Irregular Wars Wargaming

Well that happened sooner than expected! What a wonderful surprise, to come home after a head-melter of a day's work to find a wee package waiting for me from DriveThru Cards.  Upon opening it, I was delighted to see my proof deck of cards for Blood, Sweat and Cheers . Above you can see the whole pack laid out excitedly - if amateurishly - on the table. In the centre is the six-card arena so that players can get stuck straight into the game without having to call in the set designers from Ridley Scot's Gladiator . Below that are two cards abstracting the mood or favour of the crowd into a linear tracking system. To either side are reference cards so players do not have to refer to the two-page rule sheet once a bout has commenced. The rainbow selection at the top right of the photo are the gladiator cards, each outlining attributes and two special actions unique to each gladiator type. To the right is the play deck of 40 cards (showing three example cards) which are dealt t...

We played a massive 30 presence game of Horizon Wars this week. Technically it was one 30P vs two allied 15P forces. I need to stress that, because my 30P of European Empire troops lost. Barely. I blame the extra free CHQ unit they had. No other reason. None at all. :) It was a really fun, three turn game actually, very closely fought. We had three objective markers with blind victory points, one worth I, one worth II and one worth IV points. My heavy infantry battle group was very aggressive and held all three objective for much of the game. They took a real mauling for their trouble too. Some late enemy parra-drops managed to size control of one objective at literally the last minute, and it turned out to be the one worth IV points. So... defeat from the jaws of victory once more!

A good gaming pal, terrain builder extraordinaire and all round enjoyable foe has recently had a bit of a health scare (a 'shot across the bows' as he puts it) and is off work for a little while. Helping to fill his day, as well as get myself away from the home office, I gave him a visit this week, and got in a quick game of  Of Gods and Mortals  while I was there. We opted for a 1000 point game - 100 points larger than the recommended game size. Both of us packed out our forces with mortal units, each using only two legends and our gods. This really changed the dynamic of the game a bit making it more of a 'conventional' game if you like, placing more emphasis on units and less on rampaging rogue heroes. I had a vaguely modeled notion to field Macedonians, patronised by Athena (with her daddy's lightning, but without the aegis). As legends I had Herakles and a harpy, supported by 8x Macedonian hypaspists, 6x undead hoplites, 4x Satyr archers, 4x Centaur archers...

Blood Sweat and Cheers has made it into it's final version and a proof copy of the deck has been ordered. However, due to how long it will take for the proofs to reach me, there is no point holding out for a release before the end of the year. Presuming there are no problems with the proofs, I would expect the game to be available from the start of 2017. Above is a shot from one of the playtesters in Australia. This was taken with a penultimate version of the rules which micro-managed movement. In the final version, the area is divided into 12 zones with movement abstracted by zone. It makes for a much more fluid game and removes unnecessary beardiness from the game. The deck will include six cards which will fit together to form an arena straight out of the pack, so all you'll really need to invest in before your first game is some gladiators. Of course, there is nothing to stop you modelling an arena (I have done so myself), but zones would have to be superimposed...

My small order from Flytrap Factory arrived yesterday having sat in HM's Customs for far too long. I have to say that I am absolutely delighted with them. I bought one pack of five prehistoric hunters (one-piece white metal castings) and three mammoths (resin with white metal tusks). Despite being very busy with work, I immediately stuck them on magnetised bases awaiting an undercoat (of which I am temporarily out). As you can see, all sculpts are unique and conform to a fun, exaggerated style. The chap on the right of the lower picture there comes with a full length spear but I 'amended' it ahead of converting his spear into a flaming torch. These first release cavemen are about 20mm to the tops of their heavy-browed heads. The mammoth pack also comes with three unique sculpts and two different tusk shapes so there is potential for a fair bit of variation in your herd. They come to about 40mm to the top of the hump. Now, I love these chaps, and they are desti...

Fayre Winds & Foul Tides  is an expansion for  Galleys & Galleons . Whether you have a panache for lacepulp, a fetish for High Fantasy, or just want to explore new historical periods,  FWFT  provides everything you need the bravely sail beyond the Seven Seas. New special rules  -  FWFT  introduces 51 new special rules to further customise your fleets, including traitorous captains, mutinous crews, indirect fire and ironclads. New terrain  - The seas just got more dangerous with a range of new terrain features including icebergs, volcanoes and assorted native islanders.  Advanced rules for flyers  - Take the fight to the skies with advanced flying rules and new types of flyers, from da Vinci inspired ornithopters and lace-pulp airships, to dragons, gryphons and flying carpets. Magic  - The tides of magic cause additional waves on the tabletop with new rules for shipborne sorcerers and magical creatures. Seven schools of m...

Well that is me super excited! Far and away my favourite retelling of the Arthurian saga is Patrick McCormack's Albion trilogy: The Last Companion (1997), The White Phantom (2000) and The Lame Dancer (2008). Set ten years after the death of Arthur at the battle of Camlann, the stories follow one last survivor who has since become a hermit, as well as a cadre of characters from the next generation as they struggle to negotiate the feuding tribes and kingdoms that have re-emerged after the fall of Arthur. Through a combination of dream/nightmare sequences, memories, and stories told throughout, the story of Arthur's rise and rule is artfully told so in essence you get two different but connected stories told throughout. For me this is all first class inspiration for Arthurian wargaming and well worth tracking down if you haven't already tried them. I first read The Last Companion when it was initially released although I didn't realise there were sequels until ma...

In recent weeks, Faustus Furius has been demo'd at at least two major games conventions, Strategicon in Los Angeles (September), and Lucca Comics and Games (October). My thanks to Tom and Massimo for making the effort to show off the game to the poor unsuspecting public. Below are a couple of pictures of Tom's setup at Strategicon ... ... and some of Massimo's arena mat from Lucca. Also worth checking out are ongoing Faustus Furius projects at Down Among the Lead Men ,   Wilson's Wargaming , and Castle by Moonlight .