The Battlegames Blog is moving

With the Battlegames name having been acquired by Atlantic Editions, I am separating my efforts as an individual wargamer and author from the business side of things, especially since there will now be ‘official’ blog posts on my space at the Atlantic website.

As a result, I have transferred everything from this blog (which will remain in being for some time, but I shan’t be adding any new material there) to a new site called, logically enough, Henry Hyde’s Wargaming Blog at http://henrys-wargaming.co.uk and I shall also be taking across a great deal of the material I created on the original Battlegames website, which will be wiped clean soon and handed over to Atlantic.

So, check in at my new blog soon to find a host of archived material to which I shall then be adding on a regular basis.

That’s http://henrys-wargaming.co.uk/ (or you can use the full URL http://henrys-wargaming.henryhyde.co.uk/).

Battlegames 27 and the Atlantic future

I’m delighted to announce that the first issue under the new ownership of Atlantic Editions Limited is humming away on the presses right now and is due to be published in time for Christmas. As you can see, a few changes have been made to the style of the front cover, but inside you’ll find it crammed with the same kind of juicy content you’ve come to expect from what many of you call “the thinking wargamers’ magazine”.

This issue actually features more articles than normal, because I wanted to give a clutch of new contributors a bite at the cherry — as you know, it’s always been my policy to encourage talent when I see it, and I’m sure you’ll agree that these new recruits have earned their place in the ranks of top-quality contributors to the magazine. I want to encourage you to have a go at submitting your ideas. Don’t be shy — everyone has to start somewhere and I have a reputation for being very proactive in helping newcomers to find their ‘voice’ to complement the grumbling veterans already in our pages!

• Foam? Cor! Diane Sutherland finds Jon has been hoarding black electronics packaging foam which, by some miracle, she transforms into a quaint French village, complete with boulangerie. C’est incroyable!

• Forward Observer. Neil Shuck jumps into the saddle and immediately puts his personal stamp on the column that looks at all the latest developments in the hobby. Welcome aboard, Neil!

• Into the lair of the Beast. Dark Ages expert Dan Mersey and I paid a visit to Gripping Beast earlier this year, and this is Dan’s account of the fascinating day we spent with Darren Harding and colleagues, including a game of Saga that Dan would rather forget…

• The race to St Léger. TooFatLardies partner Rich Clarke demonstrates the strengths of I Ain’t Been Shot Mum with a post- D-Day teaser, pitching the Royal Dragoon Guards and Green Howards against an outnumbered but expertly-handled German defence (and an ideal excuse to indulge in some new PSC StuGs…).

• Wargaming blind. Battlegames reader Mike Stewart is visually challenged, but it hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his favourite hobby! This is the remarkable story of his battle to carry on gaming despite what many would think of as insuperable difficulties.

• Painting 1/72 plastics. Lee Clapham may be new to the pages of Battlegames, but he clearly knows a thing or two about techniques for getting an effective paint job onto soft plastic miniatures in a hurry.

• Chronological relocation for scenarios. Che? An Arthur Harman classic, packed full of good ideas as we have come to expect from this most cerebral of gamers. He explains how to look outside your chosen period for inspiration. There’s also a little challenge from your Editor…

• The Grenouissian Intermezzo, part 2. The campaigning begins, with the allies and mercenaries from both Granprix and Grenouisse at sixes and sevens. I’ve used quotes direct from the orders submitted by some of the participants to illustrate the chaos of the opening days as good intentions went awry.

• Command challenge: Malatitze. Well-known Belgian gamer Bart Vetters has supplied us with a stunning challenge based on the Great Northern War battle of Malatitze. This has all the classic components of a dawn raid, set in this much-neglected corner of the horse and musket era — and of course, it’s easy to convert to whatever period you prefer (see Arthur’s piece above).

• After the delay of several months, you’ll be keen to catch up with our Recce section, Tricks of the Newark Irregulars provides the Diary of Events for January-March 2012 and there’s momentous news about the Combat Stress Appeal. In particular, Simone Drinkwater (previously of Casemate Publishing) describes our mad, sun-drenched Sussex March that she and I completed on 1st October.

• And finally, a little surprise: Thoughts from an armchair sees the unexpected and welcome return of a recently-departed guru of the hobby. Yes, you can’t keep a good man down for long, and Mike Siggins just couldn’t stand the sound of his own silence, so we’ve found a comfy seat for him near the fire where he can ramble on about whatever takes his fancy.

