chance to read through it, so I'll offer a quick (and probably incomplete) review: 


The Flames of War material for The Road to Rome theme, based on the Dogs & Devils release, was pretty good. Lots of interesting bits on army lists and army building - I especially like the advice article on creating a US 3rd Division company at different point levels. I was pleased with the Market Garden coverage few months ago and Battlefront continues to put high quality articles in place. I don't get to play this  game as much as I'd like, but I find the historical content interesting and appreciate the special scenario mechanics. 


I also liked Neil Smith's The Perfect Battle: Aliwal, 1846. Not only is it an informative piece on the Anglo-Sikh conflicts of the mid-19th Century, it has some great sidebars on the 16th Lancers and contemporary accounts of the fighting - as viewed by the soldiers. It also features Black Powder stats for the scenario game. 


The Battle of Melle, 1745. I have actually just started reading it, but it involves WI's Dan F and some of the Warlord Games guys putting on another scenario using Black Powder rules. Nice town layout, and the BP unit tweaks to fit the troop capabilities were good. 


The Little Fighting Fours. I have only skimmed this one, but it looks like it will be a good read also. I really liked the article about the Prussians a few months ago and this one is done along those lines. I'd really like to see more units explored in depth like this in the magazine.


There's more, of course, but I'll stop here. I do want to say that the photos for my Brunanburh article were pretty dang awesome. Again, my hat is off to Dan F's photography. 









 

Battle of Brunanburh Bonus (More Vikings!)

Wargames Illustrated 271 features my take on the epic Battle of Brunanburh, where the Dublin Norse made their last great attempt against Alfred's scions in 937. This material was written in support of the previous issue's Vikings of Ireland theme. The WI website features orders of battle I created using Warhammer Ancient Battles and Warmaster Ancients rules.

I mentioned previously that I really liked Howard Whitehouse's article on the Battle of Clontarf because he made the effort to present the scant historical facts as best as possible and let the mythology provide flavor. This is exactly the way I felt Brunanburh should be handled. Most of the medieval text concerning the battle should not be taken at face value. The orders of battle noted above were created with these kinds of thing in mind. The Brunanburh battle poem, found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (and also presented in the online bonus material), served as my guide; the tweaks especially try to bring out the flavor of the poem.


So now I'm wondering what the lists might look like with Howard Whitehouse's beta Clash of Iron. That sounds like a fun project to try out next month. 

The S.I.E.G.E.

With luck I will get to attend the second annual S.I.E.G.E. in Chattanooga this coming Saturday. This game convention will feature miniature games (fantasy, sci-fi, and historicals), role-playing games, card games, board games, and console games. It's got tons of tournaments.

Dicehead Comics & Games (located in Chattanooga and Cleveland, TN) is organizing the event, but they have received a lot of ground level support from game clubs in East and Middle Tennessee. Shane Grubb, one of Dicehead's owners, really raved about the prize and game master support the convention has received from Battlefront/Gale Force 9. 


I think this all-games convention is what the region needs. I can't recall anything like it in East Tennessee, ever. Folks really have to travel to Nashville, Atlanta, or farther to enjoy a good game convention. Here's to more good gaming in the Southeast.

Coming Soon: Wargames Illustrated 271

It's been a long week as I work on a number of project deadlines, and I expect updates will be a little irregular from time to time. But here's a preview to the next Wargames Illustrated issue, which features my take on the Battle of Brunanburh 937 - more on that later. It also features a cool 19th Century India article by Neil Smith - and more on that later too. 

If you read the kind words WI US Editor Dave Taylor had for me in WI 270's editorial, you saw that I'm involved in an American Civil War project. Yeah - more on that later too - I'm sworn to secrecy at the moment. I did want to say I've had a lot of fun researching and writing about a military subject outside of my Ancients/Dark Ages favorites.

Dominion

I finally played Rio Grande Games' Dominion recently, and I definitely saw similarities between it and AEG's Thunderstone (see my brief review here). Players assume the role of medieval aristocrats attempting to increase their controlled territories through judicious use of political and economic resources. 

