Gaming

By Mike Rafferty

The British Bulge book is finally out, which covers the British from post-Normandy Market Garden up to the end of the war. The book adds a lot of new features and army lists for the British and has a special significance for me. Welsh Guards Cromwells were the first army I actually built and painted fully. I still have this force and the Cromwell is my favourite-looking tank of the war, despite the obvious superiority of the Sherman. The new book adds Challengers, so I can finally play my Welsh Guards as intended with Cromwells and Challengers.

By Kreighton Long

When it came time to purchase my Italians I decided to go with Warlord Games. Their plastics have been excellent over the last several years and I figured why not give these a go. I can honestly say I wasn’t disappointed. The kits are easy to assemble with enough variety to have minimal duplications in your platoon. The sculpts are clean with good lines and deep contours that make highlighting that much easier when painting. I picked up one box of plastic infantry and the support teams box to get the meatball rolling. When I get to it I’ll add some vehicles and heavier support to really flush out my Italians into a force ready to take to the table. But first, we need to put paint to plastic.

By Tom Gall

Contained within the new September 2022 issues of Wargames Illustrated is a set of Napoleonic Rules call Valour and Fortitude. Jervis Johnson, Allen Perry and Michael Perry are the authors. The Perrys of course are from Perry Miniatures fame and Jervis Johnson a long-time and recently retired distinguished veteran from Games Workshop.

The rules started out as a 4-page system that expanded a bit after play testing over time. The rules are available online at Perry Miniatures as well as army lists and scenarios. The rules appear to be a living document and have already been updated to version 1.2 since their initial posting a couple of months back. (Edit – And now version 3 has been posted!)

I’m a long-time gamer of the Napoleonic era as well as a re-enactor. (French Fifer) It’s great to see activity for this time period of miniatures gaming. Locally our game group has primarily used Empire for large battles and either home brew for skirmish or Sharp Practice. ESR also deserves mention as it has recently attracted attention with its version 3 release and great campaign books.

By Paolo Paglianti

Ops, they did it again! After having explored “classic” WW2 and D-Day/Bulge scenarios, Spanish 3D Breed creators have launched a new themed Kickstarter about the North Africa theatre. And it’s so cheap, successful, and full of models every wargamer interested in World War 2 with a 3D printer should give it a look.

We already know the quality of 3D Breeds STL files, not only for WW2 models but also for “Ancient” (here is our feature about the Greeks and Persians) and “Western” ages (read about it here) so we already knew North Africa would be good. We received a small “press pack” with some miniatures and we promptly printed them (in 15mm).

Today we catch up the Glenn, Tyler, and Guest podcaster Joe Forster of Blood and Pigment to get the lowdown on the summer of plunder, as well as the September Tournament at the Calvert Marine Museum. Join us for this supersized recap of all that went down over the past few months as The Talesmen discuss Firelock Games and their premiere pirate game.

By Jim Naughton

Part one of this story here

Introduction

The 4^th Edition was published seven years ago.  You may ask why I’m reviewing it now.  There are a couple of reasons.  First, there are new offerings in the figures market in 12mm/15mm scale. Although theoretically aimed at other rulesets, they can be easily applied to Napoleon’s Battles.

And because Napoleon’s Battles (hereafter NB) uses small bases, a ‘sabot base’ or piece of plastic card, a movement tray or similar device can take figures based for NB and apply them to other systems.

In effect, figures are a fungible asset and can be used for multiple rules.  So I recommend those entering Napoleonics for the first time, to have a look at various systems, and base your figures in a way they can be multifunctional.

By Philip S. Bolger-Cortez

Last year, I talked with Kevin Verssen at Dan Verssen Games about making a game about the late Cold War, and when he accepted, the foundations were laid for Eagle Leader.

From the beginning, it was designed as a NATO companion to Fulcrum Leader, a game already under design by Benjamin Chee and Doug Glover.  Benjamin Chee likes to start every game with the same question: “What is the story you are trying to tell?” For Eagle Leader, it’s simple enough: the struggle of USAF and allied NATO Air Forces fighting the Warsaw Pact in the skies and ground of Europe, the aerial companion to the many “What if” campaigns about the Fulda Gap. Initial plans were ambitious– a core game featuring USAF, and a series of expansions to allow players who wanted to play NATO aircraft to allow for a wide variety. I knew I had to recruit a reliable team of developers, so I gathered Mitch Reed, Chris DiNote, and Phil “Doc” Wohlrab to help me, along with James L Young as a team historian.

By Kreighton Long

Last Saturday, 8 October, I had the opportunity to attend the Call to Arms convention in Williamsburg, VA and compete in the Bolt Action tournament. The tournament was organized by seven-year TO veteran Kalissa Skibicki. Twenty competitors checked in Saturday morning for a day of competitive gaming. The tournament progressed smoothly and after three different scenarios with three different opponents, the tournament came to a successful conclusion.

By Jim Naughton

Introduction

The Wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars are sometimes regarded as the ‘Second’ World War, with the Seven Years War regarded as the ‘First.’  Battles raged on all continents save Antarctica and Australia as small forces of the primary contestants sought to seize colonies or disrupt colonial empires.

America’s War of 1812 was triggered by Britain’s high-handed naval policies – in turn a response to Napoleon’s Continental System.  A Corsican general brought the war to Egypt, handily defeating the Sultan’s armies, but failing in face of unavailing British seapower.  A little-known British General’s career took off in the Indian Subcontinent fight

ing native armies with some connection to French mercantile influence.  That career reached its zenith when the Corsican adventurer and the British General clashed at Waterloo, bringing Europe six years of fragile peace.  Clausewitz’s On War and B.H. Liddel Hart’s Strategy have their roots in the Napoleonic Wars.

By David Garvin

In a previous post, I interviewed Dr. Andrew Hershey, designer of many Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) scenarios and Historical ASL campaign games, colloquially known as HASLs. It was quite evident after reading that interview, that there is quite a bit of research behind many ASL Scenarios and especially HASLs.

As such, by playing any well-designed HASL, one can gain a better understanding of the nature of the conflict at large and the feel of certain battles. For me, one of the best examples is found in the HASL Kampfgruppe Scherer: The Shield of Cholm (KGS). It was produced by le franc tireur in 2011 and designed by the aforementioned Dr. Andrew Hershey.