Anyway, that should keep you busy over Christmas, and there’s some more information I need to give you as well about where Battlegames and I go from here:

Now owned by Atlantic Editions Limited, who also publish Miniature Wargames, the magazine has a more secure future with the backing of a well-established and professional publishing company. As a result of the handover, my role has changed somewhat:

• Battlegames Ltd no longer exists. My design, writing and editing business is now Henry Hyde Limited: see http://henryhyde.co.uk/

• As soon as issue 27 is published, I shall no longer be administering ANY matters relating to subscriptions or single issue sales, whether paper or digital. The print and production company, Warners, will be taking all that off my hands. Their contact details are given in the magazine.

• After publication of issue 27, digital subscriptions and single issues will be handled by Exact Editions. You can download free examples of their format from the Atlantic Publishing website.

• Again, once this issue is published, all matters relating to advertising will be out of my hands unless you would like me to design your advertisement for you (as Henry Hyde Limited). Ad sales will now be handled by Media Shed, who will be in contact in due course. (This is the same company that sells ad space in Miniature Wargames.)

• I shall continue to have editorial control, and all articles and photos should still be sent direct to me, but at the new email address of henry at henryhyde dot co dot uk

• All contributors will now be paid direct by Atlantic. I shall be in touch with any outstanding previous contributors personally.

• I shall still be designing and laying out the editorial pages of the magazine. The advertising pages, front cover and some ‘in house’ ads are now handled by Atlantic’s in-house team. My hope is that much of the ‘feel’ of Battlegames can be retained.

• Keep your eye on the Atlantic Publishing website. A new section is being built behind the scenes for Battlegames, and as soon as that is ready, all magazine sales of any kind will be directed there. The eventual future of the current Battlegames website has yet to be decided (the “Battlegames” name now belongs to Atlantic), but The Battlegames Blog will be continuing as a personal project, as will the Battlegames page on FaceBook and the Battlegames Twitter account.

So, I hope you enjoy issue 27 and in the meantime, here’s wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Grenouissian Intermezzo: on the road

The Watford Gap services, and so far, all is well. The car is packed not only with hundreds of Spencer Smiths, but also with boxes stuffed with scenery, piles of terrain squares and bags bulging with all an umpire’s necessaries.

I had a very, very late night last night, rebasing everything I could, adding a few flags and tarting up a few buildings. In the end, sheer exhaustion intervened and so there are a lot of troops on biscuit brown bases, but what the heck — the weekend is supposed to be about fun, not exhibition game paranoia!

Right, back to the road…

The Grenouissian Intermezzo: behind the scenes 5

What with everything else going on, you should know that I’m also making my own troop preparations! The forces of Granprix and Grenouisse will be involved – it’s not all being left up to mercenaries. This means that I’m having to make some last-minute additions to my forces of Spencer Smiths, and one of the biggest jobs is sorting out the command stands. As part of this, it dawned on me that neither I, nor Brian or Paul (the original players taking the roles of King Raoul of Grenouisse and Duke Zigor of Granprix) had actually got round to designing any flags. Oops!

So, as if I wasn’t in feverish mode already, I’ve been here at the Mac, cranking out flag designs, and I thought you might like to see a few of them here.

Let’s start with Granprix. The first image is the ‘Ducal’ colours carried by every regiment, the national flag in fact.

The Granprixian Ducal Colours © Henry Hyde 2011

Then we have a typical infantry standard. These are the colours of the 2nd Marines.

Colours of the Granprixian 2nd Marines © Henry Hyde 2011

Granprix is rather short of cavalry, and they use a similar design, rather than a guidon, but it measures only four feet on the pole, rather than the six for infantry. The grenades indicate the elite status of the Carabiniers.

Colours of the Granprixian Ducal Carabiniers © Henry Hyde 2011

Then of course we have Grenouisse, and I wanted to create something that had that ‘ancien régime‘ feel about it, whilst punning on the name of the country. The RR has nothing to do with luxury cars – it of course stands for ‘Raoul Rex’.

