Photo Report - Cotswold Wargaming Day 2025

So, CWD7 has come and gone. Once again, the venue was Big Battles Ltd in Cirencester, and once again I reckon a good time was had by all.

8 games in full swing.

Numbers were down a bit this year, mainly due to some regular groups of gamers being unable to attend. But the upside was that a few gamers new to the event turned up, and it was nice to welcome them in. My thanks to everyone who came along, it is you who make the event and your support is much appreciated. To make the hire fee of £300 I had to raise the attendance cost to £15 per person, but there was not a murmur of dissent, and in the end £26 was spare and was promptly sent to support the local Air Ambulance - thanks to Andy and Derek of Big Battles for arranging that.

Eight games were presented. Unfortunately a couple of games had to be played solo due to lack of opponents. Next time I think I will forego bringing a game myself, and therefore be available to support gamers without an opponent. I will also be able to circulate and socialise, which is such a pleasure and such a part of this event. Anyway, brief details of the games follow.

Matt and Paul - Relief of Tobruk (10mm, BKCII)

Willz Harley - Invasion of Cuba 1762 (28mm, own rules)

Steve Johnson - 'Blue vs Red' Napoleonic (10mm, Black Powder II)

Ian and Paul - N.W. Frontier/Afghanistan 1920s (28mm)

Julian and Shaun - WW2 Russia (6mm, Battlegroup Kursk)

Keith and Roy - WW2 Rhineland 1945 (Startline, 15mm)

Jon Billington - WW2 1944 (own rules, 15mm)

Cirencester Wargames Club - Napoleonic 1809 (28mm, Lasalle II)

This year I decided to present just the Stuart Asquith Trophy for best game. Chris Gregg and Pendraken Miniatures both offered prizes to support the show, but for this year I decided to keep it simple. I got together with Andy and Derek of Big Battles to choose the winner, and we were unanimous that Willz Harley's game deserved the prize. An original period, rules developed independently to give a result in a big game after about 2-3 hours, and classic Spencer Smith 28mm figures. Mr Asquith would have loved it.

Andy, Willz, me and Derek.

It's only fair for me to point you in the direction of some supporters of the day. So check out what Pendraken and Chris Gregg have to offer at their websites:

Chris Gregg Art 

Pendraken

'By Wargamers for Wargamers' is a well-worn phrase, but one that applies strongly to Big Battles Ltd in Cirencester. If you're a Cotswolds or Gloucestershire wargamer, you should check out what they have to offer. Once again they couldn't have been more helpful in supporting the day.

Big Battles Cirencester 

I've been thinking maybe next year I might give the show a year off, or perhaps move it to November. I'll make a decision soon. Stay tuned.

'Til next time!

EDIT - 4th November 2025

CWD 2026 is on, and will take place on Sunday 8th November 2026 at Big Battles in Cirencester. Maybe I'll see you there!

Cotswold Wargaming Day 2025

Well, here we are in July, and it's time for a reminder about the Cotswold Wargaming Day. 

The Cotswold Wargaming Day 2025

Sunday 19th October 

Big Battles Ltd

Unit 3

Cirencester Business Estate

Esland Place, off Love Lane

Cirencester GL7 1YG

08.30 - 17.30

As usual, those on the mailing list have already been informed. I would invite any previous attendees to contact me a soon as possible if they want to put on a game.

If you want to attend for the first time, either just to watch and chat or play in a game, it would be good to hear from you in advance so that I can get an idea of numbers. If you want to actually put on a game, it is essential you get in touch in advance. Space is limited. So, whatever the case, leave your details in the comments section here or get in touch via my Facebook wargaming group:

Honours of War, Shadow of the Eagles, Startline

The lovely guys at Big Battles have held the cost of hire at the same level as last year, so I will be asking for £10 from each person attending to cover that cost. Any surplus goes to local charities. 

Big Battles Ltd

I think I can safely say that this event is always a great day of wargaming. There is a solid core of regulars, but new attendees are always welcome.

Hope to see you there.

Cotswold Wargaming Day 2024 - Another Success!

I had a good feeling about the new venue for the CWD, and it turned out I was right. Andy and Derek at Big Battles Ltd in Cirencester had set out the variety of tables needed in advance, and I was able to pop in to check things out and put names on tables the preceding Friday. I left convinced that everything was going to be fine.

I was a little concerned about numbers, as a few gamers had to cancel quite close to the date for a variety of completely understandable reasons. But in the end, the show was buzzing - Andy said he counted 40 people at one point, which would be a record. The venue cost £300 to hire, and I collected £310 from attendees at a tenner each, so I was well content. The extra tenner will go to the 'Many Tears' dog rescue charity, who do wonderful work rescuing mistreated and homeless dogs.

