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MWBG 390 Out This Week

Tuesday, 22 September 2015 21:52
Written by Mike
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MWBG 390

As summer slips into autumn, a young man’s thoughts turn to raising the next regiment and refining the brushwork on his battalions, so here’s what we've got in this issue to keep you company as you plan your next victory!

In this issue, we have:

  • Warwick Kinrade gives us a rules writer’s insights in Soldiers of God, explaining his latest set of medieval wargames rules to hit the market and his reasons for writing them.
  • Norm Smith returns with Containment, imagining a time when the aliens have landed and humanity needs to kick butt! With three scenarios and a complete set of rules, sci-fi fans will enjoy this all-in-one package from a wargames veteran.
  • Our friendly Newark Irregular Steve Jones takes a break from beating back the nettles in the garden to bring us one of his marvellous multi-period scenarios in Threemen’s Farm. So, whether you’re a fan of ancients, horse and musket or WWII, it’s time to get those toys on the table!
  • Charlie M Grant is with us again, encouraging you to Pick your battles – create a campaign without campaigning. He describes how you can enhance your wargames by creting a series of linked battles, but without the hassle of a full-blown campaign. No paperwork, just fun!
  • This months issue is packed with terrain tips, and here Tony Harwood creates The Mausoleum, a magnificent centrepiece for your fantasy gaming, inspired by Frostgrave from Osprey, but of course it could be used for any period or genre.
  • Andy Copestake wins ‘Best Title of the Year’ for When I see sausages… Despite appearances to the contrary, he’s not taken a turn for the wurst – no, his mind is as keen as mustard and his senses hot, doggedly presenting wieners on a plate from the greatest military movies and TV shows to hit the screen.

Of course, we have our regular spots:

  • The Editor celebrates the 30th issue of the combined magazine in his Briefing, and covers the online world and new developments in his World Wide Wargaming
  • Neil Shuck ponders trends in the hobby in Forward Observer, with particular emphasis this month on card-driven gaming systems and the popularity of the Crusades.
  • Diane Sutherland uses her Wargames Widow column to provide terrain-making tips, focusing on small-scale fortifications.
  • Fantasy Facts columnist John Treadaway scans the worlds of fantasy and sci-fi wargaming, covering a wide range of stuff from The Hobbit to Frostgrave to Halo.
  • Boardgame specialist Brad Harmer uses his Hex Encounter column to extoll the virtues of the popular Shadows Over Camelot.
  • Conrad Kinch considers the tricky art of writing scenarios in his Send three and fourpence
  • We have an update from our continuing Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal and our highly respected Recce section reviews all manner of books, rulesets, and other stuff.
  • Finally, our competition this month features a whopping great prize from Warlord Games – Beyond the Gates of Antares!


    LINK

MWBG 389 Out This Week

Wednesday, 19 August 2015 10:00
Written by Mike
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Miniature Wargames with Battlegames 389 Out This Week

 

 

With the summer already drawing to a close, here's what you can expect in a thought-provoking issue 389 as your wargaming juices start flowing again.

In this issue, we have:

Brad Harmer interviews Plastic Soldier Company supremo Will Townshend as the success of PSC’s The Great War boardgame continues to mushroom.

Chris Jarvis describes how you can experience the joys of a multi-period club campaign.

Rob Wyness explores the concept of “Negative Freedom” and the impact it has on our hobby.

Jim Webster, well-known ancients specialist, gives us “6mm and the Bigger Picture”, showing how 6mm holds out the prospect of wargaming the ‘operational’ level of war which falls between tactical and strategic.

Brian Fish delivers “The Church Fenton Alternative”, a huge game played to commemorate Waterloo, with full Orders of Battle.

Mick Sayce concludes his “Terrain for Tiny Chaps” two-parter on creating scenery suitable for 6mm and 10mm miniatures.

Conrad Kinch has a “Send three and fourpence” special about the pros and cons of points systems.

Of course, we have our regular spots:

The Editor has his “Briefing”, and covers the online world as it relates to wargamers in his “World Wide Wargaming” column.

Neil Shuck ponders trends in the hobby in “Forward Observer”, with particular emphasis this month on GW's Age of Sigmar.

Diane Sutherland uses her “Wargames Widow” column to provide terrain-making tips, focusing on stone walls and split rail fences.

Fantasy Facts columnist John Treadaway scans the worlds of fantasy and sci-fi wargaming, covering a wide range of stuff as always.

Boardgame specialist Brad Harmer uses his “Hex Encounter” column to describe how to get to grips with complex rulesets.