The King's Colour of Grenouisse © Henry Hyde 2011

Alan Butler, the extremely generous chap who passed on his collection of Spener Smiths to me, had already painted up several French regimental standards from the 18th century, and they are so nicely done that it would seem churlish to do anything except incorporate them into the mythology of Grenouisse. In due course, I may even add battle honours to them if my eyesight can take the strain!  So the King’s Colours you see here will be carried proudly alongside those. (I don’t know about you, but I think a unit looks all the better for having two, rather than just one, flag.)

Whilst I’ve bee rummaging around my flag files, I realised that some of my own troops in Prunkland had been overlooked in the past, so I’ve done some of those too, such as this one from Von Schiffman Marines.

Von Schiffman Marines colours © Henry Hyde 2011

If, when you zoom in, you wonder what the little marks are in each corner, they are ‘crop’ marks, as used in printing, to make it easier to cut out the flag without leaving a garish white edge.

And I’ll preempt another question: these have all been created using the Adobe Creative Suite, primarily Photoshop (that’s the full, professional version, not Elements) and Illustrator, with some heraldic images found online as a starting point as well as a monumental clip art collection I bought years ago for work, which has an extensive library of crests and emblems.

More flags to come in due course!

Meanwhile, I can tell you that the players are furiously scribbling their next sets of orders, which I hope to be reviewing and turning round over the remainder of this bank Holiday weekend, so that they have a chance to make one last set of decisions before next weekend’s games. Ah, the tension mounts…

The Grenouissian Intermezzo: behind the scenes 4

Now, what were we just saying about making assumptions? There I was, feeling good about myself having spent most of Wednesday poring over maps and orders before sending out everyone’s situation reports, assuming that the dozen players in this campaign had grasped the simplicity and elegance of my approach, when suddenly my inbox goes “Bing!” and the following message arrives from Iain Burt, better known on the WD3 forum as Essex Boy.

Hello Henry,

This is all looking rather brilliant.

My first mistake was to assume a ‘move’ is just one day. So, I need to know ‘stuff’ that I should have asked up front.

Can you please let us know about supply and resupply?

What about supply trains? Do they exist and how big are they?

What about resting troops? Do I need to worry about my heavy cavalry boogieing around the country?

Sorry. I don’t want to turn this into a book keeping exercise but…

All the best

Iain

Yup, good questions, and all perfectly reasonable, the sort of things that other visitors following this blog might also ask, so here’s my reply:

For this campaign, with such an eclectic bunch of participants, some of whom seem to have little experience of even tabletop wargaming, let alone campaigning, I am keeping it all very simple. And with a dozen players involved, and with a colossal workload of my own, I also have my own sanity to consider.

Therefore, you don’t have to worry at all about supply trains or any of the logistical minutiae — that’s all taken into account by your umpire. Nor do you need to concern yourself about resting troops, because the movement rates have been devised to take into account the fact that the men and horses need to be rested at regular intervals and the need for their supplies to keep up.

All this is based on my Wars of the Faltenian Succession articles that ran in issues 1-12 of Battlegames, where I explained everything in a great deal more detail, and what I’m doing for this exercise has been simplified even from what I wrote then. The whole point, after all, is for us to arrive in Yorkshire next weekend with a few games to play to bring the campaign to a climax. It’s going to be a close run thing even with this system, let alone if I let people worry about the number of bushels of wheat and wagons required by their quartermasters. As it is, some commanders are wandering off to explore areas that they have been told are categorically devoid of enemy, or just sitting like scared rabbits in the headlights!

Of course, when we meet, I’ll be happy to discuss ways of making a campaign as complicated as you like, though I would suggest starting with a different — and much shorter — list of participants…   ;-)

Cheers

Henry

The Grenouissian Intermezzo: behind the scenes 3

With the first orders from the participants arriving thick and fast, it has become clear that I made an assumption that people were used to giving map coordinates, when of course they aren’t!

So, here’s the latest missive sent to the players, which refers to this new version of the map which you can download here (PDF).

Evening all,

I’ve attached an enlarged section of the map, covering the bits being fought over.

I also wanted to clarify how coordinates should be expressed.

Use the X (east-west) coordinate first i.e. the letters running along the top and bottom, followed by the Y (north-south) coordinate i.e. the numbers running down the sides.

So, for example, Pescadrix is at U23. Grondine is at X18.

Note that owing to the nature of hexagons, the numbered rows wobble up and down! To help you, I have shown the top and bottom rows (14 and 32) in their entirety.

