Britcon 2024

Last year, I made my first visit to Britcon Gaming Day and enjoyed the weekend, so this August, I returned to Nottingham. Like last year, I attended the Two Fat Lardies workshop, where there were there was a wide variety of participation games, from a pirate raid to 1968 Vietnam.  I choose to play a naval action and a battle from the Trojan War.

Spanish Breakout

My first game was a Napoleonic naval engagement using Charley Walker's new version of Kiss Me Hardy rules. The original game's mechanics have been streamlined by using some ideas from What a Cowboy, but maintain the feeling that you are in command of great sailing ships of the era. My command was the British inshore squadron, which included a 3rd Rate and a frigate, the Gibberish. My partner had the larger ships that had come to reinforce the inshore ships to prevent the Spanish breakout. Whilst the British had the advantage of better crews, the Spanish admirals had size on their side. One ship had 118 guns! As the British would find out, these monsters could absorb a lot of damage.

In the early moves, I thought we had the Spanish, with their advance squadron, trapped between the British larger ships and the shoreline. Whilst my inshore squadron managed to get some close broadside off. Even the Gibberish managed to land a few blows without getting blown out of the water by the larger ships.

However, after the first run, the British ship found it hard to turn in the narrow confines of the bay, especially with the wind against them. Therefore, the Spanish made it to open waters, although they were severely damaged.

Before the Walls of Troy

My afternoon game, run by James Morris, used the Midgard rules, hopefully to be published later this year, in a fight between the Amazons and the Greeks. The game started with a duel between two champions, which the Amazons lost. This immediately led to a full-blown conflict between the Greeks and the Amazon. This time, I was the Amason queen Penthesilla, daughter of Ares, who commanded the right flank.

However, this was a battle when the dice god Hermes was firmly on the side of the Greeks. In the opening move, a rabble of Greek skirmishers managed to kill one of the Amazon champions. The ravens soon picked over her body as she threw successive ones ( a raven on these dice) to save herself from the Greek arrows. When the second Amazon champion fell on the left, things began to look bad. However, the Amazons fought bravely and launched a counterattack that nearly killed Achilles 'of the winged feet', but once again, Hermes came to the Greek's aid, and Achilles managed to escape almost certain death.

On the right, my Amazon was slowly being pushed back by the Greek's superior close combat skills, although Penthesilla managed to kill one of the Greek champions in single combat. Despite the glimpse of success, the day would be with the Greeks.

In both these games, the scenery and the miniatures were beautiful, as you will see from the photos. More importantly, the games were full of banter and laughter. Win or lose, you had a great game and a story to tell.

The Traders and Other Games

Elsewhere in the Hall, numerous trade stands were similar to the ones at last year's show. A floor plan for this area would have helped, although an earlier e-mail gave you the basic outline. Beyond the trade stand were the competition games with ranks of the tables. Those who follow this blog will know that this type of gaming is not my thing. However, numerous games were displayed, and the whole place buzzed.

Wrap Up

The day was rounded off by a few pints and a curry. During this evening session, my discussions involved the push and shove in pre-gun powder warfare, how wargame rules have changed since the 70s and the wonders of French cheeses—an enjoyable evening.

More Projects

I have come back with some great ideas for new projects: dark dwarves and sea witches will invade Romano-Britian. Will Arthur save the day? Playing Charley‘s revised version of Kiss Me Hardy has ‘forced’ me to invest in some 1:700 ships because they look fantastic. James’ bloody Trojan escapade has led me to explore my ‘pile of lead’, and I have found some Greek chariots. It looks like Troy might be coming to East Anglia.

Final Thanks

Overall behind-the-scenes? Thanks to Don Avis, despite commanding a Greek wing, for his spreadsheet wizardry and good humour. Also, the Britcon organisers for their fantastic attention to detail and speedy service.

Hammerhead 2024

I just made my annual pilgrimage to Hammerhead in Newark. From East Anglia, it is a bit of a drive but an ‘easy run’. The show at the end of the journey is always worth the effort. It larger enough to attract many games and traders but smaller enough to enjoy in a day. 

Some fantastic displays on show from a fantastic conquistador games to Star War game. Here are a few of my pictures, which do not do justice to the games or their organisers. 

For a wargamer who plays mainly solo, these events are great to meet with fellow enthusiasts. Many have the same love for collecting rules and have their own pile of metal and plastic figures from uncompleted projects. What a fantastic hobby and community we have. 

Britcon August 2023

Something a bit different is a brief report on my adventures in Nottingham, where I met Robin Hood and his merry men, and some ugly sea monsters. All these weird tales occurred at this year's Lard Day held at Britcon.

Britcon 2023 at Nottingham Trent University. 

