Irregular Wars Wargaming

Mark returns to the Grey Wolf clan for some classic Palaeo Diet  goodness: An exploration and hunting party from the Grey Wolf clan has crossed the Eastern river and followed the retreating ice into the uplands beyond. They encounter a herd of giant armadillos, which resemble half-forgotten descriptions from their grandparents’ time. In game terms they are Giant Grazers. There isn’t much other game around, and supplies are running low, so these new beasts are targeted even though they look formidable. The hunters must kill one for food, without incurring any casualties. The party comprises: White Antlers (leader); Fire Stick; Sneaker; Yellow Hair; and Grey Hair. All are spear-armed except Fire Stick who carries fire, and Sneaker who has a bow. Grey Hair has a hound looking to him. Here’s a charcoal & ochre sketch they left on the wall of a rock shelter a few days ago (Photo #1). The hunters observe the herd in the valley below, from the top of a convenient ridge. After much di...

Mark's hunters return in a new  Devilry Afoot  scenario! **** Pauline is a secret witch, who has been apprehended by the Witch Finder and his assistants. They are taking her to Oakham to be tried and hanged. Her fellow secret witches must rescue her. The secret witches are Hunters. The Witch Finder’s party are rated as Outlaws. Here are details of the cast for this encounter. The Secret Witches Pauline: Secret Witch / Innocent William Atkins SJ Religious: Devout. Secret Witch. 30s Sword, Pistol (28s) + 2s in pocket Henry Crawford Esq. Gentleman: Secret Witch. 31s Sword, Flintlock 6s to equip Cleeve with sword. 25s in pocket Cleeve Follower: Secret Witch. Polearm, Sword Atkins, Crawford & Cleeve are all characters in my progression table, and are outfitted and equipped accordingly. Here’s a woodcut showing the rescue party, with their familiars, as they were imagined by the anonymous author of the pamphlet Divers Strange Tales of Rutland Shire (photo #1). The Witchfinder ...

In Ilium: A Game of Heroes , players take on the role of mighty Homeric heroes, each supported by a contingent of followers, as they compete for Kleos (κλέος) – deeds of renown that will have their names remembered through time. Each player will normally control between 12 and 28 models whose management at key moments will be crucial in securing Kleos. Glory, not survival, will dictate victory. Every group and every person approaches rules a different way, so it is always essential to explore different perspectives. Therefore, having worked steadfastly to bring the rules to a stable point, we are now looking for a small number outside playtesters to have a look. Ilium: A Game of Heroes  is written as a two player game with flexibility to allow additional players. Playtesters will need approximately 28 models each to represent the Achaean and Trojan heroes and their promachoi, a 24" (60cm) square playing area, and a couple of d10s. Playtesters should be able to commit to playin...

We took  Ilium: A Game of Heroes  out for another run this week. I'm not normally keen on showing games with unfinished minis, but the game is in a good place and, fired by enthusiasm, I thought I'd share a glimpse. We played the standard Battle on the Plains scenario, pitching three heroes and their accompanying promachoi against each other between the main army lines. I started with Helenos, prince of Troy, and the Amazon queen, Penthesileia. Andrew started with Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and Ajax, prince of Salamis.  As the initial contingents clashed on the right of the plain, reinforcements arrived in the form of Aeneas and his Dardanians on the one side, and Achilles and his Myrmidons on the other.  The gods were very attentive, intervening early in the battle. Apollo sent a plague to weaken the Achaean promachoi, while Athena took the form of the lesser Ajax before being driven off by Penthesileia. Penthesileia and Helenos then focused their attacks on Agamem...

Continuing to flesh out my Trojan contingents, I finished up a couple of archers to join with Helenos and his warriors.  I wanted to have an aesthetic difference between my Trojans and any future Achaeans, so I didn't want to go for Minoan/Mycenaean archers and instead stuck with Eureka Miniatures. Rather than the clean-shaven nudie boys of the Late Bronze Age Greeks, I decided to bend the rules slightly and pick up some Chaldeans. They are not of the same sculpting quality as the LBA Greeks, but with the same painting, colour scheme and basing, they do the trick and fit right in. I've also been working on a bit more terrain - this time some rocky outcrop obstructions. Using rocks picked up on a walk, I did the most wargamery thing possible and painted the rocks, to look like rocks. I think they work rather well! Meanwhile, the first complete draft of the rules is ready and undergoing a first proof before playtesting begins in earnest.

Following on from l ast week's post , I have now finished my attempt at 28mm olive trees. These are the four trunks I made earlier, undercoated dark green, over-brushed dark brown, dry bushed with a mix of dark brown and light grey. The foliage is Woodland Scenics fine leaf foliage which is pretty great stuff. Having said that, it was a pain to glue on, and it remains to be seen how robust it will be with use. Bases were done with the same AK Interactive sand and tufts that I've used on other scenery and model bases to give a sense of uniformity. I also took a couple of branches of the WS fine leaf foliage to make some olive saplings starting to emerge from two of my ruined building bases. This is now the extent of the scatter terrain being made specifically for this project. I've two more buildings and some rocky outcrops ready to undercoat and then I'll start looking for a 2' long section of city walls. When required for the specific scenario, my lad has a wooden ...

I ran a fun introductory game of the Wolves in Sheeps' Clothing scenario for Devilry Afoot this week for Andrew and Roger up at Clare Gaming. The werewolves emerged as far from the hunters as possible, and savaged two of the innocents before the others scattered.    One of the werewolves was killed, while the other survived, if barely. Of the four hunters, two were taken out of action. Both survived, one bearing a lasting leg wound, and both now have the wolf-bitten secret. The other two hunters both fled the scene unwounded. Great craic!

I need olive trees for my Bronze Age Aegean board - and indeed for all Mediterranean gaming. Olives are ubiquitous in the area now, and were in the past. However, the commercial options for wargamers are very limited, very expensive, and don't look overly like olive trees. What I'm looking for is something that has been grown and tended for generations. A gnarly, twisted, thick trunk, kept low to make harvesting the olives easier, with low hanging branches. So over the weekend I set out to make a proof of concept. The above picture is an olive grove around the Mycenaean tholos tomb at Amphissa, but any would do for inspiration. Starting with semi-flexible wire left over from a long forgotten project of my lad's, I twisted some rough shapes to use as armatures. Over these, I (further) twisted green stuff, making sure to have nice thick trunks and much thinner branches. Using an old knife and a plastic rod about 5mm in diameter, I smooshed and prodded until I had something th...

First post of 2026, and my first painted miniatures of the second quarter of the 21st century! Here we continue with the project to build 28mm heroes and contingents for the Trojan War with Helenos, the prince of Troy and favourite of Apollo. All miniatures are from the Eureka Miniatures Bronze Age Greeks range. These four warriors will forming the core of Helenos' promachoi. They have come to me third-hand, and it is great to be putting them to good use. The chap on the left had a broken plume which has been substituted for another, more robust one I just happened to have lying around.  I went with a red and white theme this time - although I am aware that my 'red' is more terracotta. Simply put, I care not; I like it. The bow-armed promachoi have been ordered, along with a bunch of other bits and pieces for the project, from Eureka. Helenos himself is the Greek Priest model from the range and works well as a princeling calling on his patron deity or reading the flight of ...