Miniature Wargames 487-202311

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04 FORWARD OBSERVER
With the latest news items.
07 SEND THREE AND

W
e have the usual overflowing
cornucopia to grace your FOURPENCE
reading lectern this month.
We present for your delectation Kinch’s Miscellany:
From gangsters in the canals of Venice
a collection of unconsidered trifles to help you out
to a couple of very different Napoleonic
with your games.
approaches, scratch built airships and a
show report from deepest Peterborough,
plus guidance on gaming from Messer’s 13 A DISMAL RETREAT
Sutherland and Kinch. I think we have A Napoleonic skirmish featuring Moore’s Retreat
something to suit most tastes even to La Coruna using Sharp Practice.
without applying rose tinted spectacles.
Talking of which – as Neal Peart wrote 19 THE WAKE
(and Geddy Lee sang): “We’ve got Mars The Editor gives a show report of the Hereward
on the horizon, says the National Midnight
Wargames Show 2023 by the Peterborough
Star (it’s true), what you believe is what you
Wargames Club.
are: a pair of dancing shoes – the Soviets are
the blues...” Get a move on Elon...
23 DEFENCE IN DEPTH
With the latest figure and rules reviews.
26 THE PERFECT GAME

Command Decision looks at the process of
running the perfect game (following from last
John Treadaway Get in touch month’s ‘scenario’ introduction)
Editor
tabletopgaming.co.uk
COVER 32 PROSPERO’S
MiniatureWG FEATURE SECRET
MiniatureWargames An adventure set in Venice by Chris Swan, for his
new Tales of Derring Do pulp fiction rule set.
miniature_wargames_magazine
MINIATURE WARGAMES
39 MEMOIR 1815
A tactical, battalion-level game of Napoleonic
EDITORIAL PUBLISHED BY battle inspired by both Bob Cordery’s Memoir of
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[email protected] [email protected] Battle and Memoir ’44 by Richard Borg.
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November 2023 Miniature Wargames 3

FORWARD OBSERVER
News, previews and community submissions from the wargaming world
STARGRAVE & ACW

an IGOUGO0 system). Bold Endeavour
is another supplement for the popular
Latest releases from Osprey Stargrave system by Joe McCullough. It’s
Latest released from Osprey are two set in the Crokoan Nebula: a new region
titles: With Hot Lead and Cold Steel of space to explore (and exploit). There’s
PLANET 28
(£14.99) and Stargrave: Bold Endeavour new alien-tech, powers, soldiers, and
(£20). The first is a ‘blue book’, 80 pages backgrounds for captains and first mates.
in length, and contains a full set of Also included is Advanced Astrogation, Baroque Sci-Fi Skirmish
rules for playing large ACW games in Space Encounters and six scenarios along Mammoth Miniatures are a small
(primarily) 28mm. The author (Arthur with the obligatory Bestiary stuffed with outfit that we bumped into at the
van de Ster) makes it his gaming mission horrible creatures like Living Lightning, Hereward show. They make an
to both cut down the chart consultation Plasmonic Lifeforms and the worryingly interesting selection of resin cast
and give players a chance to use the entitled Arsendryder. The book is minis in 28mm but what we have
correct nomenclature for manoeuvres stuffed with nice pictures of figures and is their latest set of rules, Planet 28
and such like to help achieve good period interesting artwork and is exactly what (Second Edition). Produced in A5 in
‘feel’. You’ll need a 6 by 4 table, an inch fans of Mr McCullough’s work will a neat hardback (with a dust cover)
ruler and a good handful of d10 dice for appreciate. Go to ospreypublishing.com for the rules are an 84 page, open source
an initiative based set-to (as opposed to more information. skirmish system that uses a full set of
polyhedral dice (d4 through to d20)
and will set you back £16. The rules
ELFKING UPDATE
cover character and warband creation;
campaign rules; solo and co-op play;
More from Lucid Eye Publications vehicle creation and a combat system,
In Issue 484 we reviewed a replaying plus lists of character traits, abilities,
system called Elfking – The Immortal equipment and more. The rules
by Lucid Eye. They have recently are supported by some smaller, A5
released a trio of supplements for supplements: Death in the Throneroom
that system. First up is Lords of Eas, and Brutal Quest both for less that
a collection of characters, artefacts, £5.50 each. Go to mammothminiatures.
treasure and monsters (A4 60+ pages, com for more info and check out their
£20). This is followed by two A5, full figure range as well.
colour Adventure Modules: The Lair
of the Crimson God (80 pages, £16)
and Ruhe of the Rose Tower (40 pages,
£12.50). All are nicely produced with
a very distinct artistic flair. If you’re imagination, go to lucideyepublications.
keen on the original rules or just want com and either buy the pdfs or print on
something to jump start your gaming demand books at the price quoted.
4 Miniature Wargames November 2023

SHOW & TELL
CASE BLUE AND FUTURE WARGAMING EVENTS
CANADA’S BAYONET
WARFARE
Sat 11th & Sun 12th November
Even more Osprey Farnborough International
Osprey have two more books about to hit the Exhibition & Conference Centre, GU14 6TQ
shops. The first is a Bolt Action 2nd Edition wargamesreading.co.uk
Campaign Supplement: Case Blue. This book
should probably be considered in partnership CAVALIER
with the Campaign: Stalingrad release that they Sun 24th February
The Angel Centre, Tonbridge TN9 1SF
already have in print. It extends the story of the
twws.org.uk
conflict to the areas outside of Stalingrad and the
immediate area. While this book does provide a
HAMMERHEAD
Saturday 2nd March
Cedric Ford Pavilion, , Newark Showground,
NG242NY
hammerheadshow.co.uk
SALUTE
Sat 13th April
are The Investigation, The Revenants; Troll Bridge; ExCel, London, E16 1XL
Confirmed Kill; Sunken Treasure; The Haunted Ruins; salute.co.uk
Last Stand; Loup-Garou Surprise; Infested Monastery;
and Ship In The Fog plus the solo outings:
Wolf Pack; The Ruined Chapel; The Troll THIS MONTH
historical overview of Case
Blue, its primary purpose is
Hunts; and The Last Mile. SB-Canada is
over 160 pages in length and will be soft
IN HISTORY
to provide new scenarios, bound. Go to ospreypublishing.com for BATTLE OF IA
DRANG VALLEY
rules, and inspiration to more information.
help wargamers (especially
those who play Bolt NOVEMBER 14 - 17, 1965
Action 2). This book covers The first major battle between U.S.
the southern region of and Vietnamese forces would be
the Eastern Front from claimed as a victory by both sides.
December 1941 to July Located in the Central Highlands
1943 including: The fall of of South Vietnam, the crucial
Sevastopol and the Soviet AVN supply route became a test
amphibious counter-attack; the Soviet offensive bed for tactical helicopter “air
at Kharkov; the German attempts to capture mobility” by American forces.
the Soviet oilfields at the foot of the Caucasus On November 14, the U.S. First
Mountains; the destruction of the Italian and Calvary Division established
Hungarian armies during Operation Little Saturn; landing zones in the valley and
and the German defence of the Kuban region. immediately came under fire.
The second new title is The Silver Bayonet: Continual reinforcements via
Canada. This is a (as the title implies) a helicopter and sustained aerial
supplement for the Silver Bayonet system bombardment decimated the
(Napoleonic skirmish/roleplay with large fantasy Vietnamese positions. By the end
elements) by Joe McCullough and set in the of fighting, 305 Americans had
Northern American continent. For those that been killed compared to at least
don’t know, Silver Bayonet is a small footprint 1,000 plus AVN troops. General
game (a 3 by 3 foot table is more than sufficient) Westmoreland and much of the
and needs d10s (in three colours), a deck of American leadership viewed the
standard cards, and some counters to help with casualty statistics as a vindication
play. Oh, and the original Silver Bayonet rules, of of the combination of air mobility
course. The book has sections on creating units; and heavy bombardment. Ia Drang
writing your own scenarios; solo play; a bestiary; set the course for the war to come,
and has a selection of ten scenarios (and four and would serve as a taste of future
solo scenarios) pre-created for you to use. These conflict for both sides.

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SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
KINCH’S
MISCELLANY
A collection of ABOVE: The Army Painter Laser Lock. Not essential,
but it does its job brilliantly.
unconsidered trifles RIGHT: Dice towers, much though I was loath to

admit it, work really well.
Words and pictures by Conrad Kinch
y brain is a chaotic place. If outing of an idea: Kinch’s Miscellany – a
M I’m not pondering food, sex or

sleep, I’m probably thinking
about wargaming. And lots of
it. Right now, I’m pondering a multi-
player Second World War game that I’ve
small collection of things that I’ve
found useful in my wargaming that you
might too.
If there’s a theme to this lot, it’s that
they are things I’ve found helpful for
planned for the 30th September; a multi- saving time. I don’t get as many hours in
part Rangers of Shadowdeep adventure the day to wargame as I would like and
that I really should finish writing and I’ve found, particularly as I get older, that
playtesting, a Stalingrad project that I’ve I’m willing to spend money to save time
wanted to get off the ground for years, to so that I can spend less effort performing
say nothing of my Abyssinians and my the operations of the game and more
occasional Stargrave/40K distractions. economically making decisions.
Not all of these ideas deserve an
article and some of them would make for DICE TOWERS & DICE TRAYS
pretty thin stuff if they were stretched I used to think Dice Towers and Dice
over 2,500-3000 words (or closer to 3,500 Trays were foppish fripperies. They got
words that I occasionally sneak in, if I in the way, they took up space and they
think Treadaway is napping) of a full were an answer to a question that hadn’t
Send Three & Fourpence column. So been asked: “Where should I roll my dice?”
this is the inaugural (and perhaps final) The answer seemed so immediately
›
obvious to me that it seemed ridiculous

to ask it in the first place: you rolled
your dice on the table as Donald
Featherstone and Rick Priestly intended
and that was that.
But I’ve warmed to both dice trays and
dice towers a great deal in the last few
years, in large part due to the fact that I
won a dice tower in a raffle. It seemed
a bit of a useless prize to me, but then I
started using it and... I saw the light.
The advantages of dice towers and
dice trays are:
◗ The dice stay in one place. This

means no hunting for rogue dice that
scatter off the table. They can’t go
skudding across the board knocking
over figures and bouncing off terrain.
You don’t have to go looking for
them when you next need to roll
them because they’re right there in
the dice tower. You don’t have to go
hunting for dice very often for the
time wasted to mount up.
◗ Dice towers are fair and more

importantly are seen to be fair. We’ve
all played with the chap who rolls
his dice, says “Three hits” and then
immediately picks them up again.
There’s no chance of slight of hand
with a tower or a tray. I mean the sort
of thing where a player rolls his dice
in stages, rolling one and then trying
to hit it with the next die, if he doesn’t LASER POINTER bend it like a piece of string and it’s
like the number. It’s also much harder Donald Featherstone’s books included faster to use and clearer to everyone
for dice to end up being “cocked” handy tips on how to build a reverse than a ruler or measuring tape. (I have a
when they end on a flat surface. periscope that would help you get down couple myself and I can also attest that they
to the “models eye view”. I’ve never are ‘gods gift’ to wargaming. Ed.)
◗ They are excellent for remote gaming really had much truck with those as The other thing you can do is that you
because you can hold the camera over they seemed fiddly and expensive. I had can rotate the line around a miniature
the tray and everyone can see the similar feelings about standard laser very quickly, showing all angles which,
result: fair and square. pointers for adjudicating line of sight. in a game like Black Ops or Force on
However, the Army Painter Targetlock Force where troops can fire in any
◗ Dice towers are available at all Laser Line is excellent. It appeared in direction, opens up more possibilities.
price points, but there are plenty of my Christmas stocking pre Covid and I Those machine guns positioned on the
YouTube tutorials on how to make gave it a go more out of politeness than flank to enfilade the board suddenly got
your own for pennies. If you don’t anything else. How wrong I was. more interesting.
fancy that, any tea tray or small box Rather than the more usual red dot, A TargetLock Laser Line costs about
can be substituted for a dice tray and the Targetlock projects a red line on the a tenner and you can find them on line
those are free. I recommend using board. This line can be varied in length from the Army Painter (or often at a show
an old biscuit tin because of the very by moving the laser closer or further if they have a stand. Ed.).
pleasing clattering sound they make. away from the models. What I like about And by the way, Army Painter – if
this is that it reduces arguments. There you’re reading – I would absolutely pay
In brief, they save time and they’re is either a clear line of sight between for a version of this that projected a circle
fairer. Recommended. the two models or there isn’t. You can’t of a set size for adjudicating blast weapon

is the way that works best for me. I use 4 you can change the format quickly if
x 6 inch Index cards which I get from the you think of something better than the
stationers. I write the unit’s name at the format you were already using.
top, the points cost on the top right hand
corner and the stats at the bottom. Once ◗ Having a 4 x 6 piece of card is very
I’ve done these, I pop them in a card file handy if you’re playing a game that
that I stole from a skip and which also uses inches to measure movement. I
contains dice, templates and other stuff. can measure six or four inches quickly
I find this approach works best, for and easily. And by eyeballing half
me, for the following reasons: that length, I can quickly measure two
inches or three inches as well. (While
◗ I very rarely require more than a you have a pen out you could even mark
dozen cards. Just having a spare set of those measurements on the cards... Ed.)
cards to hand and a pen means that I
can produce them very quickly. ◗ If you need to record a number during
the game (morale, ammunition,
◗ The cards get re-used, which gives hitpoints or something similar) rather
a pleasing sense of continuity. In than recording the number on scratch
my Black Ops games, I’ve taken to paper, write a series of numbers on
recording what happened on the the side of the card. Slip a paper clip
back side of the card, crossing out over the edge and then move it up and
the names of personnel that were down to record the number you need.
wounded or killed and adding new
ones. It may seem like a small thing, ◗ Lastly, one idea worth stealing
but knowing that Reg died at the fight from the card gamers: a lot of card
at the farmhouse and was replaced by games use card position to indicate
Big Ed adds verisimilitude. something about the card. For
example in Magic: The Gathering, a
◗ Hand writing them means that rather card which is activated (something
than printing something out, I actually which can only be done once per turn)
have to look at the information, digest is “tapped” (turned 90 degrees). In The
it and write it down. That means I’m Men who would be Kings for example,
ABOVE: The Army Painter Laser Line in action.
A British Cromwell draws a bead on a Panther's more likely to remember it. I turn cards upside down to show
backside. ◗ Hand writing them also means that that the unit has acted and turn it 90
templates or distance from objectives.