I believe the game may be played with only two players, but it seems like it is more fun to have four players (maximum). Again, this is a game of card resource management and the players must decide on whether to build/trim their decks or pursue victory points (growing their kingdoms). The choice between strengthening your hand and purchasing victory points becomes more acute as the game progresses. Offhand, I'd say anytime you get a chance to make a big score on points (grabbing a province), you should do it.


The resource cards do a great job of linking the late medieval/renaissance theme and their game functions/mechanics. For instance, throne rooms and council rooms - the corridors of power - let players multiply the effects of other resources or bring more resources into play, respectively. Players can't ignore things likes workshops or woodcutters, either - they are nuts-and-bolt cards that can serve a number of minor, but essential purposes. 

I highly recommend the game.

Whitehouse on Clontarf in WI 270

I must say that I really like Howard Whitehouse's take on the Battle of Clontarf in his article "The Plain of the Bull" in Wargames Illustrated 270. I got to drive the content for the Vikings in Ireland theme and I knew that the battle would be difficult to portray in any way close to reality. Whitehouse took to dispelling the saga myths, but used them for flavoring - and I think that is the best way to go. Off the top of my head I can name a few introductory books on the period that I've read that don't bother much with exploring the scant historical facts - they just recount saga legends as if they were history - and readers deserve better. Kudos to Howard.

Also of interest - the article presents orders of battle and some basic info for playing the Battle of Clontarf using Whitehouse's "Clash of Iron" rules, currently in beta. The rules should be available for download at wargamesfactory.com in the "none-too-distant future" according to Whitehouse's posts on the Wargames Factory forum. 

Wargames Illustrated: Painting Vikings

Editor Dave Taylor and Josh Landis show us how to paint up some Viking and Irish figures in Wargames Illustrated #270. The article includes some of Wargames Factory plastic Vikings and some of Crusader's metal Dark Age Irish, and a painted likeness of Brian Boru (based on an Angus McBride plate). We also get some how-to steps for painting Celtic knots. 

Speaking of plastic Vikings, Gripping Beast will join Wargames Factory with their own releases later this month. I'm tempted to give both a try. The cover art for WI 270 is taken from the new Gripping Beast figure box.

Paul Davies also gives us a very cool Early Irish Christian Church in his How To Build series. He breaks out the foamcore, Dulux paint, and Dremel tool like no other to make a model church complete with a tower. I wish I could do stonework like that. Anyway, lots of great pics of project and the finished work, plus a picture of the real thing and a list of inspirational source material. 

Greek Fire

I was able to grab some feature space again in Dragon magazine based on Dark Age history. Issue 
#334 featured my piece on Greek Fire, a staple alchemical weapon going all the way back to the 1st edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game. I took it back to its famous historical roots, complete with flame-spewing siphon projectors in "The Fires of Alchemy."

The editors did a great job of putting together a theme that evoked historical and legendary elements of the medieval eastern Mediterranean world. "Monsters of Arabia" (by Wolfgang Baur), "The Janissary," and the "Ecology of the Kraken" were all great pieces. Ed Greenwood's Cities of the Realms feature, "Crimmor, City of Caravans," could easily serve as the basis for a real world trading city between Italy and Asia Minor. 

This wraps up the short look at Dark Ages and Dragon (and Dungeon) magazine this week. At another time, I may take a look at other historically themed content that appeared in its pages. Some of the most interesting things I read in Dragon's pages were based on people, places, and things from the world's past.

Next week may be slow going on the blog, but I think it may be time to talk a little more about Vikings...

The Rus in Dragon and Dungeon

My first published works appeared in Dragon #290 and Dungeon #89. Dragon contained the historical campaign setting "Red Sails," which focused on the history, mythology, and monsters of Eastern Europe of the Dark Ages (ca 600-1100 AD), but focused on Viking Age Russia. I submitted the first draft opus (hard copy by mail!) in September 1999, right before we went to see The 13th Warrior at the theater - seemed very appropriate. I did get a bit of a bad feeling when I saw the advertisements for 3rd Edition D&D in the August issue of Dragon magazine though. A revision and a few editors later, the setting hit the shelves in October 2001. 