This was my first visit to this event and my baptism into a Two Fat Lardies Workshop. More about my adventures in Lardland later. For a large wargames show, the venue was excellent. Light and airy with plenty of space, despite the numbers and its own conference beer. Britcon was different from previous shows I attended because it focused on playing games rather than adding to your collection. Despite that, I have to confess that a few boxes of plastics strangely got added to my return luggage. 

A large area was given over to competition games, with most of the favourites being represented, Bolt, Saga, DBMM, DBA. MeG, and FOG, just to name a few. 

Two Fat Lardies' Workshop

I am not a great fan of completion games, so I signed up for the Two Fat Lardies’ Gaming Day for the first time. This was held downstairs in the chemistry area, where a fantastic concoction of games had been assembled. You could choose from thirteen games covering the Lard library of adventure, including Chain of Command, Dux Britanniarum, Kiss Me Hardy and What a Cowboy, with many being played in unusual settings. The tables on offer were rounded off by games in development. Here the players helped to play test and to fashion the final product. I let these few pictures talk for themselves, but they show the cinematic quality of these terrain boards, which were accompanied by fantastic miniatures and were enjoyable and fun. 

Madness in Lardsmouth

In the morning, I played a gangster version of What a Cowboy, set in the world of H. P. Lovecraft. Both teams were given the same story but with different hidden objectives. The sleepy fishing village of Lardsmouth sits on the US east coast, it's 1925, and prohibition is in force. Government Agents have been sent in to find a reported illegal Liquor operation. Enforcers from the neighbouring town's criminal liquor producers have also been sent to stop it. They all find more than they bargained for. 

Despite the occasional change of shots, both sides soon found out their main objective was to survive as the mist slowly rolled in from the harbour area. Soon visibility was reduced, and only shapes could be seen moving in the fog. My agent had been given the task of getting to the old lighthouse. After fighting some thugs, he managed to scramble to the top. However, by that time, madness had overtaken him. After completing his objective, he threw himself into the sea and the monster's clutches. My other agent survived being blown up (twice), killed a deep one and survived the experience if slightly singed. 

Tax, Mead and a Drunken Priest

Again the background set the scene of this Dux Britanniarum adaptation. Archbishop Roundwood has run out of mead, and Good King John is planning an imminent whirlwind tour of the Northern Baronies. However, all is not lost, as it is well known that the best mead is produced by the friars in Larddingham. Here, the Archbishop despatches the erstwhile Sheriff to secure as many barrels as possible. However, Robin and his band of Merry Men ( I wonder why they were merry?) set out to thwart the Archbishop's plans.

Again fun and surprises. From kids showing their bottoms to my bishop spending most of the game in the pub, where he tasted the delights of Laddington mead. In the meantime, the Sheriff, who may be a dastardly character but was no fool, had used his knights to disrupt Robin's plans. The game was close, and in the final turn, both sides had one point of morale left and an objective point each. However, Archbishop Roundwood was happy as he most to the mead in his stomach. 

Thanks and a Curry - When the Next One?

I must thank the game umpires and story masters, Mike and Jeremy, for making the games so much fun. Also, to all the organises who struggled with the monumental task of putting everyone's choices into a spreadsheet.

The day ended with a curry, a few pints and loads of conversation. My enthusiasm renewed, and I returned home with more project ideas and a mission to improve my scatter terrain. I will be looking out for the next Lard Gaming Day.

Wargaming & Campaigns

Wargaming is about a narrative, a story that I can continue on the tabletop. I achieved this storytelling in two ways. First, by recreating historical encounters. Here the backstory comes pre-packed with the events surrounding the battle that enrich the narrative. Here is the fun of researching the background of the conflict, the commanders, the terrain and why the encounter happened. The second approach is to place my battles in an invented campaign setting—this approach I tend to use for non-historical encounters and skirmish games. I have loads of notebooks, either on paper or electronically, with random jottings about people, places, belief systems and the rivalries between the leading players. Occasionally, I brushed the dust off these musings and turned them into a wargame campaign. Here are two different ways of setting up and playing a campaign.

A Pre-Made Campaign - The Tomb of the Serpent

The Tomb of the Serpent is a pre-made campaign from the Pulp Alley father-daughter partnership. Here my intrepid adventures take on the horrors of an ancient Egyptian God named Apophsis. In this campaign, I plan to follow the Tomb of the Serpent’s chapters but add more details that will give rise to several sequels and introduce some new characters. For example, the test game, set in a Chicago warehouse district, has already given birth to the Mist and his struggles against the Moretti crime family. Two leagues that will be the centre of a later campaign.

The Home-made Campaign - The Second Shadow Wars

The other campaign uses the Fantastic Battles rules by Nic Wright. The campaign will be played using my old 10mm Warmaster figures; minimal painting should be done. However, I have said that numerous times before! I have already played several battles using these rules, reported elsewhere on this blog.