And we have an update from our continuing Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal.

Finally, our highly respected Recce section reviews all manner of books, rulesets, and other stuff.

 

Looking forward to the show season restarting – I'll definitely be at SELWG in September, others a possibility as I have an extremely busy September ahead!

LINK

MWBG 387 Coming This Week!

Tuesday, 16 June 2015 19:43
Written by Mike
1 Comment

MWBG 387

 

 

“Sumer is ycumen in”, as our medieval forbears might have said, and the latest issue of Miniature Wargames with Battlegames is packed full of goodies to keep you gaming happily as the weather – at last – grows warmer.

 

Here's what you can expect. Of course, we have our regular spots:

 

  • The Editor announces the surprise changeover of the magazine’s ownership to Warners Group Publications in his Briefing, and covers some critical topics in his World Wide Wargaming column, including ensuring that your precious data is backed up and the subject of email newsletters, as well as selecting two more Blogs of the Month.
  • Neil Shuck with Forward Observer, which includes a report from the ever-growing UK Games Expo, Plastic Soldier Company’s move into the realm of crossover board games and their release of Battlegroup Blitzkrieg, the emergence of MDF vehicles as well as buildings and new stuff from Forged in Battle.
  • Diane Sutherland uses her Wargames Widow column this month is “A tents moment”, where she demonstrates how to make… well, yes, tents! Follow her simple instructions and you’ll be a very happy camper.
  • Fantasy Facts columnist John Treadaway scans the worlds of fantasy and sci-fi wargaming, with plenty of fantasy again this month, following the release of Osprey’s Frostgrave There’s also stuff from new miniatures company Bolt Thrower, an enormous fantasy inn from 4Ground and a delightful leavening of futuristic vehicles and garages from Antenociti.
  • Conrad Kinch with his Send three and fourpence column gets very intellectual this month, discussing the way that wargames rules relate to The Law and The Hierarchy of Norms. No, I didn’t know what he was talking about until I read it either!
  • Boardgame specialist Brad Harmer uses his Hex Encounter column to explain why he prefers the world of boardgaming to miniatures gaming. Controversial? You decide.
  • In our highly respected Recce section this month, we’ve got the new Warband fantasy rules from Pendraken, the Star Wars: Armada boardgame, a book on Confederate artillery organisation, Osprey’s Mauser Military Rifles, Gunboats of World War I, the Storming Monte la Difensa RAID title, and Cherbourg 1944. We also review the game Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations, Stephen Summerfield’s Prussian Fusiliers title is examined, we discover the joys of the Beutepanzer, and round up with another attractive Osprey dealing with the marvellous Mamluk ‘Askari 1250-1517.

 

In this issue, we also have:

 

  • Veteran gamer and rules writer Trevor Halsall delivers a brilliant scenario for the American Civil War battle of Chancellorsville 1863 in which Jackson’s Confederates have managed to completely outflank the Union line and launches a devastating flank attack.
  • Martin S Pike delivers a complete WWII Out-front card game and campaign system in the form of Korps Harteneck, recreating the Soviet offensive Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. The article is supported by components you will be able to download from our website from this Friday 19th
  • Popular rulesmith Dan Mersey commemorates the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Evesham 1265, with a brilliant scenario he’s subtitled Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening! It includes a complete set of previously unpublished rules and again, there are components you will be able to download from our website later this week.
  • Well-known US gamer Jim Porky delivers a cracking scenario, the Battle of Trenton 1776 from the American War of Independence, in which the Americans clashed with Britain’s Hessian allies the day after Christmas.
  • John Lambshead reports on the giant Salute 2015 show held in London in April.
  • John Treadaway interviews The Brigadiers during a visit to sci-fi specialists Brigade Models where he chatted at length with owners Tony Francis and Phil Richards.
  • And of course we have an update from our continuing Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal and a competition to win a copy of PSC’s The Great War

 

Enjoy your summer!

LINK

MWBG 386 Waterloo Special

Thursday, 30 April 2015 21:00
Written by Mike
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Miniature Wargames with Battlegames issue 386 Waterloo Special!

With the 200th anniversary nearly upon us (18th June 1815), it occurred to me that this would be the one and only opportunity for us to commemorate this epic event in European military history, so this issue will contain several articles marking this momentous occasion.

Military historian John Franklin describes the desperate fighting around the two key positions on the battlefield of Waterloo in The struggle for Hougoumont and La Haie Sainte.

Well-known wargamer Steve Jones has done us proud with Napoleon’s final gamble, a campaign game recreating those fateful 100 days leading to the Emperor’s downfall.

