All The Action From CWD2022

Once again, Northleach's premiere annual wargaming event took place on the 25th of September. Thirty-two elite wargamers crowded into the Westwoods Centre in Northleach's leafy Eastend to have fun, and contend for the prestigious Stuart Asquith Trophy. 

By the time I arrived at the centre at 08.30, there were already some keen gamers waiting for the doors to open. Soon there were games being set up, whilst my wife (bless 'er) and I finished getting the tea, coffee and biscuits ready, and I distributed welcome leaflets and flyers for Caliver Books. Many thanks to Dave Ryan of Caliver for coming through yet again and contributing books to be awarded as prizes to deserving gamers.

So, let's check out the 9 games that were being played. With most games I'll be giving the name I had from the booking emails, which sometimes differs from the guy who put in most of the work. Please forgive any errors or ommissions - remembering names has never been my strongpoint.

Game 1

Ian Bailey and colleague brought along a cracking 28mm AWI game set in 1776. They were using the British Grenadier rules. Plenty of action at this 12 x 6 table all day, which looked quite a task for just 2 guys. The quality of the terrain and figures was top notch - and all set up within an hour. 

Still setting up, but the banter has already started...

Game 2

This was a 20mm WW2 game using the Battlegroup Kursk rules, put on by Paul and Matt James. They were using the 'Death's Head at Andreevka' scenario from the rulebook, set in 1943, and using an 8 x 6 table. Paul was also good enough to start the day by taking a couple of hours with one of my other gaming buddies (Jon), to play through the same scenario using the current version of my WRG 1973 Armour and Infantry revision. All very useful. The game featured heavy nostalgia value with Airfix Churchills much in evidence (operated by the Russians), and the old Airfix 'Waterloo Farmhouse' (a.k.a. La Haye Saint) forming part of the village.

Aaah... Airfix Churchills.
Does anyone remember glueing all those bloody bogie wheels?

Jon on the left, Paul on the right.

The old Airfix 'Waterloo Farmhouse' was recognised by many.

Game 3

JP returned to CWD with another lovely 28mm Napoleonic display using the General de D'Armée rules. The game used one of the scenarios from the rulebook, the Battle of Möckern, 1813. A great looking wargame with more excellent figures, all painted by JP himself. Table was 12 x 6.

Now That's What I Call A Cavalry Melee (1).

Game 4

Dave Kenyon and friends brought over a Sharpe Practice game set in the Peninsula. A 6 x 4 table, and once again, excellent terrain and lovely 28mm figures. There seems to be a pattern emerging here!

Looks like an important dice roll.

Time For A Break.

Around late morning I decided to have a go shooting a little bit of video, designed as a tour of the hall. I was surprised by the result - everyone was so involved in their games! No bored gamers munching sausage rolls here. And no waving or posing either, just wargamers intent on what they were doing. They didn't seem to notice me pointing the camera at them. So check out a quick tour of the 9 games and the feeling of the hall. Go full screen. You deserve it.

On the subject of taking a break, well known Cotswold wargamer Chris Gregg was present. He didn't bring along a game, but he enhanced the day by bringing along a collection of his artwork and some welcome refreshment. 

What a gent!

Game 5

Will Harley is an old friend of the CWD, and brought along his magnificent collection of Spencer Smith SYW miniatures. His re-creation of Charles Grant's Mollwitz game from 1971 has featured on a number of blogs recently, and it was great to be able to see the game 'live'. Table was 10  x 6.

Will Harley (right) in fine form with his firing stick.

Old School gaming aids - so hard to resist.

And what's this - order sheets? The years suddenly rolled back.

The order sheets in use.

Game 6

Steve Johnson and Dave Fielder presented a battle from Das Rhubarbe Kriege, the fictional war between the fictional states of Ruthenia and Prusskia, in which the rhubarb fields of Ruthenia are the main objective. This all takes place sometime in the 1860s in Central Europe. They were using Black Powder 2, along with the ACW Glory Hallelujah supplement. Figures were 10mm, on a 6' x 4' table.

Steve's map of the terrain.

Steve, Jon and Dave.

The redoubt was a real problem for the attacking Prusskian forces.

    

"Just hang on a minute..."

