wargaming is everything from gaming on the table top with dice, painting figures, reading history, collecting figures, scenery and rules through to geography, politics, art, crafts and imaginative writing……..
The painting table rarely gets a look in on this blog. But when your paintbrushes have scarpered you can always rely on the paint table to be harbouring some unfinished treats
Here are some recent arrivals – no completion date though.
My pesky paintbrushes are still on their jollies, and they sent me a message saying they will be in isolation when they get back – the cheeky chappies!
Still I do have the – painting table – ta da!!
Surely Campaigning without maps is an oxymoron? and when it comes to wargaming, maps are central to what defines wargame campaigns as opposed to say, endless rounds of competition encounter battles.
Well thats true. I have spent most of my wargaming life pursuing the mantra that the greater the detailed map the more satisfying the campaign.
Or so I thought.
I guess there have been numerous nudges away from that point of view when I think about it.
The thing is that I have applied the same abstraction that works for the field of battle to campaign maps. Out go measured marches and in comes the dreaded “outcome”. I suppose the test for some might be “does the end justify the means?” or why waste time getting a result that does not improve your hobby enjoyment.
Except “process” is what a lot of wargaming is and that means the process is the enjoyment in itself.
Moving pieces across a map at steady rates, checking the weather, accounting for ground conditions and working out where the enemy is are themselves a process to get to that almighty battle outcome – ok 6 units a side armed with One Hour Wargames – because you must go shopping or rearrange the cushions on the settee this afternoon for an evening watching the football/that latest box set/a comedy (delete /insert as appropriate).
It is not all about “outcomes ” because you could complete the abstraction and just toss a coin to find out who won that 5 year campaign you cannot seem to finish.
It is about putting your effort into those parts of the process you most want to enjoy and sacrificing others through abstration to get you to those parts that matter.
And it is not that I don’t have any maps. I just use them in certain areas. I just don’t measure movement of forces “to scale” across them.
To my mind wargame rules came to the fore in the decades when scale paper maps became something to be purchased and valued – and used. People were taught eastings and northings and also how to fold a map. Remember some Generals fought their battles on the creases of the map in the pouring rain……..
Today you just flick the “app” tap a few virtual buttons and a high resolution image appears – is that my neighbours 3rd or 4th car – don’t remember it being that red – just how old is that image anyway…….sat navs beware……
For my Twins War in Fauxterre I have a narrative map.
Fauxterre is explained here:
https://wordpress.com/post/thewargamingerratic.home.blog/2061 .
And I do have a means of moving forces in Fauxterre – it is an abstraction.
So here is the abstraction for my Twins War in Fauxterre.
I guess at a certain point – by the late 1990’s? the DBA wargame rules offered the most popular version of this diagram.
By version 3.0 campaigns had been quietly dropped from the title along with the diagram.
Except NO! – the diagram had been replaced by a set of words in the giant hardback tome that is now DBA post 2014: Maybe a case of more becoming less?
I suspect this diagram had in the meantime launched tens of thousands of wargames campaigns – ok maybe thats a bit excessive!
Well that’s it for now, I will explore the mechanisms that allow me to abstract the mapping activity in a way that balances my available time, the process, the outcome and most of all the enjoyment of solo wargame campaigns.
I will finish with some words from Donald Featherstone which are surprising given they are to be found in his book War Game Campaigns.
That is the challenge – making table top battles part of a narrative or simply having continuity requires effort. Effort which is not available for gaming the battles or painting the troops. Take your pick or choose your abstraction.
I have revisited some grid based wargames rules I used with some success last year in my shieldwall battles.
This time they are dealing with post Napoleonic Warfare.
Rules: Table Top Battles now branded for GRID Wargaming by Mike Smith and I was using a 50mm grid style table just slightly bigger than the one used in the rules.
You will notice that I like asymmetrical forces wargaming which is essential if you are to enjoy solo campaigns.
Narrative: Zarland is in crisis with the succession challenged and neighbouring countries all seizing opportunities!
Davaria, located south west of Zarland, decide it is time apply some pressure and march on Zarland.
General Jacapo Guarnieri led a strong force to the border. Meanwhile the Regent dispatched General Jenthe Knees with a hastily gathered force to hold the river Plima. General Knees at least had the good fortune to discover the likely crossing point of the Davarians.
He bivouacked his troops around the village of Menas.
He had with him
As the morning mist drifted off the river Plima General Knees viewed the arrival of the Davarians, who had been marching since just before dawn.
General Guarnieri had the following troops at his disposal. Many of his light troops were away foraging, sorting logistics and scouting. The irregulars were probably just sleeping under some trees!
General Knees ordered his Zarland cavalry forward to test the Davarian left wing marching against the north Menas bridge. He posted the rest of his forces on the defensive.
General Guarnieri ordered his troops forward to take both bridges and force a crossing. The river here was narrow but with steep banks, difficult to cross. The Davarians planned to keep their feet dry.
Meanwhile the Zarland militia do well to repulse the Davarian Foot who try to rush the south Menas bridge.
Eventually the battle ends in stalemate at the south bridge as the Davarian Infantry can make no headway here. The north Menas bridge though is now exposed by the loss of the Zarland hussars who are driven off to the North West.
General Knees uses the cover of dusk to abandon his positions. The Davarian Commander General Guarnieri has secured his objective.