So – in summary – it’s not that
using pieces of string etc don’t work...
it’s just that this is clearer and more
importantly faster.
INDEX CARDS
This was something that I started doing
when I was playing Black Ops by Guy
Bowers and The Men who would be Kings
by Dan Mersey on a regular basis. Both of
these are games that play quickly and give
a good result in short time. Consequently,
you can actually play a number of games
at a sitting. Writing army lists for these
was a pain in the neck, because – after the
first game – you’d be scratching things out
and adding them and it would all be a bit
of a mess.
Unit cards are not a new idea and ABOVE: Unit Cards from my long running on and
off Black Ops campaign London Calling. Poor old
there are plenty of games that use them. Corporal Baggins: he died on his first mission.
However, I’ve found that writing my own
›
ABOVE: Cheap and nasty foam hills. These were

created in less then fifteen minutes with a craft
knife and a can of green spray when I really needed
two hills at very short notice.
degrees to show that it is pinned. This up offcuts of foam for pennies. I have very, very messy method of ringing out the
is particularly handy when playing a local upholster, who asked me what I sponge in a bucket of 50/50 diluted green
solo and you’re playing a turn here wanted it for and I told him, so he thinks emulsion paint and water. When left to dry
and a turn there over a couple of days I’m a lunatic, but he still sells me a giant on a flat surface (that you didn’t care about
(which is how most of my scenario black sack of foam scraps for the price of ruining...) the things dried (eventually) and
playtesting happens), as it acts as a a pint every two years or so. stiffened wonderfully. It took a long time to
reminder of who has gone and who Once you’ve got your foam, cut it with get the paint out from under my fingernails
hasn’t. Also if you are playing a game a craft knife to the shape you want. I’ve mind you... Ed.
where a unit can be in a number of stolen Mrs Kinch’s electric carving knife If you’re feeling particularly fancy
different “states” (panicked, drunk, for this and it’s proved very successful. add some texture with fine sand or
hatred, etc) you can always pop a The trick is to ensure that you’re nicking sawdust, maybe some flocks or static
counter indicating as much on the it while she’s at the theatre. grass if you’re pushing the boat out.
card and that’ll stop them cluttering This is a very quick way of bashing There are textured spray paints you can
up your tabletop. out some hills, that a can of cheap green get that you could use to add a bit of
paint spray will allow you to knock out surface interest.
FOAM RUBBER HILLS a few hills in literally minutes. If you The most important thing is that once
This is an idea that I encountered want to get fancy, get an old Windex you’ve got your hills at the level you
when as a youngster, I had dropped bottle and fill it with watered down like, hit them again with the watered
in unannounced on a club night of the PVA (mix 50/50 with water) and a few down PVA to seal everything and keep
South London Warlords and played a drops of Fairy Liquid. Give them a your texture and flocks etc attached.
game of Rapid Fire with them. They good spray with that to “prime” them The advantages of foam rubber hills
were using these and I’ve always been and give your paint something with a are as follows:
surprised I’ve never seen them more bit of tooth to grip onto. Let them dry
widely adopted. overnight and then come back with ◗ They are indestructible. I’ve thrown
Essentially, take some upholstery with spray cans of greens, browns or mine in bags, stored them in boxes
foam, the kind used for sofa cushions whatever colours you want. and they never break or chip. My
and the like. You could use some from As it happens. I helped make some of those cat has fallen sleep on them multiple
ancient cushions, but old stuff is usually very foam hills at the Warlords that Mr times and I’ve reasonably sure the
too squishy to be much use. However, if Kinch is referring to. I can attest that one kids have used them as weapons on a
you visit an upholsterers, you can pick of the batches was certainly made by the couple of occasions.

◗ They are very light. It makes them CARD SLEEVES & BLANK CARDS probably because I like the feel of the
extremely easy to transport if you I really like card based games. I play a better quality cardstock, but I may be
need to bring your kit with you. lot of the Command & Colours stable: alone in this.
Memoir ‘44, Command & Colours
◗ They are very forgiving if you drop a Napoleonics, BattleCry, etc. However, Things I’ve used my bespoke card
figure on them. I’m also fond of Sharp Practice (though decks for (other than game specific
I’m never 100% sure I’m playing the decks of cards):
◗ Because they are still foam, you can rules correctly), Black Ops and The
pin stuff to them. Not something that’s Sword and the Flame, all of which make ◗ Replacing charts. I hate charts,
ever likely to come up in a game (unless use of cards. mainly because the extra time during
you’re playing something radically Now some of these games use a the game of rolling a die and then
different to me), but when taking photos standard card deck, but I’ve grown very consulting a chart feels like too many
of my figures, I have been able to pin fond of making bespoke card decks for steps to me. I’ve had some success
teddy bear stuffing smoke and other things. Making bespoke card decks is with simply dashing off a card for
objects to them when needed. cheap and easy too and doesn’t have to each option on the chart and just
involve messing around with Microsoft drawing a card when I need to roll
They are also extremely easy and quick Office. The three ways I’ve found of on the chart. This is very fast and
to make, though I have a set of hex shaped doing it are: gives me the information I need
hills which I use for Command & Colours quickly. Unfortunately it doesn’t really
games which were made for me by my pal 1. Buy cheap decks of cards and sticky work for charts that have a normal
and terrainmeister Capability Savage. He labels from Pound Shops. I take distribution (i.e. something like a 2d6
makes the best ones, but even a duffer like however many cards I need, slap a chart) rather than a flat one (i.e. a d20
me can knock out an acceptable product in label on each one and write whatever chart) unless you want to produce a
relatively short order. I need on it in Sharpie. Job done. lot more cards. Also it’s not possible
to add modifiers to your “roll”. But
for something like the “Leadership
characteristics chart” in The Men who
would be Kings, it works quite well.
◗ Random events. I’ve written a fair few

scenarios over the last few years that
have used cards triggering random
events as both a way of injecting
surprises into a game, but also as a way
ABOVE: A selection from the leadership table from
of providing a turn counter. I know a lot
The Men who would be Kings. of wargamers use a big die to keep track
of turns, but – and I don’t know why – I
always seem to forget. However I can
2. Buy a pack of card sleeves. You can normally be relied upon to turn a card,
buy quality ones at a games shop mainly, I suspect, because I want to find
aimed at Magic: The Gathering players out what happens when I do! I stole this
and other such harmless persons mechanic from Joseph McCullough’s
or pick up cheap ones online. The excellent Rangers of Shadowdeep
cheapest I’ve been able to find them and have used it in scenarios in
is €2 per fifty sleeves. Write what you this magazine like The Keynote of
need on slips of paper and slip them everything is to be simplicity and When
into the card sleeves. This method has the Bell tolls one.
the advantage of being re-usable as
when you’re finished with the cards, CONCLUSIONS
you can just pull out the slips of paper And that wraps up the first (and
and re-use the sleeves. possibly the last) Kinch’s Miscellany. I
hope some of these ideas prove useful. If
3. Lastly – and this is the most they do or if you’re unclear on anything
expensive route – pick up a packet of I’ve explained here, feel free to contact
ABOVE: The leadership table from The Men who blank business cards from your local me on [email protected] or you can
would be Kings converted to a deck of cards. Three
units given their leader in a matter of seconds. stationers and write whatever you find me on the artist formerly known as
need to them. Irrationally, I like this, Twitter as @aquestingvole. ■

A DISMAL RETREAT
Moore’s Retreat to La Coruna using Sharp Practice Words and Photos by David Hiscocks
ne of the most challenging missions in terrain to be evacuated from the Peninsula at the port
O
BELOW
any era of warfare is to conduct a fighting of La Coruna by the Royal Navy. A wounded
British officer
withdrawal. If the attackers are numerous, As the retreat continued Moore’s refusal to turn and looks ruefully on
well-led and aggressive then this task face his pursuers made it apparent to all that safely as the retreat
becomes even more difficult. This was the position that extricating his force from the Peninsula had become continues.
Sir John Moore found himself in northern Spain when his priority. A combination of lack of reliable Spanish
suddenly confronted by overwhelming forces led by support, an awareness he was commanding Britain’s
the preeminent commander of the age, Napoleon. only field army, and a belief that his mission brief had
been fulfilled seem to have led to this decision, yet it
INTRODUCTION was to have disastrous consequences. Moore’s army
In response to the French invasion of Spain, an started to unravel, discipline and morale in many
expeditionary force of 25,000 British soldiers units collapsing due to poor leadership and a lack of
commanded by Sir Moore was ordered to march confidence in their commanding general who seemed
from Portugal into northern Spain to support their unwilling to fight.
ally. Due to poor communication between the That most of Moore’s army survived to reach La
allies the British had achieved little when on 23rd Coruna where they would then fight a successful
December 1808 Moore was caught off-guard by the defensive battle against Soult’s men was in part due
sudden advance of 80,000 French commanded by to the effectiveness of the rearguard action fought
Napoleon. Outmanoeuvred and largely by Paget’s Division. However, an arguably
outnumbered, Moore’s army was more significant factor was that on January 1st
forced to make a gruelling 200- Napoleon left command of the chase to Marshal
mile retreat across inhospitable Soult. Believing that there was now no chance of
›
A DISMALL RETREAT
the above requirements for a deliberate withdrawal are

not met before retreating.
If the French player withdraws from a battle for any
reason it always counts as a British victory.
RANDOM EVENTS
At the start of each campaign turn one of the players
rolls a D6. If the result is a 6 then consult the table
below. If the result has an asterisk then the players
need to flip a coin to see who it impacts.
catching up with the British and receiving intelligence ABOVE RANDOM EVENTS CHART
of hostile movements by Austria, Napoleon elected to The British D6 Roll Random Event
rearguard make
leave his subordinate in command of this sideshow, another stand 1 “Torrential Rain”: All units suffer from wet powder so may only
shoot once per battle in this campaign turn. Any artillery with
taking a significant portion of the army with him. around a lonely either army are abandoned after any battle fought this turn, being
Soult’s slower, more methodical pursuit arguably gave abbey. stuck in the mud.
the British breathing space to reach La Coruna and 2 “The scum of the earth…”: The British find a cache of wine.
Roll a D6 for every group in the British force. On a 1-2 the group
regroup. Here they made a stand against the French, loses a model as a permanent casualty. However, the army gains
a +1 bonus to its force morale roll for all future battles.
during which Sir Moore was killed, before the army
3 “Snowstorm”: Any battle that takes place this turn is fought
was successfully evacuated. during a swirling blizzard. When a group/ formation wishes to
shoot or charge it rolls 4D6, the result is how far in inches the
unit can see. Enemy units beyond this cannot be targeted.
CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW 4* “Dysentery”: No groups on foot can run in the next game.
This article presents a mini campaign representing 5* “Lame & Limping”: No groups on horseback can gallop in the
part of the British withdrawal using the Sharp next game.
Practice rules by the TooFatLardies. With some minor 6 “Vive L’Empereur!”: The French are joined by Napoleon for the
next battle only. They may use a leader 4 for free (representing
adaptations this could easily represent one of the many Napoleon) and they may re-roll the result of their force morale roll.
other famous withdrawals that took place during the
Napoleonic era, such as the Austrians from Wagram in
1809, or the French in Russia in 1812.
OBJECTIVES
The French objective is to bring the British to battle and
defeat their rearguard, allowing their troops to move
up and destroy the vulnerable columns of demoralised
British troops behind. The British objective is to hold
the French pursuers off long enough that they and as
much of the army as possible can make their escape.
The winner of the campaign is the player with the most
victory points.
VICTORY POINT CALCULATION

French British
British Victory 0 D3
British Deliberate Withdrawal 0 1
British Forced Withdrawal D3 0
Deliberate versus Forced withdrawals:

During a battle the British player may choose at the
start of any new turn to withdraw from the battle
before their force morale reaches 0. Doing so is a
deliberate withdrawal. However, to represent the
pressure they are under they must also have brought
the enemy’s force morale down by 50% (rounding-up)
of its starting total or inflicted 25% losses on the enemy.
A forced withdrawal occurs when the British force
retreats because their force morale reaches 0, when the
enemy achieves their objectives for the battle, or when

SCENARIOS Players should feel free to modify these results and are BELOW
The campaign takes the form of linked battles, with encouraged to add scatter terrain to bring the table to The British
retreat.
a single battle being fought each campaign turn. For life. All battlefields will have a road randomly placed
this campaign all the scenarios come from the Sharp at the players’ discretion from the French player’s table
Practice rulebook. The first scenario in the campaign edge to the British player’s table edge.
will be “Scenario Three: Defence in Depth”. Thereafter, Firstly, divide the table into six 2’x2’ squares. Then
the scenario will depend on the results of the previous roll a single D6 for each square and consult the table
game. The British player will always be the defender if below, placing the appropriate terrain in that square.
one is specified.
If the previous game resulted in a British victory WHAT SCENERY?
then the next battle will be “Scenario Five: Attack an D6 Result
Objective”. If the next map includes a river crossing 1 A Large Building (if rolled more than once count subsequent
results as a 2 instead)
then the bridge will be the objective.
2 Rocky outcrops and boulder strewn areas
If the previous game resulted in a British deliberate
3 Two small buildings/ a small farm (if rolled more than once count
withdrawal then play “Scenario One: An Encounter”. the result as a 4 instead)
If the previous game resulted in a British forced 4 Woodland
withdrawal then “Scenario Two: Sweep the Table” will 5 Open ground
be the next mission. The objective of the French (who are 6 Two large hills
sweeping the table) is to round-up and capture as many
British stragglers as they can, these being captured by Finally, players should roll a further D6 to see if a
a task roll of 6. D3 stragglers should be placed in each river is present on the table. On a 5-6 a river is placed
2’x2’ square of the table. Stragglers could be represented across the board, roughly parallel to the player’s
by using spare models. If the French manage to table edges. A bridge should be placed where the
capture more than half of these without being forced to road crosses the river. The players should randomly
withdraw then they win the game. determine if the river is impassable or whether it
counts as a major obstacle instead.
SETTING UP BATTLEFIELDS
As this is a withdrawal action, no battle will ever be CALCULATING CASUALTIES
fought on the same battlefield twice. The British are & REINFORCEMENTS
eager to continue their retreat and the French must Both players will need to keep track of casualties in
press on relentlessly to overtake their opponents. Each their respective forces throughout the campaign. At the
battlefield is therefore different. end of the campaign turn roll a D6 for each casualty.
The terrain for each battle will be randomly On a 1-2 the model is killed, on a 3-4 it is wounded
generated using the guidelines in the table below. and you will need to roll for it again at the end of the
›
A DISMALL RETREAT
ABOVE following turn, and on a 5-6 the model immediately

