Irregular Wars Wargaming

After some time in the concept stage, the fantasy version of Irregular Wars , (working title: Fantastic Battles ) got its first table top test last month. I ran a small goblin army against a smaller, meaner force of evil dwarves. The basic tenants of the game work well - more anon - but getting the nuances right will take a bit more testing. To add a bit of punch to my goblins in future games, I decided to magic-up for reinforcements from my bits box. My goblins already have a giant lending a helping hand, but why have just one giant when you can have two? Like his compatriot, this giant is actually a prehistoric hunter from Blind Beggar Miniatures to whom I added eyelids, a captive and a horse (lunch and dinner?), and bulked out some of the furs. He'll do nicely as a 10mm giant and greatly assist the wee green chaps on their outings. In order to make up a new goblin hero (I didn't want to buy a whole pack of  30-odd 10mm goblins for just one figure), I took ...

Having been able to get my small 15mm sci-fi collection on the table playtesting Palaeo Diet: Pulp, I've been inspired to paint up a couple of ship's crew or generic civilians I've have sitting around for a while. I believe they are from Ground Zero Games.

I'm truly honoured that Alex Woodrow chose to run a participation game of my racing game, Faustus Furius , at the Crusade wargaming convention in Penarth, in the Vale of Glamorgan. The rules were designed for fast and fun quasi-historical chariot racing, but were intentionally written to be played with whatever figures the players wanted to use. Below are a few of the photos and the brief report Alex posted on the Song of Blades and Heroes Facebook Group, re-posted with his permission. It looks like an absolutely fantastic set up! Squig Racing at Crusade 2020 Here are some pics of the Faustus Furius based game I ran today at the Crusade show in Penarth. The course was a figure of 8, just one lap as in testing we found two laps took a bit too long for a show game. One innovation I added was having a deck of cards for players to draw from if they crashed into a mushroom patch which each triggered some random psychedelic game effect. I had thought players would avoid these as...

The four adventurers surveyed the the scene before them: a dry plain with a single thicket, and area of spiky blade grass and a scattering of carnivorous plants. Off to their right, a savage monument built by the island's natives probably indicated a native presence in the area. Their target though, was the tyrannosaurus rex down by the lake sure.  Captain van Damme caressed his shotgun and looked derisively at his companions. How did he end up with such a pack of disorganised fools. An experienced officer and a gentleman, some considered him an egotist [ trait ]. He just knew that he was more capable than any other person on the expedition.  The American with the rifle, Harry Ford, was barely a gentleman at all and had really let himself go recently [ unfit trait ]. Miss Blunt was pretty enough he supposed, but she spoke incessantly about becoming an engineer [ trait ]; it was almost as though she forgot her she was a woman! Her revolver and tote-bag of grenades did ...

Snatching a handy couple of hours time off in lieu from work, I managed to paint up four natives for games of Palaeo Diet: Pulp . Although the figures are Amazonian Indians from Eureka's 15mm range ( quite a few years ago I used the same figures in a Carib army for Irregular Wars ), I wanted them to be as generically pulpish as possible.  They will occasionally see service as prehistoric (lost world) hunters, taking on dinosaurs themselves. I suspect they will more often see the tabletop in the guise of lost world natives (using the outfolk hunters profile from  Palaeo Diet:   Fireside Tales ) with a witch doctor (a new profile from  Pulp ) - hence the converted chap in the green stuff mask.

Over the Christmas break, I manage to get a bunch of 28mm miniatures done up to compliment my Shadow of Sherwood collection - I'm almost ready to start using them in earnest. These villagers are all from Midlam Miniatures - technically they are from a fantasy range, but they are as historical as the rest of my Robin Hood stuff! Pack-donkey Rat-catcher Washing maid Crippled crone Thug Forester (I cut the sword down into a dagger) Also from Midlam Miniatures, I got this Hiberno-Norse looking chap in a quilted bernie with a Dane axe. He could join the late 12th century Sherwood bandits if he chose, or (as in the photo above) he can team up with some Anglo-Danes and the like to take on slightly earlier Norman types. ... and my axe! For my we lad's (slowly growing) retinue, I created a sergeant with a Dane axe out of left over Fireforge bits.  ... and also my axe! ... and in a scene to warm any wargaming daddy's heart, h...

Not entirely sure how it happened, but the new big project for some of our group is 6mm Napoleonics for Bataille Empire , the new rules by Hérve Caille of L'Art de la Guerre fame. After some to-ing and fro-ing, I have ended up with Austria - roughly 1809. I once had a 15mm Austrian army but sold it in the great pre-uni sale of stuff some 21 years ago. It feels just a little bit like coming home. I have started with a large unit of Bohemian landwehr (Baccus Spaniards in top hats - still requiring their wee flag) and a battery of brigade guns to provide support. 

Woohoo! Hard cover copies of Four Against  Ragnarök arrived in this morning's post. Lovely production quality from Lulu if I do say so. 

Andrew joined me for my first game of the year – a much anticipated and terrifically enjoyable return to the Bronze Age with some more 6mm l'Art de la Guerre . We reprised out traditional roles, he as Pharaoh of the New Kingdom Egyptians, me as the Priest-king of Crete. Andrew won the toss and decided to be the attacker, choosing to take on the bullish Minoan war machine on the plains (obviously in some third-party location, not in mountainous Crete...). Initially we had a plantation to the Cretan left, a village and field in the Cretan centre, and another field to the right. The Egyptians had a field behind their lines in the centre and a gentle hill to their left (the Minoan right). Unfortunately, while the Minoans were carousing and jumping bulls, the Egyptians rolled two sixes when attempting to modify terrain and managed to cut down the plantation on the Minoan left and plough up the field on Minoan right. Apparently, they didn't like the idea of the Cretans havin...