WSS: Playtest Set-Up

 Tomorrow, technology and health permitting, I hope to try another playtest with my homebrewed WSS rules. These have been modified since the last playtest session, so we'll see what's what. I'm working to try to get a C-in-C stand completed in time for the Imperialist force - they may have to take the field without a flag. They won't mind - reduces the risk of getting it captured.

 

Initial position - Austrians (on the left) in a prepared position near Mönchröden.

 

 

Neither they nor the opposition will get the advantage of platoon firing, but the Austrians do have some battalion guns - just saying.

 

 

View from the other end of the table - the Elector of Bavaria's troops (on our left) emerge from the woods to find the Imperial forces waiting for them. Hmmm.

 

 

 

FoB Giveaway - The Denouement

Since interest in my offer of my copy of Piquet's Field of Battle (2nd Edition) was limited to start with, and has fizzled out a couple of days ago, I've decided to default on the stated Terms & Conditions, and close now.

This was pretty much what I had expected - Piquet devotees will mostly have invested in the 3rd Edition already, so the enquiries I received were from people who were interested to have a look and see what it's all about.

Apart from a couple of comments which come under the general heading of "banter", I received four serious requests. As always, I had asked for some far-fetched or otherwise entertaining reason why each applicant deserved to receive the giveaway, which, as always, no doubt delighted me more than the contributors. I have to say, everyone did themselves proud; specially mentioned is Neil, who eloquently expressed the hopes and trepidations which a possible acquaintance with Piquet generated; however, the winner is the famous Chris Grice, author, celebrity, eco-warrior and all-round good egg, who produced a detailed and impassioned explanation of how he is having his house altered to allow greater scope for domestic wargaming, which would be helped enormously by the arrival of some rules which lend themselves to solo gaming.

A postal package will be arranged forthwith, if not fifthwith - thanks to everyone who took part or thought about doing so.

Featherstonia: Donald Featherstone's "Rules for Wargames in the 1880 Period Including Colonial Warfare"

Once again I must offer my most sincere thanks to the mighty Albannach for supplying another instalment of vintage rules, originally available through Wargamer's Newsletter.

These are quite substantial - Old School but detailed. I was particularly interested in the last section, on "Natives versus Disciplined Troops".

I hope you enjoy these - please bear in mind that they are a product of their time, and should be read as such.

Once again, Iain, many thanks for helping keep the blog afloat!

WSS - A Little Rules Playtesting

I'm pleased to have made good progress with my new rules for the WSS project. This is closely related with having coerced a little external help. The excellent nundanket kindly did some reading of them for me,  a few weeks ago, and made some useful (and probably tactful!) suggestions, which I've incorporated. 

The huge advantage of getting someone else involved in the production of wargames rules is very similar to the advantage of getting someone else to proof-read your writings - maybe getting someone else to check a description of your computer system is a better parallel; if you check your own stuff, you'll do it armed with the background knowledge that you didn't write down, and you'll find that what you've written is pretty much what you meant. An independent checker will find the holes and the nonsense that you didn't even consider.

Yesterday's positive step was that Stryker very kindly volunteered to help out with some Zoom-based playtesting. Despite my broadband supplier's attempt to scupper the whole idea, we did get running, about 30 minutes late, and played through a very simple game situation. It was very good - time well spent.

I learned two principal things:

(1) there are a lot of things to look at, and sort out - I took a lot of notes!

(2) the game is actually a lot more entertaining than I had feared it might be.

Not much to say about the rules yet, except that they are provisionally titled Prinz Eugen - entirely because Eugen is such an alternative hero, given his rather bizarre lifestyle, that it amuses me to feature him in this role. Sincere thanks to Stryker for his time and willingness to have a go - very useful, and much appreciated.

I include some pictures, partly to commemorate the fact that the event took place, and partly to let Ian see what the 20mm troops look like on the table, in rather better resolution than is possible via my Zoom set-up!

Typical testing session - random tiddlywinks and sticking-plasters (and cotton-wool puffs of smoke!)             

Featherstonia: Tony Bath's Rules for 1750 Period Wargames

With many thanks, yet again, to Albannach, the Keeper of the Scrolls, here is another of the rules publications of Wargamer's Newsletter, from another century. Please handle them carefully, and enjoy the read!

Featherstonia: Tony Bath's Medieval Rules

Another packet of gold dust from the Mighty Albannach. Have a look at this lot, then! Originally published by Don Featherstone's Wargamer's Newsletter.

Please enjoy - thanks again, Iain - you're a hero.

Vauban's Wars - more evidence

This may be old news (I hope it isn't fake news), but Eric Burgess's long awaited siege game rules, Vauban's Wars, are scheduled to be released first week in August. It is hard to sustain actual excitement for 9 years, or whatever it is, but I really am quite excited. I've been waiting for this since it was called Coehorn's Wars (before the takeover?).

Here's a completely unauthorised snapshot of the back cover (regard it as an advert, if you will), borrowed from the Piquet and Field of Battle Facebook page - final proof-check should be next week. I've been following the playtesting on the Piquet site and on Eric's and Gonsalvo's blogs, and it all looks good.

Featherstonia: ACW Rules

Once again with sincere thanks to Albannach, today we have Donald Featherstone's American Civil War Rules, as marketed by Wargamer's Newsletter, back when real men carried roundshot bouncesticks.

We're going to slow down the publication rate now - this just to whet the appetite and get things started! Many thanks, Iain - Nobel Prize nomination is being worked on.

***** Late Edit *****

At the end of these rules Don makes reference to the morale effect of having a Fife & Drum band handy on the table (Airfix, converted), to cheer up the troops. This is interesting - you don't suppose Don happened to have such a band available, do you? To set the mood appropriately, here's some Fife & Drum music from the ACW [Google kindly suggested I was looking for Drum & Bass]. 

I'm interested in this aspect of wargaming - I have been known to discomfit visiting players by subjecting them to my mp3 collection of Napoleonic marches and fanfares during games. While I'm on this digression, I keep meaning to get more seriously involved in putting together companion collections for other nations. I think the Austrian and Prussian material is probably available - British music is a problem - most collections of British Napoleonic marches are played by modern military bands, which probably means saxophones [aargh] and other unacceptable anachronisms, and usually means that you get the Dam Busters in there at some point.

If anyone has any clues on this (off-)topic, please get in touch!

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