Looting breaks returns to the ranks fully healed.
out as the troops
find the wine Players will need to keep track of how many men
cellars. have been lost from each group. Groups of the same
type may be merged once losses have been suffered,
RIGHT
The Rifles try although they may never be stronger than they started
to slow their the campaign with.
pursuers. At the end of each battle the British gain D6+2 men
as reinforcements which they may allocate to any
of their existing groups as they wish, so long as the
groups do not exceed their starting size. These must be
allocated immediately.
The French player may swap their army with an
entirely fresh one (generated from the list below) at the
end of any turn. However, on each occasion that they fight before being evacuated by the Royal Navy. If the
do so they lose 2 victory points, to reflect the loss of campaign does not end then at the end of turn 5 roll a
time while they rearrange their advance guard. They dice and on a 5+ the campaign will end, and so on. The
do not otherwise receive any reinforcements. campaign will always conclude at the end of turn 8.
CAMPAIGN DURATION ORDERS OF BATTLE

Each campaign turn represents one day. To reflect We’ll start off with the British...
the vagaries of intelligence and sub-par cartography,
neither side will know exactly when the British will BRITISH REARGUARD
reach La Coruna so the campaign will be subject to a The British have 85 points to spend and may select
randomised turn length. At the end of turn 4 roll a D6. groups, leaders, and support options from the
On a 6 the campaign will end, the British having finally following lists. All options use the rules in the main
reached La Coruna where they will make stand and rulebook unless otherwise specified.

TROOP TYPE COST TROOP TYPE COST BELOW
The cavalry
British Light Company in Line 6 French Line Infantry 1809-1812 5
of the British
British Light Company Skirmishers 7 French Grenadiers 1809-1812 7 rearguard make
British Rifles 11 French Voltigeur Skirmishers 1809-1812 7 a brave fight
of it.
British Light Dragoons 6 French Dragoons to 1812 8
British Artillery (light/ medium only) 6/7 French Hussars to 1812 6
British Artillery (light/ medium only) 6/7
SUPPORT OPTION COST
Explosives 3 SUPPORT OPTION COST
Leader 1/ +1 leader level 3 Leader 1/ +1 leader level 3
Musician 1 Musician 1
Marksman 2 Marksman 2
Fixed Secondary Deployment Point 2 Fixed Secondary Deployment Point 2
Ammunition Cart 2 Ammunition Cart 2
Water Cart 3 Water Cart 3
“Explosives” (one use only, max 1): WITHDRAWING IN CONTACT

The British may detonate a cache of explosives to delay During their 200-mile withdrawal across the mountains
their pursuers, blowing up a bridge or blocking a of northern Spain, the rearguard of Moore’s army
narrow ravine. They must declare that they are doing clashed constantly with the doggedly pursuing French.
this at the start of a campaign turn, rolling a D6. On a With the enemy in such close proximity any mistake
4+ the detonation successfully delays the French and had the potential to turn the orderly withdrawal into
no battle is fought that turn. Neither side gains any a rout. Unsurprisingly, given the atrocious weather
victory points. conditions, terrain and enemy pressure at times
discipline completely broke down, leading to the
FRENCH PURSUERS capture of hundreds of British troops.
The French have 85 points to spend and may select To represent withdrawing while in contact with
groups, leaders, and support options from the the enemy, after each game the British player’s force
following lists. All options use the rules in the main may start to disintegrate, their likelihood of doing so
rulebook unless otherwise specified. depending on the results of the battle.
›
A DISMALL RETREAT
ABOVE rearguard together until they can reach safety. Not

A skirmish only do they have to consider enemy action, but they
erupts as the
French light must manage the vagaries of the weather and other
troops attack the problems in the context of an army in which command
rearguard. and control is collapsing. Victory in the usual sense
LEFT is impossible. However, through carefully timed
A detachment withdrawals and stubborn defensive actions when
of light troops tactically viable they can give the pursuing French
turn to fight in
the ruins of a pause, buying time for more British troops to escape.
church. In contrast, the French have an abundance of
men and material and in a stand-up battle would
BELOW
Hungry French overwhelm the British rearguard in short order. Yet
troops break they lack what they need most; time. Napoleon’s
into a peasant veterans must therefore attack confidently, avoiding
cottage to find
After working out the results of each battle the their dinner. giving the British any opportunity to defeat them
British player will roll on the table below, the severity piecemeal, while also keeping an eye on how close
of any disintegration being dependent on the outcome the British are to the safety of the wooden walls of the
of the battle. Royal Navy. ■
BRITISH DISINTIGRATION (YOU’LL NEED A D6)

Battle Outcome Impact
British Victory All troops escape in a timely manner to fight
again another day.
For each artillery piece roll a D6. On a 6 it is
abandoned.
British Deliberate Withdrawal Roll a D6 for each group. On a 4+ it loses D3
men.
For each artillery piece roll a D6. On a 5+ it is
abandoned.
British Forced Withdrawal Roll a D6 for each group. The dice result is
how many casualties this unit takes.
For each artillery piece roll a D6. On a 4+ it is
abandoned.
CONCLUSION
In this campaign both sides face singular challenges.
The British must somehow hold their outnumbered

THE WAKE
Hereward 2023 Words and photos by The Editor
he Peterborough Wargames Club ran their first
T
ABOVE
show in a number of years on Sunday 3rd of A Firefly
advances.
September at The Cresset – a civic Centre near
Peterborough. I last attended Hereward in 2017 RIGHT
and the show is very similar to what it was then. The Both of the
pictures on this
venue is a large, spacious municipal building with a page were from
catering facility inside the venue and a degree of free the Chain of
parking outside. The show was spread over two rooms. Command game (and steering yokes for the players!) plus a smaller
in 28mm by
the Huntingdon
‘planning’ board showing the layout of the three dams.
TRADE Wargames Club. There were also a nice pair of WWII games – a Bolt
Trade turn out was decent for a smaller sized show Action beach landing by the Bedford Gladiators and
with 20 present plus a ‘flea market’ section to buy and a Chain of Command game by the Huntingdon Club.
sell your old spares. Other highlights for me were the Trench Offensive
system (by Pandyman Entertainment) with a very
GAMES nice trench layout and splendid miniatures and a nice
There were 15 games including a couple by the host looking Battletech game by the Leeds Club.
club, including their excellent Dambusters Challenge. Other highlights were a painting competition and a
That game has a large dam (complete with a broken pop-up games cafe to give folks a chance to play some
replacement section) and 1/72 scale Lancasters board games.
›
HEREWARD 2023
ABOVE &
RIGHT
The impressive
1/72nd scale
Dambusters
Challenge by the
Peterborough
Wargames Club.
BELOW RIGHT
A close up of
the Pacific
Beach Assault
by the Bedford
Gladiators.

CENTRE LEFT
Tank Hunting
for Partizans in
paper scenery
by the Doncaster
Wargames
Society.
LEFT
The Lyran Job:
Battletech
by the Leeds
Wargames Club.
BELOW LEFT
What a
Cowboy by the
Peterborough
Club.
BELOW
Starwing: 3D
Printed Space
Ships by Alex
Handley.
LEFT
The Mysterious
Case of The
Steamer Uranus
by the Lost Ark
Wargamers.
RIGHT
Tis but a scratch
- Medieval
Jousting by the
Cheshunt Club.
BELOW LEFT
Pacific Beach
Assault by
the Bedford
Gladiators.
RIGHT
WWI Trench
attack by
Pandyman
Entertainment.
CONCLUSIONS
The show is a small one but deserves to get bigger.
They are busy planning next year’s event. ■
›
11th & 12th November 50+ Traders
Farnborough International Exhibition Bring & Buy
& Conference Centre Demo & Participation games
GU14 6TQ 30+ Tournaments
https://www.facebtook.com/WargamesReading
https://wargamesreading.co.uk
Wargames Fantasy and

:JP-PÄN\YLZHS^H`Z
ZV\NO[MVYJHZOWHY[
L_JOHUNLVYZ^HWZ
Website updated
RULE BOOKS
& FIGURES
FAR FLUNG CONFLICTS 1: THE

VIETNAM WARGAMES MAORI WARS 1843 - 1869
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◗ £29.95 ◗ £25
This is the easiest review I’ve ever had to Our very own columnist Jon Sutherland
write. If you are interested in gaming the has released another book in his Mad
Vietnam War in any scale (but focussing Dogs & Englishmen series. This one is
particularly on 20mm to 28mm) go and called Far Flung Conflicts 1 (suggesting
buy Vietnam Wargames by Michael that there may be more to come!): The
Farnworth. Well that was simple... Oh Maori Wars 1843 – 1869.
you want to know more...? In A4 full colour softback, this 92
By Caliver Books, this is a 160 page, pagebook is well illustrated with
beautifully produced, full colour some nice maps (mostly in colour but
softback. It is copiously illustrated with the odd original period mono-
with shots of fantastic, inspirational illustration), excellent and inspirational
models and period photos plus shots of photographs of 28mm models and
camouflaged uniforms and kit (including lots more. This supplement (and the
even webbing) and markedly avoiding underlying rules) are aimed at large
illustrators interpretations (pretty as scale skirmish games and there are
those might be). It details different 39 scenarios all written in – as fans of
manufacturers’ figure ranges with Command Decision will appreciate
comparative shots for ‘scale’ in both – Jon’s engaging style. These run in
20mm and 28mm (in plastic and metal) chronological order from Wairau Affray
and yet it is bang up to date with the use on the North Island in 1843 (Brits
of both 3d printed models and figures versus Ngata Toa Iwi); through to the
and – in the extensive terrain section – Taupo Campaign and the defeat at Te Porere
MDF kits and scratch building. (October 4th 1869); and then followed
There’s sections on brown water navy by three scenarios called Te Kooti’s Final
craft, AFVs (plastic, metal and 3d) and Campaign (One through Three).
painting Vietminh and US forces. There’s Each of these – along with the
another section on building everything maps I’ve already mentioned – are
from dug outs and strong points (with accompanied by full orders of battle for
hand crafting and 3d printing details like the forces. To top them all off there’s
sand bags and so forth) to a Hue City a bonus Boer War scenario (Jasfontein
Citadel from scratch. The book covers Farm 1899) that still involves Kiwi
hot wire cutters, to perspex paddy fields, troops even if it’s not completely in a
through suitable fish tank plants (and land down under.
ornaments!) to mixing up your own Although they can be used for any
ground finishes. set of rules it would be to the user’s
All of the final products constructed advantage to already own a copy of the
are painted and finished to the very base MD&E rules to get the most out of
highest levels. Highly recommended. this book. Recommended.
›
REVIEWS
I that is utterly changed. Hence that

warning early on! Players command
small forces of infantry, cavalry,
artillery, and wrestle with foul beasties
all on the ‘Doggerland Front.’
To play you’ll need D3, D4, D6
and D10 plus some scatter dice (the
ones with the arrows on them). Some
coloured tokens for command and some
28mm models plus (ideally) a 6’ by
4’ playing space. Scenery – important
in any skirmish game – can be any
suitable buildings, trenches, abandoned
graveyards, barrows and stone circles
TRIBAL A WAR TRANSFORMED (segments of moon?) etc. When
◗ manapress.com.au ◗ ospreypublishing.com performing rituals in the game a set of
◗ $AU 35 ◗ £25 Tarot cards will be handy...
The combat is quite a detailed
Mana Press make several sets of rules This book – by Osprey – carries the system, covering everything, up to and
available in both printed and PDF following warning near the start: including, combat stress, wounds and
format. Tribal (Second Edition) is around “Players expecting an accurate simulation saving throws. There are lots of unit
£18, after conversion from the Aussie of First World War combat, or even those types detailed: French, German, British
dollar, and is a neat set of an (almost) opposed to the occasional anachronism, will Empire, Freikorps, American Volunteers,
‘Osprey’ sized book of 64 pages with a find themselves disappointed!” Fortunately Russian Empire and so on, and each of
soft cover and nicely illustrated. that’s written in smallish white-out-of- those has sub-lists within them so – for
It is designed to simulate skirmish brown text so it’s quite hard to read... example – the Americans have Trench
combat between (as the title suggests) So what exactly is this beautifully Fighters, Gunslingers and Rough Riders.
tribal units and uses an interesting produced book The World The last 15 pages (and this is a 220
system based on a card deck with regular Transformed? It’s a hard back rule set page book) covers some basic scenarios:
playing cards. The suits and numbers are that both is and isn’t based in the WWI. Trench Raid, No Man’s Land recovery, The
all significant denoting both defensive Osprey’s says: The Great War meets the Big push and Gas! Gas! Gas! being just
and attacking postures and whether horrors of forgotten folklore in this occult four of them.
wounds are taken. The cards are also skirmish wargame. In short, in 1916 – There’s a lot to absorb here. It’s big
used for activation (higher numbers being mid war – something catastrophic and impressive. Its well illustrated,
favoured) and then to actually measure happened: spoiler alert the “Moon fell as ever from Osprey, but I think it
movement with a long card length or a from its orbit. Seas shifted, uncovering new needs a few more play examples and it
side length all being utilised. That means lands and revealing what tide and time had desperately requires a quick reference
a ‘regular sized’ deck and no ‘comedy’ concealed.” sheet but: perhaps that
circular Star Trek cards or miniature ones Okay, leaving sort of thing is best dealt
you got out of a Christmas cracker... aside the with on line rather than
This second edition of the rules has astronomical cutting your book up!
many upgrades including a skirmish physics, that
generator, details on gunpowder, all sounds
options for shamans and a load of interesting.
background on real world tribal conflict There follows a
over the last few hundred (at least) years war setting with
particularly where honour – the gaining added magic and
and losing thereof – is of paramount the reemergence
importance. Oh and the back page is as of Doggerland,
quick reference sheet: excellent! the old lowland
Coming out about now is a new range between Britain
of figures for this ruleset (by North Star) and Europe. There
of Cavemen and Mana Press were kind are war machines
enough to send me a blister. With any and cavalry
luck I’ll soon have a scenario from them charges as per
in the magazine to show what these are WWI but the players are now set up for
capable of! Recommended. a skirmish wargame set in a World War