Chris Perkins encouraged me to write a supporting adventure for the setting, and I submitted "Rivers of Blood," which I originally titled "Blood on the Steppes." I suppose Perkins made the call on the better name.  The adventure takes place in 9th/10th Century Russia, with the player characters taking sides of a vendetta between competing chieftains - complete with a slave raid, a dangerous river journey, sacred pools, a kidnapping hag, and a fortified market town.

Age of Arthur: Dragon #257 and #263

While taking a few months off from work while taking care of our newborn in the summer of 1999, I queried Dragon Magazine about doing a campaign setting for Arthurian Britain. Editor Dave Gross advised me that it was a great idea - and that they had published Ian Malcolmson's "The Dark Ages" a few months earlier in Dragon #257(pictured right - cover art by Roger Raupp, who did another Arthurian theme cover for Dragon a decade earlier). This is the kind of thing that happens when you don't have a subscription... I did intrigue Dave Gross with another historical campaign idea - but more on that in another post. In the meantime I searched out what I believe must have been the last issue in Atlanta. 

The article offered great advice for modifying the D&D classes through the use of the 2nd Edition-style "kits" so players could assume the role of Saxon thegns, Romano-British horsemen, and clergy. Also, if the players wanted a little more fantasy in their game, the article listed appropriate monsters and the like. 

Malcolmson also wrote a follow-up piece regarding Saxon mythology which appeared in Dragon #263 that fall. It was pretty cool too; readers got to see older and somewhat creepier versions of the gods that appear in the Icelandic sagas.

Coming Up: Dark Ages in Dungeons & Dragons

This week on the blog I'm going to take a look at some of my favorite articles from Dragon magazine which either helped players get closer to a historical setting or bring historical warriors and weapons to their games. My first articles to see publication fall in this category and I'll give some anecdotes on them as well. In the meantime, enjoy the cover from TSR's Greyhawk Wars game, which used Roger Raupp's cover art from Dragon #125. It features Raupp's vision of the showdown between Arthur and Merdraut at Camlann.

Inspiring Vikings: Clare Downham's Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland

It was my privilege to take the lead on the Viking theme for Wargames Illustrated #270. I got to push ideas for the article contents and write a few of them as well. When asked if I would like to write something for the Viking Age, I immediately agreed and decided to offer something that I have not really seen in a wargames magazine before - a frank review of the Norse activity in Ireland taken from political and martial perspectives and put into context of their relationship with Viking, Scottish, English, etc. kingdoms in Britain. 

The introductory article I wrote would not have been the same without Clare Downham's Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland.  She does a lot to untangle the dynastic threads that the Dublin Norse wove throughout Ireland and northern Britain. Her book even has an ultra-cool appendix which lists personalities and their relevant notations in the various annals of the period.

Game Review: Thunderstone

Time for a little game blogging this week - and the promised review of AEG's Thunderstone.


Before I go into the review, let me preface it by saying that I have been advised that Thunderstone's core mechanics are very similar to Rio Grande Games' Dominion. I have seen Dominion played in passing, but I didn't watch long enough to learn much about it. I did hear this statement from more than one person - even a guy who just chanced upon us playing at the local game shop - so I feel I'm offering more than hearsay.

The game takes the fantasy dungeon quest and turns it into an interesting game of resource management and acquisition. Players build a card pool of heroes, weapons, spells, and items and use them to defeat the game's monsters. Every turn one must choose whether to go the village to purchase more heroes/powers/whatever or go the the dungeon and engage the monsters. Defeating the villains gives players experience points and victory points; experience points may be spent to increase a hero's abilities, and victory points win the game. Another way of looking at the game is the recurring question: Should you grow your forces this turn or make a grab for more victory points? For the most part, the players don't directly conflict with one another; when they are able, it tends to be in the form of temporary losses of cards.


