wargame amateur

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Phalanx 2018

The Phalanx show at St Helens is a regular fixture the wargaming year for Steve and myself. As the last post previewed our game for the Lance & Longbow Society this year was Stamford Bridge, 1454. We did get a few willing volunteers from the general public to have a go at re-writing history and they all seemed to enjoy it. The Percies won 3-1 on the day, though all the victories were as a result of John Neville, Marquis of Montague, (the Neville commander), being killed in melee, and most took place with the Nevilles having the upper hand.

The Neville mounted troops bear down on the Percy line

The whole Neville centre ready to attack

The dreaded 'snake eyes' does for the Marquis

There were plenty of other games on offer of course and the Liverpool club had some participation games available to attract new recruits.

Actium

Hastings

One particularly eye-catching offering was a 54mm Zulu War game by the Independent 54mm Wargames Club.

The Mailed Fist club presented a very nice 25mm ECW game

The Cheshire and Staffordshire Wargamers put on "Torgau"

The East Lancashire Wargames Association presented a WWI game

There was also plenty on offer to interest those gamers interested in SF/Fantasy One game that caught my eye was this Fantasy offering

There were a couple of glitches to the usual smooth running of the show this year, but not enough to detract from the overall positive experience. The Phalanx show remains one of the 'go to' events, with a good mix of traders and games.

Many thanks to Bob, Chris, Dave, Gary, Ian, John, Neil, Nick, Peter, Steve and Will for their help with the game.

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

Phalanx preparation

Yet another long fallow period, as far as gaming is concerned, due to continuing 'real life' commitments. However, Steve and I have managed a couple of planning sessions to sort out our game for the Phalanx show. Once again we will be putting on a game for the Lance & Longbow Society; thus time it will be set in the year preceding the Wars of the Roses and be based on events at Stamford Bridge (no not the home of Chelsea).

Not for the first time the forces of the Neville and Percy families clashed, though this was the largest such confrontation. As usual we will be using our own variation on the 'Lion Rampant' rules and all are welcome to stop by the Lance & Longbow stand and join in.

Here are a few photos of the trial run; sorry for the poor quality, I was not using the tripod.

View towards Stamford Bridge from the Percy left

The view from Stamford Bridge

The Percy forces begin their advance

Monday, 28 May 2018

Partizan part 3

First is the Aspern-Essling game from the Old Guard (Simon Walther is listed in the programme); unusual in that it used hexagonal terrain blocks.

The Forest Outlaws had a Leipzig game

The Two Fat Lardies had a game in the participation zone demonstrating the General d'Armee rule set. The basic unit is still the battalion, but the actions fought are on a larger scale than the General de Brigade rules

The Newark Irregulars have put on a really good show, with good games on show, a varied selection of traders and a good show 'environment'. Well worth the trip to visit.

Friday, 25 May 2018

Partizan part 2

I'll begin with a game that I missed from the previous post, Varna 1444, showcasing the Kallistra range of figures and terrain. It was shown at Alumwell earlier this year, but I think that this is a larger version.

The English Civil War featured in a couple of games. The "For King and Parliament" variation of To the Strongest rules by RAWGamers

Plus Cheriton by Burton and District Wargames

Close to these games were two Grand Alliance/GNW games. The League of Augsburg had a scenario based in Ireland

Derby Wargames Society had "The Battle for Pechory Monastry" from the GNW, with the Russians fielding a mix of streltsy and 'new style' western formations.