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COMMAND DECISION
COMMAND DECISION
Game creation for any time period

Words and pictures by Jon Sutherland
T
his month’s Command Decision concludes its ABOVE Most game-night games are what I would call “plonk
meanderings on creating the perfect scenario and A scenario with a and play” which I think sums up the rush to get your
huge asymmetry,
game and switches attention to getting the most this Zulu War soldiers out of their boxes and onto to the table as
out of your gaming time. game based quickly as possible, lay them out in a logical formation
on Rourke’s and then break out the ruler and dice. There’s nothing
Drift had each
Last month we looked at getting the scenario right, defender wrong with this approach, but the games can be a
sensible use of terrain and how rules can hinder your represented little predictable and unsatisfying. I know plenty
fun rather than enhance it. For most of us, restricted to by a figure and of wargamers who have stopped playing a period
around 800
a weekly gaming night (at best), we spend most of our Zulus on the table because they have come to the conclusion that it is
gaming time reading rules and painting and basing at any one time. disappointing. The common denominator is that they
our figures to be ready for the next opportunity to play. The Zulu figures have spent plenty of time reading, organising, buying,
were recycled
It’s understandable that the last thing to consider is the into newly painting and basing and no real time on creating games
actual game itself. arriving units. that fulfil their expectations.

LEFT
Despite the
imbalance in
figures, only
a fraction of
the Zulus can
engage with
the British
defenders at
any one time.
This restriction
adds tension and
challenges to
both sides.
PLAY THE GAME LEFT

There’s little more frustrating than waiting to play. This is a dense
column of
This is a particular problem for multiplayer games mutineers
using rules that stipulate a very rigid you-go-I-go kind heading for the
of routine. This is amplified if the players are assigned front. The units
were placed
a defensive role and are just waiting for the enemy to away from
close in on them before they can even start rolling dice. the action and
As we saw last month, even a defending player can forced to cross a
bridge of boats.
have a real challenge if you assign them fewer units The tension built
than the need to cover their positions. Their focus shifts up on both sides
from the waiting game to shuffling their units around with the British
knowing they
as the enemy attack positions become clearer. had limited time
In larger games with lots of players, someone is to take their
going to be lumbered with the worst brigade in the initial objectives
and prepare
army or historically positioned so far away from the themselves and
real action that they may as well slope off and find the mutineers
something interesting to watch on TV. One simple trick hoping the
column would
is to assign the forward brigade – that are likely to get not be delayed.
engaged first – to the players that are fundamentally
more timid and reluctant to get to grips. This means
they’ll need support and reassurance from their team
mates. Give the worst brigade to the most aggressive
and confident player. This switch means that the
dynamic changes, the game won’t be dominated by
the more experienced and aggressive players to the
exclusion of the more passive ones.
›
COMMAND DECISION
ABOVE SPLITS & SECTORS rule books can be avoided. If the rule book doesn’t
A sudden flank It can be hard to split forces in a realistic way to ensure have Quick Reference Sheets (QRFs) make your own:
attack on an
advancing that everyone has frontline duties and some reserves: copy and paste the key tables onto as few pages as
Confederate even the centre, two wings and reserve approach can possible (or use a different set of rules! Ed.). I also favour
column shifts mean that most of the action might happen on one Orders of Battle (OOB): these not only outline the
the axis of the
action for a time flank or in the centre, leaving the rest of the players overall organisation of your force, but you can also use
and delays the twiddling their thumbs. The trick is to have players them to detail the characteristics and weapons used by
rebels from engaged from the first turn and not spending half each unit. It saves constantly hunting through army
developing their
assault on the the game moving into position to fight (often only to lists to find the information you need.
main Union line. discover the fight has moved or the game has already Make sure each player has a measuring device, a set
been lost or won!) of dice preferably with a container to throw them into
A similar problem can arise with “sectors”, – there’s nothing more annoying than dice scattering
effectively pairing up players across the table and across the table and the perils of the “cocked” dice.
giving them a three foot command of the battle
including the frontline, supporting units and the TIMING IS EVERYTHING
reserves in that sector. What quickly becomes apparent Ideally we want a game that comes to a conclusion in
with this approach is the understandable reluctance the available time slot. There should also be enough
of players to allow any of their units to reinforce time to carefully pack away (and not spend the rest of
a neighbouring player whether it is to exploit a week mending poorly packaged soldiers) and a few
breakthrough or stem a breach in the lines. minutes for a bit of friendly banter and teasing.
In last month’s column we saw that victory
PAPERWORK & EQUIPMENT conditions or the capture of objectives don’t have to be
If you are lucky enough to have an umpire or games- left until the last bit of the last turn. Impose a timetable
master, quite a lot of the tedium of flipping through on the players. Have player A required to hold/retain/

regain position X until 8.30pm and player B has to CHECKMATE
capture it by then. At this point switch the focus and An extreme version of this is the chess clock approach.
reverse the objectives. Each clock allots a certain amount of time per player
Now our player A must engage and rout player B’s and clocks count down. The more a player faffs about,
units around position Z and player B must hang on to the more time they waste. Their turn ends when they
the position until 9.30pm. This also deals with “sluggish hit the clock and the action shifts over to the opponent.
player syndrome” where a player may have achieved the A gentler way of handling the turn/time issue is to
objectives that will net a victory, so there is no vested limit what a player can do each turn. My preference
interest in keeping the game moving at a decent pace, is to allocate a number of orders to each commander
thereby running the risk of losing those hard-fought based on their historical performance. A brilliant
objectives and victory points. Let’s face it, a draw at historical general gives a seasoned gamer lots to do
the end of a toughly contested game is a gentlemanly each turn as he can issue plenty of orders, but probably
outcome, but it’s not really satisfying for anyone. insufficient orders to do everything he wants to do. A
less able historical leader will be able to issue fewer
OPTIONS orders and is ideal for newer gamers to focus on the
The alternative is to have turn limits and set all of the key orders he wants to issue each turn without being
objective grabbing to turns as opposed to time. This overwhelmed by options.
has its advantages too, a little less precise for time –
the urgency doesn’t tend to be there – but turns can
be more accurately aligned to real fighting time. Often
we’ll read that a battle didn’t start until three hours
before dusk, or was over by noon. Using forward
positioning of units, clear turn-based objectives and
a set number of turns we can more closely reflect the
historical events with our tabletop depiction.
I have experimented with a hybrid of the turn-and-
time option and imposed a time limit on players to
carry out their actions each turn. It has mixed results
and usually falls apart at the crucial part of the battle
when things are in the balance and the player has lots
of decisions to make, units to shuffle about and dice to
throw for firing and morale.
ABOVE RIGHT GAMERS ARE DIFFERENT

A pirate game If you are designing scenarios, umpiring games or
with a very
interesting island running events for gamers you will quickly realise
set in the middle that it is not just gaming experience that makes each
of the table. All of wargamer different. Some are simply gung-ho, they
the players were
given a reason want to get stuck in, they largely ignore the fact they
to visit the island have ten turns to reach their objectives or that there are
and search it two hours of gaming left tonight.
to draw them
into conflict or Logic would suggest they are given command of
alliance. the cavalry or the fastest moving tanks or units on the
table. However, its probably more challenging for them
RIGHT
Players with to be assigned to lead the foot-sloggers and see how he
superior troops handles that. The more hesitant players are the ones to
or equipment be given time or turn objectives. A combination of the
should expect
themselves to two approaches should speed up the tabletop action.
be outnumbered
on the tabletop.
Here a single
EXPERIENCE
Panther faces Aside from the gaming approach of your wargamers,
off against four consider their experience in terms of overall gaming
Shermans in experience as well as their familiarity with the rule set
North-West
Europe in 1944. you are using. The natural tendency is to sideline the
inexperienced players, giving them small subsidiary
commands, plonking them on a flank that doesn’t
really matter or locating them in decent defences
›
COMMAND DECISION
fighting. The average was just under 500. Attackers

were recycled and re-introduced according to a
card driven reinforcement schedule. This was an
historical game based around Rourke’s Drift in 1879.
Historically, around 500 Zulus were killed and the
garrison suffered 17 deaths. Whether by blind luck or
outright genius, I had managed to create a scenario
that was pretty accurate.
Victory conditions need to have clearly measurable
metrics. The Rourke’s Drift scenario – aside from
holding the position – was to inflict as many casualties
on the enemy as possible with the highest ratio
between kills and casualties sustained netting the best
score and taking you up the leader-board. Most games
need something a little more sophisticated. Or do they?
ABOVE and telling them to hold that position. This does new
A handmade wargamers a disservice on two fronts. Firstly, they will
zeppelin provides
the perfect never get the chance to experience all of the nuances
transport for and challenges of the period or theatre, so they will
unexpected rarely improve in terms of competence. Secondly, they
reinforcements
in a Darkest will be bored. This could mean an abrupt end to their
Africa game. wargaming and the years of fun and comradeship they
could enjoy.
RIGHT
Combined So put them in the centre of the action: don’t
objectives in a give them the largest command, but do give them
scenario based something important to do, however don’t expect them
in Darkest
Africa. The Arab to lead the way and take the objectives. If they are in
slaver player the thick of it, learning how things work and how the
must attack rules operate, they will quickly become engaged and
tribesmen and
capture them valuable members of your group. CLARITY
and bring them It’s always best to create clear, simple and unequivocal
back to the small
port. A Belgian
A WIN IS A WIN RIGHT? objectives or victory conditions. If you have complicated
slave ship docks You may have already figured that I’m not a victory conditions you can run the risk of players
every 12th turn. competition wargamer. I’m not even a competitive misunderstanding and feeling deflated if they haven’t
The Arabs are wargamer. I’m more engaged with plotting and quite managed what was required. I’m not advocating
paid in gold for
each captive or planning the game, setting it up and then running a pointing at a terrain piece like a hill and saying “capture
receive weapon flawless event that everyone enjoys. At the end of the that and hold it for eight turns,” or something similar. What
upgrades. game, gamers will want to know who has won and works rather better is to have three or four objectives,
why. It’s not just sufficient to have enjoyed yourself. each assigned a different value. Perhaps a different value
Working out who has won, how crushing (or to each player: one side may value a bridge and the other
otherwise) a win that was and how all of that has been a town on a dominating hill in the centre. The different
calculated is a pre-occupation for many gamers. So, it values mean the axis of attack from each player is going
needs to be addressed. Over the course of one summer to be different: players can feint an attack to fool the
I ran the same game about fifteen times with different enemy that a particular objective is paramount when the
players each time. I created a leader-board so players real high value objective is elsewhere.
could see exactly how they had performed. Granted
all of the players were on the same side and the enemy CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
was umpire controlled. It was a siege too, meaning The days have long since passed when I played ‘last
that if the besieging force broke into the defences and man standing’ games in the garden with my brother
slaughtered the garrison it was pretty clear that you (flinging clods of earth at unsuspecting plastic soldiers
hadn’t won. That only happened once. In the other in shallow trenches). Gaining certain objectives whilst
games, players won a victory point per casualty they limiting your losses is perfectly workable, but not in
inflicted on the attacking force, but lost five for every this instance! Ultimately, scenario design is always
casualty inflicted on them. going to be a balance between time, space, player’s
After a full day’s gaming (probably at a rate of 2-4 nature and experience and a host of other factors. Don’t
turns per hour) there had been a lot of shooting and beat yourself up if you fail to get it right!! ■

&RORQHO%LOOV
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check Colonel Bills
website for his favourite
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regular customers—Welcome home Tim!
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PROSPERO’S SECRET
An adventure for
Tales of Derring Do
Words by Chris Swan.
Photos by Kevin Dallimore
& TTCombat
his is a scenario – well a pair of them (with the second
T one next month) based on the recent rule set released by

Chris. It is set in Venice so some shots of the excellent
Venetian based Carnevale game scenery by TTCombat
seemed appropriate. Gangsters are by Kevin Dallimore so here
we go: prepare to get your feet wet... Ed.

