My idea of a wargames publication 'syndicate', has sort of fallen on stoney ground!? Only Colin and Alistair showing any interest. So, how about a cheaper version?
I have taken to scanning interesting articles from magazines, to make it easier to store them. So, I thought 'why not post a short summary on the blog?', then if anyone else is interested, I will happily send them a copy of the article. I hope that if anyone else comes across an article of interest, then they can just send me a short summary, which I will post on the blog, along with the name of the submitter. That way any interested folks can ask them for more information (no full names used).
Phil T
This batch of articles includes;
“Firefight”, Historical Miniature Gamer #7
Simple 6 page set of WW2 skirmish rules. Uses activation chits to control the turn sequence, drawn at random. A typical squad gets 3 chits, whereas a veteran squad may get 4. The chits are drawn to determine the turn sequence, but the drawn chits are kept in view, so you have some idea what may happen next. Each chit allows the player to activate one soldier, or group of soldiers under an NCO. Each activated soldier gets 4 ‘Action Points’ (AP), which are used to complete actions, eg, 2AP for aimed shot, etc. Looks simple, but I like the multi-chit activation idea.
“Quickdraw”, Western Skirmish, Battlegames Issue 9.
Looks like a nice simple set of Western skirmish rules (6 pages). Initiative is controlled by the drawing of playing cards. Each character is allocated 2 cards and the joker causes a reshuffle of the deck. A nice touch is the need for a “guts” test, if a character wants to move toward an enemy, or leave cover, etc. Looks like a nice simple, but sensible set of rules.
“Skulking in the Rear”, Historical Miniature Gamer #7
Simple 2 page skirmish game initiative system, for use in gangster / pulp games, etc. Each ‘team’ / faction, gets 7 cards (ace, 1, 2, 10, jack, queen, king). The ace, 1, 2 allow one character to move (including characters within 2 inches), the jack, queen, king, allow all of a player’s characters to move. The “10” allows civilians to act in the player’s favour. A card can be used to allow a character to take up to two actions, or “hold” one action in order to interrupt another player (but this too can then be interrupted by a held action).
There are also two jokers in the pack, drawing the first is just a warning (or can invoke some pre-planned random event). The second joker ends the turn and the deck is reshuffled. Using cards like this, allows up to 4 factions to play, which is good for gangster, or ‘pulp’ type games.
Saturday, 10 November 2007
Friday, 2 November 2007
BATTLE OF GUADELOUPE
The Battle of Guadeloupe was a Napoloenic naval battle fought on 21st October 2007 between the Black Wolf club (British) and the Guildford Wargames club (French) at Hitchin.
8th May, 6pm (3 hours to dusk) - The French
The French Admiral L'Hospitalier Villemadran (Andrew F) is in command of the French Caribbean fleet. He has has been raiding British possessions and is now preparing to join with the Spanish for an invasion of British-held Jamaica. In Fort Royal, Martinique, he has 1x 120 gun, 2x 110 gun and 26x 74/80 gun ships-of-the-line plus 5 frigates.
On May 8, he departed from Martinique with his entire fleet and headed south for a rendezvous at a minor anchorage with 10 Spanish ships-of-line commanded by Admiral Don Louis de Flores and 15,000 troops for the invasion. His priority is the Spanish fleet which, should it be captured by the British, would defeat the invasion.
Nearing the rendezvous, late in the afternoon at 8 knots, his frigates spotted a large fleet. Thinking it to be the Spanish, he approached, only to discover it is the British fleet of about 30 sail, about 15 miles distant to the south west. The wind is brisk, from the north, variable.
Villemadran decided to turn the fleet by Squadrons to the WNW, hoping to draw the British away from the Spaniards.
8th May, 6pm - The British
Admiral James Hargood (Kevin P) is in command of the British Caribbean fleet. The French have been raiding British possessions so his spies and frigates have kept watch on the French fleet. Learning of its departure from Martinique on May 8, he set off in pursuit with 4x 100 gun and 25x 74 gun ships-of-line plus 5 frigates to destroy the French fleet.
Late in the afternoon, his frigates discovered the French fleet about 15 miles distant to the north east. He decided to continue on his current course but slowing to 4 knots.