We played the intro scenario, which gave a fairly quick and balanced game. Then we played a scenario with randomized resources and it proved much more challenging. We did not have an easy time with making hero/weapon/magic purchases and the monsters were already pretty tough. The lesson here is that the mix of player resources can have a big impact on how fast the game plays and how much determination and strategy one needs to succeed. I recommend the game, and I can definitely see how the same game might not ever be played again.


The last thing I'll mention is that the game looks great - very nice production values and quality artwork. I really like the thick cards too.

Coming Soon: Thunderstone

Time is tight this week on the Pencil & Dice blog, but I thought I'd throw out a sneak peak for AEG's Thunderstone. This is a cool fantasy card game that I got to play a few times over the weekend. I'll give it a review later this week.

The Battle of Marston Moor, July 1644

Another favorite recurring Wargames Illustrated contributor, Jim Graham, authored the "The Battle of Marston Moor" in the magazine's big ECW issue.


We get a detailed look at this major engagement, with a special focus on the cavalry flank action between Prince Rupert and Cromwell. Even though cavalry steal the show, there's still plenty of pics of beautiful regiments of infantry with muskets, pikes, and flags. We also get a nice Osprey campaign map. The game scenario only covers the cavalry action noted above, which is good for a couple of reasons: you don't need a ton of figures to get to play and yet it still brings the character of the battle and the period to the fore.


Sidebars: Oliver Cromwell short bio and ECW Uniforms, which goes a ways towards dispelling myths about the "standard" appearance of Royalist and Parliamentary cavalrymen.

The picture to the right is some box cover art from Warlord Games' ECW cavalry and dragoons range. The article featured a number of lavish photographs of their figures on the tabletop along with others from Trent, Renegade, and Foundry. 

The Battle of Birmingham, April 1643

Games designer Chris Peers authored the "The Battle of Birmingham" as part of the Prince Rupert & English Civil War theme in Wargames Illustrated #269. He went the distance with this piece and brought a lot of interesting insights to the table.

Again, we get to take a look at small engagement whose offbeat nature and importance belied its size (see The Battle of Powick Bridge for another). I'll not throw too many spoilers out there, but the battle was rather lopsided and included a good measure of artillery; the ugly aftermath definitely put Prince Rupert in a nasty light - even in the eyes of King Charles. The article looks pretty awesome (and don't get me wrong, all the ECW articles look great), and it's probably my favorite from a miniature vignette perspective - we get close-ups and big views of well-made tabletop Birmingham environs, including St. Martin's Church. Renegade Miniatures and Grand Manner played center stage to the fab pics.


The article includes a scenario, with orders of battle based on Rick Priestley's 1644 rules. Beyond that we get plenty of sidebars: The Pamphlet War, which describes the propaganda aspects of the conflict; Searching for the Battle; and ECW Artillery, another gem in the collection of nuts-and-bolts tactics/troops/weapons sidebars found throughout the series. 

The last installment on this week's series on Wargames Illustrated's ECW issue will feature Jim Graham's "The Battle of Marston Moor."

Coming Soon: The Vikings in Ireland!

I love the Vikings and getting to write about them was a privilege and a thrill. Next month's Wargames Illustrated #270 takes them head on in a refreshing way - this isn't just the same old loot and plunder narratives and scenarios (though there's plenty to go around in the issue's pages). When offered a chance to drive the Viking theme, I took the opportunity to really bring the Norse Kingdom of Dublin alive for the tabletop. Check out the preview here. And did I mention games guru Howard Whitehouse did a piece for the theme as well? 

ECW Guest Blog: Neil Smith

Neil Smith authored two pieces (that eventually turned into three) for Wargames Illustrated's big English Civil War issue (pictured at right). He agreed to submit a little background regarding his love affair with military history and the ECW in particular...

I blame Mr. Kelly. I was a nine-year-old kid just moved to the big town from a wee village and I found myself in Mr. Kelly’s class. The soft spoken, bearded Irishman with a talent for story-telling and playing the penny-whistle during lessons also had a passion for history. It was he who gave me my first ever history assignment, and I chose the English Civil War for reasons now lost along with thousands of brain cells during my Newcastle Brown Ale years.

