there is something utterly adorkable about H.G Wells' book 'Little Wars' (1913), especially considering the amazing reproductions of photographs featuring the author and his quite notable friends playing a serious game with toy soldiers... while dressed in what then was most likely considered leisure wear.
In the year 2246, a small group of Earth Alliance ships are trying to escape the clutches of the Minbari. We had a game of Babylon 5 Wars, a particularly crunchy set of space combat wargame rules.
The original game Fantasy Wargaming: The Highest Level of All (or just Fantasy Wargaming in some editions) was a 1981 book by Bruce Galloway, a clear variation on Dungeons and Dragons, based on Galloway’s home rules. Unlike it’s competition it was not afraid of using actual historical concepts like astrology and occultism in it’s descriptions, although it also was written so densely it was hard to make sense of it in any shape or form by someone not already familiar with roleplaying games. And, well, it was called Fantasy Wargaming.
Which made this a problem, as the game was published both in the UK and the US by mainstream publishers obviously trying to break into the nascent TTRPG market. The most available version was most likely the one published by the Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club, which made the game available to many people who did not have any experience with roleplaying games before.
Unfortunately one has to say, as the game’s size (300pgs) and conceptual denseness made parsing the book quite a feat, meaning if people used this as an introduction to roleplaying, it might not have been very successful.
The Story of Fantasy Wargaming goes into this, and into the development of the game. It could have been a bit more thorough and a bit more critical, but for what it is it’s a nice look into the environment that created it. And well, it’s free.
(I learned about this book from an episode of the Vintage RPG Podcast which had the author on and talked about this project. Well worth a listen)
Miniature war gamers! I'm on the lookout for games with interesting or at least unusual mechanics. Give me your weird activation or initiative procedures, odd unit organization, strange interactions during other player's turns, gonzo movement types, and bonkers harm rules, you name it! #miniatures#wargames#wargaming
“the war game was constantly improved and elaborated, until from a few hours ‘war’ took weeks to play, and the critical operations in the attic monopolized half our thoughts.”
—from “Stevenson at Play”, by Lloyd Osbourne. Scribner’s Magazine, December 1898
Blimey - I'm going to be a Blood Bowl League Commissioner.
A grand title, but I'm just running an informal league for my local wargaming club which includes some new players. But it'll be on TourPlay too - meaning we can publicise our results and standings.
I'm partially excited and partially nervous at the same time.
And if I win the league, will I be investigated by some fair play commission?
Forgive me I'm not a BGG power user, but did someone really give this person $420 for their stupid comment in the Charles S. Roberts Awards thread? #Wargames#BoardGames#Wargaming#HexAndCounter
Hey you delicious brain trust nerdlings, does any one of you know where to get brown stuff (aluminium putty, polyamide putty) if one wishes to avoid giving money to GSW?
Heute geht's zur zweiten Partie Tanto Monta (oder Tante Monte wie ich sag) :D
Ich bin gespannt wie ich dieses Mal als Muslim abschneide. Fertig werden wir sicher nicht. Aber 4 Runden sollten drin sein.
Mark has terminal cancer, and has made a ton of #wargaming videos you should know about. Let's get him to at least 1000 subscribers, and push him past that milestone. It isn't much compared to a lot of #wargame content creators, but he deserves it. Go watch his videos, enjoy the #wargames he plays and talks about and go subscribe. #HexesForever
OC Troops can now dig and improve on defensive positions!
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/665050811067400223/1118946426228060250/dig3.PNG...
OC Blessed sister pistoleer