8th May, 7.30pm
Villemadran now presumed that the British were aware of the Spaniards, so he turned the squadrons to the SSW and increased speed to 8 knots.
9th May, 6am
9th May, 7.30am
The first French squadron (Pete D) cuts across the front of the British line.
The lead British squadron (Chris F) has engaged the French van closely (top right). The centre French squadron (Andrew F) is passing in front of the centre British squadron (Kevin P) which has become separated from the van.
8th May, 6pm (3 hours to dusk) - The French
The French Admiral L'Hospitalier Villemadran (Andrew F) is in command of the French Caribbean fleet. He has has been raiding British possessions and is now preparing to join with the Spanish for an invasion of British-held Jamaica. In Fort Royal, Martinique, he has 1x 120 gun, 2x 110 gun and 26x 74/80 gun ships-of-the-line plus 5 frigates.
On May 8, he departed from Martinique with his entire fleet and headed south for a rendezvous at a minor anchorage with 10 Spanish ships-of-line commanded by Admiral Don Louis de Flores and 15,000 troops for the invasion. His priority is the Spanish fleet which, should it be captured by the British, would defeat the invasion.
Nearing the rendezvous, late in the afternoon at 8 knots, his frigates spotted a large fleet. Thinking it to be the Spanish, he approached, only to discover it is the British fleet of about 30 sail, about 15 miles distant to the south west. The wind is brisk, from the north, variable.
Villemadran decided to turn the fleet by Squadrons to the WNW, hoping to draw the British away from the Spaniards.
8th May, 6pm - The BritishAdmiral James Hargood (Kevin P) is in command of the British Caribbean fleet. The French have been raiding British possessions so his spies and frigates have kept watch on the French fleet. Learning of its departure from Martinique on May 8, he set off in pursuit with 4x 100 gun and 25x 74 gun ships-of-line plus 5 frigates to destroy the French fleet.
Late in the afternoon, his frigates discovered the French fleet about 15 miles distant to the north east. He decided to continue on his current course but slowing to 4 knots.
8th May, 7.30pm
Villemadran now presumed that the British were aware of the Spaniards, so he turned the squadrons to the SSW and increased speed to 8 knots.
Hargood observed these manoeuvres but maintained his slow SE course, waiting for the French to manoeuvre again and unaware of the Spanish presence.
The frigates of both sides were given orders to engage the enemy frigates to hide a manoeuvre both intended to carry out at dusk. Each side had one frigate badly damaged, forcing them to return to port. Under cover of darkness, the French turned SE as the British turned south, both slowing to a few knots so as to maintain formation during the night.
9th May, 6am
The British were surprised to find a large number of Spanish ships at the island, mainly transports. Not yet appreciating their significance, Hargood continued slowly south, awaiting developments and news of the French.
The Spanish were also surprised to see a British fleet a few miles away. All the ships prepared to depart in considerable panic while a frigate reported the British presence to the French.
Villemadran, learning that the Spanish were at the island and that the British were to the SW, immediately reformed his line to the SSW and increased speed to get between the British and the transports.
.
9th May, 7am
The Spanish transports began to leave the anchorage while the Spanish warships made a 'demonstration' towards the rear of the British line.
A confused Villemadran, wondering why the British weren't attacking the transports, turned WSW to support the Spanish attack on the tail of the British line.
Observing the French movements, Hargood turned east and increased speed.9th May, 7.30am
The battle started with the three French squadrons turning ESE on a converging course with the British line. The Spanish joined the tail of the forming French line.
The first French squadron (Pete D) cuts across the front of the British line. The lead British squadron (Chris F) has engaged the French van closely (top right). The centre French squadron (Andrew F) is passing in front of the centre British squadron (Kevin P) which has become separated from the van.
The lead squadrons are mauling each other off top left. The centre French squadron has turned round the starboard side of the British centre, meanwhile the rear French squadron (Chris R) engages its port side. The Spanish squadron (Jim C) is about to engage the rear British squadron (Colin B).
Thursday, 1 November 2007
1st Nov 2007
Warhammer Ancients
A mixed force of Carthaginian, African and Spanish mercenaries, take on a mixed force of Spanish and African mercenaries!?
The British chariots try to turn the Roman left flank......
German armour starts the advance to the British positions.
