Hi!
Apologies for the lack of updates over the last month but work has been pretty full on and days off spent trying to get Casa de Smith in order for my father in law's impending visit combined with trying to finish a commission has resulted in hobby time being pretty much zero.
I have got a couple of bits and bobs that I've built and painted but not had chance to take pictures of yet but that's a post for another day!
Today's post is about my humming and hahing about dipping my toe into historical gaming. I've got mixed feelings about the subject as on the one hand, literally millions of people have died in war over the centuries so its quite a weighty topic but on the other hand, I do believe its vital to explore our history and not shy away from it and historical gaming combines several of my interests quite nicely.
Over the years I've collected a lot of rulebooks and feel its high time I actually did something with some of them and while the likes of Lion Rampant may be a bit on the lighter end of the scale, it should allow me to collect some small warbands and play games relatively quickly.
I've got a genuine fascination with the Dark Ages too so it seems like a good idea to start here with some Anglo Saxon vs Viking raider shenanigans and possibly take a peek at some Romano British from a slightly earlier period and there's some really nice ranges available too.
On the one hand, I could easily use Brutal Quest to play out small skirmishes featuring small bands of characters and then scale things up into larger warbands and retinues using Lion Rampant and 10 or 15mm scale figures to represent them on a relatively modest budget.
Alas while I have lots of ideas and vague plans at the moment, the time to put any of them into action is sadly lacking but hopefully I'll find a bit of time once I have access to my man cave again and in the meantime, I can put a bit of effort into reading and researching the period as well as picking up a pack or two of figures to see what I can make of them.
I've also been thinking of a Bolt Action WW2 project but we'll see how I get on with this first before I go flailing around with yet another project before I even get started with this one!
I don't think I'm going to be able to post much for the next month or so as our visitor is with us for three weeks and then we're off on holiday down south in June but opon our return, we'll be getting the library/mancave into order and I'll finally have my gaming board up and running again which I've not had for six months now.
In the meantime, All the best!
Enjoy time with family and on your trip!
ReplyDeleteLion Rampant will be how I'm planning to run my own Saxon v Vikings games, (I have some 28mm figs painted already, though so many more sat waiting.... like just about every project) so I'm looking forward to reading your experiences on this.
Bolt Action is my main game though - which period of the war are you considering and which factions?
Hi!
DeleteI'm hoping to pick up a couple of packs of 10mm or 15mm Saxons this week but I'm not sure as to what basing I'm going for quite yet. I'm humming and hahing about square, rectangular or round bases and indeed how many I can squeeze onto each base.
I suspect I'll need to do some testing to see what looks best!
As for Bolt Action, I picked up the new edition of the rules the other day from work and I'm thinking of doing an early war British Expeditionary force initially but its currently on the back burner until I get my Dark Ages obsession worked out!
Many thanks for the comments though!
What have your experience of Bolt Action been too!
I'm still trying to work out if I actually like this new edition of Bolt Action (I played the previous one extensively since it's release). Whilst I'm not at all against trying new rules mechanics, I'm still not entirely sure I like or prefer the new "to hit" and "Save roll" system they added/changed. Saying that, there are things I DO like, especially the new way to make lists and how they offer so much more choices compared to 2nd edition. I think though they are rather easy to abuse (Current tourney meta is showing multiple light tanks to be the most optimal - and boring), but I think in games against like/historically-minded sensible/pals that shouldn't be an issue. This new way of creating forces tho means my existing collections have needed new models added to be able to fit in with the platoon structures - but who doesn't want to buy more minis!?
DeleteEarly War is where the game shines best I feel. It's cool and all to have all the high powered guns and massive armoured tanks of 44/45 but 39-41 seems far more balanced out amongst the adversaries and mostly keeps the game focused on what it was originally designed to be - a game of infantry and weapons teams supported by some light armour.
BEF have some cool looking tanks, especially if you angle toward an Operation Sealion theme where the Home Guard created all sorts of cooky looking and experimental vehicles and guns. Are you planning to also collect a German force to have the baddies too? Also, Warlord Games are soon to release (July I think) the British army book, so that might line up conveniently for you.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it!
DeleteI've not had much chance to look through the rules yet but hopefully I'll have a bit of chance to have a peruse this weekend.
I do plan on eventually getting a German force too but suspect it may take some time before I get round to them as I've got my 10mm Saxon project on the go and there seems to be a lot of interest in the bead bots I've been making too!
All the best