Tag Archives: MWBG

MWBG 402

Publication date Friday 23rd September

Issue 402 marks a major shift, the last of one era of the magazine and the prelude to a new future. Outgoing editor Henry Hyde has made sure that his last issue packs a punch, covering a broad range of topics as always.

• In Prelude to Kursk, the last installment of The red empire strikes back – fighting the Great Patriotic War one battle at a time, Andrew Rolph concludes his series of Ostfront scenarios with the Germans making a brave bid to pinch out one of the Russian salients near Kursk.
• In Memoir 1643, Arthur Harman provides a complete set of rules for seventeenth century battles played on hex terrain, owing much to popular ‘crossover’ boardgames, with glorious photos of Andrew Brentnall’s magnificent 12mm ECW collection.
• In Little Wars – the first miniature wargames, Benjamin Bourn celebrates the man who got it all started, back in the mists of time – the master storyteller and wargame inventor H G Wells.
• In Grenouisse at bay part 4, the outgoing Editor takes us into the final chapter of the Grenouisse at Bay campaign, the latest installment of the never-ending Wars of the Faltenian Succession. The players wanted action – and they got plenty of it!
• Craig Armstrong tells us It’s the little things, extolling the virtues of sub-28mm gaming and exhorting you to tread the tiny path.
• And finally we have a show report from The Other Partisan 2016 by Neil Shuck who travelled to Newark on our behalf.

Of course, we have our regular spots too:

• In his Briefing The Editor bids a fond farewell to the magazine he has nurtured since 2006, wishing it and its loyal supporters well.
• In World Wide Wargaming, The Editor takes his final reconnaissance flight over the digital front line, where our hobby is evolving at the speed of light and providing us with new opportunities.
• The Editor completes his regular spots this month with Forward Observer, steadying his binoculars to scan the wargaming horizon and see what’s heading our way.
• Diane Sutherland gives us Spanish walls in her Continuing tales of a wargames widow. She has been dreading husband Jon’s demands for even more scenery, so now she pins him to the table, mutters “Nuestra casa tiene altas paredes blancas,” and picks up the knife.
• In Fantasy Facts, John Treadaway scans the forthcoming fantasy and sci-fi horizon and finds that it is full of delights for the discerning gamer.
• Norm Smith has a go at Wargaming my way, our series featuring a different wargamer every month. He steps up to tell us about his unique approach, based around limited space and constrained circumstances. It never fails to amaze how creative wargamers can be! Next time, it could be you…
• In Hex Encounter, boardgame specialist Brad Harmer-Barnes posts his valedictory column, casting a fond look over his shoulder at the hexes he has encountered along the way.
• In his Send three and fourpence column, Conrad Kinch provides thoughts on wargaming as a group endeavour.
• The Editor gives a special Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal report this month, which includes a new initiative, the Combat Stress Kit Collection, which makes it possible for you to send kits, miniatures and wargaming accessories direct to the veterans undergoing Occupational Therapy. Please help!
• And finally, our regular review slot Recce.

Our front cover photo, by the Editor, was taken as fire took hold as Prunkland’s forces stormed the city of Contre Rivière in the climactic battle of the Grenouisse at Bay campaign described in these pages. The figures are mostly 30mm plastic Spencer Smiths of 1970s vintage, with some Foundry.

Remember also to check out the new “Downloads” section on the new website at https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/historical-games/information/downloads/ for additional material for Andrew Rolph’s article.

Roll ‘em high – and farewell!

MWBG 399
Publication date Friday 24^th June

With the days officially getting shorter from now on, that surely means that there’s going to be more time for your hobby – so let’s get started!

• In Down by the sea, the third installment of The red empire strikes back – fighting the Great Patriotic War one battle at a time, Andrew Rolph continues his series of Ostfront scenarios with a challenging situation of a scratch force suddenly assailed from land, sea and air!
• Paul Robinson describes how the Grimsby Wargames Society came to stage one of the stand-out games at the recent Partizan show in Newark, a huge Wars of the Spanish Succession extravaganza with thousands of miniatures. The Editor has also added a short section with a suggestion for getting started with Marlburians.
• In Express Delivery, Chris Birch of Modiphius provides us with an exclusive and exciting WWII scenario for the recently launched Airfix Battles. Can you get the supplies through to the front line?
• New contributor Nick Hughes, well known for his no-holds-barred magazine reviews online, takes his chances on the other side of the fence with Demonstrate THIS. Hot on the heels of one of the most highly respected shows in the land, famed for the quality of its demo games, he asks whether they are really needed and, if so, how can they be invigorated?
• In Grenouisse at bay part 1, The Editor describes the build-up to a weekend of early May Bank Holiday mega-games in the sleepy village of Ayton in Yorkshire, where gamers came from far and wide to pitch their imaginary armies against fearsome fictitious foes.
• And finally we have show reports from Partizan 2016 by Mike Whitaker and RAGE 2016 held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds by Neil Shuck.