As usual, it is my pleasure to thank those who took the trouble to bring games to the event. The standard was as good as ever, as was the cheerful and friendly spirit in which everyone participated. I think most individual visitors found a game to join in with if they wanted, which was also pleasing. The reduced workload that resulted from using the new venue enabled me to put on a game myself, which was great fun and a first for me after 6 events. Thanks to Chris and Dillon for joining me in my first CWD game.

I reckon it only remains to put out some photos of the day. My thanks to Big Battles and Steve Johnson for permission to share some of their images. Unfortunately, running my own game prevented me from gathering as much information about the various games being played as I would have liked, so apologies if important info is missing here and there.

Overview of the hall. There were 8 games on show.

My own game, Poland 1939 using my own Startline rules.
A quickly-conceived bit of fun involving an encounter game
between elements of 10th Mechanised Brigade and 2nd Panzer Division.

German forces close in on the Poles around the chapel.

Next to me in 'WW2 Corner' were Matt and Paul with their 1/200th
Russian Front game, using BKC II.

Nice close-up of advancing German armour.
(Courtesy Big Battles)

Stuart Surridge and the Wyre Forest Gamers put on an impressive 
Ancients game which was much admired.

All 28mm figures, each individually based. Crikey!
(Courtesy Big Battles)

Steve Johnson (centre) brought another great 'imaginations' game set in the
Horse and Musket period. He came on his own,
but quickly found some eager participants to help him out.

Among whom was Dave Pike, an old wargaming buddy I hadn't seen in years.
Great to catch up Dave!

Close up of the action on Steve's table.
(Courtesy Big Battles)

Dave Kenyon and friends are another group of regulars.
They brought a Franco-Prussian war game with figures sculpted and cast by Dave himself.
Very impressive, and classic old-school. 

I'm afraid my attempt at a close-up of some Prussian guns
doesn't do the figures justice.

Tim Cull brought along a game based on the 1664 Battle of St Gottard,
between Ottoman and Imperial forces. A typically original choice!
(Courtesy Big Battles)

The game was played through twice. 
(Courtesy Big Battles)

The Cirencester Wargames Club brought along a large number of lovely
Renaissance figures to fight out an imaginary battle using their own 'Risky Renaissance' rules.
(Courtesy Big Battles)

As with Tim's game they managed to play through the battle twice.
In both cases, this was enabled by home-brewed, simple rules.
(Courtesy Big Battles)

Last, but definitely not least, we come to the Ian and Paul's game,
which was an impressive Wild West skirmish set up.
(Courtesy Big Battles)

Finally, a nice extra facility this year was the 'chill-out area', where
fatigued gamers could take a break from the rigours of combat. 

Prizes

There were 3 prizes this year - the Stuart Asquith Trophy for best game, the Chris Gregg prize of an original artwork for Best Presented Game, and the Pendraken prize of a £25 gift voucher. It was very generous of Chris to put in the work to create such a great picture as a prize.

Andy and Derek very kindly agreed to judge and present the Stuart Asquith Trophy. They had no doubt that Ian and Paul's Wild West set-up was the winner, due to the magnificent and dedicated modelling skills shown in the creation of the buildings and terrain, along with the variety of fun scenarios which were played out. Chris also wished to give his own prize to the same game, and so for the second year running a single game received two prizes. I judged the Pendraken prize myself, and awarded it to Dave Kenyon's game as I fell in love with his shiny toy soldiers, and much admired his skill in both sculpting and casting them himself.

Ian and Paul with their well-earned trophy. According to Ian,
the credit was all due to Paul!

Dave receives the Pendraken Prize for 'Keith's Favourite Game'.
(Courstesy Steve Johnson)

And so that just about wraps it up. I have already booked the Big Battles venue for Sunday 19th October 2025. I have a feeling that if things go well, 2025 might be a record year for us. I guess we'll see. I had a lovely day, and was happy to hear from everyone I spoke to that they had also enjoyed themselves. Well done everybody!

'Til next time!

The Cotswold Wargaming Day 2024 - And Facebook

Well, it's that time of year again, and I'm planning my annual wargaming event. This year, I am having a change of venue from Northleach to Cirencester.

THE COTSWOLD WARGAMING DAY 2024

Sunday 20th October

09.30 - 17.00

at

Big Battles Ltd

Unit 3 

Cirencester Business Estate

Esland Place, off Love Lane

Cirencester GL7 1YG

Last year at the old venue.

