By David Garvin

With the new year, many gamers across the land get excited for the annual Winter Offensive, hosted by the folks at Multiman Publishing (MMP). With over 150 attendees, this is one of the larger annual conventions, but it differs from many in that it does not focus on a wide variety of games.  The two major games here are Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) and the Great Campaigns of the American Civil War (GCACW).

There were some other games being played, but those two were the main ones.  Furthermore, the Winter Offensive is a charitable event, with the benefactor being the World War Two Foundation. Every year, MMP raises thousands for this important group, raising awareness of this important event in our shared history.

By Morten 

In Morten’s previous article he showed us how to paint Team Yankee Danish infantry. Now he will show us how to paint their vehicles.

In 1980, the Danish Army decided to paint all their operational vehicles in a two-tone camouflage pattern. Prior to this, all the vehicles was just painted green.

By Mitch Reed

One of the benefits of my day job is that I get to play games at work for research and recently some co-workers and I tried out Nineveh: We are coming from Nuts! Publishing (a company I really like).

Since I knew two members of the design team, Rex Brynen and Brian Train, I felt that the game would be something special and after we played it one afternoon, I saw how great designers can abstract a difficult concept and bring a solid game to the market.

By Morten

The Danish army got a new camo pattern for their uniforms, designated M/84 in 1984, to replace the older M/58 uniform. Although it was implemented into the Army in 84’ it didn’t reach the troops until years later. Even in the 90’s some troops had still not received the new uniform and especially reservists would still be issued the older M/58 uniform. 

The webbing used was of British making and had been donated to Denmark by the UK, after the Second World War. Denmark did not replace this webbing, until start to mid 90’s, although some bags and pouches on the webbing would be replaced with newer versions along the way (like new ammo pouches for the M/75(G3) rifle). Most of the webbing would be a tan/khaki color, although color variations did occur, and could range from a light green to dark khaki. 

Here is my take on how to paint a Danish Panserinfantri Deling (PNINF DEL), or Armored Infantry Platoon, for Team Yankee, in the M/84 uniform. 

By Caroline Gilmore

Peace requires patience, and, when there is a history of past conflict, it can be hard to lay the grounds for peace and justice.  Nevertheless, on a sunny Saturday morning in October, over seventy participants and eight mentors gathered at George Washington University to take part in Perilous Peace, a simulation of Colombia’s current peace negotiations.

Perilous Peace was Strategic Crisis Simulations’ first simulation of the semester. Strategic Crisis Simulations (SCS) is an undergraduate wargaming and crisis management organization affiliated with the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Undergraduates use experimental learning to teach peers about diplomacy, national security, and human rights through simulations and crisis drills. Through creativity and constructive gaming, SCS helps participants become confident, critical thinkers that are ready for the professional world.

The mural in the main room of the Soldier’s Home

By Robert Kelly

You may recall that I played a game of Team Yankee this summer against Morten from Kolding, Denmark. Three Team Yankee Games in Denmark With Three Different Danish Mortens – No Dice No Glory  I managed to pull out a win, and now it was time for Morten to seek his revenge.

The local Soldier’s Home in Fredericia, Denmark is located just outside the base (caserne) and is run by the YMCA. YMCA Soldiers’ Home – YMCA Soldiers’ Mission (kfums-soldatermission.dk) Their website says, “The YMCA Soldiers’ Home is a sanctuary for soldiers. In soldier slang, it is called “Kuffen” and serves as the soldiers’ second home. Here they relax, eat good food, watch TV together or play games.

At the YMCA Soldiers’ Home, we make an effort to create a homely setting. This means a good atmosphere, shared activities and space to be yourself”.

YMCA in Danish is KUFM, hence the nickname Kuffen.  After Christmas they usually organize a gaming day which is translates to “Christmas Beatings”.  There would be other games along with our Team Yankee game. I did the hour long drive from Aarhus in my mother in law’s three cylinder Suzuki Celerio to face a determined foe in Morten. It was a toss up as to whether he would use his usual list with some refining or a fun list of 30 tanks and an infantry platoon. We went with the fun list.

By Troy Hill

I had to face a stark realization recently. I’m in gaming burnout.

That’s not surprising looking back at the last three years. When the pandemic hit, a lot of gamers went from 60 to Zero in the blink of an eye. We needed our gaming fix! But how?

We overcompensated, at least I did, by hobbying in so many other ways. Three-D printing was coming into it’s golden age, and like so many other gamers lurking in our little zones of no-people outside the bubble, I have printed a huge “pile of opportunity” in my my little gaming cave. And I’ve got another HUGE “pile of opportunity” in plastic figures from a variety of games, all waiting for paint, and for table time.

Sooooo many games to learn. So many games to play. And, now that the world has opened up, soooooo many cons to attend.

And then the record screech sound effect echoed, and I realized I was in a big pit of gaming burnout.

But what is it, and how to get through it?

By Kreighton Long

World War Two served as both the testing grounds and the high water mark for airborne operations.  All the major powers trained and equipped their own airborne corps with some getting more attention than others.  The Germans were the first to gain notoriety for their use of airborne forces during the early war period and the United States and Britain learning from Germany’s successes and improving upon them in their own airborne operations during the mid and late war periods.

By Tom Gall

The folks at Hard Knox Games in Elizabethtown Ky are on to something for Flames of War and you probably want to know about it. With Flames of War (FOW) (and TY) I’m sure you’re more than familiar with the current matrix of missions that dot the competitive and casual landscape.

Part of the fun of FOW is showing up with a list, and not knowing what mission you’re going to play. You and your opponent each pick a stance (Attack, Maneuver, or Defend), reveal which gets you to a table to roll a D6, and decide the mission to play. The mission of course determines where you place objectives, where you deploy your forces, if you have reinforcements and other situational rules that’ll give your game extra flavor.

It’s a great system and thankfully Battlefront has been refreshing it approximately yearly. Sometimes tho, you want a little more variety. This is where the Move to Contact format you’ll find is interesting!

The folks at Hard Knox have run this format of missions 5 times now. Locally we’ve been using the missions for casual play, we’re fans.

By Mitch Reed

I wish that my love of history was more well-rounded.

Blood & Crowns is a new skirmish game that covered the Hundred Years War. The kickstarter campaign is still waiting on production of the initial project, and should ship this spring (northern hemisphere).

My journey from never having an interest in this period to becoming excited about it is a wild story.

When it comes to certain periods of history I have little more than a rudimentary knowledge of what occurred and may be able to recognize a few battles, dates, and historical figures. When it comes to the history of the Hundred Years War, I know it lasted more than a century, and other than reading Shakespeare’s Henry V and John Keegan’s Illustrated Face of Battle, both of which I read back in High School, I know little about the conflict.

When I heard that Firelock Games was working on a new game called Blood & Crowns that covered this period, I did not list it as a “must buy”, however after seeing a draft of the rules and especially after my NoDiceNoGlory.com interview with Eric Hansen, the designer, I was hooked and now I have painted over 100 models to play this great game.