Tales of Derring Do is a set of one to one skirmish
rules designed to capture the perils and thrills of the
stories in the Penny Dreadfuls, Dime novels and Pulp
magazines as well as the radio, film and TV serials and
movies which sprung from them.
There is no record keeping required for these rules as
each character or group of extras is allocated between
1 and 4 playing cards which, when turned over, allow
them to move, make an action, attack etc by rolling
1 or more D10s to see if they succeed. This means
the system is not ‘IGOUGO’ but rather based on the
random activation of characters so some will get to
act before others although the rules allow those who
have not yet acted may try and react. As they take
hits characters lose one or more cards thus reducing
the number of actions they can perform and, when all
of their cards have been removed, they are out of the
game: either dead or Hors de Combat.
The following adventure will give you a flavour On route home the crew came to believe that the ABOVE
of the type of over the top games the rules cover and old man was an alchemist who had learnt the art of Captain Hunter
and Lady Hart
the fun they can generate. However, the information turning base metal into gold and on arrival their tale prepare to set
about the characters and the special rules can be used reached the ears of the Doge. He demanded that the off for Venice.
as a guide for adapting them to whatever rule set you old scholar meet with him but whatever happened the
LEFT
prefer. As such I have adapted the various charts in old scholar was never seen again and all enquiries by This is the sort
this article to cover game systems which use D6s rather his daughter as to his fate were ignored by the Doge of scenery that
than D10s. and his council. would be ideal
for this scenario.
Eventually the daughter married Ferdinand, one of Manufacturerd,
EPISODE 1: PROSPERO’S DIARY the noblemen who rescued her, and this strange tale assembled
The Legend begins: The clouds methought would open of a ship caught up in a tempest and an island filled and painted by
TTCombat.
and show riches with treasures but protected by evil spirits passed into
In 1523 a ship heading for Venice was caught in a storm legend and in 1610 it was used as the basis of a play
so strong and fierce that it was blown widely of by a very well known English playwright and there it
course. Eventually the ship ran aground off of an stayed until nearly 400 years later...
uncharted island and when the wind stopped
the crew did not know whether they were in the 1923 The Legend Reborn: The baseless fabric of this vision
Adriatic or the Aegean or some far off sea. A renowned Adventurer and treasure hunter (think
Needing to make repairs the crew busied Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks Jnr.) was shown a
themselves whilst their passengers, a group of few pages by an antiquarian book seller from what
noblemen, were rowed ashore to explore the appears to be a diary that was kept by the old scholar.
island. They returned blooded and in From these the Adventurer learnt that the scholar was
haste with some unexpected guests. kept as a secret prisoner by the Doge and his council
The Noblemen explained that whilst being forced to try and make base metal into
the island was home to an exiled gold, which of course he could not do. However, the
scholar called Prospero who diary does mention a horde of gold and jewels left on
apparently had created a horde of treasure the island but ends suddenly, perhaps at the time of the
and his daughter Miranda but before they could take scholar’s death. The book seller said that he had more
any of the treasure they had been attacked by angry pages from the diary which also contained a chart with
invisible spirits which accounted for their wounds. rough directions from Venice to the island and he was
Hearing strange and scary howls and shrieks coming willing to share these with the Adventurer for a share
from the island and fearing the spirits the crew hastily of the treasure.
completed their repairs and they quickly sailed away. Convinced that the diary was real the Adventurer
During the return voyage the overcast skies and discussed his plans with some friends, one of whom, a
cloudy nights meant they could not correctly chart rich heiress, agreed to fund the cost of an expedition to
their position or the location of the island but after a try and find the island and its treasure.
few days they finally found themselves off part of the Unknown to them a sinister foreign Count
Adriatic coast which they recognised and hence made (think a cross between Eric Von Stroheim and Basil
their way home to Venice. Rathbone – if you don’t get the reference look them
›
PROSPERO’S SECRET
Note: The buildings represent various houses and shops LEFT

in some corner of Venice but players should remember that Dr. James Fryer
sets off for the
Hollywood of the 30s and 40s often reused buildings or film adventure.
sets designed for other settings as substitutes for real locations
simply by changing street and shop signs and adding set BELOW
Smugger Smith
dressing. So, as long as they look vaguely Mediterranean poses for his
in style any buildings will do – or you could simply set the photo.
adventure in another part of the world entirely.
BELOW RIGHT
Another Note: remember the pictures are rather set in a Meanwhile in
different era but... well we can all be flexible! Ed. the Tropicana
Nightclub in
Venice cocktails
are being
shaken.
up,) a descendent of the nobleman who married the

old scholar’s daughter, had long searched for the
rumoured diary and on hearing whispers on the
black market that it had resurfaced he located the
antiquarian trying to sell it and seized it after ensuring
that the seller met with an unfortunate accident.
The Count and his men were just leaving the book
shop when the adventurers arrived to collect both
the seller and the diary. On seeing each other all hell
breaks loose.
THE SET UP
Use a 4’ by 4’ table.
The main zone is 40 inches deep and runs the width
of the table. It contains several buildings set around
a small square/piazza. Players can decide how many
buildings to use but there should be at least six which
can be placed anywhere leaving an area 20 inches by
20 inches in the centre. There should also be spaces
between the buildings to represent alleyways, etc. A
fountain or a statue or a fountain with a statue sits in
the centre of the square and the rest of this area should
have crates, barrels and other suitable objects scattered
around it to ensure there is plenty of cover to hide
behind. (There are no cars in Venice but hand carts or
wheeled market stalls can often be seen there.)
The second zone is 6 inches deep and runs the width
of the table. This represents the side of the canal to
which are tied various boats and gondolas. The sinister
Count and his party must exit via this table edge.
The sinister Count and his party are just leaving the
book shop and should be set up directly outside it.
The Adventurers have just entered the square and
are outside the building opposite the Book Shop and at
least 18 paces away from the other party.

OBJECTIVES RIGHT
◗ The Sinister Count needs to get away with the diary. A Femme Fatale
prepares for a
◗ The Adventurers need to stop him and hopefully get nights bloody
the diary. work.
◗ The Cast: Misery acquaints a man with strange
bedfellows.
The Adventurers
TITLE CHARACTER CARDS PERSONALITY SKILLS WEAPONS
TYPE
Cpt. Jack Hunter Main 3 Lucky Brave , Automatic
Adventurer Quick Witted Pistol
2-Fisted
‘Smugger’ Smith Supporting 2 Rash Brawler Rifle & Knife
Plucky Sidekick Tough
Lady Emma Hart Supporting 2 Brave Athletic, Revolver
Rich Heroine Quick Witted
Dr. James Fryer Supporting 2 Resolute Quick Witted Revolver &
Explorer Expert in Legends Rifle
Gino Minor 1 Surefooted Brawler Carbine &
Local Guide Knife
The Count
TYPE
Enzo Ferreira Main 3 Commanding Bloodthirsty Revolver &
A Sinister Count Quick Witted, Sabre
Swordsman
Bruno Supporting 2 Fearsome Tough, Revolver &
His Bodyguard Man-Killer Knife
Vicenza Supporting 2 Brave Tough, Brawler Revolver &
His Chief Henchman SMG
Geo Minor 1 Rash Brawler Revolver &
A Thug Carbine
SPECIAL RULES
Luigi Minor 1 Rash Brawler Revolver &
Another Thug Carbine The Diary
Vinnie Minor 1 None Brawler Revolver & This consists of a few pages of parchment including
Yet Another Thug Carbine the chart. Before the game begins the player controlling
the Count must write down who is carrying it. If that
character is taken out of play due to being attacked or
is killed or KO’ed another of the Count’s party may
take it from them as a basic action.
If one of the Adventurers wants to get hold of the
diary and chart they must search the character that has
it before they can get it – this requires 1 uninterrupted
turn and they must pass a Task Test needing 5+ on a
D10 (4+ on a D6) to be successful.
What a Cad!
The sinister Count considers himself to be a lady’s
man and if he recognises the Heiress (passes a Reaction
Test when seeing her) he will order his men to try and
capture her although his prime mission will still be to
get away with the diary.
Time of day and bystanders

The adventure is assumed to take place around dusk
when the square is empty but players could decide to
add in innocent bystanders to complicate matters. If
they choose to do so once the action starts add in 1 card
to the Action Pack and when it is drawn roll 1D10 or
1D6 for each bystander to see what they do.
›
PROSPERO’S SECRET
REASON FOR TEST – D10 1 2 TO 4 5 TO 9 10

REASON FOR TEST – D6 1 2 OR 3 4 OR 5 6
When the action has started Panic! This might be Dangerous! What should I do? Enraged!
Run 2D10 paces in a random Go to ground or head towards the Roll 2D10 and take the lowest Decide to take an active part in the
direction until they reach cover and nearest cover - either way they 1–4 fight and attack the nearest enemy
they will then stay there then disappear as a viable target Head towards the nearest cover in close combat rolling 1D10
Test again next turn to see what and then disappear as a viable
they do target
5+
Decide to take an active part and
attack the nearest enemy rolling
2D10 and taking the lowest
Here Come the Carabinieri

You cannot start a fight in Venice without someone noticing and calling the Police. After 6 complete phases roll 1D10 or 1D6 to
determine how much time remains before the Police arrive and both parties have to withdraw to avoid answering some very
difficult questions or even being arrested

REASON FOR TEST – D6 1 2 OR 3 4 OR 5 6
The Carabinieri Scatter – It’s the Carabinieri Quick – They’re nearly Here! Not Here Yet! They’re on their Way!
Both parties must withdraw and the The two parties have one more The two parties have two more The two parties have three more
adventure ends at this point phase before they must withdraw phases before they must withdraw phases before they must withdraw
INTER ACT they were last seen dying! BELOW

Irrespective of the outcome of Episode 1 players should For all others roll the Action Dice for each character The Count’s men
open fire on the
see what happened to any character that was injured that was Wounded (i.e. had cards remaining at the end heroes.
in order to establish if they are fit to carry on in the of the game) and for each character who was Out of
second episode. It (had lost all of their cards) and check the outcome.
As the main protagonists the Sinister Count and the Tough characters or those with access to a trained
Adventurer automatically recover from their wounds medical practitioner may reroll their dice but keep the
– such characters always survive in pulp stories even if second outcome.

REASON FOR TEST – D6 1` 2 OR 3 4 OR 5 6
Wounded Still Wounded Recovering Full Recovery Recovers and Gains Experience
Begins the next episode with 1 Begins the next episode with all of Begins the next episode with all of Begins the next episode with all of
card less than normal their cards but counts as lumbering their cards their cards and can add a new skill
when moving or trait
Out of It Bad Wound Still Wounded Recovering Full Recovery
misses the next episode Begins the next episode with 1 card Begins the next episode with all of Begins the next episode with all of
less than normal their cards but counts as lumbering their cards
when moving
If any of the adventurer’s party are removed from TOP LEFT

play then they can be replaced by locals recruited to Count Ferreira
pockets the
the cause and a share of the treasure. These count as diary.
Minor Characters as follows
TOP RIGHT
On the streets
TITLE CHARACTER CARDS PERSONALITY SKILLS WEAPONS of Venice a spy
TYPE
lurks.
Local Minor 1 Brave Brawler Shotgun & Knife
LEFT
If any of the Counts other Characters die they are Trouble erupts in
automatically replaced with more Retainers as he has the Tropicana.
plenty of minions at his command.

TYPE
Retainer Minor 1 Rash Brawler Revolver &
Carbine
◗ If the Heiress was captured but was so injured that
In either case they are replaced on a card by card she cannot take part in the next episode then she
basis. i.e. if a Supporting Character with two cards is is assumed to be held as a prisoner by the Count
unavailable the Count or the Adventurer recruits two either on his yacht or at his home/lair, which
more Retainers or locals each with one card. could form the basis for another adventure in
DOWNLOAD
the form of a rescue attempt! THE SCENARIO MAP
◗ If the Heiress was captured and recovered cards so tabletopgaming.co.uk/
she is able to take part in the next Episode then she is So tune in Next Issue for the climatic information/downloads
on the island with the Count who has assigned one conclusion of this thrilling adventure! Until then
of his minions to guard her. Happy Gaming. ■

◗ Both sides fire their Artillery, save for Horse Artillery,
A tactical, battalion-level game ABOVE
A Command and which may fire after moving if desired, and battalion
of Napoleonic battle Colours table top
game (on hexes)
guns or other pieces deployed with orders to give
close support to infantry units, which will fire if/
by The Old Guard
Words by Arthur Harman. Photos by The Editor Wargames club when enemy units advance within close range. (N.B.
at Partizan 2019. Artillery fire is deemed to be simultaneous, and an
ere’s a set of rules which I wanted you all to read Artillery Unit that has been hit, forced to retire or
H but I only have a few shots of a Memoire 44

