The Eagles Finally March - 1:1 Scale Brigade Action

Well, we finally got the new table up.  Last weekend got railroaded by real life; I hate real life!  Anyway, so the new 6'x12' terrain mat is in place and we got some figs on the table and will play a round tomorrow.  Once I close the garage up for the evening and park bikes and junk it starts to get a bit crowded now.

It's not looking so good for the Brits as they rolled up a measly force of one battalion plus a little support in the way of three squadrons cavalry, four guns, and some rifles.  Reinforcements are on the way including some Scots but I think these lads will be hard pressed to hold the ridge before they arrive.

Across the field the Frogs are chomping at the bit and delighted to have caught this small Brit rear guard.  Ready to advance is a full brigade of infantry, six squadrons of cavalry, and an entire battery.

That's well over 2,100 moustaches of infantry alone that's pointed at the ridge; the 33rd foot is about to get a real test of their ability to stand and shoot.

Another shot showing the French commanders well secured left.  Those are Saxon curassiers and hussars and they are really feeling grumpy about being in Spain.  

The line defending the gas grill is really looking a bit thin right about now.  But with the enormous advantage in French cavalry the Brit commander is in a tight spot.  Does he dare retire?  Does he dare stand?  The light brigade better show up.

The subject of the British commanders anxiety.  Besides the squadrons on his right, he has several high quality squadrons of Frog cavalry on his left including some curassiers and lancers.  Everyone hates lancers!

The foot print of a regiment sized cavalry formation at 1:1 scale. This is why I love 6mm!!!

Nuts! World War 2 Tactical Skirmish Game

Nuts! is another great rules set from Two Hour Wargames.  Even though we have our hands full with the 1:1 Napoleonic project I just couldn't resist.  It only requires very small squads or platoons, and like all THW rules it combines elements of RPG with great tactical skirmish rules.  What is really cool with the THW games is that once you know one rules set the base mechanics are very similar between periods so it is not too difficult to game many different genres without getting the rules blues.  The other really cool thing is that these rules are designed to play solo, and they work very well in this mode.  These are Flames of War figures and Terrain Guy terrain.

Egyptian Temple Entrance

 

Finally finished one of my Egyptian projects.  This was made with the Temple Entrance Mold from Hirst Arts.  I changed the layout a bit, and decided to set it on a tiled platform.  I made a few mistakes, and it already had a slight collision, but all in all I really like the way it came out overall.

Great kids starter game

A while back we were talking on the Baccus forum about how to get kids and wives going in wargaming and the subject of Heroscape came up.  I thought I would throw it up here in case anyone was interested in learning a bit about it.  It is a game by a major toy maker, but get this, it is actually pretty good! Seriously!

Real purist wargamers will cringe at first sight, but it is a great way to get kids into gaming.

It is very simple.  The battles are all fought in Valhalla.  Any great warriors from any time period can show up for battle, including mythical creatures and races.  So your Redcoats may have to deal with dragons and robots!

The rules are easy to learn but there is a VERY sinister strategy element, and believe me, it can be quite fun for even the oldest Grognard if given a chance.  The real benefits come when your kids start nagging you to be included in your historical games because they are hooked on gaming.  Best of all, even my wife will jump in and play this game from time to time with the kiddos, and it shows her the value of my wargaming hobby in general so she doesn't gripe about it.  Wargaming is a great hobby for kids because it promotes reading and math.  One of mine simply had no interest in either until he got into gaming.  Well, problem over, he's a bloody rule lawyer now.  My kids started gaming with this game at about 5 or 6 years of age, and they still play it regularly in addition to all the historical stuff they now do with me.  My garage is regularly packed with several 10 year olds gaming after school instead of sitting in front of a TV.  But now it is 40K, Nuts!, Fantasy, and Napoleonics.  This is a good thing in my opinion, and this is the goofy little game that started them off.