Fictitious Wars

A number of people have emailed me to ask about the article I wrote that was published in issue 47 of Miniature Wargames way, way back in April 1987. For those of you who may have missed it, it gave a general overview of what now are commonly called ‘imagi-nations’ although, at the time, I was one of only a handful of people who pursued this type of semi-mythical 18th century gaming that has mushroomed in popularity since the advent of the Old School Wargaming group.

The article has been available as a PDF download from the main Battlegames site for some time, but for your convenience, you can now also download it here.

The Wars of the Faltenian Succession: rules question

Gentle reader, from time to time it takes someone to ask a really obvious question before we realise that we have either explained something badly, or perhaps not at all!

So it was that earlier today, Battlegames reader and new horse-and-musket campaigner Mark Ashley emailed me, asking for clarification regarding that moment when opposing forces have met on the large, strategic map, and the time comes for a more detailed, individual hex to be drawn.

I have got to the stage where my forces have met on the strategic map and we now swap to the ‘big’ hex which we split into two 2.5cm squares and we take the nearest primary features on the overall map and rolled the dice.

Now I take it, it’s for both squares? And any towns which result in that dice throwing are new ones? And they need to be named in order for the battle to have a name?

I would be grateful if you could clear these up for me as I have had great fun just on the strategic map and my forces are only just coming to grips. I dismissed your idea of giving people characteristics as a waste of time. I then found that it would greatly assist me in their ability to make decisions so I went back and did them all. See, you do know best, well done for putting it in.

First of all, I was troubled that Mark thought the large hex should be divided into just two squares. Not only do I not recall ever writing that, but I couldn’t work out how it would be possible, and felt awful thinking that he had wasted time attempting such a thing! So, this is what I wrote in reply (don’t forget you can click on any image to zoom in, except the chart, which is already full size):

Hello Mark, and thanks for your email.

Okay, turn to Issue 4, page 28, second column, halfway down.

“The hex was divided into 2.5cm squares, with overlaps beyond the boundary. I took the nearest primary features on the overall map, such as hill hexes, wood hexes, town hexes etc and for each small, 2.5 cm square, consulted the table below. So, for example, if there is a wood hex three hexes distant, then there’s a 70% chance they will occur in any of your 2.5 cm squares. This is designated as a hill hex itself? There will definitely be at least some elevation in each little square. Then, it’s just a matter of artistic license and a few additions, such as marshes, ponds, streams, tracks and so on, to make your hex ‘feel’ just right.”

Hex detailing chart from BG4

Now see the images below, which I shall also be adding to the Battlegames website, as it’s clear that I forgot to mention the precise size of these ‘large’ hexes. My profuse apologies — this just goes to show the dangers of writing last-minute copy in the middle of the night before a deadline! I’m amazed, in fact, that you are the first person to notice this mistake.

How to detail a hex: the missing explanation © Henry Hyde

On the scan of M20 here you can still see the original pencil lines designating the smaller squares.

Hex M20 of Martinstaat, from The Wars of the Faltenian Succession © Henry Hyde

As for the naming, that is of course the biggest challenge, as the population of real countries have had hundreds or even thousands of years to name everything. That’s why you can be as daft as you like, or just sketchy: “Red Farm” and “Blue Village” when translated to German are “Rotbauernhof” and “Blaudorf”. Sounds fine to me!

I hope this clears up any confusion, and thanks for writing in to point out the oversight. Time to check through everything and make ready for the Wars of the Faltenian Succession book.

So, the answer is that you throw for ALL the smaller squares, and indeed any settlements that arise are new. I classify them as villages, hamlets, farms — it’s really up to you. If you want somewhere less densely populated, then you could roll for the population centres and divide by 2, for example. But the fact of the matter is that in most games, you’ll want at least one or two small buildings, even if it’s only a barn and a cowshed!

Well, I thought that was that, but then later today, Mark came right back at me.

Thanks for taking the time to reply but sorry, it’s provided me with more questions than answers now!

The examples in your email are not to scale ie 10cm sides and the 2.5cm squares? (They haven’t printed off to that scale) so I just make my own to those dimensions? Yes?

Does the campaign then switch to that large hex? For movement?

Then how many miles does each of those 10cm squares represent? Or do they equate to my 2ft square gaming boards (ie one 2.5cm square = one of my 2ft gaming sq boards?) Or will one of those 2.5cm squares equate to the whole of my 8×6 table??

Sorry if these questions appear a bit simple but I’m having trouble going from the clash on the campaign map to transfering it to the boards to fight the action.

After picking myself off the floor following this flurry of interrogaton, I realised that nothing short of a full walk-through would do.

