A word with the author: interview with Simon Hall about his new WW2 ruleset Division of Steel

In the “old days” of the DBM, I met Simon Hall various times when I went to competition around UK and – boy – he is a really good player. It was around the end of the 90s. Two years ago, I began to play WW2 games, so imagine my surprise when I discovered Simon was developing a new ruleset for that period in collaboration with Mark Bevis and Plastic Soldier Company. Actually, two sets of rules, with similar structure and philosophy: Division of Steel, for 6mm-15mm Company level battles, and Man of Steel, for 20-28mm 1:1 skirmish battles.

Simon is a veteran in writing wargaming rules. He is the mind behind and he also covered the Renaissance and the Napoleonic ages. He invented the (CCC), already tested in his previous set of rules, and now he is using it in Division of Steel and Man of Steel. So, who better to ask, than Simon, about his new WW2 rules?

Taking on the 21st Panzer – A Flames of War Late War AAR

By Tom Burgess

My good friend Ed and I were very excited to acquire last month’s release of the 21st Panzer Division expansion books/cards for the D-Day Germans in Flames of War Version 4. We both have a lot of 21st Panzer Division kit in our collections, but only Ed had any of it done.  So I rolled out my new US Sheman Company so we could get in a game with the new hotness.

Choosing a Team Yankee list for your IDF force and paint it – part one: the tanks

By Paolo Paglianti

After having completed my British BAOR force and an antagonist URSS army, I wanted to move to a different theatre of Cold War. For a while, I was lingering on Fate of Nations setting, but the Oil War book gave me exactly what I was looking for: a new scenery for a brand fresh force, literally thousands of miles away from the ubiquitous NATO green.

As usual, I am going to create a core force of around 100 points for the two sides: at our club in Milan we like to have two opposing forces for every ruleset, so we can demo players wanting to get into the games we like. For Oil Wars, the first force I selected was IDF, and later this year I plan to complete the theatre with an Iranian/Syrian force. 

 

Flames of War: A Beginners Story

By Preston Jacob

We all get into wargaming for one reason or another. Maybe you have a certain interest in a historical era, you enjoy the ruleset of the game, or maybe you just like how the models can be painted. For me, I got into wargaming on a lost bet.

GC Minis: Running out for 4th Meal

By Dennis Jensen

My first painted piece of the new year is the Taco Bell by .  This is an MDF and resin 28mm kit. Before gluing on the roof and the window frames I sprayed the building and the frames with a textured spray paint.  I experimented to see if the textures spray paint would hide the joins.

Oak & Iron: Pulling Into Port

By Tyler Stone
This weekend, my Kickstarter copy of newest game, pulled into dock at my front door. It was a long voyage, as Firelock Captain Mike attested on our podcast.

Issues with the initial castings, then shipping, and finally with customs, meant that the project didn’t quite make its projected ‘Christmas 2019’ delivery.

A lesser blogger might ask the leading question, “Was it worth the wait.” But this is no average blog, so I’m going to tell you up front: it absolutely was. With that out of the way, I’m going to answer your question instead – what’s in the box?

Star Wars Legion 800 pt Battle Report

By Chris Masucci

It has taken me quite some time to get around to playing Fantasy Flight’s licensed star wars ground combat offering, Star Wars Legion. Being pitched as a small scale skirmish game centering around a few fire teams, a commander and a vehicle or two, Legion sells itself as a light miniatures game that uses the Star Wars license to create your own small scale battles. Originally starting with units and vehicles from the original Star Wars set of films, the game has expanded more recently with the inclusion of two new armies from the Clone Wars era. All of these armies are fully compatible and can be fielded against each other.

New Units from D:Day British

By Preston Jacob

 

“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender!” – Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

That speech rings no truer than with all the new units you can find in the new Flames of War D:Day British book. For any British player who felt they may have been cheated with the small list and force selection from Fortress Europe, worry no more. There are over 100 pages in this new book and brings the British fully into late war. Whether you’re an infantry or armored player, you’ll find everything you could want from the Normandy campaign and will be able to drive the Germans back to the Fatherland by Christmas.

Williamsburg Muster 2020 – A review

by Dennis Jensen

Williamsburg Muster 2020 was on February 14-16 at the Clarion Hotel in Williamsburg Virginia.  This is the second year I attended this excellent small convention.  Once again, I gave my wife the gift of silence and I went down with my two boys.  This year we also went down with my friend Todd, a fellow WNPG member, and Hobby University teacher.

We made it down to Williamsburg without traffic, checked in our room, bought our badges and then went to dinner.  There were a number of games on Friday night, some planned, and some ad hoc. I continued my tradition of allowing the boys to stay up late and we all played the Arena Games gladiator game.