I remember it as if it was yesterday, a huge poster sized sheet of paper with a Cavalier lovingly portrayed down one side and a Roundhead on the other. In the middle was my hand-drawn map of Edgehill and vignettes on all the different aspects of the war cut out from my school notepad and glued on. To my nine-year-old eyes this was art of the highest order, and my love affair with military history was well underway.

Thirty-harrumph-harrumph years later, and all grown up (mostly), my love of military history was intact, although I’d moved on to study another Civil War this time in America. I had also been lured into the cult of wargaming by a couple of shady characters at Edinburgh University – you know who you are – and in the ensuing years amassed a decent sized collection of soldiers from various wars, but not the English Civil War. I’m not sure why, but like my Led Zeppelin collection that never quite happened, I meant to get round to it at some point.

I was also writing a few articles for Wargames Illustrated on a whole range of topics all of which I found interesting and challenging, and I promised myself I would use the money to buy more soldiers and I would start my ECW collection. So, as coincidence had it, I’d just bought my 15mm ECW army when Dan at WI e-mailed asking if I’d like to take on an ECW project. My response, as you might have guessed, was quite predictable, and the result was a couple of articles in WI269. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did doing the research and writing.

The Battle of Edgehill, October 1642

Neil Smith wrote a fantastic article about the Battle of Edgehill for the English Civil War theme in Wargames Illustrated #269. As far as I'm concerned, it's the most iconic encounter of the conflict because it's the first major engagement that comes to my mind when I think of the Civil War. For all the pike- and musket-armed infantry mustered for the showdown, the cavalry of both sides really stole the show. Of course, this is even more so with the Royalist hero Prince Rupert, whose cavalry delivered the first stunning blow to the Parliamentarians. Ultimately,the battle did not result in a decisive victory for either army.

The wargame scenario challenges players to achieve a conclusive victory, but cautions them to keep their forces alive and in good order if they cannot. The command decision for each player forces them to play aggressively or play it safe; either way is a gamble.

The article used several photographs of Baccus 6mm English Civil War figures in action on the tabletop. I must say, these miniatures have tempted me for a long time. They have character and really make a formation look big. The article also mentioned a new edition of their Polemos ECW rules will be released in the near future.

Pictured at top right are models of Prince Rupert, King Charles, and the Early of Lindsay in the figure set Eve of Edgehill. It is a Wargames Illustrated exclusive, from their Moments in History range.

The Skirmish at Powick Bridge

We continue this week's coverage of Wargames Illustrated #269's English Civil War theme content with Neil Smith's "The Skirmish at Powick Bridge."

The article offers opposing Royalist and Parliamentarian perspectives of this initial cavalry clash between their forces in 1642 - and there was no shortage of propaganda and spin doctoring regarding this brief engagement not far from Worcester. In the grand scheme of things, this battle was pretty small, but it highlighted the differences in each army's command and elan. In short, it defined their core characteristics and helps us to understand how and why the armies and their leaders conducted themselves as they did as the war continued.


Powick Bridge has good wargaming potential and Neil Smith wrote a good scenario based on the engagement. As the game requires relatively few miniatures, it is perfect for getting painted minis on the table as soon as possible. The scenario orders of battle use Rick Priestley's 1644 ruleset (see cover image at right), and each army totals about 10-12 small units (about 60-70 figures).

Furthermore, the article includes an interesting sidebar on ECW dragoons (mounted infantrymen equipped with firearms). These units were not quite up to the professional ability or uniformity of England's dragoon regiments of the 18th Century, yet they still played critical roles on the field of battle despite the kinds of problems that undermined their potential (recruitment, funding, etc.). 

Prince Rupert & The English Civil War in Wargames Illustrated

Wargames Illustrated #261 (March 2010) takes a look at Royalist hero Prince Rupert and some of his engagements during the English Civil War. The articles offer a great introduction to the chaotic period, and I think even veteran students of the ECW will find the Prince Rupert focus a refreshing perspective. As folks ought to expect, the material also looks great - plenty of miniatures in action in various scales, nice Osprey battle maps, and little extras such as using worn paper backgrounds for tables and sidebars.  

