Irregular Wars Wargaming

To finish off my small 10mm Classical Macedonian project I have done up one unit of psiloi archers. Much like the Macedonian slingers , there are no literary references that I can think of which mention Macedonian archers. However, as noted with slingers, there is ample archaeological evidence that they were used extensively by Philip II (at Olynthos for example), and it is clear that Alexander the Great also made use of indigenous archers as well as their more famous Cretan colleagues (for example, Arrian Anabasis  2.9.2, 3.12). As with most of this army, the archers are from Magister Militum. The army has been built for the forthcoming Osprey game,  Men of Bronze . However, in order to field the force - now ten units strong - as a small Hail Caesar army (a mighty 245 points no less!), I needed a couple of commanders. These two are standard Magister Militum figures - spares from my cavalry and hoplite units - with head swaps. They fit the bill well and will do if neede...

It is mid-term here in sunny Ireland, and my wee lad decided it was time for another Palaeo Diet  hunt. He's only eight, so we kept it simple, but it was great to be able to game with him. **** Rarr, Ogg, Tark and Frygga looked down into the valley at the small herd of mammoths. Rarr thumbed the blade on his newly knapped axehead, Tark flexed his bow, while the other two leant casually on their spears.  The hunters knew that if they could bring down just one of the shaggy behemoths it would provide enough meant and skins to see the tribe comfortably through the rest of the season. However, they were not alone. There was an old wolves' den in the valley and it was unclear how many occupants it currently housed. As Ogg and Frygga skulked down the side of the hill into the valley, Rarr ambled off down the far slope of the hill - away from the mammoths.  Tark grumbled to himself something about hoping Rarr had a plan, but was then distracted by movement in ...

Meanwhile, in back again to 1st century BC Kilikia, the shipyards have continued their output with a few more  1/600 Xyston vessels I have been working on for a little something new. Still, eminently suitable for  Galleys & Galleons.   A trireme A pair of merchant vessels - but are they grain ships or do they carry the Ptolemaic payroll?

Captain Andrew, Ghost-captain Lee and I got together again this week. In a bit of a departure from our recent 6mm ancients-fest though, we got some wee ships on the table for a spot of Galleys & Galleons .  Playing the Pyrate King of Traitor's Atoll scenario, we each commanded a small 100 point force, and strived (strove...?) to be the player with the vessel closest to the centre of the table at the end of each turn.  Unfortunately the lighting was bit rubbish, so my photos are worse than normal. Sorry about that. Andrew took a sloop and a cromster, I commanded a brig, a jacht and a flotilla of boats, while Lee chose a ghost ship. Watch out for those islands and the surrounding shallows lads.  In the first turn I tried to get my swift jacht and boats into the centre, making the most of their shallow drafts to skim over the shallows. The wee jacht fired a broadside across the bows of the ghost ship, but tiny cannon ... long range ... ghostship ... you know how...

Meanwhile in Sweden, Engel has been having his own fun with Palaeo Diet . You can catch up with his first few games over on his blog by clicking the links below. While everyone else has really been focusing on Eurasian or American prehistory, Engel has gone with an African theme and, I think you'll agree, its really effective.   First Steps.  The Hunger Games. Pygmy hunters. Cannibal attack.

Rounding off Mark's recent bout of Palaeo Diet adventures, allow me to introduce the Schadenfreuds: **** Time for another excursion into the distant past. Professor Dr Herbert Schadenfreud and his wife (Frau Edith) and daughter (Fraulein Elke) are taking a dinosaur hunting safari, courtesy of the Utterley-Barkinge Corporation. Their Utterley-Barkinge guide, David Attenborough, is behind the camera. The rules are a slightly modified version of Palaeo Diet - Eat or be Eaten (Nic Wright / Ganesha) as used for the Grey Wolf Clan mini campaign posted in the last few days. The mods are: * Guns can shoot 2xL. * A hunter can take an aimed shot at +1 at a cost of 2 actions. * For each shooting hit roll 1D6. On a 5,6 the hit causes an extra wound. * A gun is not a bow. The Time Service steam drone duly deposits our little party near a swampy waterhole, just the kind of place dinosaurs would come to drink. It’ll be back to collect them after five turns. The Schadenfreuds h...

Continuing the journey of the little (and diminishing) group that has broken away from the Grey Wolf Clan and trekked off to find its own territory : The survivors settled in to the camp site of the Trout Clan family. There were changes ... with their own hearth the band no longer needed a fire carrier so Smokey traded in his torch for a spear. And the young hunter Boy also graduated to a spear wielder. Hannah was chosen as Leader to replace Grendel. And they became the Ibex Clan after finding mysterious old drawings of this totem on an inner cave wall. All well and good. But there were two niggles. First, they need to confirm their ownership of the territory by successfully hunting a Giant Grazer and offering it to the spirits. Second, the campsite they had taken over was clearly in use by more people than they had defeated. So where were they? (3) The hunt at the salt lick  Within a couple of weeks all the hunters of the Ibex Clan set out to kill a mammoth. Mor...

I'm delighted to be able to publish some more prehistoric fun following the travels and travails of Mark's Grey Wolf Clan. **** It’s February already, which means it’s time to visit the Palaeo Diet: Eat or be Eaten  rules and the Grey Wolf Clan again ... Avid readers may recall that at the end of last season we left the Grey Wolf Clan after a successful winter-provisioning hunt, with plenty of biltong to last until spring. This turned out to be a mixed blessing. Plenty to eat and nothing to do during the winter led to bickering between the Elders and a breakaway group of young hunters led by half-brothers Rurik and Grendel. And now as the snow melts the renegades prepare to leave the Clan and strike out into the unknown. The Elders agree they can take the supplies they will need, anxious to see them on their way so normal life can continue. This seasons set of games will see if the breakaway party is successful. (1) Into the unknown Here is a shot of th...

Meanwhile, in 1st century BC Kilikia, the shipyards have been alive with the sounds of industry...  Here are the first few 1/600 Xyston vessels I have been working on for a little something new. Also, eminently suitable for Galleys & Galleons of course. 😉 A pair of hemioliai. A trihemiolia A quadreme.