OK?

This is a classic case of that old adage about assumptions, which make an ASS out of U and ME!

Anyway, things are really moving along, and I’ve spent some time today printing out a large number of hexagons, 20cm from corner to corner, onto tracing paper, so that this little chore is done when I need them for generating more detailed terrain. In the old days, of course, I drew all the hexagon outlines by hand – what a waste of time! Even then, I should have just gone to the corner shop to get photocopies! Doh!

Anyway, I don’t want to give anything away at the moment, but I can tell you that it’s very exciting being the umpire, the only person with the complete picture of what’s happening. Some of the outcomes awaiting players are just plain funny, others fraught with challenges and danger. I’m constantly fascinated by how easy it is to misconstrue what one imagined were perfectly plain instructions. You’ll see!

The Grenouissian Intermezzo: behind the scenes 2

The following message has just been sent to all participants:

Afternoon all,

Okay, this is what I need from you.

By now, you should have all have received your first Situation Report, dated 11th April (1747 for our purposes).

WD3 campaign example sheet

On those sheets, you will have seen that you have been given an intended location (where you were supposed to be) and an actual location (where you have ended up), as well as some notes pertaining to your situation.

The only people who have the full picture — more or less — are Tim (Hall), commanding the Grenouissian mercenaries and allies, and Peeler (Mark Phillips), his opposite number for Granprix.

It is important for you to realise that these chaps are NOT running the countries as a whole: King Raoul and Duke Zigor are alive and well and not necessarily making life easy for Tim and Peeler. For example, at the moment, both countries are still deciding what forces of their own they can add to the balance. Now, you might think that’s because your umpire is still sorting out his Spencer Smiths, but I couldn’t possibly comment…

Anyway, THIS IS WHAT I NEED YOU TO DO.

Based on the map that you already have (and if you haven’t downloaded and printed out a copy by now, you deserve an umpirial slap — I’ve attached it here again Map of the area involved in the Grenouissian Intermezzo), I simply need you to tell me the following:

1. The hex co-ordinate of where you would like your force to be by the end of this move (midnight Friday, 15th April). Of course, you have the option of simply staying put. If you do wish to move, also indicate the route you wish to take (“on the road to X” or “via Y” are sufficient, unless an actual hex co-ordinate is vital). If you split your force, hex co-ordinates and details of each part should be given separately. Each hex is about five miles across. For campaign movement purposes, a hex’s terrain is simplified to a single terrain type. An individual hex’s map is only drawn up in detail once contact has been made. Even an apparently empty or remote hex is likely to have small tracks, a few farms or cottages, minor watercourses, small woods and so on. As a rough guide, these are the approximate movement rates PER MOVE:

MOVEMENT POINTS (MP)
Close order infantry 2
Grenzer / Jäger 3
Heavy cavalry 4
Light/irregular cavalry 6
3-6pdr artillery 2
8-12pdr artillery 2
Wagons / siege train 2
Generals/ADCs/couriers 20
Scouts add 50% according to type
Boats
Downriver 6
Upriver 4
On lakes 5
On canals 5

MOVEMENT FACTORS (MF)
Cross country 1
On roads ½
On hills 2
In woods 2
To pass through a defile +1
On roads on hills 1
The above factors are cumulative. Defiles
are defined as bridges, towns and gaps of
one hex or less between obstacles.

2. What you want your force to do en route and/or when they get to their intended destination.

3. Any contingency plans, such as Standing Orders for your troops should they encounter resistance etc.

4. Include in your instructions any couriers/messages you wish to send, and to whom, and where.

That’s it.

You may split your force if you wish, send out recce parties as mentioned previously, but as I’ve also warned, a force caught separated is likely to have problems.

What would pass for proper military conduct in reality works exactly the same in my world. Remember, this is the 18th century when generally speaking, armies behaved very well towards civilians and each other, and indiscretions were punishable by the lash and gauntlet, even execution. Good strategy and tactics will be rewarded and will lead to a fun and challenging finale; bad behaviour will lead to an early bath.

And remember that all communication at this point should come via ME so that I can assist where need be, whilst also adding the Fog of War.

OK?