A mixed force of Carthaginian, African and Spanish mercenaries, take on a mixed force of Spanish and African mercenaries!?
Ancient Britains vs Romans
The British chariots try to turn the Roman left flank......
....while the British warbands crawl up the centre.
Flames of War
German armour starts the advance to the British positions.
Thursday, 20 September 2007
20th Sept 2007
John's fleet sets sail in the Action Stations game.
Battle is joined!
Not strictly part of the action, but they do look nice.
Wings of War derivative game and Jim gets Steve in his sights!
Friday, 7 September 2007
All Things Zombie - Where is Professor Hyde?
As agent Smith glided the black BMW shooting break in alongside the seemingly deserted patrol car, agent Jones surveyed the burned-out remains of Professor Hyde’s residence. While the two contemplated their next move, a large blue Porsche SUV appeared from no-where and careered into the side of the agent’s car. Agent Jones sprang from the passenger seat and ran round to the other vehicle, but the young woman driver appeared to be dead. Agent Smith struggled out of the disabled BMW and made his way to the gaping doorway of the smouldering Hyde residence. He wasn’t prepared for the sight that met his eyes. Seemingly before him, was a deputy sheriff, pulling out the intestines of a fellow officer and stuffing them into his mouth! Before he could stop himself, his pistol was out and firing, but the sheriff, although hit by the automatic pistol bullets, only appeared to stagger a bit. Agent Jones reacted in similar style, but only succeeded in knocking down the bloody form of the sheriff. It was left to SWAT officer Frank Brewer, to despatch the ghastly form of the sheriff, with a long burst of fire from his MP5 machine pistol.
A brief search of the burned-out house revealed little, except that clearly there had been a gun fight here, before the house was set alight. Turning to Professor Hyde’s burned out Mercedes, the agent’s only clue, was some partly burned papers, showing that the professor had some equipment stored in a nearby compound. As the bodies of the family were not here, then perhaps they had taken refuge there?
Mean while, the gunfire had appeared to attract more of these “crazies”. Officer Chuck Jugs tried to warn off a pair of “crazies”, who were coming down the side street, straight toward the officers, but they just kept coming! A blast from the pump-action, felled one, but it just got up again. Chuck then discharged a series of blasts from the pump-action and finally the pair had stopped moving, but there appeared to be more behind them!
“Get that wreckage out of the road”, commanded Agent Smith to Sergeant John Banks, pointing to the smashed cars and the abandoned patrol car. Then turning to the two SWAT team members, he growled, “follow me”, before storming down the street, toward the storage compound. Half way down the street, Smith was distracted by a dull thudding, emanating from the bank on his left. However, before the team could investigate further, three zombies appeared at the end of the street ahead of them, shambling straight toward them, with what looked like even more behind them.
Quickly eliminating these first three zombies, the team moved up the road, toward the storage compound, steadily thinning the approaching zombie procession in the street, with an appalling barrage of gunfire, but yet more seemed to be appearing behind them. Just as the team reached the gates of the storage compound, three zombies burst from left hand most of the large brown ISO containers inside the compound.
The team were now trapped in the entrance way of the compound and a desperate melee and ‘point blank’ gun battle erupted, during which Officer Dan Hops, of the SWAT team was badly injured , when he was smashed into one of the container doors by the charge of an unseen zombie.
For some inexplicable reason, for just a couple of crucial moments, the zombie onslaught seemed to slacken (bad karma on the dice!) and the team gained the upper hand sufficiently, to risk clearing the pile of corpses blocking the door to the second ISO container.
Just as Agent Jones pulled the last of the bodies clear of the container doors, out burst a man, dressed in a lab coat, a smartly dressed woman and a small girl, all snarling and trying to sink their teeth into the surprised agents. Although almost caught unawares, the two agents succeeded in pushing the three zombies back into the mouth of the open container, where they were dropped by a deafening burst of MP5 automatic fire from SWAT officer Frank. While the macabre forms struggled to regain their feet, agents Smith and Jones, quickly stepped in, to finish the three ex-members of the Hyde family, Agent Jones sadly observing that the youngest daughter appeared to be among the unfortunates before them.
Agent Smith gathered-up the Professor’s bag, noting with some satisfaction, that the Professor’s well known ‘little black book’ was still tucked inside, but where was the eldest daughter? They would need someone to help them understand the notebook.