The articles feature a number of Warlord Games' Pike & Shotte figures, including the nefarious/celebrated Prince Rupert. The picture to the right is the personality in miniature from their Pike & Shotte Leaders Gallery. Note the inclusion of his dog, Boy. 


In fact, Rupert receives an article all of his own, written by Neil Smith, who also contributed two other pieces for the ECW theme this month. Dave Woodward wrote an interesting sidebar on Boy, who attained devilish stature and magical powers right along with his master. Finally, the magazine devotes two pages of painting tips for turning out a right smart-looking Rupert miniature yourself (written by Matt Sterbenz). 

Look for more posts on Wargames Illustrated's English Civil War theme this week.

Plastic Minis

Wizard of the Coast released several sets of plastic miniatures for their skirmish game (the collectible card game idea translated into miniatures) and continue to do so in support of the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. We played the skirmish game a little bit, but mostly we used the miniatures to liven up our roleplaying games without the fuss of painting a ton of figures or relying on substitutes. I found most of my collection rather cheap on ebay because the grunts and minion monsters typically were not in demand by the collectible miniature buyers.

I think Wizards hit their heyday in plastic minis with the Underdark set (released in late 2005). Not only did the theme have a lot of cool figures, but the production values were fairly high and consistent. After Underdark, the overall quality of the castings and paint jobs declined; they were not as poor as the original sets, but they were bad, if in different ways. Pictured at the right is Underdark's Half-Fiend Ogre. I like this guy because he could simply pass for any kind of fiend and he looks great. 

Gamemaster Screen

Once I picked up TSR's Dungeon Master Screen back in 1983 (see top right), I knew I had made a great purchase. Not only could I keep notes, maps, and even dice rolls secret, but I had a very useful set of combat tables and the like at hand. I had already worn out the pages in the Dungeon Master's Guide that held those sometimes mind-boggling attack/defense matrices. I loved the artwork side that faced the players too. To me, that evoked a lot of the 70s pulp/epic imagery that graced the era's fantasy/sci fi paperbacks and magazines. I used the screen long afterward for those aesthetic and sentimental reasons. I skipped the screens of 2nd and 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons, even though I imagine they would have been somewhat more useful. Beside favoring the old art, the game's combat calculations evolved enough that we didn't necessarily need matrices to get us through combat. 

I recently purchased Paizo's Pathfinder GM screen (see above), and I am itching to try it out. It has a lot of tables on skill checks, which are more integral to the game now, and it also has some combat-related tables as well. It features the iconic characters from the Pathfinder game, which are nice looking works by Wayne Reynolds.This screen is really something - it is made out of hardback book cover material. It looks like it might be sturdy enough to resist thrown dice.

Next Week: English Civil War in Wargames Illustrated

Tomorrow I will get back to the theme of tabletop aids for roleplaying games. Today I wanted to give a sneak preview to next week's planned theme: Wargames Illustrated #269 (March 2010), which features Prince Rupert and the English Civil War. The Prince Rupert hook really gives the collection of articles an edge over a collection that only reviews the highlights of the war.

I think if you are interested in learning about the period and investigating its gaming potential, this issue is a must.

Flip-Mats

I like to use miniatures with my roleplaying games, and sometimes I find it nice to put them on something more than just a plain table. A nice gaming map and/or terrain pieces can do wonders. Sometimes I do this for tactical reasons, but more often I bring all these things into play for aesthetic reasons. Miniatures and lushly illustrated maps ought to  compliment a roleplaying experience and evoke one's imagination, not offer a substitute for it. 

I am a big fan of Paizo's Gamemastery Flip-Mats. These fantastic-looking double-sided maps of iconic locales measure 24" x 30". Who couldn't use a good tavern, cavern, or forest path in their game over and over again? I couldn't resist the Woodlands release (see right) when it came out a couple years ago. A path, a stream, and a stone altar/monoliths decorate one side, and a plain old wide path running through the midst of thick woods decorates the other. It just makes me want to start rolling on the wandering monster table whenever the PC miniatures set foot on it. 