Napoleonics game by the Old Guard Wargames
Club. So it will be accompanied by some other
suitably pretty Napoleonics shots as well. Ed
destroyed may still fire that turn if a suitable target is
in range.)
◗ Both sides throw a D6 die. The side with the lower
score has the initiative and moves and fires first that
turn.
These Napoleonic rules were inspired by Bob ◗ Once they have moved their Units, any of their
Cordery’s Memoir of Battle, posted on his Wargaming Units, including Horse Artillery that has not fired
Miscellany blog on 29th October 2010 which was itself already, battalion guns and other pieces ordered to
inspired by Memoir ’44 by Richard Borg. They are give close support, that are within range of enemy
designed for use with toy soldiers in any of the smaller Units – with the exception of other Artillery Units
wargame sizes – 6mm, 10mm or 15mm – on hexagons that have already had the opportunity to fire that
that are 100m across the flats, such as Kallistra’s Hexon turn – may fire.
II system. ◗ Any units that move into the same hex as an enemy
unit, and do not fail to close, engage in Close
TURN SEQUENCE Combat; Routs and Pursuits take place immediately.
Each turn is divided into several distinct phases. ◗ The other side then moves their Units, fires and
These are: engages in Close Combat, as described above.
›
MEMOIR 1815
BELOW ◗ Once both sides have had the opportunity to ◗ Four is the Flag
A wider view of move, fire and engage in Close Combat, the turn is ◗ Five is Artillery and Musketry Fire
the Command
and Colours complete and the next turn can commence. ◗ Six is the Sabre
table top game ◗ If one side has won the initiative for the last two
by The Old Guard
Wargames club
turns, add 1 to the D6; for the last 3 turns, add 2 to UNITS
at Partizan 2018. the D6 and so on. Infantry Battalions of c.500-800 rank & file
◗ At least four bases [40mm long; 15mm or 20mm
TACTICAL DICE deep] of close order troops, so unit can form attack
The six faces of the D6 Tactical Dice are marked column, line or square, plus four singly based
as follows: skirmishers to be deployed when necessary and four
◗ 2 x Powder-Smoke Clouds for Volley/Canister Fire separate figures [officers, serjeants, colour bearers
against close order targets and musicians] to indicate losses/reduction in
◗ 1 x Sabre/Bayonet for Close Combat combat effectiveness.
◗ 1 x Roundshot/Musket Ball for Artillery fire at ◗ Move two hexes [moving into an adjacent hex counts
Effective range or Random Shot and Skirmishing as one] or;
Musketry ◗ Move one hex and engage in fire and/or Close
◗ 1 x Officer/General to show loss of Command & Combat.
Control due to officer casualties or chance of injury ◗ Effective Musket Range = 2 hexes [including hex unit
to General Officer is occupying], Close Range = firing upon enemy in
◗ 1 x Flag to indicate loss of Morale which may cause same hex; four Tactical Dice are thrown: 4-2; Powder-
units to Halt, Open Fire or Retreat contrary to their Smoke Clouds hit.
orders ◗ Infantry in Column of Attack only use half [rounded
down] their number of Tactical Dice when firing.
As an alternative, one could use a D6, ◗ Troops can only engage enemy troops in the same
with this mnemonic: hex in Close Combat; throw a number of Tactical
◗ One is the Officer Dice equal to Troop Quality [Raw 1, Experienced 2,
◗ Two and Three are the two Powder-Smoke faces Veteran & Elite 3] : Bayonets hit; Flags cause Routs.
ARTILLERY
Smooth-bore Horse Artillery Batteries of four to six
guns.
Two guns, each with four crew figures.
◗ Move two hexes without firing, remaining limbered
at end of turn, or move one hex, unlimber and fire at
full effect.
◗ Ranges:
◗ Close/Canister [same and adjacent hexes] 2
Tactical Dice; Powder-Smoke Clouds hit
◗ Effective Range [the next two hexes] 2 Tactical
Dice; Roundshots hit
◗ Random Shot [the next hex] 1 Tactical Die; TOP LEFT

Roundshot hits A 15mm
Napoleonic game
at Partizan 2021
Smooth-bore Light Artillery Batteries of four to six guns on Kallistra's
Two guns, each with four crew figures. Hexon system.
TOP RIGHT &
at end of turn; unlimber [if necessary] and fire at ABOVE
reduced effect, or fire at full effect if unlimbered in an The Old Guard
earlier turn. game at Salute
2018.
◗ Ranges:
◗ Effective Range [the next two hexes] 2 Tactical
Dice; Roundshots hit
◗ Random Shot [the next hex] 1 Tactical Die;
Roundshot hits
Smooth-bore Heavy Artillery Batteries of four to

eight guns
Two guns, each with five/six crew figures.
at end of turn; limber or unlimber without firing, or
fire at full effect if unlimbered in an earlier turn.
◗ Ranges:
›
MEMOIR 1815
◗ Effective Range [the next three hexes] 3 Tactical ABOVE ◗ An ADC can deliver messages/orders from one
Dice; Roundshots hit The Old Guard General Officer to another, or orders from a General
Memoir game at
◗ Random Shot [the next two hexes] 1 Tactical Die; Salute 2017. Officer to a unit or formation comprised of several
Roundshot hits units, such as a brigade. An Imperial ADC can also
take command of a unit or formation of several units.
CAVALRY ◗ If a General Officer or Imperial ADC is in the same
Cavalry Regiments of at least two Squadrons, each of hex as a unit that suffers at least one hit from fire or
two bases [40mm long; 20mm deep] and four separate Close Combat, and one Tactical Die also shows an
figures [officers, serjeants, colour bearers and musicians] Officer face, there is the possibility that the General
to indicate losses/reduction in combat effectiveness. Officer or a member of his staff may become a
◗ Manoeuvre up to two hexes, changing direction if casualty. Use the system described in my article ‘The
desired; Charge up to three hexes to engage enemy Finger of Providence’ in Battlegames 11, January/
in final hex in Close Combat [the last two hexes of February 2008.
the charge must be in a straight line.] ◗ A General or Imperial ADC can rally a unit that has
◗ Troops can only engage enemy troops in the same lost all its command figures, provided it is stationary
hex in Close Combat; a number of Tactical Dice equal and is not charged or fired upon, at the rate of one
to their Troop Quality [Raw 1, Experienced 2, Veteran figure per turn, subject to a maximum of three.
& Elite 3] are thrown: Sabres hit.
TERRAIN
COMMAND Wood or Forest hex
◗ General Officers [Brigadiers and above] and Aides de ◗ Formed units, but not skirmishers, must stop when
Camp [ADC’s] they enter a wood or forest.
◗ One mounted figure represents a General Officer and ◗ Units entering a wood or forest may not charge into
his escort [if any] or an ADC. close combat.
◗ Move up to three hexes. ◗ When engaging a unit that is in a wood or forest,
◗ Add one Tactical Die to Infantry or Cavalry units of reduce the number of Tactical Dice thrown by one.
which a General or Imperial ADC has taken personal ◗ Woods or forests block line of sight.
command in Close Combat [but not fire]; ignore the
first Flag suffered by any unit in the same hex as a Orchard or vineyard hex
General Officer or Imperial ADC. ◗ No movement restrictions.

◗ No battle restrictions except that when engaging a Fence or Wall hex
unit that is in an orchard or vineyard, reduce the ◗ Units must stop when they enter a hex containing a
number of Tactical Dice thrown by one. fence or wall.
◗ Orchards or vineyards do not block line of sight. ◗ When engaging a unit that is in a hex containing a
fence or wall, reduce the number of Tactical Dice
Hill hex thrown by one.
◗ No movement restrictions. ◗ When in a hex containing a fence or wall, Infantry
◗ When engaging a unit that is on a hill, reduce the either reduce the number of Tactical Dice thrown by
number of Tactical Dice thrown by one except when one when engaging or do not battle and remove the
a unit on a hill is engaging a unit that is also on the fence [but not a wall].
hill; in this case the number of Tactical Dice thrown is ◗ Fences and low walls do not block line of sight;
unchanged. high walls, such as those round an estate, do – use
◗ Artillery firing from a hill increases its Effective common sense!
range band by one hex.
Fieldworks hex LEFT
◗ No movement restrictions for the fieldworks; other The Old Guard
Memoir game at
restrictions may apply. Salute 2017.
◗ When engaging a unit that is in a fieldwork, reduce
the number of Tactical Dice thrown by two. BELOW
Another shot
◗ Units in fieldworks ignore the first Flag rolled of some fine
against them. models on the
◗ Fieldworks do not block line of sight. hex system.
Sand hex
◗ Units moving on sand may only move a maximum
of two hexes.
◗ No battle restrictions.
◗ Hills block line of sight except when units on a hill ◗ Sand does not block line of sight.
are looking at units on another hill that are the same
height or lower.
Built-up Area hex

◗ Units must stop when they enter a built-up area.
◗ Units entering a built-up area may not battle.
◗ When firing upon a unit that is in a built-up area,
reduce the number of Tactical Dice thrown by two.
◗ Built-up areas block line of sight.
◗
River or Stream hex
◗ Units must stop when they enter a hex containing a
river or stream.
◗ Units may only cross rivers or streams in hexes that
contain a bridge or fords.
◗ Rivers and streams do not block line of sight.
Field hex
◗ No movement restrictions except that units in fields
containing tall crops may only move one hex.
◗ When engaging a unit that is in a field containing
tall crops, reduce the number of Tactical Dice Water hex
thrown by one. ◗ Units moving on a water feature may only move a
◗ A field of tall crops blocks line of sight. maximum of one hex if they are landing from boats
and wading; units forced to retreat into water will be
Rough terrain hex dispersed and/or destroyed.
◗ Only Infantry may enter rough terrain. ◗ Units wading through water may not engage enemy
◗ No battle restrictions. units.
◗ Rough terrain does not block line of sight. ◗ Water does not block line of sight.
›
LEFT
The hex
based 15mm
Napoleonic game
at Patizan 2021.
Skirmishers firing on formed troops with no skirmish Quality, the Attackers halt in the adjacent hex and
screen hit on Musket Ball or cause morale damage on fire; the Defenders then fire and may counter-charge,
Flag, which may be combined with Flags caused by counting Flags scored by their fire and Bayonets
enemy advancing to attack. and Flags in the charge - provided the Defenders
themselves suffered no Flags, or were able to disregard
Bayonet Charges one Flag, from the fire - against the Attackers.
When an infantry unit – the Attackers - advances into ◗ If a lower number of Flags than the Attackers’ Troop
the hex adjacent to that occupied by an enemy infantry Quality is thrown, the Attackers advance into the
unit – the Defenders - with the intention of closing with same hex as the Defenders, halt and fire, throwing
the bayonet, the sequence of action is as follows: one less Tactical Die than normal at close range, but
Upon advancing into the hex adjacent to that the Defenders will reply with the full number of
occupied by the enemy, the Attackers throw Tactical Tactical Dice for close range fire. Troops with counter-
Dice equal to their Troop Quality. charge doctrine may do so, counting Flags scored
by their fire and Bayonets and Flags in the charge -
◗ If the number of Bayonets and Flags exceeds the provided they themselves suffered no Flags, or were
Defenders’ Troop Quality, the Defenders panic and able to disregard one Flag, from the fire - against the
flee at once, leaving the Attacker free to occupy the Attackers.
hex they occupied and pursue. ◗ If the Attackers suffer no Flags they continue to
◗ If the number of Bayonets and Flags equals the advance with the bayonet, and repeat the Bayonet
Defenders’ Troop Quality, the Defenders fire back, Charge sequence above, but in the same hex as the
before routing, leaving the Attackers – provided they Defenders; if the Defenders cannot halt the attack
do not suffer any Flags from the fire – free to occupy now, they will break and run, leaving the Attackers
the hex and pursue. free to occupy the hex and – provided they did not
◗ If the number of Bayonets and Flags is only one less suffer any Flags from the fire – to pursue.
than the Defenders’ Troop Quality, they fire and
throw one less Tactical Die in the next phase. OFFICER CASUALTIES
◗ If the Defenders suffer no Bayonets and no Flags If a General Officer or Imperial ADC is in the same hex
they stand; the attack stalls at this point and the as a unit that suffers at least one hit from fire or Close
Attackers halt in the adjacent hex and open fire. The Combat, and one Tactical Die also shows an Officer
Defenders may fire back. face, there is the possibility that the General Officer
or a member of his staff may become a casualty. Use
If the Defenders stand, they throw Tactical Dice whichever system you prefer to determine the location
equal to their Troop Quality. and severity of his wound.
◗ If the number of Flags exceeds the Attackers’ Troop LINKS

Quality, the Attackers halt in the adjacent hex, Bob Cordery’s blog wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.com/
confused, leaving the Defender free to fire and search?q=Memoir+of+Battle
counter-charge as described below. Memoir ’44 by Richard Borg boardgamegeek.com/
◗ If the number of Flags equals the Attackers’ Troop boardgame/10630/memoir-44 ■

HORSEY HORSEY
Horse painting made easy Words and Photos Paul Mackay
aul recently showed us his approaches to painting (the cheapest I could find was £24.99). This set has sixteen
P different sizes of ECW figures. This cover the painting of

horses and is applicable for that period but it should also
work for most others. Ed.
INTRODUCTION
colours with their usual 17ml volume. Compare this with
GW’s retail price of £2.75 for 12ml. Obviously, you can
purchase them for a bit cheaper from retailers that stock
GW products.
Okay a bit of a click bait title perhaps I hear you ask. METHOD
However what I will hopefully offer is a fairly quick method What follows is more a photographic guide than a detailed
involving basic techniques that will make your cavalry units step by step explanation. I find it useful to always work from
more interesting on the tabletop with a variety of colours an actual photograph of a horse when I am painting and will
other than just brown. Certainly, ‘I hate painting horses’ is a just copy the image directly from my computer. This way I
common cry I hear on social media, hopefully this article will can always ensure that the horses socks, muzzle, blaze, hoof,
remedy matters a little. mane and tail colours are accurate. Whilst the technique used
to paint the horses is not complicated it is these additions
PAINT that will elevate the look of the finished horse.
Although I will use a variety of different paints and inks in Note that – depending on the breed or even the individual
this article most of the base colours come from the Colour horse – not all horses have blazes or socks and they can have
Party range. Their paint – while not the finest I have their mane and tail the same (or similar) colour as the rest of
ever used – are certainly the cheapest and you might want their coat. Being far from an equine expert it is for this reason
to consider them if you have a large cavalry army to paint or that I will always work from an image.
are looking for a specific
horse colour. SPRAY UNDERCOAT
I find they are best used with a couple of thin coats rather I always work from a white undercoat using a rattle can. I
than trying to paint one thick coat. They are also marketed highlight the upper body of the horse using a heavy glaze as
as having a sheen to them which suits horses although this otherwise they can look too harsh on the upper musculature
finish will obviously be lost if you varnish your miniatures. of the horse. The lower legs of the horse can be highlighted
It is their price point and also that they have been with slightly thicker paint. Before I paint the highlight
specially designed for horses that is their major selling colours I will repaint the raised areas on the horse with the
point for me. They currently retail at £2.25 for a whopping base colour leaving the wash only in the recesses, resulting
30ml, or all eight colours in their horse range for £16.00. in a much cleaner finish. If I have not credited the paint
This still works out cheaper than Vallejo’s Equine paint set manufacturer it is Colour Party paint.
›
HORSEY HORSEY
HORSE COLOURS:
Let’s start with..
GREY BAY
BLACK Basecoat: Grey Bay.
Basecoat: Scale 75 Petroleum Grey. Wash: GW Contrast Basilicanum Grey
Wash: Black ink heavily thinned with (slightly diluted).
water. WHITE Highlight: Uniform Grey by the Army
Highlight: Scale 75 Rainy Grey. Basecoat: Vallejo Model Colour Off White. Painter.
Wash: GW Contrast Space Wolves Grey
BASECOAT BASECOAT
(slightly diluted with water and a small
amount of matt medium).
Highlight: Any white.
BASECOAT
WASH WASH
WASH
HIGHLIGHT HIGHLIGHT
HIGHLIGHT

