Dead Man's Hand

Had a brilliant game of Dead Man's hand on Sunday. For anyone who hasn't seen this game in action; its a Wild West gun-slinging game which pits teams of 5-7 against each other. It has a neat card game activation and special ability system!! http://www.greatescapegames.co.uk/dead-mans-hand

Bolt Action

So, I go to a club of sorts, now and again, but people there tend to play Games Workshop stuff. However, last week we had a demo game of Warlords Bolt Action.

For those that haven't seen it yet, its a WW2 game, pitched somewhere between a skirmish and an army battle. Each player has around thirty men and a few specialist teams in a small game. You can scale it up. However, in my opinion it could lose some off its charm. For a while I have been looking for a system to compliment Rapid Fire which would allow me to play out small scale tactical raids on positions like the stuff you see in Band of Brothers, i.e. take a platoon over a river, secure building A, bring back hostages, lose less than three casualties. After playing a demo game, Bolt Action would seem to offer that.

Although the game its designed for 28mm figures, I have decided to run it with 20mm, giving me access to loads of choice of figures and scenery. I can't see it making a great deal of difference at those small margins. Your figures need to be individually based add it is a 1:1 ratio game.

Bolt Action has some really nice mechanics, my favourite is the turn system. Most games have each player move all units, then fire, then assault. In Bolt Action each player has a number of dice which correspond to the units commanded and are coloured for their army. They all go into a bag and are drawn at random with reach player activating a unit only when their colour dice comes out. So you can get totally random turn taking, which I found was really fun!

The main rulebook and dice are really all you need to start playing. that will set you back around £25. If you want to start playing in 28mm scale the Normandy box set had a full hardback rulebook, terrain, 40 figures and order dice for £60. Bargain!

Revell Micro Wings 1:144 Scale Aircraft

The trouble with 1:72 scale aircraft is that you can't always get them high enough for the scale to work. So I thought I would experiment with some mixed scale stuff, mixing some 1:44 scale aircraft with 1:72 minis. The idea is that as the plane is smaller than the minis scale it looks more like it is high in the sky.

There are a lot of companies that do 1:44 scale stuff, but I plumbed for the Revell Micro Wings kits as they are very cheap and you get a clear flying stand to start you off.

At £1.99 a pop they are really good value and they have most of the allied and axis stuff that a wargamer might need. I bought two to try the Focke FW190 and the Messerschmidt. Inside the box you get a sprue of aircraft, a clear sprue of the cockpit and stand; some instructions and even some decals!

Now at 1:44 these kits are highly simplified and not very detailed and take about 10 minutes to assemble, so if you are looking for a project, this isn't it. However, if you want to get some air support for your troops quickly, they are more than ideal. I did find that the kit wasn't designed very well, the moulding was off in places and needed adapting, there are gaps down each wing which will need filling, but all in all, for £2, I can't complain!

The assembled model really does the job, looks like a Messerschmidt and once painted will look great in my Rapid Fire games!

Review: Plastic Soldier Company - Late War German Infantry

I have a plastic addiction, and just like any addict I know my poison very well. So let me tell you friends, no two plastic hits are ever the same, and once you have had the best you spend your life trying to get that hit again. Plastic Soldier Company infantry boxes are one of the best I've ever had.

For a start they are only £10 a box. For your £10 you get around 50 figures in around 16 poses. That's a bargain. 50 28mm GW space marines cost around £100. Do the maths!

Secondly, the quality of the mould and the plastic is incredible. These are not your wibbly wobbly airfix guys, these are hard plastic collectors figures. the hard plastic makes them easy to sculpt and to convert if you want to. Each sprue comes with a few spares heads and weapons so that you can make exactly what you want.

This particular box is the late war German infantry set. The highlight for me is the radio guy, who appears to be smoking whilst radioing in an airstrike or whatnot!

There are some low points. The grenade thrower is in a very bizarre position. In addition, the medical officer is a little strangely attired. I would also love to get a commander in the box for my HQ section. However, these are minor things in a great box, and a plastic addicts dream!

Wargaming and stuff

So this will be a blog about wargaming... a little introduction would seem appropriate.

I've played variety of games over the 20 years or so that I have been a gamer. Mostly it's been Games Workshop stuff and Dungeons and Dragons. I've often dropped in and out of playing, particularly when my son was born.I love throwing dice and strategising, much more than painting miniatures in fact. Because of this I've always tried to resist the tag of geek, and never really felt at home with the fandom that surrounds certain games. In addition, I never ever play to win. for me a game is a chance to meet friends, drink a beer and enjoy a chat, the game is a means to an end. Recently, I've got back into gaming after a pause when I got a little bored of the GW way of doing things, and their constant price hikes. I've decided that I can dump GW but not wargaming! So I will be trying some new things....

The first of these is WWII gaming. Historical gaming really appeals at the moment. Its a chance to immerse myself in history and throw some dice at the same time. For someone used to GW pricing it has come as quite a shock to find I can buy 10 WWII tanks for the price of one GW tank! After some deliberation, I will be playing the Rapid Fire! rule set.

The next game I will be playing is Urban War. Its a futuristic skirmish game based around a unique piece by piece order activation system. It has some of the coolest minis I have ever seen. I have decided to build a Syntha faction and I am waiting for the glue to dry as I type!

Ranger Grave

Ranger Grave: A defensive fighting position (DFP) is a type of earthwork constructed in a military context, generally large enough to accommodate at least one person.