Finally, DON’T PANIC!!! I know that some of you have never fought this period before, and many of you have never campaigned before, so don’t worry. Just do your best to think like a real commander, take it slowly, and you’ll be fine. The secret is: be yourself. If it suits you to be cautious and stand your ground, that’s fine. If you fancy yourself as a Frederick, sweeping across the countryside, that’s also fine. The biggest burden is on Tim and Peeler, who are right now trying to make sense of all the mess I’ve dropped them in!

Over to you.

Henry

P.S. So, yes, I need your responses not later than THIS FRIDAY, 15TH APRIL. Anyone thinking they can hand me their orders at Salute is WRONG! If I do not receive your orders on time, things may happen to you! You have been warned! Naturally, the same applies for subsequent moves until the Big Weekend itself arrives.

The Grenouissian Intermezzo: Granprix at Bay – Act I Scene 1

Timbers creaked ominously as the vessel rose, teetered momentarily on the crest, and then plunged in a cloud of spray into the valley of the wave, causing a booming explosion which shuddered the ship from stem to stern. In her hold, horses whinnied in terror and men more used to the uplands of Darien hung their pallid heads over sick-slick stinking decks and wished they could die.

“Ah cannae hold her much longer, Yer Lordship. She’ll nae beat agin’ a storm this hard!” Seaman Scott McScot swayed on the deck, his feet rooted to the planking, his eye peering through the furious dusk as the horizon rose and fell and twisted and rose again.

Rain lashed at Lord Drumcharry’s oilskins and ran in rivulets from the felt guttering of his gold-fringed tricorne hat. He looked aloft, and saw unspeakably courageous men illuminated by a sudden flash of lightning as they fought to furl billowing sheets against swaying spars. “How far from Montaña Viejas do you think we are, Scotty?” He shouted against the roar of the wind and crashing waves. He snapped open a brass telescope and held it to his eye, trying to keep his shoulders loose so that his aim could stay with the lurching horizon.

“Ach, Yer Lordship, there’s nae way tae tell. It’s been blowing ever since we passed The Devil’s Rock and the current’s with her, so who knows? We’ve nae been able to heave the log, nor see the stars, but I swear I’ve seen some others in the fleet astern when the lightning strikes.” His taut muscles strained against the wheel, his rivered face ruddy with the effort.

Suddenly, Lord Drumcharry straightened, his gaze fixed on a single point, and at that moment a faint voice came from the rigging above, whipped away by the wind.

“Land! Land ho!”

Drumcharry could see it now as well. Faint, flickering lights in the distance. “There, Scotty, there! Make for those lights, and put us ashore to the east of them. We don’t want to turn up in the middle of a damn hornet’s nest, especially given the condition of the men but, by God, I’ll be glad to feel solid land beneath my feet!”

“Aye aye, Yer Lordship,” replied  the grizzled sailor, and he heaved all the harder on the wheel whilst wondering where the rest of the Grand Mercenary Fleet, consisting of dozens of ships, had gone. Thousands of men, horses and cannon, far from home, drawn hither by the hope of fame and fortune, now torn asunder by the capricious gods of the deep.

He wiped the salt from his eyes, set his bristled jaw and battled on.

Stop Press: Borschtian Fleet Turns Back

The Czar of Borscht, en route to take command of His Grace Duke Zigor’s forces in Granprix, has been taken seriously ill on board the Borschtian flagship репа (pronounced rehba) with a very bad case of beetroot poisoning, which has also affected many of the troops on board the transports. Reports tell of the fleet reversing course and heading for home, with few men left standing to hose down the decks.

As a precaution, a five-mile exclusion zone has been placed around the Borschtian fleet and coastal towns have been warned of the approaching slick. There is particular concern for the small island off the ‘toe’ of Granprix, Illa de Dos Arbres and their annual endurance swimming contest, held jointly with Faltenian neighbours on Buchtinsel, which started today.

Environmental groups have complained about “…the reckless use of unripe beets” in Borschtian cooking which has led to the endangering of rare marine species. A spokesman for Borschtian Pickles issued a denial that they had anything to do with this incident. “Clearly,” he said, “Borschtian Pickles have made huge investments in training and equipment to prevent just such a tragedy. All our beets are boiled thoroughly and plunged into spiced vinegar at a temperature in excess of 95 degrees before bottling, so we don’t see how we could be held responsible for something which obviously has more to do with the wanton gluttony of the Czar and his troops.”