I used the standard rules plus elements of the solo rules section. The rules are a really useful halfway house for campaign battles where to set up a full game is not possible but dicing for a result is too blunt.
I have become a lot more amenable to grids – Peter Pig was my first enjoyable exposure (Rules for the common man) especially since I have simply never managed to like large hex wargames where I just feel its a blown up board game. Peter Pigs grids were almost invisible – excellent. Mike Smith’s grids are for me a happy compromise.
Summer is here and some fine weather is in prospect, following on a week or so of warm and sunny days.
So the paint brush gang have packed their bags and headed for the seaside or wherever paintbrushes go in holiday.
That means the Painting Pedestal stands bare.
Hopefully the Painting Pedestal will return later this year. Meanwhile the Painting Table is crowded with a queue of figures pleading to be painted or have their bases finished off……..
Enjoy your Summer whatever the weather and whatever you do.
The death of Duncan Macfarlane is a sad moment. His life though should be celebrated by wargamers as he delivered two great magazines into the hobby – giving pleasure to thousands of gamers. And his publishing enterprises probably did most to keep me from leaving the hobby altogether.
In the late 1970’s I left the hobby and at that time Battle was the wargamers magazine – kit bashers and painters had Military Modelling.
However I became an armchair wargamer through the next wargaming magazine – Miniature Wargames launched by Duncan in 1983. Later in that decade he started Wargames Illustrated as well.
I have binned my magazines over time simply because I have gutted them all for those articles I wanted to keep. Along the way I kept some of the covers.
here are a few more
By the late 1990’s Wargames Illustrated was mature and we still had Miniature Wargames. I re-entered the hobby by chance – finding a flier for the Solo Wargamers Association (which is still going strong) left in a library book as I recall.
So it was Duncans two magazines that sustained my interest in the hobby during almost 2 decades of no table top battles or painting of any figures.
I will finish with probably one of my favorite magazine covers of that era
Thank you Duncan.
The Duchy of Tradgardland Blog by Tradgardmastare always throws up interesting posts.
A recent one asked about your favorite battle from the wargamers fictional world. It struck a chord.
The Franco Prussian War centenary was in 1970/71, so during Donald Featherstones publishing boom it was very topical and popular. As a youngster who only knew about the ACW, WW2 and Napoleon it was a period that was just far too obscure. And there were no plastic figures to hand.
Donald Featherstones Advanced Wargames was the first book I got from a library although it was swiftly followed by Charge! Or how to play wargames, by Lawford & Young. That library gave me a lifelong hobby.
It was a few years before I actually bought a book on wargames or rather received one as a present.
Advance Wargames is not a logical place to start wargaming. It did contain all the parts for a set of wargames rules. It was just that they were all dotted around and mixed up!
So it is not surprising that the chapter 14 about Games with more than Two players got me started solo campaigning!
Here are the vital words that I kept coming back to.
The whole issue of a small advance guard worked for me as I had no armies as such. I had a some ACW infantry, artillery and cavalry. They stood in for the French and Prussians who I had little interest in. When I obtained my first Airfix Napoleonics this battle idea was a regular one to feature.
Donald Featherstone always made me want to imagine a world around the game. And his writing I found very engaging.
The scenario sees some light infantry, light cavalry and horse guns contacting a larger enemy. And the scenario included generals with differing capabilities and couriers. Finally the scenario set similar objectives but with differing forces. So Asymmetrical Wargaming was a starting point for me.
I mentioned Charge! – the Battle of Sittangbad is of course another Asymmetrical situation. I quickly adopted that one as another favorite scenario.
And when I started my latest project – venturing beyond 1725 for the first time in decades – it was a scenario I used again. This time it was the post napoleonic era – 1815 to 1848ish.
And I used Charlie Wesencrafts Practical Wargaming – one book I did buy and still possess.
here is the link to that battle refought in 2021.
https://wordpress.com/post/thewargamingerratic.home.blog/1892
I found these excellent metal figures at Irregular Miniatures (a prolific UK figure manufacturer).
These are from their 20mm range for Garibaldi Wars.
I based them high so they would work alongside my 20-25mm 1/72 figures.
You can easily get French post Crimea as that uniform pretty much ran until 1914.
I use Field of Battle Piquet basing of 4 bases per battalion. This also neatly matches Neil Thomas rules for the 19th century european wars. I also like to have the officers separate so they can gross up to show brigade commands. Piquet also allows strong and weak battalions, 3-5 bases is possible. Neil Thomas does not like command explicitly on show, so there are no issues there.
The reality is that between 1815 and 1854 the French had uniform changes like so many cups of tea – sorry that should be coffee of course.
The Funcken shown is an excellent book that shows the colourful story of French fashions from shako to kepi and breeches to pantaloons!
After securing Sicily Garibaldi reorganised his mass of volunteer units into a series of Divisiones.
The soldiers shown here are from the Divisione Bixio which comprised two brigades.
An officer is in the illustration (G) shown in the Osprey Men at Arms book 520. I have already mentioned what an excellent book this is, with a wealth of detail in black white alongside text overflowing with wargamers ideas for painting units.
The Bixio Divisione figures are by Lucky Toys……..
I had to post these because they are not varnished and look rather different to my usual glossy painting pedestal offerings.
Strelets set 150 US infantry attack ACW.
Painted as 1859 Bologna Volunteers as described in the Osprey 520 Armies of the Italian Wars of Unification 1848-1870 (2).
The Wargaming Erratic 