Here's a shot of the terrain upgrade in progress deep in the donjon at Chateau d' Amok, to prove to The Baron that I'm "gettin' to it."
This upgrade takes us from Terrain One Point Oh My. . .
to Terrain Two Point Oh Yeah!
In addition, the good folk at Renaissance Ink hooked me up with some thin profile, beveled masonite bases, complete with magnetic bottoms, for my Jenkins figures. The masonite has a great "woodsy" color feel that works really well with the terrain. Now all my "little guys" stand tall - even in the Rough.
Come see us at Recruits!
I committed today to presenting "Blunder at Turtle Creek" at Recruits in April. "Blunder" will be fought using This Very Ground, of course. I am using the Blood in the Forest scenario from the rulebook but adding a "civilian" twist, and using points to provide balanced forces.
The introduction:
"Following Braddock’s defeat on the Monongahela, the Pennsylvania frontier was awash in fire and blood. The French encouraged their Indian allies to raid the farms of the British colonists. As the infiltration of Lakes Indians and Coeur De Bois in French service increased, hostilities escalated. In response, many small excursions of British regulars and their colonial militia counterparts attempted to attack the Indians on their own terms. A nearly-abandoned storehouse on the very fringe of British settlement becomes the scene of the Blunder at Turtle Creek as one of these British counter-raids runs headlong into their intended prey."
I have some terrain work to do over the next couple of weeks. . . I may show some of it in progress if I have time.
See ya!
And the winner is. . .
This Very Ground from Iron Ivan Games. What the . . . !?
If you've visited here before, you may be aware that I was already invested in This Very Ground for my French and Indian War project when I decided to give Muskets & Tomahawks a look. Overall, Muskets & Tomahawks is a very nice product. The N.C. Wyeth illustration on the cover alone gets a nod.
Recently The Baron pointed me to a post on Anatoli's Game Room that includes a thorough review of Muskets and Tomahawks as well as a "short comparison" with This Very Ground that I find quite useful. If you're interested, Mr. Anatoli also provides a similarly-thorough review of This Very Ground here (and I do hope Mr. Anatoli doesn't mind the links, but I would be hard-pressed to improve on his detailed reviews).
So why do I use the term "useful" to describe the comparison? The comparison provides an opportunity to show subjectivity in practice, as Mr. Anatoli and I look at the same points of difference between the rulesets and draw opposite conclusions, based ultimately, I think, on "what we like." Both systems quite obviously provide a good game and lots of period flavor. . . but as we all know, it often just comes down to what "feels right." Mr. Anatoli is calling Muskets & Tomahawks (M&T) his "go to" set of rules for the French and Indian War, while I have decided to stick with This Very Ground (TVG). For example, if we look at the comparison:
1) Shooting Mechanics. In M&T each soldier in a unit can take one action, which means some soldiers can move while others shoot while still others reload.
Individual soldiers' firings have to be tracked for reloading, which I don't like as well as the Volume of Fire in TVG, which is tracked by unit, and provides a neat little morale mechanism based on the amount of firepower a unit puts out.
2) Movement Mechanics. I prefer that in TVG Regulars are limited to Formed Formation, regardless of terrain, which makes them slow and cumbersome in the forest, all the time. Regulars don't get to break into skirmish formation for movement in the woods, which I think better reflects their European training prior to their arrival in the colonies.
3) Close Combat. I really like the "psychology tests" involved in the "Charge" and "Standing Ground" procedures prior to Melee. Used with the Initiative system, there is real finesse in the tactics of driving off the enemy with a volley and the threat of the follow-up with cold steel. If you can get to hand-to-hand, the new streamlined procedure makes Melee fast and lethal.
4) Casualties/Morale. TVG uses a roll to hit and a roll to wound based on a D10, and different Volumes of Fire provide Morale modifiers - the "psychology" of coming under fire is well illustrated. Using a D10 (rather than the D6 in M&T) allows Units to be defined more through differences in numerical ratings as opposed to the use of "traits." Morale is based on percentages of casualties in a unit - this coupled with the D10 means the game is scalable. A unit can be 5 soldiers or 20 and the game plays just the same.
M&T uses a deck of cards to activate units; it works fine. I prefer the Initiative-based system of TVG because it is a little sneakier - you can actually choose a disrupted enemy unit to activate on your Initiative and force to it take a Rally test that just might cause it to rout off the field if it fails. . .
M&T's Scenario Generator and Random Events are great features. No reason you couldn't use them with TVG, too.
So two really good game systems. . . and which one is "better" is totally subjective.
I'll be taking This Very Ground to Spring Recruits in April. See ya there, maybe!
The varnishing goes on. First up is a unit of Virginia militiamen, campaign ready. I repainted some of the leggings so even though there are three sets of "VM-04" shown, plus a single "Civilian Wagoneer," no two figures are "exactly alike."
Next up is the British Supply Wagon and the two new pack horses, accompanied by the Wagoneers.
I haven't forgotten the French, of course. This is the new Swedish 4 lb. cannon and Artillery crew.
And here's a couple shots of the same Artillerymen manning a swivel gun on the French defenses at Ticonderoga.
That's all for now. See ya!
