Busy Times in the Duchy

This rainy, gloomy Sunday is a quiet one here in the Duchy. Herself is off to New York City with some friends to see a show. I have no idea, except either a friend of a friend or one of her former students is in the thing. Meh. I have trouble keeping track of me these days... 

Last week the RAP gamers played a second night of "Six Empires", a boardgame set in post-War of Spanish Succession Europe. The six empires are thus: The French, Spanish, Russian, Austrian, British and Ottomans. 

I was not there last week, so I took over for Michael who could not make it this week. This gave me the Ottoman Empire. Never having played the game before, Garth gave me a quick tutorial, but honestly, it wasn't that difficult to catch up and it was quite fun to play. 

From L to R; Garth, Phil, Bruce (our host), Steve, and John

We played several turns in three hours and decided to leave the board up in Bruce's basement for another round. This coming Wednesday we are back at the Sloan Clubhouse, but we'll be playing "Jaws" (yes, it's a game about THAT movie...) since two of our stalwarts will be on holiday. 

Thursday I was off work and puttered around the house, but Friday and yesterday I went down to Harve de Grace, Maryland to the BARRAGE show put on by the HAWKS club. This is always an excellent show with a terrific mix of games. It's a much smaller show than the big HMGS ones, but its an excellent example of how to run a solid regional event. 

I played in two regular games on Friday, the Battle of Puebla 1862 and the postscript to the Battle of Navarino Bay 1827. On Saturday, I entered into the Art De La Guerre tournament pitting my Golden Horde Mongols against whomever I would draw, since it was an Open Tournament. 

Puebla, from the Mexican position

A drone's eye view of the French behind their blue pipe cleaner Start Line

The French may have had wine and better food, but we had a Mariachi Band! 

Mid game, the French still hadn't managed to take either fort and, despite our losses, the Mexican commanders held doggedly on. 

End game for the French. They came on in the same old way, and we saw them off in the same old way!

Viva Mexico! 

Tm, Jim, and Josh ran this game at OttoDotCon and I was not able to play it then, but fortunately I was able to sign up at BARRAGE. These guys run excellent games. Tried and true The Sword and the Flame rules were used with the appropriate modifications for the Maximillian Adventure. Six turns and we held by great shooting and lucky dice rolls. 

Keith W. and his Navarino Bay game using Form on the Admiral's Wake rules

My third of the Turkish fleet. Last in line. 

Oh dearie me. I seem to be on fire. As per usual... 

End game for the Turks.

The Allied goal was to sink five Turkish vessels and we had to do the same to the Allied fleet. It was a bit of a slugfest, but the Allied ships were a bit bigger and in the end, that made the difference. But I enjoy these rules and they are currently undergoing a re-write by the author. 

Saturday saw my Mongols ready to go against....well....nobody actually. 

There were an odd number of players signed up for the tourney, so Walt, the organizer, asked for a volunteer to take the first round off. After a moment, I raised my hand and said I'd be happy to help. Walt very kindly offered to play his Tamil Indians against me as a learning game, since he knows I'm a newer player to this system. 

The tournament room

Playing The Man Himself, Walt L., The Jedi Master of ADLG

While Walt did take it easy on me, in terms of making suggestions and pointing out when I was making truly silly errors (Mongols are NOT a new player army, as I have found out) eventually, I did beat him fair and square with some clutch die rolling. 

Walt's Ellies are a pesky lot. But he showed me how to play against them. 

In the end, I managed to outlast Walt and finally get some CP hits to send him over his limit. 

Walt is one of the true gentlemen in this hobby and I am very lucky to have been able to have spent some time with him learning the game and just talking about things in general. 

There were quite a few other games that interested me, but I was not able to play, due to my participation in the tournament. But that did not preclude me from picking up a couple of things from the dealer area and the flea market. The number of vendors is quite small, maybe six or so, and the balance of the tables, which surround the perimeter of the playing area, are for the HAWKS version of the flea market, which is a bit like a bring and buy and a bit like a traditional flea market. 

I did pick up one very, very nice deal....

A complete painted Roman army, ADLG List #83, with fortifications for a camp. 

For $100 USD. Yes, that's correct. One hundred US dollars. One Roman army, ready to go. 

Now, to find some Gauls to paint to give it an opponent. 

More anon. 

A New Book in the Duchy

I do enjoy the 18th century as a wargame period. And based on some conversations we had at the Virtual Wargames Club, a book on wargaming the Russo-Austro-Turkish War of the late 1730's was brought up that piqued my interest. 