There was of course nothing wrong with the old venue - I have been very happy with it. Except that there was one issue - the number of 6' x 2' folding tables I needed. About 40 or so were in fact required, and half of these had to come from the other community facility in Northleach, the Cotswold Hall. Apart from having to transport 20 tables from one end of the town to the other in my car, I had to get permission to store these overnight at the Westwoods Centre (permission was always freely given), and then hope to set everything up the night before, once again with permission. 

However, the real issue was, what would happen if those 20 tables were needed at the Cotswold Hall for an event on the same day? Well, what would happen is, is that I would be f*cked. A risk I was prepared to take (being on good terms with the supervisors of both venues), until I discovered the venue mentioned above in an industrial estate on the edge of Cirencester. Any miniature gamers in the Cirencester area not aware of these guys should check their website. 

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the Big Battles venue looks just about perfect for the CWD - they have the room, the flexibility to accomodate a number of games with different size tables, under-table storage, plenty of parking on a Sunday and free tea and coffee (!). Plus, I don't have to transport, set up and tidy away anything at all. I'm thinking that maybe (just maybe) I might have time to present a game myself.

As usual, invitations have gone out to my mailing list. The event is also highlighted on my Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/915148229853205

If you haven't been before and fancy pitching up, please be my guest on the day. I'm planning to charge £10 a head for players, assuming an attendance similar to last year's. Casual visitors not playing might get away with free entry - I'll see how I feel on the day! Ideally, contact me for a proper invite and maybe you can get a game, or even put one on. Do this via the Facebook group, or leave an email address in the comments here - I'll delete it once we've made contact in an attempt to protect your privacy (not that any of us has any privacy online these days).

Hope to see you there!

FACEBOOK

I'm pleased to say my Facebook group has taken off nicely, with over 60 members as I write this. Naturally, a number of members of the old websites were sad to see those sites go (as was I), but a lot of them seem to have bitten the bullet, joined Facebook, and then joined the group. If you have any interest at all in my rules, or just an interest in wargaming the SYW, Napoleonic Wars, or WW2, I invite you to head over and apply to join.

Just today, a member was kind enough to upload an Excel spreadsheet that gamers can use to create Honours of War armies with the correct points values. Naturally, I thanked him for taking the trouble to do so. In reply he said:

"Just happy to know that I can give back something for the joy that wargaming (and thus, whoever gave time to write rules, or explained them) gave to me."

Now, that was a very nice thing to say. It certainly made me glad I'd started the group. In fact, I will say that I hope the group will become a source of eclectic comment and discussion not just on my rules, but wargaming in general, in so far as that may be possible. I look forward to encouraging and receiving comments, discussion, photos and various uploads. A number of scenarios have already been generously provided to grace the Files area of the group.

And so, on that upbeat note, I will leave you - 'til next time!

Cotswold Wargaming Day 2023 - The Judges Scores Are In

And so, a slightly delayed report on CWD 2023. One or two non-wargaming parts of my life took up some time recently, and so I waited for a quiet moment to properly enjoy putting the report together. In fact, two fine AARs are already out there, from Chris Gregg and Steve Johnson. Both are well worth visiting.

This year we had 11 games scheduled at one point, but sadly unavoidable issues cut that down to eight in the end. One good result was that everyone was together in the main hall, with no games in the 'side room ghetto'. I counted 31 gamers present, or 33 if you count me and my long-suffering other half (more on that later). For the moment, here's a quick run-down on the 8 lovely games that were played on the day.

1. Indian Mutiny in 28mm - Ian Bailey

True to form, Ian had a great looking game set up in half an hour or less. For me, it was a classic with multi-player particpation, great figures and fine terrain. As a result, Ian was the winner of 'Best Game' and the Stuart Asquith Trophy. Rules were Mad Dogs and Englishmen .

2. Western Desert in 28mm - Stuart Surridge

Stuart and friends returned with another fine game, using a home-brewed set of rules combining Bolt Action and Chain of Command, an innovative idea which set the stage for what turned out to be a very innovative show, as we shall see. The opponents were Italians and Free French troops.

3. The Battle of Maipu 1818 in 25mm - Napoleonics in South America - Tim Cull

The theme of innovation continued with this game set in an unusual period, which also featured the clever and detailed scenario planning Tim is well known for. So, after a briefing on the situation, players found the gaming table suddenly covered with a black cloth and were thrown in to a night attack, following which a new daylight table appeared and the main action commenced. I've never seen that done before. Tim got one of three prizes from Empress Miniatures for 'Most Innovative Game'. The rules in use were Liberators!, a period specific set which have their own website.

