Mordhiem game 29/07/2013

Having a look at my blog I realised that I have been doing far fewer post game reports in recent months, so I have decided to try and do at least a short report of all my games - lets see how long I can keep it up.

On Monday we had the fourth round of Rory's Mordhiem campaign.  I had played in each of the previous 3 games with disastrous results so disbanded my Kislevite  warband  and started afresh with Marienburgers.

The board was very cluttered (6x4) with a fast flowing river at one end crossed by a single bridge leading to a structure which housed a mysterious but valuable key.

There were 4 entry points with myself and Kev (Beastmen) in the corners furtherest away from the prize and Rory (Kislevite ) at the halfway point on my side of the board with Andy (Sisters of Sigmar) opposite him.

Providing some entertainment close to the bridge (players side) were some giant centipede type bugs - not particularly good fighters but on a 2+ armour save - who were wandering around randomly but who would attack anyone that came within  6 inches.

Rory and Andy's forces got stuck in pretty much straight away against both the bugs and each other, but casualties were slow to mount.  Kev advanced taking advantage of the cover with the aim of getting close enough to the Sisters to charge without taking shooting casualties.  Rory was using his massed archery with little effect, although a handgunner did manage a lucky shot through the ruins taking out one of my halbardiers.  I ran up the edge of the board taking pot shots at Rory's troops as best I could, getting a few hits but doing no real damage.

Kev and Andy clashed and after a hard tussle the Beastmen were victorious.  Rory looked to be in a good position to storm across the bridge but he was wary of the Beastmen and had his hands full with the final bug.

Things then speeded up rapidly.  The Sisters had gone and in 2 turns the last bug (which I was rolling the dice for) killed 2 of Rory's men who promptly fled. My four longbowmen were deployed covering the approach to the bridge which was fairly open.  They took down one of the Beastmen so Kev decided that discretion was the better part of valour and also left the field.

My guys then surrounded the bug and killed it, collected the key and claimed victory!
My first Mordhiem win this year!  In the post battle phase my halberdier returned unscathed and I picked up a total of 67 gold coins to reinvest in my warband so a good result all round.

Roman in the Gloamin'

We have another 'Real Public Participation' (I think I may trademark that term) event coming up.  Falkirk Council is running a Big Roman Week from 14th - 22nd of September and we have agreed to put on a game involving the Antonine Wall in some way yet to be decided, although probably involving Basic Impetus.  Gladiators may also be involved.

The date is the 21st September and the venue is Kinneil House in Bo'ness where there is a Roman Museum.  The line of the Antonine Wall passes through the grounds. Re-enactors and craft stalls will be there - it should be another good opportunity to meet the general public and sell the hobby to them.  This is much nearer home than our other Museum ventures so we may even get a new member or two.

The only downside is that the very next day is the 100 days of War 20th Century Wargames event.  I will make both days but I hope it doesn't put anybody off.

Middleton St George Airfield

We recently stayed at the St George Hotel at Durham Tees Valley Airport (formerly Teeside Airport) which is a former building (officers mess?) of the wartime Middleton St George airbase, home to 419, 420 and 428 squadrons RCAF.  There is a nice memorial plaque and statue of an airman at the entrance.

Inside there is a small display of associated memorabilia

One of those interesting and unexpected finds.  I tend to find these memorials quite moving and this was no exception.  Many Canadians were lost flying from this airfield, which is quite close to where I used to live.

The hotel itself?  Quite basic but clean and good value - we paid £39 room only.



A possible new project

This is crazy really as I am not progressing any of my current projects but you know what it is like........

Over on TMP someone started a topic on the Turkish invasion of Cyrus in 1974.

I have only been able to do a little bit of research but there seems to be a good (but not too big) selection of kit spanning late WW2 and early cold war.  All relatively small scale but ideal for Force on Force or something similar.

T34/85's against Patton's, recoilless rifles, 25lbers, 6lb anti tank guns, bazookas, paratroopers etc.

Want want want.

I think I will do a bit of research and planning but hold off buying any figures at least until I have finished my Indonesian confrontation project

Perhaps one for 2014 - it will be the 40th anniversary after all

A Hundred Years of War

A Hundred Years of War

A participative wargames event featuring conflicts from 1900 to the present day jointly sponsored by The Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers and Falkirk and District Wargames Club taking place on 22^nd September 2013

 

We still have spaces both for people wanting to play and those wishing to put on a game.  There will be 2 gaming sessions on the day.  It will be held at the Falkirk club in Grangemouth. Contact me if you are interested

 

Back from my Hols

Rested and raring to go.

The next big project is 'A Hundred Years of War' - more on that soon.

Next game is my first x wing outing on Monday

Wargamer Taxonomy - Lead Warrior's take

This is taken form Lee Hadleys blog - I thought I would give it a go. 

"This is another one of those interesting Internet Memes that occasionally does the rounds within the hobby Blog community. This one comes from the Itinerant Hobbyist who has adapted something he found elsewhere on the Interweb as a way of classifying and quantifying what drives us as individual wargamers. Unlike a set of questions this is designed to gauge the complex interplay of motivations that we all share but in different quantities. There are five basic categories and all you have to do is allocate a percentage next to each according to its significance in motivating you as a wargamer. Of course there is nothing to stop you from adding a little explanation with your percentages, in fact I hope you do.

(Picture Source - 56 Geeks)

The descriptions below are taken directly from the Itinerant Hobbyists post:

• Immersion - You really get into the fluff/universe/world/history of the game you play. 
• Social - relationships are what's important. You look forward as much to the dinner/drink afterwards as you do to the gaming itself.
• Showcasing/Modelling - You really like to show your work and see the work of others. Modelling and painting are what give you the most energy.
• Strategy - You like to read forums, listen to podcasts, work on lists, etc to improve your game. You like the mechanics of how a game works.
• Competition - you like testing your play style and abilities against others to come out on top. Or, to test your strategies against the best."

Back to me now

My percentages are as follows. 

30% Immersion - I am and always have been into history and my reading and researching feeds my wargaming habit remorselessly

20% Social - I have made a lot of friends from wargaming and whilst we don't socialise that much outside gaming nights and events (perhaps we should do more?) this is important too

5% Showcasing/Modelling - I am a gamer and only paint and model as I need to.  I originally put this at 0% but rereading the definition I suppose I sort of enjoy a bit of painting and looking at others good stuff  so I upped it a bit

5%  Strategy - I'm not so interested in rules mechanics and although I have been known to try and max an army list its not that big a deal

10%   Competition - I always play to win , although a keenly fought defeat can often be more enjoyable than a walkover victory I do get upset with myself if I cock things up so there is a competitive streak in me.

The mathematically minded among you will realise that this only comes to 60%  The other 40% is the preparation, anticipation and actual playing of the game.  This is what makes it such a fantastic hobby for me.  I totally switch off from the rest of my life and go with the flow.  It always strikes me as a bit odd that many wargamers game so infrequently.  Each to their own of course.

Checking again the other thing that is missing is blogging! That probably is a bit of all of the above I suppose.

I would be very interested in others comments or blog posts on this subject