Link to a nice Great War Blog

This link is to a WordPress Blog that I could not figure out how else to link to from here. He is a wargamer and interested in the Great War in the Middle East. http://greenfieldsbeyond.wordpress.com/

More on Scenarios

I played in a 25mm WWI battle set in Palestine today. It was great fun. Nice figures, good terrain, and simple rules made for a good game. As always, there were a few points of confusion/contention but not so much that it really detracted from the game. It was interesting to watch Scott trying to "run" the game and his struggle to translate the battle as he saw it in his head onto the gaming table. It was then that the light dimly flickered into life in my brain. It sort of illuminated the struggle that I have been having over scenarios and games.

I am having trouble turning what I know into a framework to allow two sides to compete against each other with a fair chance for either side to "win" the game. I am still learning to "balance" the game so that each side has some obtainable goal that can make even the most unbalanced games "winnable", and therefor enjoyable, for both sides. In most cases, I take an historical situation and scale it down for our game's scale while trying to be accurate about unit density (number of units in a given geographic area), historical positioning, unusual terrain or situations, and leadership abilities of the real life leaders. Where I seem to lose my way is the simple question of "So how do I win?" asked by each side's commanders. It seems simple enough, but sometimes I really don't seem to have an answer, other than "You need to destroy enough of his units so that he runs away..."

I gotta work on that...

WW1 Figure Comparison

Remember when I mentioned a picture showing a comparison of each manufacturer's figures for WW1? Six months later... ta da! Here are two shots of a lineup I did that featured samples from each manufacturer that I own. I know there are other manufacturers but I don't own them ... yet.

L to R

Renegade French Officer, Renegade French Soldier, Great War French Officer in Adrian Helmet, Brigade Games French NCO, Scarab Miniatures Austrian Officer, and Foundry French Soldier in Late War kit.

I like almost all of the figures and would happily mix all but the Scarab and Foundry figures with any of the others. It looks like my very small pile of Foundry chaps will soon be moving to a new home via eBay while I will need to get some more of those Scarab Austrians so the few I already have don't feel left out.

I've Gone Missing

There is a reason for my recent silence. Your humble correspondant was captured in a trench raid in late March and has only just escaped. In a daring escape organized by Lt. J.Thompson we recently escaped back to our own lines... Hurrah! Our return to our lines will allow me to resume my reporting on my gaming projects.

That sounds much better than admitting that I have been very busy lately with all the usual obligations - work, family, and so on. I have been organizing a "pile" of 25mm First Crusades Saracens to send away to a painting service. I was inspired to finally get these guys "done up" after picking up the Fields of Glory rules which had a nice guide to organizing a Saracen army. So after sitting in my closet since 1998, it looks like Saladin may finally take the field soon.

I am STILL painting my 1914 Germans. The first batch is very close to being finished. After that it will be a few machine gun teams and command types to round out my Bosche line unit. I have some Jagers (jaegers?) to do after that. I have been using this fantastic site Tom Weiss as painting inspiration. I hope my figures turn out half as well!!

Scott Pasha has loaned me Patrols in the Sudan to review. In addition, I have been reviewing Habitants and Highlanders for our upcoming French and Indian game.

WW1 28mm Figures

Well, I have been completely taken in by the Great War and I have been ordering sample figures from anyone I can find who sells 28mm figures for this conflict. My newest order has been placed with Scarab Miniatures Limited (http://scarabminiatures.com/). Thus far they only offer Austro-Hungarians but they appear to be planning Italians, Russians, and other nationalities sometime in the future. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of these fellows and I will give a review of some of the various figure lines that I have gotten samples from soon.

WW1 Wargaming in Palestine

We finally got to have a go at a largish WW1 game using Price of Glory rules this past weekend. Scott Pasha (see his blog), he who leads us off the beaten path, ran a game set in Palestine featuring Germans, Turks, and some native tribesmen pitted against some British Territorial units. I took some photos but they aren't very good - but I never let that stop me.

Here is a picture taken from the vantage point of the German Asienkorps area of deployment.













This picture shows the rapid advance of 3 sections of Indian Lancers, look out!












Here is a later battle shot from just behind the advancing Turkish lines. The area just to the front of the Turks was the scene of a cavalry battle between the Indian Lancers and a section of Turkish cavalry. The Turkish cavalry was destroyed in the melee and the Indian cavalry was shot up by Turkish Infantry fire and was forced to retire.

A new area of expense... ahem interest

My wargaming pal Scott lured me into doing something with my long standing curiosity about WWI/The Great War/The War to End All Wars... So I have taken the plunge and begun doing a bit of reading, collecting, and painting troops so we can wargame this fascinating era.

For once I have a plan (sort of) for what I wish to collect before I just purchasing figures willy nilly. We will see if I can stick to my plans - I have my doubts. First up will be French (I gotta collect French troops - call me misguided, sick, or whatever...) and Germans. I have completed a small smattering of Old Glory Germans and I have to say they aren't bad looking figures. As soon as I have properly based them I shall have to snap and share a few pics.

Meanwhile check out a new WWI movie that looks positively inspirational:
http://www.passchendaelethemovie.com/Canada_In_The_Great_War/behind_the_scenes.html