By Mitch Reed

Maybe the pandemic was a good thing for some of us gamers. We got a chance to read new rules to possibly play new games once in-person gaming resumes. Many of us also caught up on painting, something we never thought we would do.

One of the games that many people have been looking at since its late December 2019 release was Blood and Valor, a game we have covered here quite a bit. Coming from the crew at , Blood and Valor gives gamers a chance to play the war at the 28mm skirmish level that covers the war beyond the trenches. Well before the game’s release, the crew from stepped forward to produce starter kits for some of the major forces that fought in France during 1916-1918.

Ed and Tom deep dive into the new Flames of War Bagration Soviet Book and Card…in addition to their normal mindless babbling.

By Mitch Reed

For those of you who have felt that we here at NDNG were fanboys for , this article will show you how wrong you are. I hate this book and I plan to tell you why in detail. Something to keep in mind as you read on, I do not play Soviets in , but I have played against them for over a decade now.

Over the last year, as Late War was being upgraded to V4 standards, I  did not think very much about the Soviet lists I may face, since everything was based on D-Day or models from your Mid War collection. Now the Soviet Bagration book is here and I plead with the Soviet readers to skip this book.

By Mitch Reed, Photos by Bill White

It has been a while since I played in any type of live gaming event and even longer since I played one for . Here in Northern Virginia, n Leesburg has sponsored two events since the COVID restrictions loosened up. The first was for Flames of War which I missed because of a mix-up and the second was on 15 August and was a 120-point Team Yankee brawl. Dane and Kaitlin who run the store made sure that the event was conducted with safety foremost in mind and pulled off yet another great event.

Can one get excited for a new book that has very little new models in it? Well if it is the new D-Day Waffen SS book from there is a lot to be excited about if you are a player who likes to play the SS. Do not let the lack of new models throw you off, this book adds so much flavor for the German D-Day forces you will never notice it.

After I built what I claimed was my only army for Flames of War almost a decade ago (Canadians) I soon found myself building an opposing force to play against them. I selected the Waffen SS because even decades after the war they hold an odd fascination for me as I try to wrap my head about how they existed as a separate force based on the Nazi party as opposed to the national army.

The SS also seemed to be everywhere during the war and one of the first lists I really loved to play was the SS Wiking Division that fought on the Eastern front. Now this force is available for Normandy as Battlefronts closes the Late War chapter for the invasion of France.

Like many of you, I am just missing conventions. Many events I looked forward to each year have been canceled due to the pandemic.

Who knows when we will all be able to congregate again.

The folks at HMGS came up with a great idea; why not hold an online convention. That is how got started.

Now a week out, and the event is shaping up to be a good one that features gaming, speakers, shopping, and contests starting Thursday 23 July and concluding Sunday 26 July.

The guys are back: Prepping for their roles is hosting some Firelock content for CyberWars 2020, updates on Firelock Products, What the game means to us, and Promoting good questions and voices from the community

Tom and Ed are back on the airwaves with a heavy focus on the US 2020 US Team Yankee Masters with special guest, Non Dice No Glory’s Chris Jackson. The boys also cover Flames of War, past gaming, and upcoming events with a special focus on Breakthrough Assault and No Dice No Glory Collaborative Firestorm Gazala Campaign.

What a year! While we are halfway through 2020, I think we can make the call that for our hobby this year is not one we wish to remember. Every week we hear about yet another convention being canceled, “indefinitely” delayed, or moved to a virtual setting. How will this effect our hobby? What will our hobby look like when things get better and how long will this last?

Many of our readers know that I am fascinated by the Great War, it was an event that changed the world unlike any other and when the guns fell silent in 1918 society, maps, and military thought were almost unrecognizable from how they looked in 1914.

This passion has led me to help develop a bunch of games that cover the Great War. Back in January I caught a glimpse of a game called Verdun 1916 Steel Inferno (V1916SI) by the French gamers at the Fellowship of Simulations. I was impressed as most gamers are with the sheer beauty of the game and I made sure I was the first backer when the project hit Kickstarter on 21 February, the 104th anniversary of the start of the battle.