Cardboard terrain enthusiast Jeff Brown has created models of La Haie Sainte and Hougoumont for use with any size of miniature – just download the PDFs from our site and resize them to whatever scale is required!

None other than The Royal Armouries in Leeds have sent us a magnificent piece describing and showing the recent restoration work on Captain Siborne’s amazing model of Waterloo. They are also running a wargaming event on 13th and 14th June.

I shall also be cramming in as many photos of wonderful Waterloo wargames as possible, maps of the battlefield and other useful information to make this an issue all Napoleonic gamers will want to have in their collection!

And of course, there are other articles too, such as my Gravelines series, Andrew Rolph’s Spanish Civil War campaign, Fantasy Facts, Forward Observer, Hex Encounter and Diane Sutherland has something special up her sleeve.

So, this is the last chance to book your space in this not-to-be-missed issue. If you sell anything Waterloo-related – books, miniatures, scenery, rules, accessories – you won’t want to miss out!

LINK

MWBG 385 Coming Soon

Friday, 17 April 2015 09:25
Written by Mike
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Due to be published Friday, 24th April just before Salute, issue 385 is stuffed to the gunnels with good stuff that will keep you occupied this spring!

• Briefing: laid low with a lurgy, the Editor has been relying on the power of audiobooks to keep his morale high, and in the course of listening his mind has filled with visions of exciting scenarios, intensified by a new ‘small actions’ book from Charles S Grant.
• World Wide Wargaming: The Editor is joined this month by well-known grognard Bob Cordery who delivers a fascinating account of the reasons he enjoys blogging. His inspiring blog is one of the two featured in our ‘Blogs of the Month’, and then we round up with an explanation of how to get your blog noticed by Google.
• Forward observer: Neil Shuck has been on a visit to Spartan Games, and then has some stern words to say about instruction-less resin models that also suffer from flash. Neil then turns his attention to the question of pose selection within ranges, and the selection of a suitable range for his 15mm WWII gaming, and then figure compatibility across ranges. And as if that wasn’t enough, he’s got even more to say about scenery!
• Fynbos: Diane Sutherland finds another use for interesting foliage other than filling vases on the window ledge. Get ready to make some useful small scale scatter scenery suitable for surreptitious skirmishers!
• Fantasy facts: John Treadaway is delighted, at last, to be able to report on some actual fantasy figures in “Fantasy Facts”, as well as the usual crop of excellent sci-fi products from a range of manufacturers, including Matchlock Miniatures, Arcane, Armies Army, Brigade Models and Ground Zero Games.
• The march on Madrid part 2: Andrew Rolph plunges into the details of running this engrossing highly charged 1936 Spanish Civil War campaign, taking us through the selection of Nationalist and Rebel forces, the campaign mechanisms and the special situations prevailing for battles at Badajoz, Toledo and Madrid. Many thanks to Minairons Miniatures for some lovely photos too!
• The Donald Featherstone Tribute Weekend: Paul Goodwin and Chris Scott report on the recent weekend celebrating the life and work of one of the hobby’s great doyens – where they also managed to play an epic game centred on the struggle for Arnhem in 1944.
• The retreat from Quatre Bras to Mont St Jean: Historian John Franklin describes the difficult retreat on 17th June 1815 from the field of Quatre Bras, where the Duke of Wellington and his Allies had fought a desperate action against the French the previous day, all the while hoping to join the Prussians.
• Flagging spirits: Arthur Harman makes some colourful proposals for ways of recording the state of mind of your miniature soldiery using something less obtrusive than the standard methods involving pen, paper or obvious markers.
• The Battle of Dara 530AD: Jim Webster describes the first battle against the Persians where Byzantine general Belisarius made his mark, and explains how to refight the action using a popular, free ruleset (Basic Impetus).
• Hex encounter: Brad Harmer asks “when will then be now?” and tackles the thorny problem of just how long a ‘decent interval’ there should be between the reality and the game – if at all.
• Send three and fourpence: in an extended column this month, Conrad Kinch is at the Earth’s imagined corners as he discusses the use of grids in wargaming, the games available that use grids, and how to create a gridded surface and terrain.
• Recce: Our review team has a packed schedule as usual, with a host of books and games under the microscope. More reviews – and an archive of previous reviews – will be uploaded to the website shortly.
• Finally, we have our Combat Stress Appeal (now tantalizingly close to our £20,000 target!) and of course, messages from your favourite advertisers.

I’ll be at Salute on 25th April – hope to see some of you there!

LINK

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