DUN
Basecoat: Dun.
Wash: Strongtone.
ROAN Highlight: Scale 75 Rainy Grey.
Basecoat: Roan. Note: the lighter coloured muzzle and the
Wash: Army Painter Strongtone. black socks, mane and tail. BROWN
Highlight: Basecoat mixed with Scale 75 Basecoat: Vallejo Model Colour Flat
BASECOAT
Rainy Grey. Brown.
Note: The muzzle, mane, tail and socks are Wash: Burnt Umber Ink. I used Liquitex.
black and this individual has blue eyes. Highlight: GW Zandri Dust.
BASECOAT BASECOAT
WASH
WASH WASH
HIGHLIGHT
HIGHLIGHT HIGHLIGHT
›
HORSEY HORSEY
LIGHT BAY PALOMINO CHESTNUT

Basecoat: Light Bay. Basecoat: Palomino. Basecoat: Chestnut.
Wash: GW Agrax Earthshade . Wash: GW Agrax Earthshade. Wash: Scale 75 Chestnut Ink.
Highlight: Base colour mixed with white. Highlight: Base colour mixed with Highlight: Base colour mixed with
Note: Dark socks, muzzle, mane and tail. white. Vallejo Yellow Ochre.
Note: The horse’s mane, tail, and socks were
BASECOAT BASECOAT
painted Vallejo Off White and washed with
Agrax and this was then highlighted up to
pure white.
BASECOAT
WASH WASH
WASH
HIGHLIGHT HIGHLIGHT
HIGHLIGHT
CONCLUSION
For me the hardest part about painting horses is what colours should I use? Then – when I have applied the basecoat – what colours
work best when it comes to shading and highlighting them? The examples I have given work for me and if you have got the same or
similar colours, you might want to try painting your next mounted unit using the colour guides that I have suggested. ■

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B O O K R E V I E W S F O R T H E D I S C E R N I N G WA R G A M E R
REVIEWS
BLACK TULIP: THE LIFE AND

MYTH OF ERICH HARTMANN
TO BESIEGE A CITY ◗ Erik Schmidt
◗ Pritt Buttar ◗ Casemate (First published 2020 this edition
◗ Osprey (2023) 2023)
◗ £30 ◗ £17.95
◗ 464 pages (hardback) ◗ 212 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781472856555 ◗ ISBN:9781636243030
◗ ospreypublishing.com ◗ casematepublishing.co.uk
If you can read without This is not just a linear, chronological

tears the chapter on the narrative of the life and times of the
first winter of starvation fighter ace but a look at the core of the
in Leningrad in 1941-42, with the heart- man and the cultural, philosophical and
rending accounts of children starving to intellectual influences within Germany
death, then you’re a harder person than as a whole, which affected the man and
I am… his outlook. It tries to dig deeper into
This is another masterly account by Hartmann’s character by examining
this excellent Osprey author, covering the context in which he was raised,
the first year of the siege of Leningrad. the times in which he lived and the
He combines well the political, strategic, cultural background to his upbringing.
operational, tactical and human aspects All of which involves reaching back
of this cataclysmic struggle which saw into Germany’s history, so we have
around 1.2 million Russians (civilians mention of both Bismarck and Baron
and soldiers) die in an area about the size Manfred von Richthofen. There is an
of an English county. Maps are adequate, examination of the development of
albeit small-scale and hence generally the Luftwaffe, glider training and a
only showing the main places and troop detailed look at the characteristics of
groupings; there are no orders of battle. the Bf109 fighter, which Hartmann flew
As with his other titles on the Eastern throughout the war.
Front, the emphasis is towards the Soviet This is not a book retailing
viewpoint, from both archives and Hartmann’s victories in the air, so has
personal diaries. limited value for scenario design or even
The German aim was primarily to starve rules writing. It is an in-depth study of
this Bolshevik stronghold to death, with Hartmann’s development and growth
shelling and bombing directed as much at as a fighter ace. It is well written and
civilian infrastructure as at military targets. thought provoking and recommended
An horrendous struggle, superbly told for those who want the detailed story
and presumably with a second volume to behind this airman both before, during
follow. Highly recommended. and after the Second World War.
Chris Jarvis Martin S. Pike
Baggage Train. The costs of the pay and
equipment of all branches of an army,
from the General Staff to the humble
infantry private soldier, are provided in a
series of tables that will enable wargamers,
should they so wish, to add the financing
of an army to the logistical details of
their campaigns, whether historical or
ImagiNation in origin.
The third, the bulk of the book, deals in
depth with the infantry, ‘the school of war,
and it is by it that those who have wished
to perfect themselves in this profession
have always begun.’ It covers squad,
company and battalion exercises before
describing battlefield evolutions and the
SCIENCE OF ARMS: THE ART battalion in the field.
THE TUDOR ARTE OF WARRE OF WAR IN THE CENTURY OF The book is profusely illustrated
(VOLUME 2) THE SOLDIER 1672-1699 by reproductions of contemporary
◗ Jonathan Davies ◗ Stephen M. Carter prints of portraits of leading military
◗ Helion (2023) ◗ Helion & Company (2023) figures; diagrams of artillery pieces and
◗ £29.95 ◗ £29.95 fortifications; types of foot soldier; the drill
◗ 295 pages (softback) ◗ 330 pages (softback) movements – Pike and Musket Postures
◗ ISBN:9781804512012 ◗ ISBN:9781804510025 and Firing Discipline – for infantry
◗ helion.co.uk ◗ helion.co.uk from military treatises, and company
and battalion exercises with the words
Volume One dealt with Number 96 in Helion’s Century of the of command. There are also modern
the armies and enemies Soldier 1618-1721 series this first volume diagrams, but executed in a contemporary
of the Tudors over four contains a wealth of material on the art style, to explain company evolutions and
reigns and 72 years: this second volume of war in the late seventeenth century, a the formations adopted by infantry in
focuses solely on Elizabeth’s reign, period which – thanks to rules such as battle, such as Firing by Gaining Ground,
and (like its predecessor) is a superb Beneath The Lily Banners – has become Firing the Street Way to defend a street,
production. more popular with wargamers of late. bridge or ford, Firing the Swede (sic) Way,
Part One covers politics, diplomacy It is a period that saw the increasing the Attack by Gaining Ground, Advancing
and strategy, and Part Two covers professionalism of the officer corps, and the Swede (sic) Way, the Volley Attack
the battles and campaigns, especially also offers an interesting transition from with Grenadiers and Forming a Battalion
those in Ireland – the latter was one foot regiments armed with pikes and Square, each again accompanied by the
of Elizabeth’s greatest fears, with the matchlock muskets in the Thirty Years’ War appropriate words of command. Other
prospect of Spanish control leading and the British Civil Wars to the flintlock than the cover illustration, however, there
to invasion from the west. Maps are musket and bayonet armed infantrymen are no colour plates of period uniforms.
clear, and the writing style is a delight of the War of Spanish Succession and the Two pages of endnotes and a three-page
to read – a compelling mixture of good corresponding changes in battle tactics. bibliography conclude the book; there is
research, clarity of message, and a deft The book has been ‘primarily written no index.
touch of humour. Above all, the author by translating, compiling and merging This is the first of three volumes: the
is clear about the overriding priority text from rare French and English second will cover the disciplines of
of Elizabeth: the need to preserve the manuscripts’. It is divided into three the cavalry and the artillery, fighting
realm and her position as monarch parts. The first, War Policy, is totally a campaign and winning a battle; the
(despite the blunders of most of her based upon Traite de la Guerre ou third will explain the construction of
commanders), with her father’s desire Politique Militaire by Paul Hay de fortifications in the age of Vauban, and
for glory playing no part in her plans. Chastelet, published in 1677. the methods of attack and defence of such
The pen-portraits of the Queen and the The second, Modelling the Army, has fortresses. Wargamers with any interest in
principal actors are an important part nothing to do with painting wargame European warfare of the late seventeenth
of understanding the events, and are figures but deals with the roles of the century will certainly wish to add this
nicely presented. Captain general, the other General book, and the subsequent two volumes,
Congratulations to Helion on a very officers, the General Staff, the Formations to their libraries to gain a thorough
fine book. and Costs of Infantry, Cavalry and understanding of the art of war of that era.
Chris Jarvis Dragoons, Artillery and the Supply and Arthur Harman
›
REVIEWS
French officers and men of Bonaparte’s

army, and from the scholars, artists,
scientists and engineers – the ‘Savants’ –
who accompanied the expedition.
Mr North has a most entertaining
style of writing – providing one is not
an ardent admirer of Bonaparte! – which
makes the book a pleasure to read, so
it could be an excellent introduction to
the campaigns for anyone with no prior
knowledge of them. Besides military
matters, he includes revealing examples
of French expectations of the country,
their observations on Egyptian customs
and attitudes towards the people.
ROME TO THE PO RIVER: THE Four black and white maps are
362ND INFANTRY DIVISION, NAPOLEON’S INVASION OF provided near the front of the book.
1944-45 EGYPT: AN EYEWITNESS The first is a two-page reproduction of a
◗ Heinz Greiner translated by Linden Lyons HISTORY ‘Map of Lower Egypt and part of Syria
◗ Casemate (2023)(First published in Germany in ◗ Jonathan North to illustrate the Expedition to Egypt
1968) ◗ Amberley Publishing (2023) and the Campaign of 1798-1801’ by
◗ £40.00 ◗ £22.99 A.K. Johnston which includes inserts of
◗ 198 pages (hardback) ◗ 286 pages (hardback) the Battle of Aboukir 25 July 1799 and
◗ ISBN: 9781636242286 ◗ ISBN:9781398110311 the Battle of the Pyramids 21 July 1798.
◗ www.casematepublishing.co.uk ◗ amberley-books.com The second is a two-page reproduction
of a French map of the same area by
This book is about the German 362nd In his Introduction Jonathan North Denon. A one-page modern map by
Infantry Division fighting in Italy from considers the young Bonaparte to Diana Saville shows the Advance to
January 1944 to the end of the war. It have been a dreamer, ‘devouring the Cairo and the Invasion of Syria but has
is a unit history and has several hand chronicles of empires and tales of great no scale. The last is a reproduction of
drawn maps with scales from metres deeds… In bleak Autun or dull Brienne, the A.K. Johnston’s diagram of the Battle of
to kilometres which complements exploits of Alexander the Great besieged his Alexandria, 21 March 1801.
the narrative well and, incidentally, imagination and stories from the deserts of Sixteen pages of colour and
are helpful for developing scenarios. the Mamelukes… captivated the mind of this monochrome plates on glossy paper
The book is written by the division unhappy outsider.’ are bound into the book’s centre.
commander, so has a personal insight into After his great successes in Italy, Besides colour reproductions of familiar
the tactical fighting and the operational General Bonaparte presented a scheme illustrations, such as Baron Lejeune’s
and strategic context in which the division for the conquest of Egypt to the Directory paintings of the Battles of the Pyramids
was operating. While such accounts are in 1797, concluding that ‘The time is not far and Aboukir, Napoleon visiting the
often self-serving this book does not give off when we shall see that in order to destroy plague house at Jaffa, Murat leading
that impression but plays up the courage England we must seize Egypt.’ a cavalry charge at Aboukir and the
and endurance of the German infantry, There had been French plans to do Battle of Alexandria, there are sketches
the crucial role of artillery and highlights just that since the reign of Louis XIV of scenes, Egyptian costumes and
the numerical inferiority under which and in 1794 the government had begun French personalities by the artists Andre
the division was operating. The account to consider plans to seize Egypt. Now Dutertre and Dominique Denon, together
was written in the 1960s but without the Bonaparte proposed to occupy Alexandria with a half-page plan of the Battle of the
benefit of the divisional war diary. It and send troops to Suez, then across the Pyramids by Denon, the French text of
draws on Allied and German accounts of Red Sea to aid Tipu Sultan against the which is, alas, too small to decipher.
the fighting, memory and contemporary British, rather than have them sail round A two-page list of Key Eyewitnesses,
notes made at the time. the Cape of Good Hope. ‘The Directory was a three-page bibliography and an index
This is a fascinating book which wise enough to see the advantages of a distant conclude the book.
captures the combat history of the war in which victory would reflect well on Jonathan North has created a very
unit and clearly shows the increasing them and defeat could be ignored entirely’ and readable and evocative narrative that
deterioration of German combat power in accepted his proposals. deserves to be read by any wargamer
the last years of the war. It is thoroughly The book consists of a chronological planning to recreate Napoleon’s
recommended for all readers. narrative of the expedition, making campaigns and battles in Egypt and Syria.
Martin S. Pike extensive use of quotations from the Arthur Harman