Back in the street, there was now further commotion and gunfire, as yet more zombies were attracted to the compound. The agents looked desperately at one another, and hopelessly toward another grotesque wave of zombie forms, staggering toward them, blood lust across their decaying lips. Just then, the blue form of the large Chevrolet police SUV roared past the compound gates, smashing two of the zombies into a pulp, with barely a pause in its deadly progression.
While the agents and SWAT pair, had been fighting for their lives in the compound, Sergeant John Banks had managed to release the parking brake of the patrol car, which had been blocking the street. He had then succeeded in using the heavy bulk of the SUV, to barge the patrol car out of the way. All this time Officer Chuck Jugs had been covering John, with a murderous series of blasts from his deadly pump action shotgun. Sadly, as Sergeant Banks roared off down the street, to the aid of the stranded FBI Agents, Chuck’s attention was distracted just for a moment and he was grabbed from behind, by cold, rotting fingers. Sergeant Banks glanced in the rear-view mirror, only to glimpse Chuck disappearing under the bloody clutches of a baying zombie mob.
There was no time to grieve however, John slewed the SUV round in a ‘U’ turn in the street and ploughed back into the zombie mob, gathered at the compound gates, crushing one and knocking another to one side, where it was quickly finished off by agent Jones. Then Frank dragged the unconscious Dan to the SUV, where they bundled him into the back of the Chevrolet, before taking off down the street, toward the zombie mob, feasting on the downed form of Chuck. With a grim look of determination, John floored the accelerator of the SUV, sending it careering through the bloody mob. An entailed smeared hand smashed in, through the passenger window, only to be beaten out again by Frank, before the SUV succeeded in smashing its way through to the other side of the putrid mob, swerving down the street, spewing a hail of bullets at the hapless zombies.
John brought the big police SUV to a stop behind the garage, as the agents argued that they had to go back and look for the other daughter. Before John could argue, the agents had thrown the door open and charged in through the back door of the garage. John gave a resigned shrug and swung the SUV around, keeping his eyes on the distant zombie mob, now ambling slowly his way, “come on” he muttered under his breath!!
There was a burst of pistol shots, closely followed by a burst of MP5 machine gun fire, from the garage, after which the agents and the SWAT officer bundled out of the back door and into the waiting SUV. “Get us to the bank, but not the direct route” ordered agent Smith.
John manoeuvred the SUV out into the side street, making sure that the zombie mob could clearly see him. He then crawled up the alleyway opposite, all the time watching to make sure that the zombie mob were following, but not getting too close. As the SUV pulled past the back of the block of flats,opposite the bank, the heads of two zombies, disturbed from feasting on a corpse, appeared from behind a dumpster, only to disintegrate in mess of bone and brains, in response to a fusillade of shots, discharged from the SUV windows.
John then swung the SUV around the block, back down the main street, screeching to a stop across the front door of the bank. Under the cover of the big SUV, the agents and SWAT officer jumped from the vehicle and in through the front door of the bank. Once inside the agents could clearly see the source of the dull thudding, which they had heard earlier from the street. A group of three zombies were beating on the strong room door, one using the severed, half eaten leg of the ex-bank manager. The first round of shots appeared to do little to the zombies, until a blast of automatic fire from Frank’s MP5, knocked one down, then the other two were quickly felled and rapidly finished off, by point-blank pistol shots from the agents. The agents and SWAT officer stepped back and surveyed themselves, realising what a sorry sight they made, covered in congealed blood and gore. Agent Smith tried to calm his voice and call-out to reassure, as best he could, whoever was inside the strong room. After a pause for what seemed like a life-time, the lock on the door clicked open and a pretty young face peered out round a crack in the door. The agents quickly pushed inside the strong room and carefully avoiding the very large silver plated .44 magnum clutched in the girls right hand, guided her and her stuffed cuddly rabbit, out of the back door and into the waiting SUV.
Agent Smith barely had to utter the words “go, go, go”, before the SUV sped off down the street. As they drove off, Agent Smith glanced mournfully at the notebook and then at the beautiful young girl beside him and hoped the cost had been worth it? On the plus side, while there was blood all over Dan’s head, there did not seem to be any bite marks, which was more than could be said for Chuck, when they had last seen him spread out, all over the street. The world was falling apart!?