• Blackthorn Abbey, where the oaks clash with the Wilderness tribes of the Steppes
• Battle of Landon Gate, a high medieval army, fought with the armies of the undead in the most peculiar of family disputes.
• Nidbodmar Bridge, Where the High Elf King launched the Purity Crusades against the Dark Elves.

The project's next stage is to develop these three battles into three separate campaigns. Ultimately, the aim is to combine them into one epic-style campaign.

Old Rivalries and a Forgotten History - The 2nd Shadow Wars.

The first campaign is the continual struggle between the Orcs (Umbarji or 'Shadow Ones') of the Howling Mountains and the tribes of the Wilderness Steppes. The campaign events occur two years after the battle of Blackthorn Abbey and link into the history of Umbarji dynastic rivalries. Meanwhile, the surviving members of the First Umbarji wars amongst the Steppe Tribes are few, and the old stories are lost. The Wilderness tribes also lack a strong leader, as they bicker amongst themselves. It is against this backdrop that the Second Shadow Wars will be fought.

Inspiration and Ideas

For this campaign, the rules and the ideas are my own, although I have drawn heavily on the writings of others. Most recently, Henry Hyde's book on Campaigns has inspired me to have another go at trying to set up my campaign. Henry's book is full of ideas, and rather than trying to take on all his ideas in one go, I have used the book as a toolkit. From the book, I have selected the areas that appeal to me and only involve a little bookkeeping. I have also gained inspiration from classic works, like Tony Bath’s Setting up a Wargames Campaigns, etc. The plan is to share the development of the campaign rules on this blog, with posts and, in Tahoe future, a downloaded rules outline.

 

Moths and Butterflies

Why is the wargaming so distracting? The simple answer is that I am a convicted rules tart. I can only see a set of rules or some review if I am drawn to them.

Moths

I’m like a moth to a candle. Nor do I think I am the only warmer to suffer from such an affliction. Many fellow hobbyists talk of large plastic boxes filled with unfinished projects or bookshelves bursting with rules, books and scenarios. A recent podcast by Wargaming, Soldiers and Strategy, made the same point. Only one of the presenters was disciplined enough to complete one project before moving on to the next. Therefore, I think I am in the majority of wargamers.

Butterflies

The podcast gave me hope and the feeling that I am not unusual to butterfly around and try different periods and rule sets. I have a dozen projects in various stages. A quarter, on average, are keepers. I will invest time, money and immigration. Currently, there’s are; Fantastic Battles is an epic-level fantasy game that has been the subject of several posts. I am planning a campaign to continue the story that started at Blackthorn Abbey. More about that in a future post.
Pulp Alley is a skirmish game set in the era of pulp comics, the 1930s and 1940s. I am about to start one of the authors', Phipps and Daughter, many excellent campaign expansions, Tomb of the Serpent.
Strength and Honour, a new set of rules for the ancient period, allows me to fight the battles of the late Republic and early empire on a man-to-man scale. It has also opened my eyes to the potential of 2mm. However, more about that is below.

Despite my butterfly approach to the hobby, these games have allowed me to get a regular flow of fun to the table. Howvever, like a moth I am drawn to the light of news rules and period that suddenly appeal.

The Indian Mutiny

An advantage of the butterflying is that it gets you to read loads of stuff I would only sometimes think about. An example is the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The story, as always, starts with a set of rules, Sharps Practice by the Two Fat Lardies. It is best described as a large skirmish game, something I do not usually get drawn to, but the rules are innovative, have the potential for some great characters and provide a solid narrative for the games. Therefore, after some initial reading, I am building a series of linked adventures around the 1st Madras Fusiliers, or Neils's Blue Caps. The young officers, the heroes of my story, would fight their way from Allahabad to Lucknow and onto Cawnpore. The Indian Mutiny is full of individual memoirs, a luxury for a medievalist that provided many sources of inspiration for designing scenarios.

The World of 2mm

As mentioned in a previous post, Strength and Honour have opened my eyes to 2mm wargaming. Have a quick look at this Facebook group to whet your appetite. The scale is cheap to get to the table and ideal for recreating historical battles. Also, it meets my need to try different periods at little outlay in time and money. Currently, I am putting some research together to enter the world of Horse and Musket, the sixteenth century and the Napoleonic wars. The painting side is quick but brings challenges regarding how to represent whole brigades or tercios on a base. Initially, I am looking at Napoleonic rules aimed at divisions and corp command structure. I am assessing the rules on the following criteria; basing conventions, solo play, community support, published scenarios, either official or otherwise, complexity, and finally, campaign potential. Then the plan is to narrow the list down to two or three rule sets to playtest thoroughly. The winner will be the one I enjoy the most—more of this journey to follow.

