Bischofstein teaser ...

Another fantastic Great War Spearhead game last night (thanks Nick G) .. with a fully illustrated AAR to come on 'The Great Adventure'.

In the meantime, a teaser ..

Another tiny indulgence

I really like those Litko markers ...  no, I mean REALLY like them.

So I bought a few more - ordered just before Christmas, and here they are:

These are the ten small flame markers

Here with some of their larger cousins

And here with some 6mm German infantry and artillery

I think they really add to the visual appeal of a game, and when incorporated into photos of an AR, they add enormously to the impact of the shots, like this ...

During a 6mm WW2 game

or this ...

In use in a 20mm WW1 game

A tiny indulgence ...

Understanding the battles of 1914

We wargame for all sorts of reasons: social interaction is one. Looking for a better understanding of history is another.

Recently I've added two really interesting pieces of information to the web site 'The Great Adventure - translations of passages from German official Histories for an infantry regiment, and a field artillery regiment, the translations courtesy of Robert Dunlop.

They can be found at The Great Adventure.

Look under

Special Features/ The Battle of Longlier: a case study in infantry tactics
, and also

The Age of Artillery/ The German 60th Field Artillery Regiment on the Marne 1914

Le Cateau in 6mm

An AAR of a refight of Le Cateau run by 'Army Group York' using Great War Spearhead II.

Nice work guys.

HotT action and Soviet triumphs

It was that post Christmas lull, that time when most of us really can forget about that routine daily life and just relax. Our son Nick was staying with us, and we managed to fit in two HotT (Hordes of the Things) games one evening. In this game we pitched a British VSF army against a Soviet WW2 army.

The Brit army was:

1 x Blade general (Major general Caruthers of course)
1 x Hero (Lieutenant Winstanley)
1 x Magician
1 x Behemoth
32x Shooters
2 x Blade
1 x Rider

The Soviets had:
1 x Hero
1 x Behemoth general
1 x God (artillery, of course)
2 x Hordes (Riflemen)
4 x shooters (SMG troops)
1 x Flyer

First move, Soviets were the defenders.

Nice photo of the Yak flyer

The flyer zoomed into the British rear

Meanwhile Nick pushed his rider forward towards the Soviet flank

The magician threw some random magic at the flyer  ..

And the flyer fled

The Soviet God appeared

The Soviet shooters were inflicting casualties

The magician proceeded to destroy the Soviet flyer .. damn!!

The God hit the Behemoth in the flank and turned it. The first combat was a draw, and then Nick flanked the God with his magician

However thee God triumphed and destroyed the behemoth

The Hero got stuck in and Lt Winstanley was hors' de combat..

The game was over, with a victory to the Soviets. We decided to have a second game and I didn't photograph it fearing a repetitive series of photos. We swapped armies, and .. Nick thrashed me using the Soviets... one game all, and some dashed decent fun.

Christmas, families, and fun.. a great recipe for rest and relaxation.

Attack in the east 1914

A couple of months ago I put up a teaser for a 'forthcoming' AAR. It has taken quite some time, but finally it's done. You can find 'Attack in the east 1914' on the Great Adventure at

www.wargaming.org.nz

under  "After Action Reports". There are plenty of photographs, and a link to a new piece - a translation of a part of the Official History of the German Regiment Nr 88 outlining action during the Battle of Longlier 1914. It's a great description of infantry tactical doctrine of the time.

Just in time for Christmas ...

If you are a World War 1 'gamer, then here is just the gift for you for Christmas.

This scenario book was written by Shawn Taylor and Robert Dunlop to support the recent publication of Great War Spearhead II and is the result of extensive research and quite considerable play testing. It includes 16 wargames scenarios for the Battles of the Frontiers in France in the opening months of World War 1.

Each scenario includes the obligatory historical background, along with OOBs that derived from the latest research and accurate terrain maps produced to the highest quality.

I was involved in some play testing with good friend Keith and I'd have to say that the scenarios offer a fair degree of challenge. The victory conditions of the scenarios have also been set up to not only reflect the historical situations implicit with each, but also to reward replay with a number of permutations of 'plan' available to each player (let alone the variability thrust upon us by Lady Luck').

The scenario book is available in print (either colour or b/w) and also in pdf form as an eBook. It can be purchased from Lulu.

This book is a must have for all owners of Great War Spearhead II.  Of course if you have another rules preference, the book will still be of huge value as a source of high quality maps and OOBs. It is thoroughly recommended.