Tamai

 I had not pulled out the Sudan collection in some time and decided to replay the old original scenario from the first edition of the rules, Tamai.  This has been played many times and gives a good game.  Since playing this I have made a new arid mat using a canvas drop cloth and acrylic caulk.  Next time I use it I will post again - I have posted a couple of pictures from a NWF game but not with the Sudan collection.

The mat in these images is my old felt but with patches of, well, not sure, patches of cracked earth?  I spread pebbles on the cloth is a dense clumps and then sprayed it with brown paint. The stones acted as a mask and gave an interesting effect.

The Ansar won this one although it looked horrid for them for a while.  

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.  

Towton refought

 As part of a world-wide Wars of the Roses event, we contributed by playing Towton.  It was down to us to see which side - Yorkists or Lancastrians -- would take the prize of the crown.  Well...it was the Lancastrians!

The event was held outside and was one of the first games we had payed as a group since Covid restrictions were imposed some 7 months earlier.  It was great to see everyone and push lead.

We used a house-set of rules and it played really well.

Here some shots of the battle:

Gaming on the horizon!

 Well it looks like a game is on the horizon.  Partly due to changes in public policy and partly due to better weather, we are going to play a large game outside.  I am delighted.  We have been doing zoom games and meet every week for a gab-session, but it will be delightful to actually see the crew around a table pushing toy soldiers around.  I know that those of you in the US and UK have had this opportunity for a little while already.  Happy gaming, all.

A long time in coming and still no gaming....

 I have not posted anything in a long time....obviously.  I have painted and built terrain, but without a game to report on it seems less important to post.  I hope this changes very soon.  Locally the health authorities are allowing small groups of people to gather outside.  As the weather improves this will mean outdoor gaming.  Last summer we did a multi-game mini-convention in our group..  It worked so well that we plan on doing it again regardless of Covid restrictions.  

So, just a quick post to say that I am still around and looking forward to gaming.  Spring is emerging and hope is on the horizon.  Here are a couple of old shots of the past and one for

a hopeful future....

One of the last games before the lock-down

 We played a cracker of a Shako II game using a new scenario by Michael Hopper.  Set in Spain, it featured lots of my building sectors crammed together to make a substantial hill town.  Fond memories and now with the vaccine being administered there is hope that we will all be able to get on with life, including the madness of toy soldier battle games.