More to Follow

As any mathematician will not, this is only a handful of my projects. More will follow on my various skirmish games, my work reproducing the battles and warfare of the twelfth-century world and my fascination with the War of the Roses.

 

Fantasy Rules.

Like many wargamers, I am addicted to wargames rules. New rules hit my desk regularly. Usually, no rational decision is involved; it is a simple impulse after reading a review or watching a YouTube video. Unsurprisingly, I am the proud owner of many wargame rules, especially fantasy ones. So what, in my humble opinion, is the best set of rules?
The answer to this question is that no ‘super’ set of rules exists. It is a simple matter of personal choice. This comment is true of any wargames genre but particularly true of fantasy Wargaming. These rule sets create a fantasy world that has to appeal to your imagination. So how do you decide what the rules are for you? Here is my list with some examples;

 

Backstory and World-building. 

Do you like fighting battles with a strong background narrative, or do you just want to set up the armies and play? Many fantasy rules come with a ready-made world (Warmaster, Kings of War, Battle Lore). The games come with their own history, religions, heroes and villains. The other extreme is the generic games (Horde of the Things, Hordes and Heroes, Fantastic Battles) where there is no backstory, allowing armies to be assembled from a wide range of fantasy and historical settings - Trojan War to a fantasy Napoleonic settings. My preference is towards the generic rules, but I like a backstory. Having spent hours designing and populating my fantasy worlds, I now tend to design them ‘on the go’. The narrative background and character development are essential to my wargaming experience.

Physical Restraints and Scale.  

Most of my wargaming is solo, partly due to personal preference and geography. While this choice provides flexibility, it also brings several restraints. Traditionally rules were designed for a 6 x 4-foot table or larger. An impossible size for most of us who play at home unless we have a very understanding family! However, games like Horde of the Things have been designed to be played on a small surface (3x3), and some of the newer rules can be easily resized. The space problem also raises the question of scale, but this choice includes aesthetic considerations. Do you want a few painted regiments, or do you want to recreate the mass battles found in Lord of the Rings films? However, if you want to fit large armies into a smaller playing area, the simplest solution is to reduce the scale. Historically, fantasy wargames were the home of 28mm miniatures, but the introduction of Warmaster led to the popularity of 10mm figures. Games designed for 28mm can easily be converted to 10mm by changing inches into cm. These figures are usually based on 40x20mm or 40x40mm bases, which makes moving between game systems easy. I am now the proud owner of several 10mm armies and probably a more significant number of unpainted figures sitting in a box.

Gaming Environment and Community.

Why do you play games? Do you like the entering competition? Are you a social gamer who plays alone or with a few friends? Some rule sets, Horde of the Thing, Warmaster, and Kings of War, are all excellent choices for competition games because of the well-spread players and established conventions with competitive play. However, even the solo gamer likes to feel part of a community. Today many games are supported by Facebook groups that provide advice, army builders, scenarios and battle reports.  Also, Boardgames Geek offers valuable support with its reviews, ranking, access to its forums, and marketplace. However, the depth of these communities varies. Mayhem by Bret S, for example, is one of the most innovative rules set but has no Facebook group. Generally, the independent rule sets have smaller communities, although this brings the extra fun of helping to build the game with fellow gamers.

 

Game Mechanism. 

I am a sucker for clever and unique game mechanisms, mainly if they help in solo play. Mayhem with it versus system (stats in the game are not based on fixed numbers but on die types instead. Anytime you are called upon to roll dice, you may instead choose to take the default; this equals half the die's value) makes for exciting play. Hordes and Heroes' use of hex movements simplifies one of the most complex and frustrating parts of learning and playing games. Battle Lore (part of the Command and Colors family) provided innovative solutions to the fog of war and the ability of individual commanders. What I look for in these mechanisms is something that simplifies playing the game, helps solo play and puts you in the general's mind.
 

Campaigns, Sieges, Skirmishes and Naval. 

Several rules include chapters on other aspects of fantasy warfare. Mayhem, and Fantastic Battles, include siege and campaign rules that allow those lovers of a backstory to expand their horizons. Others have published supplements or additional rule sets that integrate with their fantasy skirmish rules. Kings of War has a multi-dimensional campaign supplement, and in their Vanguard rules, you can fight skirmishes that can be linked back into the main battle. The appeals of these additions depend on how much you like a backstory, which brings us back to where we started.

 

My Favourites 

Best Fantasy Rules with the pre-built world. Kings of War.

Strongest Community resource – Warhammer.

Most Innovative – Mayhem.

Competition Play – Warmaster, Kings of War, Horde of the Thing

Free – Hordes and Heroes

My overall favourite – Fantastic Battles because of its simplicity in design, its fog of war mechanism and its flexibility in army design.