Gaming

By Chris Masucci

Being somewhat versed in WW2 wargaming years ago with Flames of War V2, my recent gaming time has been taken up more and more with Warlord Games’ 28mm take on WW2, Bolt Action. Scaling down the company level engagements of Flames down to a more platoon and infantry centric scene, Bolt Action has seemed to echo older editions of Warhammer 40k in the more recent years. Having an interest in the system already, late last year I finally decided to expand my collection into the realms of Bolt Action’s official sci-fi expansion

If you play 3d wargames, you will want to have awesome battlefields. And which scenario could happen without some hills? The ones made by producers like Battlefront or Games Workshop are wonderful, but if you need a number they can become quite expensive. So, here is how we can do easy, scenic, beautiful hills with very affordable costs.

Jeff Mayo and company always put on a good show up in New Hampshire. If you haven’t gotten the chance to play up here in the North East in a while, come to Black Moon games in Lebanon. I’ll be there and I’m hoping to bring some friends.  email Jeff and let him know you’re coming, we have a few spots left. Join the fight and check out the event on our forums today (link below).

By Troy A. Hill

Images by Warlord Games, or as noted

Warlord has released yet another blockbuster game this year. My painting table doth overfloweth with models I’m itching to paint to get onto the gaming table.

Joining my fleet of 14 brigs attached to golf-tees, all in various stages of painting, my seven frigates awaiting rigging and sails, my Cruel Seas R-boats, more PT boats, F-lighters, as well as my Soviet Yaks, British Hurricanes, and a multitude of German fighters for Blood Red Skies (not to mention my neglected armies of British Bolt Action Tommies and their guns and vehicles)… now I have to paint up a load or two of Judges, Fatties, Block Gangs, and other Big-Meg denizens.

Yes, the Judge Dredd game has arrived, and it looks sweet enough to entice a gaming binge of Fattie proportions. (For the uninitiated, Fatties are a “gang” within the Dredd verse. Bazooka barfing is a special ability… see below for details.)

Version 2 of has been out for a bit now and while I’ve been itching to play to experience the changes first hand, life had other plans.

Finally this past week Eric and I were able to get together at D6 games in Rochester MN, and play a few matches. As we’d both played the original, we none the less started out with the intro game found in the book using their force suggestions. This meant a mirror match with each of us having a Samurai character, a bowman, a musket man and a group of 3 spearmen. In game terms, 11 points a side which is a modest force.

By Robert Kelly

In 1974 the Canadian Armed Forces issued a requirement for an Armoured Vehicle General Purpose (AVGP) to equip both Regular and  Reserve units. Three prototypes made it to the final evaluation from a field of fourteen. The Brazilian URUTU and the U.S. Commando fell by the wayside and the Swiss MOWAG Piranha 6 X 6 won the evaluation.

Recently I was invited to be a part of a gaming experiment at the home of wargame designer If you are an avid wargamer you already know who he is, for those not familiar with his work you really need to check out some of his games in the COIN Series from GMT Games.

These games focus on counter insurgency operations during conflicts such as Vietnam, Afghanistan, and the Global War on Terror and focus on politics as much as military operations. The series has won many well-deserved awards and is groundbreaking in expanding our hobby beyond pushing troops around a map.

by Dennis ‘Matt Varnish’ Campbell,

photos by me and James Smith

On the first weekend of November 2019, we had an event, the first Upper Canada Regionals, in Kingston ON (on the NY State border) for Late War 100pts.   It was held at Royal Military College (our version of Westpoint) and put on by Ryan Sullivan and his gang.    It was a good time, but more importantly, we were able to guinea-pig a new iteration on the Battle Planner, as below document and matrix:

Playing with a friend at home Blue vs Red is good. Meeting with lots of players at the local club for a tournament or a day-long huge game is even better. Playing a part in a world global campaign is really the next level of our hobby.

Battlefront and OnTableTop (yes, the guys we formerly know as Beasts of War) created the D-Day Global Campaign, a cross-media system to allow any player, any club and any tournament to be part of a six weeks D-Day campaign.

By Igor “Tadcaster” Torgeson

Choosing your Colours
After Matt Varnish’s , I’ve been tasked with British painting. Warlord’s new line of ships from the Age of Sail is close to my heart, as I spent some time as crew aboard HMS Rose, a replica of the British frigate from the Revolutionary war. Many of you will be familiar with HMS Rose, as she was purchased by 20th Century Fox and renamed Surprise for the film Master and Commander.

When it comes to painting British ships, I have good news and bad news. The good news is by the time of the Napoleonic wars, the colours of ships in the Royal Navy were mostly standardized. The bad news is I said “mostly.” Royal Navy captains had great latitude in the painting and upkeep of their ships, whether it was the hull, the sticks (masts and yards), or the brightwork (decoration).