Wargaming Campaigns: The Book

 It's not too late to join the wargame renaissance and give the classic umpire-led campaign a shot.  In fact, it may be a little too early.  If you've ever thought about trying your hand at running a larger-scale campaign, then Henry Hyde has a little advice for you.  I've already pre-ordered a copy of this book, which won't be out until the end of May.  Just in time to tell me everything that I've been doing right and wrong with the Trossian War.

The price is a bit steep, but if you pre-order a copy using this link you can save 30% off the cover price.  That's not an affiliate link, by the way, it's just a bit hard to track down the discounted fare and I am a giving soul.  The final book will be 500+ pages of beautifully written and illustrated work that your wife will want to leave out on the coffee table to broadcast to visitors what an erudite and thrifty couple you are.  Guaranteed.

Of course, once the game finally arrives in early summer, I'll be sure to hammer out a fully detailed review to see if it measures up to the hype.

Scattered Shots and Thoughts

 Time to make a scene!

Can't fight for the throne of the Trossian Empire if you don't have a continent of Tros to fight on.  So let's take a look at some of that scatter  This is all 2mm terrain from either Irregular Miniatures or PicoArmor.

Irregular trees on the right and, believe it
or not, hills on the left.
Very low hills.

Some water features, all from PicoArmor.

Not sure that I have a use for the coastal fortress or the light house, but the boat will make for a fine objective.  And even if they don't have a use, they add a touch of scenery.

Towns and such from Irregular

Now that I've got these painted, I can map out and paint up a few 'drop cloths'.  With the colors in pace and the river and widths established, we can move on to the next step.

PicoArmor churches, with a variety of extra steeples,
so you could make all these Orthodox if you want.
Figures for scale.

One thing to note on this, Irregular makes a much larger cathedral that includes the stone walkway you see in the center.  That cast wasn't very good, and it was way too big to fit into my storage, so the centerpiece didn't make the final cut.  I still used the stone base for a PicoArmor building, to...mixed results.  Looks great, but:

Now the church doesn't fit into my storage box.  The colored boxes are 4" by 6" photo storage boxes that fit neatly into a carrything case.  That courtyard makes the cathedral just a little too big.  So I snapped off the steeple and now when I want to use there is some assebly required.  Gotta roll with those punches.

A Big 2mm Update

The big hoopty for 2020 here at Chez Inabox has been the move to integrate 2mm scale gaming into the mix.  Not only that, but we determined that a move into the new frontier of mass battle black powder gaming was in order.  We like to zig when the world zags, and we rarely go in half-way.  Five full armies and a few scattered allies await five players.

The littlest Brunswickers

But all those piles of teeny-tiny soldiers need some ground to battle over, and now we've just about got it.  Here's a shot of some excellent Irregular and PicoArmor terrain for you, primed and ready for some color.

Just getting the vegetation done adds a lot to the visual appeal, n'est pas?

And to give you a better idea how tall the little hills are, here is a WIP unit of Imperial or Militia infantry ready to storm the slopes.

One of the decision points on a project like this comes when you have to decide exactly how to account for the base thickness.  The massive 25+mm figs tower enough that it doesn't really factor in at all.  When your boys are only as tall as the base itself, it forces a wargamer to think.  Should the terrain have a base just as thick as the units?  I've decided to do just that.  It makes the table look a little more 'gamey' and a little less 'living diorama', but the game comes first.  This will help establish that border between 'open ground' and 'special circumstance' and prevent it from looking like all the armies are hovering well above the rest of the terrain demarcations.

And Happy Boxing Day, ya crazy, lovable, all-too-friendly Great White Northerners.

Peace on Earth to Men of Goodwill

’Twas Christmas Day on the Somme

’Twas Christmas Day on the Somme

The men stood on parade,

The snow laid six feet on the ground

Twas twenty in the shade.

Up spoke the Captain ‘gallant man’,

"Just hear what I’ve to say,

You may not have remembered that

Today is Christmas Day."

"The General has expressed a wish

This day may be observed,

Today you will only work eight hours,

A rest that’s well deserved.

I hope you’ll keep yourselves quite clean

And smart and spruce and nice,

The stream is frozen hard

But a pick will break the ice."

"All men will get two biscuits each,

I’m sure you’re tired of bread,

I’m sorry there’s no turkey

but there’s Bully Beef instead.

 

The puddings plum have not arrived

But they are on their way,

I’ll guarantee they’ll be in time

To eat next Christmas Day."

"You’re parcels would have been in time

But I regret to say

The vessel which conveyed them was

Torpedoed on the way.

The Quartermaster’s got your rum

But you may get some yet,

Each man will be presented with

A Woodbine Cigarette."

"The Huns have caught us in the rear

And painted France all red,

Pray do not let that trouble you,

Tomorrow you’ll be dead.

Now ere you go I wish you all

This season of good cheer,

A very happy Christmas and

A prosperous New Year."

2020: Best Year Ever

 At least from a wargaming perspective.

You wouldn't know it from looking at the blog, but I've had more wargaming related fun over the last twelve months than any decade of my life since leaving high school.  Dozens of games, multiple projects to completion, the start of an ambitious new chapter in my wargaming career...but best of all has been the many new friends and contacts that I've made along the way.

And the hits just keep on coming.

With the near-completion of the physical requirements, the Trossian War map-based mega-campaign should start up in earnest this January.

Behold my 2-millimeter glory!
(WIP)

We'll also be delving into the old dungeon.  Still on the hunt for the best dungeoneering wargame for my money, I'm taking the Song of.. ruleset down into the depths.  Not for the first time, but at least now I'll guidance from the author himself on how to properly balance the game.  Maybe the next delve won't end in a TPK in the first encounter.

So stick around.  The posting might be light, but the content is heavy on the effort.  We aren't going anywhere full time just yet.

For those of you who have been fans of the blog for years, perhaps an apology is in order.  My focus shifted from the written word to the realm of video this year, to great results.  When it comes time to talk wargames, I've found that the video reach far exceeds that of the blog.  Generally speaking, when it comes time to share, video presents opportunities that the blog simply does not.  Don't worry, we'll still be here posting content from time to time, but as a man of too little butter scraped across too little bread, it makes more sense to devote more time to The Joy of Wargaming.