The Battle of Auchentoshan.

[Deleted User]

I’m preparing our application for our local Train & Hobby Show. It’ll be our 12th show in a row. The Show is in August & is heavily subscribed by mostly model train exhibits but includes various modelling displays, a large scale model boat group & sometimes a Warhammer game. We are the only historical wargamers & a bit of a “strange fish”.

Below is the blurb I intend for inclusion in the program. It is lso part of the application form & tells the organisers what we are planning but a surprising number of the general public do read it. Any comments would be welcome.

 

“Our hobby is called ‘Historical Wargaming’ and by using miniature figures and a realistic terrain, we try to re-create the battles of history as a competitive game. The hobby starts off with research and reading, progresses to painting and modelling and culminates in fun filled wargames. It is a hobby for all ages.

The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians (“Roundheads”) and Royalists (“Cavaliers”) over, principally, the manner of England’s governance. It later included religious differences and involved conflict in both Scotland and Ireland. Like most civil wars, the conflict was bloody and often ended in battles where no quarter was given. Eventually, King Charles I was captured and beheaded and the wars, for a time, ended.
Our battle is a plausible ‘what-if’ that did not actually happen. It uses the troops and the armies of the time but has been devised to create an encounter that gives an even chance to both sides. We call it the Battle of Auchentoshan.

The premise is that after their crushing defeat at Marston Moor in 1644, the Royalist forces of King Charles had retreated into Scotland, determined to put down the rebels there and establish a solid base for the re-conquest of England. The Scottish  Royalist army under their trusty commander, Montrose, march south into the Lowlands to put further pressure on the anti-Monarchist Scottish government under the Covenant. A small allied Parliamentarian army advance north in an attempt to link up with the Covenanters and provide support. This is the setting for the Battle of Auchentoshan.

The game uses the “Field of Glory:Renaissance ‘ rules and has approximately 1000 hand painted figures sitting on terrain that is entirely scratch built.

Please feel free to watch, ask questions & maybe even roll a dice or two if you would like to participate.”

 

 

donald

 

[Patrice]

Very good!

Once or twice a year we run one of our large games in Miniatures models & trains shows, and we find that our gaming table always draws interest of visitors and also from local newspapers when they want a good picture (…as it’s almost the only table in such shows where something happens but don’t tell this too loud).

Mentioning “research and reading, progresses to painting and modelling” etc. is very good, as could be any sentence about creativity, sociability etc. (we don’t want to mention that wargames are also educational, this word makes young people run away like hell).

We made an explanatory poster (laminate, A3 size) with a generic explanation that we always display near our table:

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/pdfs/presentation_fig-1-1.pdf

Now we also have a large roll-up (2 metres high) with our forum name (although we recently were forced to change the forum address so we’ll have to add some sticker on it)…

 

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[Mike]

ask questions & maybe even roll a dice or two if you would like to participate.”

Feel free to call me out on this, as I am not a fan of other people doing it…

You can’t roll a dice, dice being plural?
Now normally I would tell people to FO if they started going on at people for saying a dice or PIN number, however as you are trying to attract and entice people, maybe this wording would put some people off?

I would also say it is a hobby for all.
I would drop the ages, or if you do want to make clear that any age is accepted, also make it clear any gender is accepted and so on.

Like I say, feel free to ignore the hypocritical pedant in the corner!

😀

[Ian Marsh]

My personal battle of Auchentoshan is deciding between the 12-year-old and the Three Wood… 🙂

 

Ian
Fighting 15s
www.fighting15s.com

[Deleted User]

Mike wrote:

ask questions & maybe even roll a dice or two if you would like to participate.”

Feel free to call me out on this, as I am not a fan of other people doing it… You can’t roll a dice, dice being plural? Now normally I would tell people to FO if they started going on at people for saying a dice or PIN number, however as you are trying to attract and entice people, maybe this wording would put some people off? I would also say it is a hobby for all. I would drop the ages, or if you do want to make clear that any age is accepted, also make it clear any gender is accepted and so on. Like I say, feel free to ignore the hypocritical pedant in the corner!

Thanks, Mike. I am, I feel, quite an adept user of the language but I don’t use “die” as I believe usage has made the word redundant.

The point about gender is an in interesting one. I am perhaps oblivious to it which may be what is required when considering gender? If I think about it at all, far more women than men stop & ask questions about our demo games. I will consider your objection but maybe gender is a moot point?

The age issue is definitely a good point and I will change this.

donald

[Deleted User]

Ian Marsh wrote:

My personal battle of Auchentoshan is deciding between the 12-year-old and the Three Wood…

Auchtentoshan is a village on the historic battlefield. Near the hamlet of Bladnoch.

Personally, I’m not a fan of such sly references but one of my pals insisted.

donald

[Mike]

Deleted User wrote:

Thanks, Mike. I am, I feel, quite an adept user of the language but I don’t use “die” as I believe usage has made the word redundant.

Yeah, language moves on for sure.

[grizzlymc]

I always thought HG Wells covered the gender issue rather well.

[Deleted User]

grizzlymc wrote:

I always thought HG Wells covered the gender issue rather well.

My approach has always been to be always mindful but at the same time, ignoring it as far as is practicable. For example, I like to think my daughter & son were brought up the same way. Both are athletic, creative & well educated & take no nonsense from anyone.

In terms of our hobby, I cannot see how gender should be an issue in the way I approach gaming. Indeed, an irrelevancy. I’m not stupid & do realise how it can be an issue but again, not in the way how I approach gaming.

I’ve thought about Mike’s comment (above) & I will remove the reference to age but not put anything down about gender.

 

donald

 

[Alan Hamilton]

I know Auchentoshan well – my wife lived just a short distance from there (Mountblow) before we were married.

 

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