   

Game 7

Nigel Vye, with the help of other members of the Cirencester Club, brought along a fine Nine Years War clash set in 1689, representing the real Battle of Warcourt and set on a 12 x 4 table. The Allies under Marlborough are fighting the French. The gamers were using Beneath The Lily Banners to guide their manoeuvres. Again, the beautiful and colourful 28mm figures caught my eye. 

That must be Marlborough amongst the English battalions.

Now That's What I Call A Cavalry Melee (2).

Intense gaming! No sitting down here.

The phrase 'hammer and tongs' comes to mind!

Game 8

Stuart Surridge led his colleagues in a re-fight of the Battle of Qadesh - or something very similar! They were using the Infamy, Infamy! rules with an 8 x 6 table - and yes, a lot of lovely 28mm figures, including lots of chariots. 

Stuart (right) and his team.

Outstanding representation of the Egyptian camp.

More gaming gadgets. A nice way to track the progress of the game.

And Finally - Game 9

Last year's winner of 'Best Game', Tim Cull, returned to the CWD with another cracking game, entitled 'The Destruction of Yamhad'. This was set in some of the earliest years of what we gamers call the 'Ancient' period, c.1615 BCE. Tim provided a fascinating 2 page background history to this period, concerning which, unsurprisingly, detail for wargaming is usually hard to find. But Tim had constructed a fascinating 2 part scenario around the little that was known, with the result of the first part affecting the second. Tim was using the club rules of the Farnborough Wargames Society, which apparently still lack a snappy title. More top quality 28mm ancients figures were in evedence - and lots and lots (and lots) of chariots. I very much fear Tim and his friends significantly out-charioted the Qadesh game, which was in the same side room. Bad luck Stuart.

Part 1 in progress.

Chariots...

And more chariots.

You guessed it.

Gaming gadgets again! Tim's 'chariot swerve' device. Nice!

Part 2, from inside the walls of Yamhad.

Outside the walls - a great wargaming scene.

Prizes!

Yes, no CWD would be complete without the prize-giving, which is really just my way of thanking all the gamers who have taken the trouble to bring and set up games for us all to enjoy. I make no apologies for giving another shout-out for Dave Ryan and Caliver books who made these prizes possible - order some stuff from these guys immediately! The company is a great supporter of the hobby. 

And so, without further ado...

Nigel Vye and his Cirencester compatriots won Best Game.
Keeping 7 gamers involved for around 5 hours is no mean feat.

The winning team, with the Stuart Asquith Trophy.

Best Models - Paul James.
Building six Airfix Churchills has to earn you something.

Best Terrain - Ian Bailey.
A fine looking game all round, but it was the flashing gunsmoke that clinched it...

Honourable Mentions - the other 6 gamers that made the day what it was.
Everyone gets to choose a book.

And Finally, Finally...

Well, all the biscuits were eaten (the sure sign that Real Wargamers had been present), and it was time to pack up and go home. But some people were enjoying themselves so much they didn't want to go home. This is Paul and Matt refusing to leave until their WW2 game was resolved. Well, I guess I did say 5 o'clock. I salute your stalwart dedication to the cause, gentlemen!

And So We Say Farewell... 

... to another Cotswold Wargaming Day. That's 4 in all so far, and I count all of them as definite successes. Always a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, with excellent games on offer. I continue to be struck by how attendees conjure such fine games from the back of their cars - the terrain is up in 20 minutes, the figures set out in another half an hour, and voilà!, a game that anyone would be proud of. Well done everyone - and I'll see you next year!

In Which I Actually Play A Couple Of Games

Yes comrades, a lot of my time recently has been spent in front of my laptop trying to develop an updated version of the 1973 WRG Armour and Infantry rules. These efforts are now bearing some wothwhile fruit, but it was good last week to be able to indulge in two real wargames with real opponents. We all have our own individual ways of enjoying our hobby, and for me in the last few months this has meant too much time researching and writing, and insufficient time actually wargaming. I needed to remind myself why all this research and writing was taking place.

Game 1 - The Battle of... erm... Roy's Wargaming Room.

