Cry Havoc Reboot

I was very surprised but excited to hear that a new edition of Cry Havoc, possibly my favourite hex and counter game, is being published soon by Footsore Miniatures as a Kickstarter. It's a simple repeat of the original but with updated graphics and maps that are green rather than bright yellow, so I don't really need to get a copy as I have the original. However, I will probably do so anyway, as I am a big fan of the game, as is my son (although he prefers Samurai Blades). It's launching in a few days, so keep an eye out!

We Dive At Dawn First Impressions

I fancied a break from assembling tiny metal aeroplanes in a freezing garage today, so set up a play through of We Dive At Dawn, the roll and write game of WW2 submarine warfare that David Manley sent my way the other day. It was good fun, even if my fictional submarine HMS Stonefish, didn't achieve much on her first war patrol. I didn't write up a detailed after sortie report but you can read more about it on my other blog, where I keep all my solo board game stuff:

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We Dive at Dawn

David Manley of Long Face Games was kind enough to send me earlier this week, a pre-release copy of his new solitaire pen and dice rules for Royal Navy submarine sorties in the Mediterranean. This is a system not unlike Corvette Command or Nightfighter Command, which I have played a lot and did some of the play testing for a few years ago, but it uses different mechanics. I haven't had any time this week to try it out but hope to give it a go this weekend. As usual, I'll be posting a report over on my other very occasional blog, which is dedicated to solo board wargames and print and play rules: 

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Christmas Presents

As we spend our Christmas in France every year, we only open our presents when we return home, by family tradition on New Year's Day. This year we decided to open them today, as the middle spring is away tomorrow in Bristol at a party. I was lucky enough to get some cracking wargaming presents this year including some 28mm Japanese MDF buildings from my son, who is keen to have a go at some samurai skirmish games this year, an Airfix Tiger tank kit from the other son, which will be useful for What a Tanker!, and the aforementioned double sided hex cloth for air wargaming from the other half. My daughter bought be a two year re-subscription to Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy, which is brilliant! To round it off, I bought myself in the sales a brand new copy of Thunderbolt Apache Leader, a game I've been after for years having really enjoyed Phantom Leader. All in all, a great haul of very nice presents, topped off with a Christmas brunch cooked by my daughter! 

Wooden Ships and Iron Men

As we're only in Brittany for a week this time, I didn't bring any of the projects that I've lined up for the summer holidays, so instead have opened up Wooden Ships and Iron Men for a few games. I haven't played this Avalon Hill classic before so will be kicking off with a famous historical encounter, Scenario 9: HMS Nymphe versus Cleopatra, which looks like a good starting point. As you can see, the backdrop is entirely in keeping with the game, including a full sized replica frigate anchored offshore. As this is a boardgame, I'll post my after action reports on my other blog, Tea and a Wad Wargaming, which I've neglected far too much this year:

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Battle of Britain Club Game

This was the game at the club yesterday, an introduction to the PSC Battle of Britain boardgame, which includes miniature aircraft so I'm reporting on it here, rather than on the other blog. I really enjoyed this game, which is an abstract but effective representation of RAF strategy and tactics in 1940, with some unusual but effective twists. In the end the RAF won by a narrow margin, so a historical result, albeit at quite a high cost due to my terrible dice rolling!

X Craft Command

This is being read at the moment as part of my initial research for a solo game based on the Night Fighter Command and Corvette Command systems. It's very early days yet but I've been lucky enough to be invited on to the Corvette Command rules development team, so I thought it would be only fitting to bring something to the party, so to speak. As this is more relevant to my other blog, you can track my progress or otherwise by popping over there, where I will eventually be working it all out:

 Tea and a Wad Wargaming: X Craft Command

Night Fighter Command

 

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I've been away in Brittany for the holidays so haven't been at the workbench to complete my Strength and Honour Parthians, which I'm hoping to finish when I get back at the weekend in time for the rules to arrive next week. In the meantime, I've been playing some more games of Night Fighter Command, a print and play solo wargame of Beaufighter sorties set in 1941. It's just been published and is available from Wargame Vault, Board Game Geek and the Night Fighter Command FB page as a free download: 