 

Up Front

Avalon Hill's Up Front is based (sorta) on their Squad Leader game. While no longer published by Avalon Hill, Multiman Publishing has plans to publish the 2nd Edition. At first glance this game breaks this week's theme - boardgames which rely heavily on cards - but since the playing table actually serves the role of battlefield positions, I will include it.

Up Front uses cards to play squad level WWII scenarios. Each player starts with a squad of troops (usually somewhere around eight to a dozen soldier cards).  Each nationality tends to have differing degrees of ability in regards to speed/maneuverability, morale, and hand-to-hand combat. Of course, weapon stats vary as well. The Germans have good morale and maneuverability; the Americans tend to be less steady, but pretty good on rallying; the Russians are tough, but inflexible. I believe the basic game covered mid/late war Europe, but it's possible it was limited to the Western Front. The friend who introduced me to the game had all sorts of expansions for nationalities and vehicles, including French, Italians, and Japanese.


Gameplay: Squads (often split into 2-3 teams) move and fire until they achieve victory through using playing cards, which handle pretty much any actions or counter-actions. Playing cards include firepower, terrain, smoke, snipers, and other hazards, but they often serve as check functions for the success/failure of attempted actions (typically attacks, defense, and morale). 


I learned this game from a well-versed pro. I would not have liked to learn this one from scratch on my own; glancing at the rules made my head spin. Thanks to D. Leavesly for keeping this game in play over the years.

Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage

This great bookcase game, originally published by Avalon Hill in the 1990s, remains at the top of my historical strategy games list. OK- I really don't have a list, but this is my all-time favorite game of its kind.

Hannibal is lavishly illustrated; the map of the western Mediterranean world of the Punic Wars is simply beautiful. The playing cards and chits (army and general counters) also meet above-average standards. And before I go any further, I'm talking about the original release by Avalon Hill (see top right). The recent release under Valley Games (see bottom right) looks even better. Great production values.

The game takes place during the Second Punic War, in the last decades of 3rd Century BC. The action takes the form of intertwined military and political actions, as the Roman and Carthaginian players attempt to control the most provinces between Italy, Spain, Africa, Sicily, Sardinia/Corsica, and the Balearic Islands (I may be missing a region or two). In the most general summary of what to expect, Rome typically has an easier time of recruiting large armies and can afford to lose them more readily than Carthage; Carthage typically has better generals and has a few more dirty tricks it can play.


Cards drive the game action, both on a strategic and tactical levels. Each turn, representing a year or number of years, provides each player with a set number of Strategy Cards, which allow them to move armies or take other actions. Players draw and play Battle Cards when armies actually clash, and a number of factors determine how many cards a player receives: army size, the general's ability, and the conflict's locale.

Players achieve victory simply by having the most provinces under their control by the last turn of the game. Killing/capturing Hannibal or his greatest foe, Scipio Africanus, results in immediate victory, no matter what turn.

Condottiere

Condottiere is one of my favorite card and board games. The action takes place in late medieval/early Renaissance Italy and the players assume the role of the great mercenary captains of the age. I can't honestly say that I know for certain this game captures the feel of the period, but it seems so to me. Armies of dubious loyalty dominate the scene, but the Church, courtly politics, and a few idealistic warriors/zealots play a big role as well.


The game board is a map of Italy, divided into numerous regions. Each player displays control over a region with old-style painted wooden cubes. The results of battles, won and lost through hands of cards, determines who wins a province and who determines where the next battle will occur. Despite the focus on battles, the heart of the game is bluffing and sneakiness. The strongest player - in terms of military power alone - may not necessarily  win a game. You got to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. Players achieve victory by controlling a set number of provinces according to the number of people playing; the required number of provinces are fewer if they share boundaries and form a contiguous whole.


Card play takes the form of hands which represents a battle (or campaign) over a region of Italy. Cards mostly take the form of mercenary units, but mighty heroines (a la Joan D'Arc), bishops, courtesans, drummers, and the weather appear as well. Generally a player wins a battle by having the strongest army in play when the last card is played.