It was way past time for me to return the remaining figures that Roy had lent me for my Waterloo game in early August. So it made sense to arrange a game at the same time. Eager for a change of scene from WW2, I took up Roy's suggestion of a game of Armati, one of Roy's favourite ancients rule sets and one in which he is well practised. We used Armati 2, an update of the original rules dating from 2004, and although to gamers of my age this seems like a fairly recent publication date, in the rapidly changing world of wargaming rules Armati 2 is out of print and quite hard to get hold of.

This is a shame, as the games I have played under Roy's guidance have revealed a basically straightforward set which requires players to use historical tactics and which plays quite briskly. This particular battle pitted late Romans against a Goth army in the mid-4th century C.E. This was a battle quickly set up 'on the hoof', and I'm afraid I can't give details of all the units in use, but the Gothic army was, of course, larger, a bit lower in quality, and had lots of cavalry. The figures used were 20mm in size and mostly Newline Designs - a very impressive collection indeed.

We each set up behind a blind lowered across the centre of the table (a lovely old school touch which is part of Roy's very fancy wargames room). We found we needed a table extending to 8 feet wide to fit in the armies in use (particularly the Goths), with their very linear deployments, but depth was kept to 4 feet. The terrain was simple, but a sketch map is given below. Two gentle hills, two woods, and a road that was basically decorative:

A close-up of a Goth infantry base, just to demonstrate the quality of Roy's figures.

The Goth's (under my uncertain control) charged down off their hill.

The long, thin Goth 'divisions' made manoeuvre awkward - as doubtless it was in real life.

Goth left wing cavalry meets Roman right wing cavalry.

Roy niftily detached some light cavalry and caught me in the flank.

The infantry slogging match gets underway.

You can see that the Goths had a second line of infantry, but under the standard Armati victory conditions my army buckled before they could be engaged. So, I lost the battle but had a couple of very entertaining hours gaming. I am currently wondering whether some of the approach of these rules (mostly regarding movement restrictions) should be incorporated into house rules for Kings of War Historical, the ancient set I am currently using. KoWH is good on playability, but its roots in fantasy gaming mean that historical flavour is sometimes lacking. 

Game 2 - Poland, early September 1939

Game 1 was Monday, and Friday saw me heading up to Birmingham for a WW2 game with Paul. It was time to test out the latest version of my WRG amendments. 

I chose to use a scenario from the Battlegroup Blitzkrieg rule book, entitled 'Forward The Uhlans'. This pits Poles from the 10th Mechanised Brigade against Germans from the 2nd Panzer Division. The terrain was as per the book, whilst the OOB was amended for the WRG rules - basically, this was an encounter battle with each side having 2 platoons of motorised infantry, 2 platoons of tanks, and some fairly light off-table fire support. Oh, and a couple of recce units out in front for the first couple of moves before the main forces entered the table. For a change, the baselines are the short edges of a 6' x 4' table. I brought over my 15mm Poles, whilst Paul provided (and commanded) the Germans.

Table set-up. Objectives were the church on the left,
the road junction, and the farm seen on the right.

Well into the game, and the Poles have gained the junction and farm.
The church is firmly in German hands.

Polish tanks and infantry around the village and road junction.

The German right flank battlegroup sets up to attack the farm.

In the village, both sides struggled to advance across open ground.
A fierce firefight ensued with tanks supporting infantry sheltering in the houses.

Tankettes and infantry advance in the Polish centre, attempting to
threaten the impending German advance against the farm.

The Polish left flank tank platoon takes casualties at the farm.

German light tanks providing fire support in the village.

In the end, the engagement turned into a bit of a slugging match, particularly in the village, which the Germans won. The German attack against the farm succeeded, with many Polish tanks lost. Both Polish tank platoons ended up under half strength, whilst their German opponents only lost a couple of vehicles. It was time for me to head home, and I had no choice but to concede to Paul.

This was a very valuable playtest, which showed up issues in the amended morale rules and in one or two other areas. But the basic moving and fighting rules seemed solid enough, and work quickly and simply - a tribute to Mr Barker's original work.

Gaming is Good

As usual, it was good to get playing again. Sometimes I find it strangely easy to lose sight of the fact that playing games is the core of the hobby! I was fortunate to have two excellent opponents, both knowledgeable but relaxed in their approach. Just what I needed.