David Watson, aka Balkan Dave, has published a history of this period with some good basic details if one would be interested in playing out this particular conflict. There are a couple of scenarios for the Battle of Banja Luka and the Battle of Grocka, as well as a generic skirmish scenario. 

Dave provides some basic details of the Russian, Austrian, and Ottoman forces and also snippets of the main commanders of the time. 

The only complaints I have are that the maps are hard to read and the two orders of battle are likewise in a very small font. Additionally, the rules that Dave and his friends use are called Lust For Glory, which is a set that has not yet been published. It would have been helpful to know some more details about the rules to help understand the OOBs provided for the scenarios. I am especially interested in refighting the Battle of Banja Luka. 

Overall, I am enjoying the book. Thanks to Alan and Tidders for mentioning it, a great recommendation! 

A "Master" of My Own Destiny

Yesterday, I completed a two-year journey and finally walked across the stage at SUNY Maritime College and received my Master of Science degree (with Honours) in Maritime and Naval Studies. 

There is a lot of emotion, as one might expect. My father, who was such a huge supporter of my journey, passed away in February. In spite of his Alzheimer's, up until maybe four months before his passing, he would always excitedly listen and talk about my progress in my degree. 

My wife Sandy gave up so much in terms of time, emotional space, and physical space as I re-decorated our living room with piles of books and papers and extolled to her about Spanish explorers or the business end of American 19th century whaling, or, finally, the role of mermaids in the culture of the Taino people. 

And now it's done. 

So now what? 

I asked that of my academic adviser and my Department Chair as Sandy and I had lunch with them before graduation. 

My chosen field has been that of the Quasi-War with France. That was a complete accident. I had originally intended to study the maritime aspects of the American Civil War. But it seems that Other Paths were laid before me. And mine seems to be the early Federal Republic and its Navy. 

I've decided, for the time being, to don the mantle of "Independent Researcher and Maritime Historian", until I can truly answer that question. But I can see there is a path forward with the Quasi-War. Both on the tabletop in wargaming (I mean, I DO love me some naval gaming) and as a proper Maritime Historian. 

"On se canisse!", as one might say in Quebec, before beginning a journey. 

 

Weekend Update

The arrival of moderate weather led to a cry to be outside of the house as much as possible. This meant hobby things have taken a lower priority to taking some long walks and attending a festival. However, I was able to get some hobby things done. 

First on the list was a much needed general clean up and put away of things in the Game Room. While I still have some things to sort out and go through, the table has been cleared and several things have gone back into boxes where they properly belong. 

Today I finished cleaning and preparing a number of Spanish WAS/SYW figures, mostly mountain fusiliers. I even was able to get primer on the first eight dragoons. 

I was also able to make some more progress on my RISK figures, getting four of the bags washed in soap and water. Tomorrow I'll be able to take the figures and get them on craft sticks and hopefully get some of them primed. 

After lunch, Sandy and I took advantage of the annual Polish Festival being held in Doylestown, PA. It was a crowded and very energetic celebration of all things Polish. One was literally awash in a sea of Red and White. We arrived around half twelve and parking was already going pear-shaped. Queues for food were getting long. And the traditional music was jamming right along with the Polish form of disco. Go figure. 

There were also quite a few re-enactors there putting on some excellent displays. I knew a few of them from WW2 events where out paths have crossed. 

All in all, it was an excellent day out. We did manage to get some pierogis before the lines became too enormous. We also picked up a bottle of local maple syrup, of all things. 

Tomorrow is Labor Day and I have the gift of no work. So, hopefully there will be hobby things done tomorrow.  

Mid-Week Update

Last night's game at the RAP Gamers saw a massive 400-point per side game of ADLG with Romans fighting Romans. It might have been Marians versus Polybians. Or maybe it was something else. All I know is that I was a-Roman around the left flank with some light bobs and an ellie for one command, and six stands of stalwart legionnaires with stabby-stabby and armour. 

The Bad Romans (boo! hiss!)

From left to right: Phil G., Bruce P., and Garth P. 

The Good Romans (yay!)

Steve T. on the left and John F. on the right (I was taking the picture...)

The action was fast and furious. The Good Romans were the attackers, whilst The Bad Romans were defending. With a 400-point per side game, there were six commands for each player. I took the left flank, as is my wont, and was given some light infantry, one stand of Roman cavalry, two of Numidian light horse, and an elephant which had two stands of Spanish medium sword carriers as escort. Presumably, someone also carried the brooms, shovels, and bins to pick up after said ellie. 

