Isandlwana...again

 A local gamer with whom play I infrequently but always enjoy his company has recently jumped on the colonial gunboat and has been painting Zulu war British.  He was not sure about what rules he wanted to use, but was sure he wanted to amass armies for both sides.  He has not delved into the history deeply and so when I asked him what battle he wanted to play it had to be either Rorke's Drift or Isandlwana. He opted for the latter and wanted to get indeed by playing the British.  Well, it was a cracker of a game - always a relief when introducing a period and/or rules to a new player -- and he is now enthusiastic about the period and the rules.  Yay!  Job done.  Here are some pictures of the fight using my 28mm collection (Old Glory Brits and Connoisseur Zulus with Redoubt and some others thrown in for good measure).

Once again, been a while

 Yes, the blog and I are alive.  Summer is over, classes have started, but gaming is back on the agenda. As I have mentioned for some time, I am very slowly working on BFE3.  This is a project that is more about clarifying things and simplifying the game.  Ridding unnecessary complication or rules that just don't get used is the priority.  But I am also wanting to learn more about the military systems of the "Native" armies.  When I wrote BFE (1) I tapped into the secondary materials that were to hand.  Frankly, much of it was more popular history than scholarship.  I want to remedy that by looking more closely at recent scholarship. It might not change much.  Clearly the Zulus had a well known military structure and doctrine .  The Ansars of the Mahdi/Khalifa also had systems that need more attention.  But whether this will change the way BFE is designed and played, I am not sure.  

Another influence on BFE3 will be the work that my group is doing to develop an ACW version of the game.  This has been very instructive and resulted in some interesting new mechanics.  The game is set at a higher level (regimental as opposed to the company) but there is cross-over conceptually and I have found it useful in contemplating ways to simplify the colonial game.

Progress is slow but stay tuned.

Of course, while all this is happening I am enjoying photography and local travel in our van.