Oh Happy Day!!

I'm at an age now that I don't have to put up with anything I don't want to(apart from THE WIFE!!) so after spending day after day,and night after night playing solo games in a freezing cold garage(club house!) I decided that enough was enough,and I would,after 50 years of wargaming,get an indoor table! I went to B&Q and asked for a price of a piece of MDF 1 mtre by 1/1/2 metres-the price would be £34.27,plus £30 delivery charge!!!! a total of £64.27-heart attack warning!

As this was more than I could afford(POP_Poor Old Pensioner) I thought I would visit a local Kitchen fitter,to see if they woud sell me an "off-cut"-they said yes,cut the MDF to size,helped me into the car with it,and only charged me £15-job's a good'un!!

The table-covered with a mat bought at Aldi,many years ago,and resting on grandaughter's cot(no longer used!

A few of my "Epic" figures on the table,to show scale etc.-it is in our back bedroom,light,warm and accessible to any amount of coffee,rum and food!!-oh heaven!

I just had to have a small game!It's the small things in life that please me,and having an indoor table will put a smile on my face for a long time!

Look,happy as a pig in poo!!

Marlburian game.

Last night 4 of us,Paul,Dave,Malcom and I had a very exciting Marlburian game based on the real English Civil War battle of "Cheriton" 1644. I gave Malcom his first large command,to see how he would cope with our rules and style of play(fast!!),and it has to be said,he coped very well indeed!

Two shots of the initial moves-the garage looks cold,and it was-how we suffer for our hobby!! Paul and Dave were French and Irish,Malcom and I were British and Austrian.

These two shots show Malcom and Dave's flank being hotly(more than can be said for the garage!) contested-although Malcom is new to this period,he asked pertinent questions on the tactics and weapon capabilities,and we tried our best to keep him right(who keeps us right??)

Paul and I decided to adopt a more "demure" approach to the battle,but inevitably,as the above photo shows, we got into major conflict!!

My flank is being decimated by the French troops of Paul,as is the flank being commanded by Malcom,due to Dave's pressure invoving all arms-artillery,infantry and cavalry-all was lost!!

One final shot showing the state of play(and a very cold looking Paul!)-Malcom and I are beaten on both flanks and in the centre-so we asked for a draw!!!-not given,and rightly so! Malcom commented on the speed we play the game and our knowledge of history and our rules-he'll pick it up in no time!-well done to us all,and roll on next week,when,with a bit of luck Graham will have recovered from a cold caught in darkest Egypt,as will Brian who caught a cold in darkest Palmersville!

What to do.....................

on a freezing cold January day?Everyone's back at work,the kids are back at school,the  last of the turkey has been curried,the Xmas pudding has been eaten and the birds are busy eating the remnants of the Xmas cake. Well,as mentioned in a previous blog,I have been re-basing my 15mm Romans and Barbarians,and decided to give them a run out(ie a game against each other!)-and what a game it turned out to be,solo,of course!

Barbarian cavalry now in two's,chariots in two's and warbands in four's-much easier to move and handle.

The Roman cohorts are now in two's to show their flexibility against the warbands,,although I have based the Roman cavalry in two's the same as the Barbarian cavalry.

Top shows the Barbarian line,bottom shows the Roman line,so with a litle bit of embellishment(trees!) the table was set.

Move 1 and the chariots and cavalry speed ahead of the warbands intent on disrupting the Roman line.

Top shows the chariots wheeling to their right and hurling javelins(and insults?) bottom shows first contact as the Roman cavalry decide to get stuck in!

Contact is made! The Roman pila inflicted compulsory casualties on the warbands,who also fough at minus one from their dice,as the Romans have armour and shield-still,the dice went this way and that-cracking stuff!!

The on-going cavalry/chariot battle on the Roman right flank-note warband ready to pounce!!

Two shots showing the casualties from each side,and the state of play-the barbarians are completely beaten in the centre,by the Legions,although the flanks(auxiliary troops) are still battling it out!!