Ellie and Friends. Bad Romans (well, Dacians) popping out of the gully. 

A Family Photo of The Good Romans

I have to admit I did sort of turn my brain off for the game. It was a bit of a day at work, so I enjoyed playing a group of plodding dirt surfers. My dice rolling was again the talk of the table. No one could remember seeing anyone throw that many 1's in a row. In fact, I had multiple friends offer to an aerodynamic distance check on my dice. But I still persevered and in spite of my dice rolling we did manage to beat The Bad Romans, 36-35, after two hours and a bit of play. 

This included my ellie getting killed, but in its death stampede, it crushed the allied Dacian general, scored an extra point for us. This, in my opinion, made the difference, and I'm sticking to that story. 

Action shot of the keen minds of the RAP Gamers on display. 

Another great time and great game with these fellas. I'm not sure what game we are playing next week. It could be a boardgame. Or maybe not. 

Either way, I'm sure it will be an excellent time. 

Weekend Update - Another One of Them Weeks

The late summer heat and humidity abated just enough in the Duchy to allow us to turn off the aircon and open the windows. Between schedule changes at work and other commitments, though, hobby time was limited and mostly spent on thinking about projects. 

The RAP Gamers indulged in a game of Merchants and Marauders this past Wednesday, at Bruce P.'s abode, instead of the Sloan Club House. 

Our Host, Bruce, standing, and explaining the game to John and Michael. 

The game is a boardgame set in the 17th century in the Caribbean and based on acquiring wealth, hopefully at the expense of your competitors. Each player has a ship and a captain and goes between map areas and ports trading for cargo and avoiding pirates and the extra attention of the various navies in the Caribbean. I have never played this before and it took about 30-40 minutes to learn the rules, figure out how everything worked, and get stuck in. 

In addition to Bruce, John and Michael, Steve T. and Phil G. made an appearance and we played several turns until 2200, when the one working stiff in the group (that would be me) had to leave and go to bed because he was working the next day. 

Next week we will be doing a massive Roman Civil War game in 15mm with 400 points per side using our favourite ADLG rules. Stay tuned for that battle report. 

Today being Sunday, Herself went up to New York City to visit friends, whilst I attended to "various and sundry duties", I had hoped to be painting some 25mm RSM Spanish Cavalry for my War of Austrian (and Polish) Succession collection and maybe play a small (well, they are all small) game of Five Men in Normandy. 

Alas, the separate arms on five of the troopers defied easy connection. I had to run out to the local hardware store for some Gorilla brand super glue gel. Even then, it was a struggle. 

But now the little buggers are ready for the next step. 

In Honours of War, a "unit" is eight figures on four bases. If I want to use them for Rebels and Patriots, a unit of dragoons would be six figures. 

I have another bag of these fellas and as they come in 12 figures per bag, there's two more units between the bags. Somewhere in the Wall of Shame is another bag, so I suppose to keep things even, I should get another bag from Rich and Dave at RSM. 

But let's get this lot painted first, eh? 

Taking A Calculated RISK

So here in the hotel, this time in Virginia, I've set up a game for The Portable Wargame rules using some RISK replacement figures purchased from Amazon. 

Ready To Go! (That may be a unit motto somewhere...)

I am trying to prove the principle of a truly portable wargame before my impending deployment to a warm place with a free view of sand traps and scrub. This is yet another step in that process. I will try to paint some of the other figures I have before I go, as I do not expect to have my painting kit as I was fortunate enough to have previously. 

BLUEFOR

The Blue Forces I mounted in a manner similar to Mark C from the TPW FB Group. I figured that this would give me a test group that mirrors what others have done. The artillery on the left, followed by Light Cavalry, then two units of Heavy Cavalry, followed by four strong Line Infantry units, and the right most group being a pair of skirmish type Light Units of mixed infantry and cavalry. 

REDFOR

The Red Forces are mounted slightly differently, with only Light Cavalry and Infantry with five figures instead of six and no dedicated Light Troops. My idea is that they will have some integral skirmish capability or something to that effect, but be less resilient in melee than the BLUEFOR infantry units. 

The ground cloth is almost 36 inches sqaure and was originally intended to be used for a Five Men in Normandy playtest, but more of that anon. 

So, we shall see how this plays out.