[the Taliban] referred to 5 Scots as The Little
Men. They may have been small in stature,
but they fought like giants.’ Sixteen colour
plates are bound into the centre of the
book. Apart from a half-page map of the
Musa Qa’leh area, the illustrations consist
of official photographs from MOD and
the USA and private photographs of the
author and his comrades.
In the Epilogue, he considers what
Delta Company – ‘the most battle-
hardened and experienced rifle
company’ in the words of the Brigade
Commander 16 Air Assault Brigade
– had achieved during Op Herrick
8, enduring ‘some of the most gritty
and sustained fighting seen by the
MONMOUTH’S FIRST THE LITTLE MEN: AN Argylls since the Korean War’ and
REBELLION AFGHANISTAN DIARY is proud to ‘uphold that dogged and
◗ Warwick Louth ◗ George McCafferty and Robert Cameron aggressive fighting spirit.’ But he goes
◗ Helion (2023) ◗ Amberley Publishing (2023) on to state that ‘no one returns from
◗ £29.95 ◗ £22.99 war unwounded’ and describes the
◗ 276 pages (softback) ◗ 320 pages (hardback) price the company’s soldiers paid,
◗ ISBN:9781804512005 ◗ ISBN:9781398114036 both physically by being wounded
◗ helion.co.uk ◗ amberley-books.com and mentally in terms of personality
changes, flashbacks and simply
It is the author’s contention that the This book is based on a diary kept by becoming enraged by hearing people
Scottish Covenanter Risings of 1660- Sergeant George McCafferty, 12 Platoon, complain about ‘first world problems’
85 have received too little coverage as Delta Company, 5 SCOTS, during his such as there being no Wifi and finding
military events, as distinct from civil/ first tour of duty in Helmand Province, it hard to control his anger.
religious affairs. This volume sets out to Afghanistan in the summer of 2008. He Sadly, he concludes that Rudyard
rectify this, focusing on the few actions kept a diary as ‘a record of my first real Kipling’s poem Tommy is still very
plus the overall concept of ‘insurgency combat tour as an infantry soldier’ and true today: ‘Society as a whole is apathetic
and counter-insurgency’. was later persuaded that it should be towards soldiers. We are a nuisance when
This is a noble aim, and I loathe published. He has ‘tried to be as accurate we are not deployed, getting drunk, fighting,
criticising someone’s writing style, but as possible; however, some conversations have chasing the local girls and generally living
you rapidly find the heart sinking at the had to be manufactured for contextual reasons each day as if it were our last.’
prospect of reading another 250-odd and may not have gone quite as written.’ Many readers may have felt at the
pages. Sentences are often convoluted, The book is comprised of accounts time that deciding to fight the Taliban in
with multiple loosely-connected points; of individual days of his tour of duty, Afghanistan was not a good idea, and
language is sometimes obscure and in chronological order, beginning with events since those described in this book,
littered with large unhelpful chunks Day 1: Thursday 10th April, Kandahar epitomised by the final photograph of
of arcane period missives. The table Air Base, Afghanistan, and ending with Taliban fighters in a captured Humvee
showing Covenanter strengths at Day 203 (misprinted as 103): Tuesday after the Fall of Kabul in August 2021,
company and regimental levels look 28th October, RAF Manston, Kent. A can only have confirmed them in that
impressive, until you realise that the few days – presumably nothing worth opinion. That ultimate failure, however,
figures don’t add up. Above all, the noting occurred – have no accounts. does not mean that the courage, loyalty
actions are probably worthy of obscurity Day 11 is followed by a ‘flashback’ to comrades and self-sacrifice displayed
– the major one (Bothwell Brig) merits to Day Minus 141: Wednesday 21st by the troops and described here should
just two pages of text and two maps. November 2007, RAF Chicklands, when not be remembered and shown the
This should appeal to those with he was three days into the Theatre respect they deserve. Whether recreating
local or ancestral Scottish connections, Intelligence Course (TIC) and was their experiences in tabletop wargames
and it presents a fair overall profile of told that he would become a Platoon is an appropriate and respectful way to
the causes and effects of the Risings, Sergeant with D Company but would remember them will be a matter for each
but with relatively little of military or have to complete the TIC course even individual wargamer’s conscience to
wargaming interest. though he would not deploy in that role. decide.
Chris Jarvis The title comes from Ross Kemp: ‘They Arthur Harman
55 November 2023 Miniature Wargames 55

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HOBBY TIPS
LIFE’S A CARNIVAL
Airships for Carnival Row
Words and images by Tony Harwood
egular readers of this magazine will know painting two Carnival Row Airships. MATERIALS USED
R that my terrain and wargaming models can

be inspired by a wide variety of different
sources or subjects. The inspiration for
this magazine article is the Amazon Prime series
Carnival Row staring Orlando Bloom and Cara
Painting followed the colour schemes and
designs featured in the series, particularly
series two and studying computer generated
images I found on the internet. The basic blimp
was painted in pale canvas with odd patches
◗ Insulation foam
◗ DAS modelling clay
◗ Ready mixed filler
◗ Plastic card/rod
◗ Card
◗ Cocktail stick
Delevingne in which mythical creatures have of lighter or darker linen to add some variety. ◗ Round plastic base
fled their war-torn homeland and gathered in The gondola was painted in dark grey with ◗ Metal washers
◗ Clear plastic rod
the city, where tensions are growing between the some lighter grey drybrushing.
◗ Sieved stones and sand
immigrants and the local citizens. At the same time as building the airships, I
Sue and I enjoyed series one in which a number was working on the bases. I used a 60mm round
of airships appear and I thought that they would plastic base, some metal washers (for weight and
make great Aeronef models however. I ended up to add some stability) and a clear plastic swizzle
stopping and starting the action so I could make stick as the upright support. The groundwork
some simple sketches of the airships. was built up from DAS with further texture
Construction started with some insulation added with sieved stones and sand applied over
foam cut to shape with my hot wire foam cutter PVA glue. Painting of the base was a simple affair
and refined by trimming and sanding. To get of base colour, drybrushing and then washes
the shape firmed up I used DAS modelling clay before being matt varnished and some ground
and some household filler which, when sanded, foam foliage glued in place with superglue.
gave a better finish. Once again the shape was Detail painting involved added the tail
refined by sanding and re-applying the filler and markings and hull windows, before attempting
sanding again. the heraldry painted to the sides of the blimp.
With the main ‘blimp’ shape finished it was on I copied illustrations from the Carnival Row
to adding the gondola and tail. I should comment series, painting one as a Burg ship and the
on ‘why two models?’ Well, I wasn’t sure I could second as a Pact ship.
get the large hot-air envelope shape correct and The pair of airships were great fun to model,
thought it best to build a second, back-up model although waiting for the DAS and filler to dry
just in case. As it turned out, I was very pleased before sanding did take a little longer than
with both and so continued by modelling and planned.
›
HOBBY TIPS
1. RIDE THE CARNIVAL 4. GONDOLA

The sketch was based on the The gondola and tail were
airships from Carnival Row; scratch built from scrap plastic
series 2, episode 1. card, plastic rod, trimmed
cocktail sticks and card.
The airships have a strong
resemblance to early, 1900’s I used a mix of polystyrene
flying machines, particularly cement, superglue and PVA glue
those fielded by the French. to get to this stage.
I used a block of insulating

foam which was cut to shape
with my hot wire cutter and
then trimmed with a snap-off
bladed knife before being
sanded to shape.
2. GAS BAG 5. GROUNDED

I added DAS modelling clay The bases were constructed
applied over PVA glue to build up from a round plastic base, metal
and strengthen the foam. washes (for weight and stability)
and a clear plastic rod.
The DAS was added in layers
before being sanded smooth I used DAS modelling clay to model
and painted with a mix of ready- the groundwork, which was further
mixed filler, PVA glue and white textured with sieved stones and
acrylic paint. sand applied over PVA glue.
This process was repeated They were painted in a light

a number of times until I brown, earth colour, drybrushed
had the smooth finish I was and washed before being
looking for. varnished with matt varnish.
3. COLONEL BLIMP 6. FULL OF HOT AIR

The blimp was then The hot air envelopes were
undercoated in a neutral painted in a light cream, canvas
grey acrylic paint. I applied colour with lighter and darker
two or three thin coats and linen patches added for variety.
sanded the model between
applications. In the TV series the linen shrouds
were tied to the gondola with
I produced and worked on parts of the lower blimp showing
two blimps at the same time through as a darker material.
as I was not sure that I had
captured the correct shape. You can see in these images how
I have tried to mimic this ‘pulled
As it was, I ended up producing fabric’ effect.
two models of the Carnival
Row Airships – painting one as a
Burgh airship and the second as
a Pact airship.

7. PAINT
Detail painting was done with
a Rosemary & Co. sable/
synthetic mix brush using a
variety of different acrylic paints
and highlighting the different
parts of the gondola and tail with
drybrushing and washes.
The inspiration came from a

computer generated image
of the airships found on the
internet.
8. HERALDRY
The heraldic detail on the
sided of the blimps were hand
painted with a very fine brush
and a steady hand.
I painted one airship as a Burgh

(the city state) Aeronef which
has the imperial or heraldic
Eagle design.
The base was further detailed

with some ground foam
decoration glued in place with
superglue.
9. A DYNAMIC DUO
The second airship was painted
as a Pact Aeronef with a peculiar
half circle and quartered shield
design.
The models are nominally 1/600th

scale and 180mm long, they are
mounted on to 60mm round
plastic bases with the groundwork
built up with DAS modelling clay
and painted with acrylic paints
before being matt varnished and
decorated.
For more images of my scratch

built Aeronefs (mainly modelled to
1/300th scale), please check out
my Blog at dampfpanzerwagon.
blogspot.com

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Ideas are bullet proof...

ell it’s been seven Wargames proudly proclaimed “while the largely achieved.
W years and that really

is a long time in
wargaming. It has
incredibly enough been seven
years since I took on the task of
“Free Sci Fi Boardgame inside”.
On that note, at the start of
my editorship it might be
remembered that there were
some worries from a few readers
truncheon
may be
used in lieu
So where to in the future? Well
I always say “if it ain’t broke don’t
fix it”. But, if there’s one thing
I’m always happy to receive
it’s correspondence from the
editing this, the most prestigious that the style of the magazine
of conver- readership. So – if you have a bug
– and the longest lived – might change. Concerns sation, or a gripe or (better yet) a good
wargames magazine in the UK: abounded on the interweb that words will idea for a rule system, a scenario,
Miniature Wargames. I am now, it the magazine would be simply a game or just an article on your
seems, the editor with the second awash with articles on ‘gnomes
always favourite period or painting style
longest tenure: I took over from and fairies’ (a direct quote) or retain their – drop me a line.
my good mate Henry Hyde, who stuffed with pieces on my pet SF power. You could do this via the
had asked me to start writing projects: wall to wall Slammers email address printed at the
a column for him a couple of and Star Trek...
Words offer start of every issue rather than
years before hand, and (to get the As for content, I always the means attempt to reach me through
‘history’ right) he had taken over wanted to pitch my approach to meaning, the infernal labyrinth of social
from Andrew Hubbak. Andrew to the magazine as (effectively) media: I don’t do Twitter (or ‘X’)
I knew as – apart from anything a printed version of Salute –
and, for and nowadays I inhabit almost
else – he published my Hammer’s in terms of tone and balance those no forums and chat rooms, lest
Slammers: The Crucible set of SF anyway. Although the current who will I get carried away with myself
rules (based on David Drake’s team running the Salute show and say something that will get
range of military SF books). might well disagree with me
listen, the me investigated by the thought
Andrew had bought the (damnatio memoriae being what enunciation police who might come around
magazine from Iain Dickie, the it is) I had in fact quite a large of truth...” and ‘check my thinking’... So
magazine’s longest serving editor hand in shaping the Salute show instead just go ‘old school’ and
to date, I believe. Ian had assumed for over two decades: the mix of just drop me an email.
the editorial mantle from the (now the show’s displays of historical And on that ‘governmental
late) Duncan MacFarlane who had and non-historical games, the overreach’ theme I’ll leave you
originally brought the magazine preponderance of party games kind readers with this thought. As
to publishing in the early ‘80s; and new ideas... all of that was this month is November I thought
around the same time as Nexus some thing that I wanted very it would resonate if I temporarily
Publication’s Practical Wargamer badly at Salute and tried hard to assumed the mantle of Guido
(in which I was a columnist). encourage and embrace within Fawkes (or V for Vendetta) for this
For those who can remember the show. I also wanted the ‘Last Word’ as... well why not?
back that far, it’s always worth Miniature Wargames Magazine This visage, no mere veneer of vanity,
mentioning, I think, that issue to be shaped just like that. To be is a vestige of the vox populi, now
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unconsidered triﬂes RIGHT: Dice towers, much though I was loath to

y brain is a chaotic place. If outing of an idea: Kinch’s Miscellany – a

M I’m not pondering food, sex or

obvious to me that it seemed ridiculous

◗ The dice stay in one place. This

◗ Dice towers are fair and more

8 Miniature Wargames November 2023

templates or distance from objectives.

ABOVE: Cheap and nasty foam hills. These were

10 Miniature Wargames November 2023

◗ Random events. I’ve written a fair few

November 2023 Miniature Wargames 11

the above requirements for a deliberate withdrawal are

VICTORY POINT CALCULATION

Deliberate versus Forced withdrawals:

14 Miniature Wargames November 2023

ABOVE following turn, and on a 5-6 the model immediately

CAMPAIGN DURATION ORDERS OF BATTLE

16 Miniature Wargames November 2023

“Explosives” (one use only, max 1): WITHDRAWING IN CONTACT

ABOVE rearguard together until they can reach safety. Not

BRITISH DISINTIGRATION (YOU’LL NEED A D6)

18 Miniature Wargames November 2023

he Peterborough Wargames Club ran their first

20 Miniature Wargames November 2023

Wargames Fantasy and

FAR FLUNG CONFLICTS 1: THE

I that is utterly changed. Hence that

24 Miniature Wargames November 2023

For more information and to ﬁnd your nearest stockist visit

Game creation for any time period

26 Miniature Wargames November 2023

PLAY THE GAME LEFT

28 Miniature Wargames November 2023

ABOVE RIGHT GAMERS ARE DIFFERENT

fighting. The average was just under 500. Attackers

30 Miniature Wargames November 2023

his is a scenario – well a pair of them (with the second

T one next month) based on the recent rule set released by

32 Miniature Wargames November 2023

Note: The buildings represent various houses and shops LEFT

up,) a descendent of the nobleman who married the

34 Miniature Wargames November 2023

Time of day and bystanders

REASON FOR TEST – D10 1 2 TO 4 5 TO 9 10

Here Come the Carabinieri

REASON FOR TEST – D10 1 2 TO 4 5 TO 9 10

INTER ACT they were last seen dying! BELOW

36 Miniature Wargames November 2023