Quite apart from the risks to marine health, this crisis leaves Duke Zigor of Granprix casting around for new allies as the threat from neighbouring Grenouisse grows. The broadsheets and coffee houses are awash with reports that none other than the Duke of Braunschweig has arrived in Couervige to be briefed by King Raoul himself, so clearly, events are moving apace.

The latest rumour, though it can scarce be believed, is that in desparation, Duke Zigor has dispatched a fast ship to Aytonia, aiming to court none other than The Good Lord Peeler. For those that may not read the more scurrilous pamphlets, this gentleman has made his fortune hiring out substantial numbers of mercenaries, though it must be said that their performance has been, shall we say, ‘variable’ in the extreme. He is often surrounded by gangs of thugs, hoodlums and ‘downreet strange folk’. Those who speak out against him have been known to disappear for good.

If the fate of fair Granprix is given into the hands of this man, then this reporter fears for the future of the world’s playground for playboys.

The Grenouissian Intermezzo: behind the scenes 1

Running a campaign, particularly with more than a couple of participants, consists mainly of writing a lot of messages and doing one’s best to keep things manageable. Thus spake the man sitting in front of his computer at 2 in the morning, having just composed a mammoth email to the players in this game!

Well, with just over three weeks to go, the time has come to whip the players into shape and give life to the campaign proper, so here’s what I’ve just sent them. There will be plenty of communications I won’t reveal until after the event — it would spoil the fun! — but I think that those of you either planning or playing in a campaign might find some of this stuff interesting, so here goes.

(Bear in mind that the genesis of this project has been far from normal. A collection of guys who chat on the WD3 forum have raised their own, entirely fictitious, forces for a weekend get-together near Scarborough at the end of this month, using whatever 28-30mm miniatures they prefer, and painted entirely as they please. I think — pray! — that they have adopted the basing conventions I suggested, but beyond that, whatever happens, they will see action.

 

Gentlemen,

You are now confirmed as The Dirty Dozen, an elite force of eccentric wargamers scheduled to appear before the Judge of Fate at the end of this month. So welcome, and feel proud to be part of this merry band of brothers!

Okay, here’s what’s coming.

—–

First, please ensure that you have confirmed with me the following details:

• The name of your imagi-nation (if you have one — if not, I’ll allocate one for you from my existing ‘world’)
• Your name and rank as the CinC of your own forces during the campaign
• The name, type and strength of each of your regiments of foot and horse that will definitely be there (no ifs, buts or maybes at this stage, please!). Please state whether your cavalry are dragoons, cuirassiers, light dragoons, hussars, chasseurs, lancers/uhlans or Cossacks, and likewise your infantry should be specified as musketeers, fusiliers, grenadiers, militia, Jäger, chasseurs, Grenzers and so on.
• Please also tell me the basic uniform colour of each of your regiments. This will help both in allocating you to the appropriate side so that the uniforms basically match as far as possible, and also enabling me to prepare a recognition guide for the games.

This may seem like a bit of work, but trust me, getting this sorted now will really pay dividends when it comes to the game and will greatly enhance the back-story that I’ll have running alongside the campaign. A few of you have, of course, already supplied most of these details.

—–

Second, I plan to have you make about half a dozen decisions leading up to the game. Don’t panic! These will take the form of me emailing you individually with something like “You are here at X. This is what you can see. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?” You’ll be given enough information to make these simple decisions, including sketch maps. I know that for some of you, this is your first time venturing into strategy, rather than just tactics. Relax, it’s fun and challenging, and you might even turn out to be good at it. You don’t have to worry about the campaign rules as such: that’s my department, and just like a real general, you’ll just react to events as they unfold.

Remember that it is quite permissible to split your regiments into independent squadrons (6 figures) and battalions into companies (12 figures) if you wish to comb the country or leave small garrisons and so on. On the other hand, if you get caught whilst divided like this, woe betide you! For reconnaissance, I’ll allow cavalry squadrons to split again into two troops of three figures for reconnaissance. Given my own time constraints (I can’t believe I’m doing this at all with the work on my plate!), further subdivision would leave me with a zillion co-ordinates to track which is just not practicable.

There will be approximately two brief communications of this kind per week. Please reply to them in a timely manner. If I don’t hear from you, then The Hand of God will roll the dice and decide what has happened to your forces, and you might not like what he’s got in store for you!