Nightfighter Command - Corvette Command | Wargame Vault

I have been a play tester for the rules so had access to them in advance but they can now be yours for the price of a little printing and laminating. Anyway, if you want to know more about it and read some after action reports, then here's a link to my other blog where you can follow the exploits of my second crew, F/Sgt 'Johnnie' Walker DFM, RNZAF, and Sgt 'Taffy' Jones, RAF, as they hunt for Heinkels over the West Country and hopefully, shoot some of them down:

Tea and a Wad Wargaming: Night Fighter Command

Holiday Fun and Games

I'm on holiday at the moment so there's nothing happening on the workbench. Instead, I'm playtesting the latest edition of Night Fighter Command, which is almost ready for publication as a free set of solo air wargaming rules. The first sortie after action report is up on my other blog, with more to follow:

Tea and a Wad Wargaming: Night Fighter Command Update: Sortie 1

I'll also be playing some more solo games, including Corvette Command, the convoy escort precursor to the night fighter system, as well as Bismarck Solitaire, a roll and write game of naval operations in 1941. I've even brought along a couple of favourites of mine, Aquitaine, a Society of Ancients game set in the Hundred Years War that I used to play years ago, along with Battle Ravens, which is great fun.

It's all happening over on the other blog:

Tea and a Wad Wargaming

IAF Leader

The New Years Resolution to play more board wargames is still going strong, with the latest being DVG's Israeli Air Force Leader, as a follow on from my very enjoyable Phantom Leader Vietnam campaigns last month. There's an obvious cross over with my miniatures gaming projects too, specifically the Desert Spitfires project that I've been meaning to finish for a while now, having made a promising start and then been side tracked onto the Corsair and Cavaliers Football War project instead. Anyway, if you are interested, there are some on-going campaign after action reports on the other blog:

Tea and a Wad Wargaming: IAF Leader

Phantom Leader

 

I've been playing quite a bit of DVG games Phantom Leader over the holidays and it's been great, with one short USAF Rolling Thunder campaign completed and another USN medium length one currently on the table. It's not a miniatures game so the combat mission reports and campaign notes are all over on my other blog, where I have all the board wargaming stuff. If like me you are a bit of a air wargaming geek, then I can thoroughly recommend it as time well spent:

Tea and a Wad Wargaming: Phantom Leader

Night Fighter Command

I've been invited to so some playtesting for a solo print and play game called Night Fighter Command, basing on the Corvette Command rules, so the Finest Hour project will be on hold for a couple of weeks so that I have time to get some games organised. I'll be posting some after action reports over on my other blog, which is where I have all my board wargaming things, so you can follow along if you are interested:

Tea and a Wad Wargaming: Night Fighter Command Playtesting

Tally Ho!

Xmas Number Two

As usual in my family, we have our second Christmas on New Year's Day, as the first one is when we're in Brittany and it saves having to lug all the presents over there then take them all back again. This year I have been given a selection of second hand but top quality hex and counter board wargames, as my other half lets me choose what I want in a reciprocal arrangement that suits both of us. 

I'm hoping to get back into board wargaming this year, after neglecting it for a long time despite having another blog that covers this corner of the wargaming hobby, with a lot more solo gaming made possible now that we have a spare room where I can set it all out and leave it 'in play', so to speak. That's assuming it doesn't get used for other less important purposes?

I have a couple more games on the way for my birthday too, so there will be plenty to choose from when added to my existing collection of classic Avalon Hill titles and more up to date games. It's great to able to get hold of some of the games that I always wanted when I was a teenager but just couldn't afford to buy in the early 1980's, when my pocket money was only 50p a week! 

Stocking Fillers

This is perhaps more relevant for my other blog but it also links with my Thud Ridge project, so I'll post it here anyway. I've just got hold of a second hand copy of Phantom Leader, the solitaire card / boardgame of strike missions over North Vietnam, which will be an extra stocking filler for Xmas. It's designed for solo play and includes both USAF and USN aircraft cards, so very  much the same theme as Thud Ridge. I'm really looking forward to trying it out when I get back from France.