4. Sharpe Practice ACW in 28mm - Mark Richards

Will the surprises never end? Mark brought over a lovely game using the Sharpe Practice rules, but featuring a scenario from the ACW. Nice! Intense play was taking place throughout the day - as with most of the games, I wish I could have joined in.

5. 'Napoker' Participation Game in 28mm - Tony Dillon

Tony brought over his delightful scenery and superb figures to present a Peninsula participation skirmish game, featuring (who else?) Richard Sharpe. The rules were his own, simple but great fun, with much kicking down of doors to reveal what was inside the various houses. If it was wine inside, you actually got a glass of wine! And a chocolate coin if food was within. Brilliant. My wife Jane and I played a game and really enjoyed ourselves - this was the first time in over 30 years of marriage we had played a game together. And yes, I got a thrashing. Reminded me of our wedding night.

Tony received the Pendraken Miniatures prize for Best Vignette. His game included three or four groups of lovely figures, any of which would have won the prize. He also won the Chris Gregg prize for Best Presented Game - the first time anyone at CWD had won two prizes. Well done!

6. Battle of Inkerman 1854 in 20mm - Stuart C. & Cirencester Wargames Club

Another nice terrain which was set up very quickly, and as usual a game played with intense interest and concentration by my local gaming club. Roy Boss provided a wonderful old school figure collection of 20mm metal figures which were widely admired. They won one of the three prizes for Most Innovative Game, for their rules around fog of war which were used in the game. The overall rules were a lightly adapted version of Shadow of the Eagles. The adaptions, including the fog of war rules, can be found in the file share section of the SotE website.

7. Imaginations India 1755 in 10mm - Steve Johnson/Dave Fielder

For background details of this excellent game, see Steve's website. A fine and funny back story had been invented for this imaginary battle, which meant the game got another of the Most Innovative Game prizes. A great variety of well painted units were also present, and the rules choice was, well, nothing but the best - Honours of War, of course, with the odd amendment. 

8. Battle of Sidi Barrani 1940 in 10mm - Paul and Matt James

More Western Desert loveliness from Paul and Matt, but using a very different set of rules from the other game in this period - BKC IV. Yet more innovation here - naval gunfire support for the Brits, which you don't see very often. A number of the models were in base coat only, but at the CWD we don't worry about such things a great deal. Some nice middle-eastern style buildings. Great to see Paul and Matt back at the show.

Highlights of the Show

Firstly I want to pay tribute to the generous nature of those who provided the prizes. I have maintained the tradition of giving prizes at the CWD as it is a way to thank those who have taken the trouble to put on games, as well as being a fun way to bring everyone together during the show. This year I was intending to restrict myself to just one prize, the Stuart Asquith Trophy, as getting together the books I had been giving away was becoming problematic. 

No sooner had I mentioned this on the CWD mailing list than Chris Gregg came forward, offering to create a bespoke artwork for me to present. Then Steve Johnson offered to contact his friend Leon at Pendraken Miniatures to try and arrange something (they came through with a £25 voucher to spend on their website). About the same time, Paul from Empress Miniatures (who had attended the show in the past) also offered some prizes from their product line. He brought along 3 copies of the Bohica rules for the Vietnam War.  My problem was solved. I thought the donators should choose the title of their prize, so Chris Gregg's was for Best Presented Game, Pendraken's was for Best Vignette, and Empress Miniatures' was for Most Innovative Game.

Which leads me to my second highlight. By a happy coincidence, I thought this years show had a definite theme of innovation, as I have tried to point out in the above descriptions. Creativity is one of the best aspects of historical wargaming as a hobby, and I am particularly drawn to what I would call intellectual creativity - as demonstrated (for example) by clever scenarios, unusual historical periods, and clever rule mechanisms. All of these things were on display at CWD 2023. In fact, after a quick chat, Paul and I agreed that there were three games (at least!) that warranted an award for Most Innovative Game, so one book was presented to each of three games, as described above.

A personal highlight was not only taking part in one of Tony Dillon's participation games, but doing so with my wife Jane as my opponent. A first in over 30 years of marriage! It was a tribute to the game and Tony's umpiring that she actually rather enjoyed herself, despite being convinced that wargaming is boring and that wargamers are basically nuts (in the latter case, she may have a point).

Finally, it was good to see a bit of bring and buy action taking place, as well as having Chris Gregg's usual display of military-themed art on display. This adds a nice extra dimension to the show, and I hope it may continue into the future.

So there you have it. Another cheerful and engaging event, which I for one found rather inspiring. It was worth every minute spent organising. Thanks again to all involved. 

Next time, some news for WW2 gamers. Stay tuned!