Wargaming with pencil sharpeners.
Quite a few year ago I bought,from a market trader in Durham City, 14 pencil sharpeners,hoping to wargame with them.....................
Just kidding-my idea of a jolly joke(ha,ha!)-The ones I bought to wargame with are these.........
Yes,18th century sailing ships!-with a basic paint job and some added thread for rigging,the result was a passable fleet of British,Spanish and French ships.The sceptics among you won't be satisfied until I prove they are pencil sharpeners,so......................
Top photo is the Spanish "Argonauta"-bottom photo is the stern(note seafaring parlance!) showing the hole for inserting a pencil-hence the term pencil sharpener!
All I need now,for a game,is some paraphernalia linked to sailing ships..................
Cotton wool for gun fire smoke,wrecked hulks,turning circles(port and starboard-I'm really getting into this parlance!) and of course a "Wind" direction arrow(which should, by definition, always point towards Brian!!) and finally some damage markers.
Simple damage recording sheets and rules-speeds are in Distance sticks(see last blog!) and away we go(or "cast off" if,like me, you're really into the seafaring parlance!)
For the first test game I only used 4 ships per side,and everything was going "swimingly"(yes,pun intended!) until all the ships managed to get themselves embroiled in boarding melees!
The second game involved much more "social distancing" and long range fire,and was,consequently, a much better and enjoyable game,although there were some casualties......
Some pencil sharpeners had to be sacrificed to become "Sunken Hulks"
A fine broadside delivered by the British ship "Ajax"(I suppose you could say it's cleaning up the sea!!)
Hmmm,on that note I can only say that I'm looking forward to midnight when the Government say I can visit someone from outside my household-I don't know who I'm going to visit,but somebody had better watch out-I'm coming!!!!!!!!
Roll on the end to this madness.
I see you've allowed 'damage' to crew, sails/masts and guns. Hard to actually sink these things so like that hull damage is represented by crew deaths and loss of guns. Did you choose to target hull or sails when targeting a ship? Surely it's where the wind arrow is pointing away from? Graham...? Avast! Chris :-)
ReplyDeleteYo ho ho Chris,yes,when we actually play these rules(few and far between games!)we have to say what the target is-normally(??) if we throw a 5 and a kill,the ship would be sunk-but most of the time I just make it up!!-it's the only way I can win!!
Deletejohnc
Good work... I often pick up useful pencil sharpeners for modelling. They are usually a sort of bronze colour in a green cardboard box. Different cannons, catapults etc.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike,yes we are alike-I have an array of pencil sharpeners just as you mention-mostly bought from museums-hope you are well.
Deletejohnc
Hello Son of York-I think most wargamers are masters of innovation,many thanks for reading and commenting,cheers.
ReplyDeletejohnc
When you have sharpened the pencils do you stick them up your nose and say "wibble"?
ReplyDeleteDave,I did that a long time ago!!-hope you and your Mam are well-I'll give you a ring soon!
Deletejohnc