Cast:
Agent Smith & Agent Jones – Tony
Sgt. John Banks and Officer Chuck Jugs – Chris
SWAT Team, Frank Brewer and Dan Hops – Colin
Zombie Controller – KieranDirector – Phil
The team were now trapped in the entrance way of the compound and a desperate melee and ‘point blank’ gun battle erupted, during which Officer Dan Hops, of the SWAT team was badly injured , when he was smashed into one of the container doors by the charge of an unseen zombie.
For some inexplicable reason, for just a couple of crucial moments, the zombie onslaught seemed to slacken (bad karma on the dice!) and the team gained the upper hand sufficiently, to risk clearing the pile of corpses blocking the door to the second ISO container.
Just as Agent Jones pulled the last of the bodies clear of the container doors, out burst a man, dressed in a lab coat, a smartly dressed woman and a small girl, all snarling and trying to sink their teeth into the surprised agents. Although almost caught unawares, the two agents succeeded in pushing the three zombies back into the mouth of the open container, where they were dropped by a deafening burst of MP5 automatic fire from SWAT officer Frank. While the macabre forms struggled to regain their feet, agents Smith and Jones, quickly stepped in, to finish the three ex-members of the Hyde family, Agent Jones sadly observing that the youngest daughter appeared to be among the unfortunates before them.
Agent Smith gathered-up the Professor’s bag, noting with some satisfaction, that the Professor’s well known ‘little black book’ was still tucked inside, but where was the eldest daughter? They would need someone to help them understand the notebook.
Back in the street, there was now further commotion and gunfire, as yet more zombies were attracted to the compound. The agents looked desperately at one another, and hopelessly toward another grotesque wave of zombie forms, staggering toward them, blood lust across their decaying lips. Just then, the blue form of the large Chevrolet police SUV roared past the compound gates, smashing two of the zombies into a pulp, with barely a pause in its deadly progression.
While the agents and SWAT pair, had been fighting for their lives in the compound, Sergeant John Banks had managed to release the parking brake of the patrol car, which had been blocking the street. He had then succeeded in using the heavy bulk of the SUV, to barge the patrol car out of the way. All this time Officer Chuck Jugs had been covering John, with a murderous series of blasts from his deadly pump action shotgun. Sadly, as Sergeant Banks roared off down the street, to the aid of the stranded FBI Agents, Chuck’s attention was distracted just for a moment and he was grabbed from behind, by cold, rotting fingers. Sergeant Banks glanced in the rear-view mirror, only to glimpse Chuck disappearing under the bloody clutches of a baying zombie mob.
There was no time to grieve however, John slewed the SUV round in a ‘U’ turn in the street and ploughed back into the zombie mob, gathered at the compound gates, crushing one and knocking another to one side, where it was quickly finished off by agent Jones. Then Frank dragged the unconscious Dan to the SUV, where they bundled him into the back of the Chevrolet, before taking off down the street, toward the zombie mob, feasting on the downed form of Chuck. With a grim look of determination, John floored the accelerator of the SUV, sending it careering through the bloody mob. An entailed smeared hand smashed in, through the passenger window, only to be beaten out again by Frank, before the SUV succeeded in smashing its way through to the other side of the putrid mob, swerving down the street, spewing a hail of bullets at the hapless zombies.
John brought the big police SUV to a stop behind the garage, as the agents argued that they had to go back and look for the other daughter. Before John could argue, the agents had thrown the door open and charged in through the back door of the garage. John gave a resigned shrug and swung the SUV around, keeping his eyes on the distant zombie mob, now ambling slowly his way, “come on” he muttered under his breath!!
There was a burst of pistol shots, closely followed by a burst of MP5 machine gun fire, from the garage, after which the agents and the SWAT officer bundled out of the back door and into the waiting SUV. “Get us to the bank, but not the direct route” ordered agent Smith.
John manoeuvred the SUV out into the side street, making sure that the zombie mob could clearly see him. He then crawled up the alleyway opposite, all the time watching to make sure that the zombie mob were following, but not getting too close. As the SUV pulled past the back of the block of flats,opposite the bank, the heads of two zombies, disturbed from feasting on a corpse, appeared from behind a dumpster, only to disintegrate in mess of bone and brains, in response to a fusillade of shots, discharged from the SUV windows.