Forty Eight Hours

We're at the in laws for the Xmas holidays so, according to the new restrictions, we have to quarantine for at least forty eight hours. Luckily, I've packed some hex and counter, beer and pretzels style wargames for just this eventuality, the first being a Vae Victis magazine solo game of LRDG raids in North Africa, and the second an old favorite of mine, the Strategy and Tactics magazine game Successors. I'll be playing one or other (or even both) of these over the next few days and will post some after action reports on my other blog:

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Hex and Counter Holidays

 

Back in the day I used to be quite an avid hex and counter board wargame player and still have many of the old Avalon Hill bookcase games that I enjoyed in my mis-spent teenage years including Squad Leader, Gettysburg and Panzer Leader, amongst others. However, I have neglected this aspect of the wargaming hobby for a long time, preferring miniatures and more light weight 'beer and pretzels' board wargames such as Tank on Tank, Cry Havoc, Battle Ravens and Wings of War (as relayed on my other occasional blog - Tea and a Wad Wargaming)

I've been thinking about re-booting the hex and counter wargaming side of the hobby recently, so have been gradually acquiring a selection of good condition second hand games, mainly via eBay, to add to the old ones that I have already got. The latest are a series of GMT bookcase games including Blood and Roses, 1805: Sea of Glory, Combat Commander Europe, Iron and Oak and Wing Leader, most of which can be played solo to some degree and all of which tap into my wargaming field of focus.

In 2022, I'm hoping to get back into some proper hex and counter board wargaming if I can find a space that I can set out a game, without having to clear it all away again when the dining room table needs to be used by the kids or the Mrs. The oldest of the offspring is now at university, so his room and desk are free for me to lay out a game and leave it there, so that I can dip in and out when I have the time. I'm also planning to play a couple of games over the holidays, which is about the only time I get to sit down and play a game from start to finish.

It should be fun!

Battle Ravens

It's been a bit quiet on the wargaming front here but it's not because I haven't been playing any games. What I have been enjoying are some games of Battle Ravens, the shield wall themed boardgame by Daniel Mersey, as published by the Plastic Soldier Company. This is a great little 'beer and pretzels' style game, which my kids have taken to in a big way, but I've posted about it over on my other blog, which is dedicated to board wargaming of a less than serious nature. I've only cross posted about it here, as I thought it would be something that might be of interest to other wargamers with kids stuck at home, especially as it's educational (and I should know because I'm a history teacher!). It's definitely captured my kids interest, so why not give it a try?

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It's also got me thinking about SAGA again...which can't be a bad thing?

These are not the toys you're looking for...

 

If you were wondering what's happened to all the games that I was playing with my daughter recently, I have in fact switched over to playing X-Wing with my eldest son, who was given all of my X-Wing collection as a Xmas present this year, being a massive Star Wars fan. He was going to be taking his A-level final exams this year but they've been cancelled, so he has had more time to get into the game in a big way over the last few weeks. We've played quite a few games so far and have more planned but they're all over on my other blog, Tea and a Wad Wargaming, which focusses on board games, print and play games and off the shelf miniature wargaming:

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Birthday Swag

I had a very nice birthday at the weekend but the presents have only just arrived in the post. It's a miniatures free windfall this year but pretty good nonetheless, with a copy of PSC's Battle of Britain, Osprey Publishing's Undaunted: Normandy and GMT's Iron and Oak to add to my board wargaming stack. Brilliant!

The advantage of having an Amazon Wishlist is that you actually get what you wish for but I'm always a bit uncomfortable with the thought that some little wargaming shop is missing out on my custom or that the Amazon warehouse and delivery zero hours contract workers are getting ripped off, even if they are making a living of sorts out of my hobby.

Food for thought.

And my teenage son got me some Lynx....is he trying to tell me something?

Taking a Tea Break

I'm on holiday as of  tomorrow afternoon, so I'll be taking a short break from the workbench and heading over to my somewhat neglected board wargaming blog for a few days. I'll be dusting off my favourite Beer and Pretzels one brain cell game, Lock n' Load's excellent Tank on Tank, for some Eastern Front WW2 action. It will be really great to get back to some good, old fashioned hex and counter wargaming with none of that messy paint or superglue in sight!

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