Of course, we have our regular spots too:

• In his Briefing The Editor announces a major change in his working life and also wonders how rumours about his wargaming preferences begin; and in his World Wide Wargaming, he looks for inspiration for painting his ECW armies, meets with bloggers at Partizan, corrects a silly error in issue 398, and introduces a couple more Blogs of the Month.
• Mike Hobbs steps into Neil Shuck’s shoes in Forward Observer and explores those areas of our hobby that are ‘not quite historical’ in nature.
• Diane Sutherland gives us Caned palms in her Continuing tales of a wargames widow. She’s been palmed off with yet another project for husband Jonathan, but far from being bamboozled, she’s been listening to Oasis on the stereo whilst caning her mouse to find fronds amongst artificial aquatics.
• In Fantasy Facts, John Treadaway has been exploring the recent output from EMP Games, examining the latest incarnation of the Thunderbirds game from Modiphius, perusing new products from Brigade in several scales, celebrating 25 years of Full Thrust from Ground Zero Games, and studying stealthy ninjas from Crooked Dice.
• Boardgame specialist Brad Harmer-Barnes uses his Hex encounter column to plunge head-first into the realms of game design, making many discoveries about how difficult an exercise it really is!
• In his Send three and fourpence column, Conrad Kinch tests out some ideas inspired by the latest Sharp Practice edition from TooFatLardies that owe as much to roleplay as they do to ‘standard’ campaigns.
• Of course we have our Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal; our regular review slot Recce; and finally, our competition this month features the fantastic new Ancient Rome novel Fire & Sword from historian (and wargamer!) Harry Sidebottom accompanied by an exclusive miniature from Aventine.

The front cover photo, taken by the Editor, is of the ‘Best Demo Game’ winners at Partizan in Newark last month – just a tiny fraction of the nearly 200 beautiful 1/1200ships on display in Steve Mercer and Andrew Hamilton’s “The Four Days battle 1666”.

Remember also to check out the new “Downloads” section on the new website at https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/historical-games/information/downloads/ for additional material for Andrew Rolph’s article.

And lastly, a note about Neil Shuck, who has sensibly decided to take a well-earned break after serving in the Forward Observer role for more than five years – enough to wear out anyone! On behalf of us all, I want to extend our warmest thanks for his service and wish him well for the future. (He’ll probably pop up from time to time with something special.) Mike Hobbs has stepped in this month, but as of issue 400 the format of the FO column will change and there will be a new regular slot that will knock at the door of wargamers far and wide and take a peek inside their world. Who knows: it could be you!

Roll ‘em high!

LINK

MWBG 398

Publication date Friday 20^th May

The show season is in full swing and at last, the weather is warm, so there’s plenty of reading material in this month’s issue to keep you busy.

• In The Stalin Line, the second instalment of The red empire strikes back – fighting the Great Patriotic War one battle at a time, Andrew Rolph continues his series of Ostfront scenarios with a classic situation of a small, elite, mobile force taking on a big, lumbering enemy in fixed positions.
• The Editor is delighted to present a major piece, Push of pike and dint of butt, English Civil War tactics in wargames by Andy Copestake, coming as it does at just the right time for his own ECW project. Sit back, relax and absorb these nuggets of wisdom from a real aficionado of the period.
• In Eindecker Part 3, Tony Harwood cheekily adds a third instalment to Chris Russell’s WWI air warfare series, describing how to build your very own dogfighting monoplane. With step-by-step photos taken by Tony as he was working on the project.
• American writer Robert Piepenbrink makes a welcome return, and With a fistful of figures presents a dozen ideas for small games that require, in most cases, no more than a couple of handfuls of figures. Small can, indeed, be beautiful as he proves right here.
• In The look of the thing – artistic licence in wargaming, Arthur Harman asks whether aesthetics should be allowed to dominate our enjoyment of a wargame, or deter us from getting stuck in. Is our terror of the roving photographer or blogger to blame?
• Further thoughts on inspiration has David R Clemmet and Thomas Davidson asking how we attract new blood into the hobby, and they outline their vision for a new show designed to encourage cross-fertilisation between different creative hobbies.
• And finally we have an extended show report from Salute 2016 by Neil Shuck.

Of course, we have our regular spots too:

• In his Briefing The Editor finds himself at a happy conjunction, where several articles coincidentally arrived together to help answer the ‘overcoming the greying of the hobby’ conundrum; and in his World Wide Wargaming, he continues his research into English Civil War gaming, discovers the joys of Google hangouts and this month has three Blogs of the Month.
• Neil Shuck discusses the scales we use to play skirmish wargames, gives us some tips for deciding whether to invest in new games, and finds himself looking at old toys in new ways.
• Diane Sutherland gives us The Gates of Azera in her Continuing tales of a wargames widow. She’s has given husband Jon a good roasting for demanding a theme this month that is more Arabica than Araby. So, grinding away at the problem of sci-fi structures, she comes up with an instant solution expressly designed to have you feeling full of beans.
• In Fantasy Facts, John Treadaway has some post-Salute thoughts before plunging into another batch of genre goodies, including one for fans of Gerry Anderson’s Supermarionation™ shows.
• Boardgame specialist Brad Harmer-Barnes explores the second wave of pulp gaming – what he calls ‘VHS Gaming’.
• In his Send three and fourpence column, Conrad Kinch insists we should be cutting to the chase, and has some handy tips for ensuring that you make the most of your precious gaming time.
• Of course we have our Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal; our regular review slot Recce; and finally, our competition this month features the 100 Years War range from Old Glory UK, with no less than four £25 vouchers to be won.

The front cover photo, taken by the Editor, is of just a fraction of the delightful 10mm English Civil War miniatures in the collection of Suffolk Gamer Andrew Brentnall. There’s a couple more photos of them accompanying Andy Copestake’s article.

Remember also to check out the new “Downloads” section on the new website for additional material for Andrew Rolph’s article.

Roll ‘em high!

LINK