Since I don't really do the social media thing, I thought I would "like" this book here. The book is Rome and the Sword by Simon James. The description from the dust jacket states:
The story of Rome and its military seems a familiar one, told often
through movies, books and games, yet it is a modern myth obscuring a
different reality. As this groundbreaking study demonstrates, Rome’s
military was no war machine made up of mindless cogs. There was not even
an ancient term for the Roman army; rather, Romans spoke of “the
soldiers”—of men, not institutions.
Simon James provides a
striking new perspective on Roman history by focusing on the soldiers
and their actions. Throughout the story of the sword - both as supreme, bloodstained exemplar of technology and metaphor of imperial power - we learn the violent reality of Rome's rule. Soldiers were less sentinels of civilization
than enforcers for aristocrats and autocrats against foreign foes and
internal dissent alike. They were brutal and unruly, prone to mutiny and
rebellion. How, then, to account for their sustained success and eventual failure?
Rome’s dominion was achieved through
soldiers’ ferocity and excellent weaponry, but to maintain it the
conquered were integrated, as diplomacy accompanied the threat of the
sword. Allies and subjects became Romans themselves - millions through
military service, bringing with them new arms and tactics. Yet the aggression of Rome’s soldiers
precipitated the rise of enemies in the east and north who would ultimately bring the empire to an end.
I am a sucker for anything having to do with Romans and descriptions of the ways and the whys of combat. As my reading of Roman history has focused more on the Republic than on the Empire, I learned a lot from this book. I was particularly struck by the analysis of the combination of "the sword and the open hand" with which the Romans created and sustained the empire.
I am sharing an old favorite, as well, in the light of all the attention that Studio Tomahawk's SAGA rules have attracted. I re-read The Last Apocalypse by James Reston, Jr. every few years and it always gets me excited about the "Dark Ages" again.
From the dust jacket:
Enter the world of 1000 A.D., when Vikings, Moors, and barbarians battled kings and popes for the fate of Europe.
As
the millennium approached, Europeans feared the world would end. The
old order was crumbling, and terrifying and confusing new ideas were
gaining hold in the populace. Random and horrific violence seemed to
sprout everywhere without warning, and without apparent remedy. And, in
fact, when the millennium arrived the apocalypse did take place; a
world did end, and a new world arose from the ruins.
In 950,
Ireland, England, and France were helpless against the ravages of the
seagoing Vikings; the fierce and strange Hungarian Magyars laid waste to
Germany and Italy; the legions of the Moors ruled Spain and threatened
the remnants of Charlemagne's vast domain. The papacy was corrupt and
decadent, overshadowed by glorious Byzantium. Yet a mere fifty years
later, the gods of the Vikings were dethroned, the shamans of the
Magyars were massacred, the magnificent Moorish caliphate disintegrated:
The sign of the cross held sway from Spain in the West to Russia in the
East.
James Reston, Jr.'s enthralling saga of how the Christian
kingdoms converted, conquered, and slaughtered their way to dominance
brings to life unforgettable historical characters who embodied the
struggle for the soul of Europe. From the righteous fury of the Viking
queen Sigrid the Strong-Minded, who burned unwanted suitors alive; to
the brilliant but too-cunning Moor Al-Mansor the Illustrious Victor; to
the aptly named English king Ethelred the Unready; to the abiding genius
of the age, Pope Sylvester II--warrior-kings and concubine empresses,
maniacal warriors and religious zealots, bring this stirring period to
life.
The Last Apocalypse is a book rich in personal historical detail, flavored with the nearly magical sensibility of an apocalyptic age.
The book is full of "larger-than-life" characters and stories culled from the Sagas of the time, as described by the author in the book:
The Last Apocalypse has all the background needed to construct a Dark Age campaign for Saga, DBA or even HOTT. Oh yeah, I've thought about it. . .
See ya!
No high-minded resolutions or lofty goals for 2013 here. Work has me pretty busy, so The Goal over the next few weeks is to further existing projects that can be tackled in smallish increments. So back to the French and Indian War and varnishing. Here are some civilian types completed over the holiday break. First up is a Canadian frontiersman bartering with a young Indian from the Jenkins' "His First Musket" set:
Next up are civilians from the "Civilians 1 and 2" sets, defending their homesteads. The figure in the center of the photo is "Samuel 'Sandy' Jenkins, Wagoner" from one of the Jenkins' Annual Collector sets:
This is a French Marine from the "The Prisoner" set escorted by "Prince, Rogers' (as in Rogers' Rangers) Servant:"
Can you say "Last of the Mohicans?" Cora and Alice come to you via "The Captives:"
Indians have been hunting and gathering; from "The Hunters" and "The Gatherers." The young man with the bow is the "Young Mohawk Warrior:"
And finally, two British naval personnel present, and killed, at the Battle of the Monongahela, "Spendelowe and Haynes:"
Some good "characters" that will add color to future skirmishes. Possibly at Spring Recruits : )
Happy New year. See ya!
. . . from Jack and the the Cluck Amok family to yours. May your dice always come up (choose one):
• ones
• sixes
• tens
• twenties
• other - I can't cover every game and die-type!
Happy Holidays and thanks for visiting my new space.
See ya!