Well, the Cotswold Wargaming Day beckons on Sunday next. Should be a blast - a report will surely follow in the not-too-distant future.

'Til then comrades!

New Figure Ranges

It is of course many decades since 6mm figure ranges started being produced, with their advantages of easy storage and large batttles on smaller tables. Recently 3mm and 2mm ranges have also been developed, taking the concept further. Now some new figure ranges from Iron Bollocks Miniatures are making a bit of a splash.

You may have heard elsewhere about IBM's 0mm figures, but I wanted to flag them up here as, for me at least, they seem like a great new concept with many advantages. But first a few photos of some sample figures and models I ordered recently:

From IBM's 0mm Napoleonics range. Imperial Guard infantry with skirmishers in front.

These Roman Legionaries show the incredible detail that IBM
have managed to include in these small figures.

A close up of a Sherman Firefly troop.

Besides the possibility of creating really big battles on a small table, there are many other benefits. Perhaps most significantly, the figures look just as good unpainted as painted, as the photo below shows:

The difference from the fully painted figures is practically unnoticeable at 'wargaming ranges'.

But let me assure you, painting these figures is not the chore that some might have you believe, even if you're one of those with the highest standards. I managed to produce the results you see in the photos in no time at all, using absolutely no paint whatsoever. Picking out the detail really is no problem. That could be quite a significant selling point. 

Basing is also made really simple. Some gamers have actually started using these figures unbased:

A Spartan pike phalanx left unbased - still looking good!

Even if you're a traditionalist and take the time to base these babies up, you'll quickly appreciate another ground-breaking advantage - storage. Storage immediately ceases to be an issue, as the bases can be stacked on top of one another without damaging the figures. Even more interestingly, gamers taking the 'unbased' option have found that no storage space at all is required. Existing cupboards already full of clothes and other household items can be used with ease.

I think the images above also demonstrate that you don't have to always use close-ups to create good photos, as some have claimed. Photographing these models is a breeze. The above are only quick snaps, but they compare well with the professional efforts on the IBM site and recent magazine articles. Another advantage for both bloggers and magazine editors!

Finally, what about the 'big army look' that small scale gamers claim for their models? The photo below gives you an idea of how this can be achieved. Having been impressed by the samples, I decided to splash out on opposing Austrian and Prussian SYW armies, each of about 500 figures. The painting process went by in a flash, and (being a bit lazy), I decided to leave them unbased.  Nevertheless, I was really impressed by the results:

Over a thousand figures on a 3' x 3' table - and still plenty of room for manoeuvre.
Quite a sight!

Personally, I reckon these figures could be something of a revolution in gaming. There are, of course, some stick-in-the-muds who are making much of issues around how to tell units apart at this small scale. Admittedly, it can be tricky to tell a 6pdr anti-tank gun from a ballista without closely inspecting the models, but attaching labels or writing underneath the bases easily solves this. How to measure ranges and moves using unbased figures can be an issue, but as always, good basing is needed anyway to really show off your armies.

Is 0mm the 'one true scale' gamers have been looking for all these years? I guess we'll see how sales go. Certainly something to look out for as the show season gets under way.

'Til next time comrades!

More 3D Printed Vehicles

This will be the last post on this subject for  the forseeable future - promise! I think I've filled in all the gaps that need to be filled in my 1939 collection.

Firstly, I obtained a couple of FT-17s from a French guy who sells on Etsy, mainly doing French WW1 vehicles. Follow this link. As I have come to expect, top quality models at a reasonable price.

FT-17 in standard Polish 1939 camo.

A rare colour photo gives an idea of the original camouflage look.

Secondly, Garry at Paint and Glue provided a couple of Polish armoured cars to upgrade my recce options.

Wz.34 on the left, Wz.39 Ursus on the right.
Painting only just started!

And finally, I tried out Battlefield 3D for an Sdkfz 221 model.

221 on the left, compared with a Zvezda Sdkfz 222.

I'm very happy with all these purchases and can recommend all the sellers concerned. This journey into 3D printed models has been a delight. At last, accurate, freely available and reasonably-priced models can be purchased for what remains a bit of a niche period for WW2 gaming.

I'm hoping  a real, actual game report will follow in a week or two and some of these models can be seen in action.

'Til next time!