Napoleonics game

I had a opportunity to play some Napoleonics with Mike and Josh, two of my oldest "gaming associates."

Mike and I hadn't played since the days of Empire V, so it was particularly cool to roll dice with him. We played Black Powder with my ever-expanding collection of Perry figures.

My French performed in a particularly sub-optimal fashion... after being repulsed by some Prussian Landwehr, the boys in bleu failed me in some crucial morale saves. The cuirassiers did manage to crush the Anglo-Allied cavalry, though.

This might inspire me to paint some more horse & musket era stuff. Thanks Josh and Mike, I hope we don't have to wait too long for a rematch.

Warhammer Historical: The Great War

Last Friday, I dusted off my collection of World War I miniatures and put on a game of Warhammer Historical's Great War. We incorporated the command and control rules from the Over the Top supplement.

The Germans wait in their trenches:

British forces mass for the attack:

The British chose to attack at dawn, with an initial gas attack. Lots of Germans got pinned, one machine gun was destroyed. The British troops surged ahead, led by a Mk IV tank.


The British approach German lines:

The tank quickly overheated and started smoking, and it's firepower was mostly ineffective. It did manage to mash a barbed wire section.

Steady, boys....

German machinegunners have a target rich environment:

The British attackers took rather alarming casualties, but they managed to pass all their pinning and break tests when they needed to. 

British troops carry the first line of trenches:

At this point, it seemed likely the Germans wouldn't be able to mount an effective counterattack to repel the British, and we called the game in favor of the allies. Plus, game 4 between the Bruins and Penguins on the TV in the background became too distracting for me.

A very enjoyable game. It's a shame the rules are no longer available. I'm glad I grabbed Over the Top before Warhammer Historical ceased to exist.

Servants of Ra finished!

Next up, the Tong.

Preorder is in!

And here they are:

I'll get to work on the Servants of Ra first, since they'll fit nicely with my Egyptian themed terrain.

IHMN preorder sent!

I should be getting my miniatures and rules shortly. In the meantime, I've finished a bunch of Perry Highlanders and Mahdists.

Baroness Strange examines some artifacts:

My miniatures cast some long shadows in these photos... I'll try taking some more later in the day.

Egyptian tomb artifacts

I started work on the Egyptian tomb stuff from Crocodile Games:

Statues of Set and Osiris, a sarcophagus with a distressed looking mummy, a reliquary that looks like the Ark of the Covenant, and a couple of canopic jars.

In Her Majesty's Name

Somehow I've managed to avoid Victorian era miniature gaming (unless Old West and ACW count). I've decided it's time to break into the era, and I have started painting some Perry Gordon Highlanders from their Sudan range. These fellows are destined for service on the North West Frontier sometime soon, but I've also decided to use them as an excuse to pick up some Victorian Science Fiction rules.

"In Her Majesty's Name" is Osprey's latest foray into miniature games, written by the guys responsible for FUBAR. It should be available sometime this spring, and I'm pushing to get a couple of forces together to try the game when it drops.
I'll be getting a Tong gang and a cult dedicated to the return of some ancient Egyptian villain, but I expect the forces of good to be led by a lady scientist and the doughty Highlanders.

The Tong:

The Servants of Ra:

Our heroine and her Scottish friends:

I know I'll eventually build some urban terrain to represent some seedy London locations, but I think my adventures will begin somewhere up the Nile. The terrain won't be as demanding... I already have my eye on a cheap fishtank Sphinx, and I have some tomb trappings made for the Warlords of Aegyptus game that will work well for objectives. My Flames of War North Africa terrain will see some use, too. A box of Perry Mahdists will work nicely for some angry natives.
The rules sound like they'll be pretty flexible, so I hope to introduce some Weird West gaming to the mix before too long.

Origin story

I started wargaming back in Junior High School, when somebody brought a bunch of Napoleonic figures to the Scale Model Club. A few weeks later, my moon landing model had been abandoned in favor of some Airfix soldiers. Every week we would push all the tables together and play Tricolor.

I don't remember much about these rules, but we had a lot of fun.