—–

Third, if you wish to communicate with another player during the campaigning phase, ALL communication must come via me and I will pass on your message. Imagine it as though you have had your diplomatic service or courier deliver a sealed letter. With luck, it will get through on time… I have to trust you not to communicate directly with other players. If you do so, it will just spoil the game and wreck any surprises for the weekend.

The benefit of corresponding with other players is to get their co-operation. Perhaps they have more cavalry than you, so can scout more effectively. Or maybe they have some light infantry that you don’t, so they can check out some dodgy-looking woods, and so on.

—–

Fourth, initially, due to the somewhat chaotic way that your forces have been hired as mercenaries, all arriving from some of the most bizarre sounding places on the planet, it may not be clear to you who is friend and who is foe, so beware! Fortunately, this is the 18th century, so things are pretty civilized and a chap can have a civil conversation with a fellow, even if he turns out to be batting for the other side. You will be given clues along the way, so that hopefully, by the time the weekend arrives, you will have shaken yourselves out into two tightly-knit teams, certain of each other’s allegiances, strengths and weaknesses, and eager to collaborate to beat the foe.

Oh, dear…

—–

And on that note, fifth, I will now reveal that the two commanders-in-chief, by dint of fielding substantial forces and also because they are helping to organise the weekend, will be Mark Phillips (Granprix) and Tim Hall (Grenouisse). This has come as much of a surprise to them as anyone else at this point! The rest of you will be allocated to one side or the other as soon as you have supplied the details requested at the head of this email, but I already have a good idea. Now, they also shouldn’t let their promotion go too much to their heads as they will have to contend with the Hand of God throwing various spanners in the works, let alone the fact that playing alongside you lot is going to be like herding cats at the best of times. And, being mercenaries, it’s entirely possible that your allegiances might change, or you just might not feel like risking your expensively-raised and trained troops when ordered to do so. Perish the thought that any of you might  behave in so ungentlemanly a fashion as to refuse a direct order.

Now, I shall also be contributing a substantial number of my own Spencer Smiths to the troop reserves, some of which I may allocate to those of you who only have small numbers of your own figures, some of which may be used for other purposes not yet revealed. I shall of course let each of you know how this affects you, but my aim is that everyone feels like they’ve got plenty to play with over the gaming weekend and we can have some nice-looking games with plenty on the tables.

I’m anticipating that on the Saturday, there will be two or three medium-sized games, leading to one mighty encounter on the Sunday, but if things turn out different, well, that’s campaigning, and as long as you all have fun, that’s what counts. Fortunately, it seems like the table arrangements at the hall, and the supply of scenery we’ll have at our disposal (which will be very much simple and, dare I say it, even ‘old school’ in feel) will allow a great degree of flexibility. It could be, for example, that several of you on one side try to gang up on one or two of the other side, who then pray for reinforcements to arrive, whilst a couple more fight a smaller tussle on a side table elsewhere.

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And finally, as you are already aware, I’m going to run a blog alongside for ‘the public gallery’, so to speak. I’m not going to reveal all the details there — they can wait for the after-action report in Battlegames! — but do feel free to chime in with comments as participants. Who knows, it might get some interesting discussion going… Considering the last time I ran a campaign, the Internet hadn’t even been invented yet, this could become quite a multimedia experience. It would be nice to run a ‘live’ blog  over the weekend itself, for example, and don’t be surprised to find some podcast and video commentary from your Umpire!

Okay, folks, that’s more than enough for now, so get those details to me and let’s get cracking. Good luck, everyone!

Henry

P.S. This email has also been copied to a small number of ‘secret’ participants who won’t be there in person at the weekend, but may assist the Umpire in his evil deliberations. These include Paul Brook, aka Duke Zigor of Granprix, and Brian Glazebrook, aka King Raoul of Grenouisse, whose commands, should they deign to issue any, must be taken very seriously indeed by Mark and Tim respectively, and they will be kept abreast of all developments.

 

So, that’s set the ball rolling, and now let’s see what happens!

A pretty host of plastic Spencer Smiths, recently acquired from Alan Butler of Tunbridge Wells. Currently painted as French, they are being rebased ready for war and await new colours to be presented by King Raoul of Grenouisse himself as they take up residence in their new home.