John then swung the SUV around the block, back down the main street, screeching to a stop across the front door of the bank. Under the cover of the big SUV, the agents and SWAT officer jumped from the vehicle and in through the front door of the bank. Once inside the agents could clearly see the source of the dull thudding, which they had heard earlier from the street. A group of three zombies were beating on the strong room door, one using the severed, half eaten leg of the ex-bank manager. The first round of shots appeared to do little to the zombies, until a blast of automatic fire from Frank’s MP5, knocked one down, then the other two were quickly felled and rapidly finished off, by point-blank pistol shots from the agents. The agents and SWAT officer stepped back and surveyed themselves, realising what a sorry sight they made, covered in congealed blood and gore. Agent Smith tried to calm his voice and call-out to reassure, as best he could, whoever was inside the strong room. After a pause for what seemed like a life-time, the lock on the door clicked open and a pretty young face peered out round a crack in the door. The agents quickly pushed inside the strong room and carefully avoiding the very large silver plated .44 magnum clutched in the girls right hand, guided her and her stuffed cuddly rabbit, out of the back door and into the waiting SUV.
Agent Smith barely had to utter the words “go, go, go”, before the SUV sped off down the street. As they drove off, Agent Smith glanced mournfully at the notebook and then at the beautiful young girl beside him and hoped the cost had been worth it? On the plus side, while there was blood all over Dan’s head, there did not seem to be any bite marks, which was more than could be said for Chuck, when they had last seen him spread out, all over the street. The world was falling apart!?
Cast:
Agent Smith & Agent Jones – Tony
Sgt. John Banks and Officer Chuck Jugs – Chris
SWAT Team, Frank Brewer and Dan Hops – Colin
Zombie Controller – KieranDirector – Phil
Friday, 13 April 2007
Glorious First June - the aftermath
After the first 10 turns Admiral "Colin" Bouvet had taken a hammering, and Admiral "Sean" Barrade had failed to hit anything.
Then Admiral "Peter" Graves split his squadron in half, allowing Barrade to concentrate on half his ships leaving the other half unengaged, they escaped the battle unharmed. This left Admiral "Kevin" Howe running the complete gauntlet apart from his Flagship, losing a lot of ships, as did Admiral "Tony" Villaret-Joyeuse.
Then Admiral "Peter" Graves split his squadron in half, allowing Barrade to concentrate on half his ships leaving the other half unengaged, they escaped the battle unharmed. This left Admiral "Kevin" Howe running the complete gauntlet apart from his Flagship, losing a lot of ships, as did Admiral "Tony" Villaret-Joyeuse.
Emerging from the firefight, Admiral Bouvet fought half of Admiral "Kevan" Hood's squadron with his whole squadron while Admiral Barrade picked off Admiral Howe's remaining ships.
The end of the battle with disabled and burning ships scattered over the ocean while individual squadrons pursue the remnants of their foes. While the French lost slightly more ships, the battle was deemed a minor French victory because the massive damage to the British fleet would most likely prevent it intercepting the French convoy. This didn't stop Admiral Howe claiming a significant British victory - his flagship was one of the few undamaged British ships!
Monday, 12 March 2007
Glorious First June - the battle
Left of picture are the lead ships of Admiral "Sean" Barrade. Next in line is the squadron of Admiral "Tony" Villaret-Joyeuse and in the lead is that of Admiral "Colin" Bouvet. The lead British squadron of Admiral "Peter" Graves is top centre followed by Admiral "Kevin" Howe, top right. Admiral "Kevan" Hood's squadron is following just off picture.The lead French squadron, commanded by Admiral "Colin" Bouvet continued on its course, taking on the lead British squadron of Admiral "Peter" Graves, then Admiral "Kevin" Howe, by which time he had sustained considerable damage. Admiral Graves and Howe attempted to break through the French centre commanded by Admiral "Tony" Villaret-Joyeuse without much success, however Admiral Villaret's squadron was heavily engaged and suffered accordingly. Meanwhile Admiral "Kevan" Hood split his squadron to cover the French ships approaching from the north.
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