The end of the game-a massive Roman win,as you would expect,but they took quite a few casualties......................

Barbarian losses,7 units,Roman losses 5 units,so a near run thing,and a great way to spend a freezing cold January day-long may it continue!

ACW Game at Dave's.

For our first game of 2022,we were invited to Dave's house to play a spectacular ACW (25mm) game.Because Graham is sunning himself in Egypt ,and Malcom was entertaining guests,it was up to the "Fab Four" to enjoy the game and Dave's hospitality.

Dave had set the game up and picked sides-He and Brian were the Union commanders,whilst Paul and I were the Confederate commanders-the above photo's show the table with troops in position and the "kick-off whistle" about to be blown!!(how does Brian manage to get himself in every photograph?)

Opening shots-skirmishers doing their work,and Paul's battery firing a "ranging shot" at Brian's advancing troops.(note,that Brian is in the first photo!!)

My troops are moving towards the left flank hill in the first photo,whilst Paul is advancing his centre towards the fields on the right flank.I have occupied the farm,which is the objective of the game!(oh look,Brian is in both bloody photo's this time!!)

Paul's reinforcements have arrived on the road,and are moving to secure his flank,and support me,in the farm.(who is that in the far right hand corner of the photo?could it be Brian??) The table was now filling up with troops,and it wouldn't be long before the real fighting started.

I managed to reach the hill first,and a furious fire-fight ensued-cracking stuff!(Brian,who is in the photo again,looks quite at ease!)

Brian,who,you will have noted is in the photo, has moved his troops forward off the hill,and is about to attack Paul-this flank was very evenly contested,and casualties were mounting on both sides,although the centres have yet to engage.

Top photo shows the tussle Dave and I were having over the farm(c/w Brian in the frame!) bottom shows the centre now ablaze with musketry(Brian must have gone home at this stage,because he isn't in the photo!!!)

On our left flank,Dave has forced my troops to retire(it's good being retired!) off the hill.(note that Brian is still no where to be seen!)

I knew it was too good to last-he's back!!-what a ding-dong battle for the centre,Brian was pressing hard against Paul's Texans(can't touch you for it!!)-the farm,by this stage was in serious threat of being overun by Dave's troops-things were not looking too good for the "Rebs"

I "dashed"a regiment up the road,hoping to throw Dave off balance,but he met them with his reserves,and all was lost for my flank!!-Paul was still in a good position,so we decided to call the game a "bloody" draw!!-well done to us all,and a big thank-you to dave for putting on this game-roll on next Sunday,possibly a Marlburian game.

Seasonal Solo-the game.

Over the last two nights I have played a fascinating game,which I have called the Battle of Red River.

 On the Reb's right flank,things started very badly-the Brigadier was killed and two out of the three regiments in the brigade decided that enough was enough,and promptly fled!!! On the left flank artillery from both sides opened a deadly barrage-the Rebs getting the worst of it(see red pom-poms!)

These two shots show the intense fire-fights,as the grand Union attack goes in-the situation looked hopeless,especially as I had determined that no reinforcements would come to the aid of the Rebs!!

This shows the out-flanking move about to be put into operation-this was so nearly successful,but bad dice throwing scuppered it!!!-still a brilliant(?) move by Lee(ie me!)

Top photo shows the "holding Division" doing its job,but getting shot to bits! bottom photo shows the Reb line being bolstered by a brigade,hoping to stop the eventual Union push against the right flank.

The far left brigade of the Confederates has fallen back-too many casualties,but the out-flanking move is "upsetting" the Union troops!! Despite this,the weight of numbers is telling,and all looks lost for Lee.

Meade has ordered his reserve brigade to "dash" down the road,towards the central bridge,thus cutting the Reb army in two,sealing the fate of Lee,and heralding the end of this cracking game!

One final shot of the victorious Union troops,consolidating their position and readying themselves for an advance on Lee's centre and right.By any stretch of wargaming imagination,this was an absolute delight of a game-more to follow!!