Hello Mark

The examples I sent are actual size at 72dpi (screen resolution). Just scale your printouts so that they reproduce at that size. (I’m afraid I can’t get into giving computer lessons as well!)

You only produce these more detailed hexes when contact is made and a decision has been agreed on to fight.

Here’s an example, using the example of the hex M20 I sent to you.

Let’s say that I, playing Prunkland, have declared M20 as one of my coordinates, and so has Guy, playing Faltenland.

Prunkland, arriving from the West, declares its strength in the hex as Brigade, while Faltenland, coming from the East, declares as Detachment. At this stage, the precise composition of the enemy forces are unknown to the other player.

Now each side rolls a die to see what further intelligence they have obtained. Let’s say I roll a 5, Guy rolls a 3.

Prunkland has to declare its numbers to within + or – 10%, with approximate proportions of infantry, cavalry and artillery, so I reveal that actual numbers are between about 90 and 110 figures, of whom about 80% are infantry, the rest being cavalry.

Guy as Faltenland, meanwhile, must declare more accurately still, as Prunkland got a higher intelligence gathering score. So his report comes back that his detachment in fact consists of just 18-22 cavalry only, who look suspiciously like uhlans. Darn! This is a bit of a reconnaissance coup for Faltenland!

We must now decide whether to stand our ground. Unknown to Guy at this stage, the forces at my disposal here are Von Wacht Grenzers, Von Kleidemacher Jäger and Von Czapka Hussars. Assuming for the moment that no more senior brigade commander is on hand to take command, Von Czapka is the senior unit commander — cavalry always takes precedence.

Now comes the optional part if you want to allow your commanders to determine the outcome. Von Czapka’s characteristics are 14, 14, 44, 84, 08, 72. This means he’s frankly a bit thick, not exactly one to take the initiative, moderately courageous, hugely charismatic, physically weedy in the extreme but destined to live a long life with rude health. I start to consider that I should have appointed a rather brighter brigadier to command this little force. What will he do? Let’s see if he’ll seize the initiative and get stuck in. Remarkably, a throw of a pair of percentage dice comes up 13, so against our expectations perhaps, he decides to try to push the smaller Faltenian force out of the hex.

The Faltenians on hand are actually a squadron of Pilsudski Uhlans, who have been sent ahead to secure the bridge over the Steinwasser near Mickelpfronn. With only the squadron commander, rather than the colonel present, Guy has the option of rolling characteristics for a junior commander (a captain, in this case), but the trouble is that you can end up with a list of thousands of personalities! So we allow Guy to take the decision himself, and he decides that he does want to make a dash for the bridge and attempt to occupy Mickelpfronn.

So, with an agreement being made to fight, I roll for all the minor terrain features you can see in the large hex map, get out my pens and pencils and start drawing! This then reveals all the little woods, streams, hills, villages, minor roads and so on. This is the equivalent of us sending out individual scouts to reconnoitre the surrounding area. In fact, the process is fascinating, as it then gives both commanders ideas, such as “If he pushes me back, we can retire to that village”; or “I must occupy those two hills overlooking the town and if I get grenzers into that wood they could infiltrate right to the edge of the houses without being seen.”

The final thing is to determine who got there first, which, in the absence of an umpire, relies on the player’s complete honesty with one another. As it happens, I am able to declare that Prunkland already had M20 as a co-ordinate the previous week, which Guy acknowledges, but that the occupants at the beginning of the week were just the grenzers of Von Wacht’s regiment. The remaining troops (the jäger and the hussars) have come from hex J20, three road hexes distant. Guy’s Uhlans, however, have arrived from Iferbrücke at O19, just two road hexes distant.

The following sequence of events therefore unfolds. Von Wacht’s Grenzers have been in the town since the beginning of the week (which, for the purposes of this illustration, we’ll call Monday morning). Then the Faltenian Uhlans arrive: as light/irregular cavalry, they have 6MP, which on roads means they can move 12 hexes per week. Two hexes, then, required only 1/6 of a week, or just over a day, to travel, so they will arrive in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Next to arrive will be Czapka’s hussars, assuming that they are pushing ahead — with three hexes to travel, they will turn up after 3/12, which is 1/4 of the week, roughly Tuesday evening. The jäger follow along last; with 3MP, they can move 6 hexes a week on roads, which means they’ll take half a week to get to the bridge, so won’t arrive until Thursday lunchtime. (This is all assuming, of course, that neither side has ordered a Forced March, which would of course enable the troops to arrive sooner.) I could also choose, for example, to have the hussars move more slowly to accompany the jäger so that they arrive at the same time. A clever general might also have ordered a Forced march for the jäger, so that they can keep up better with the hussars.

It is up to the players to decide how much to reveal to their opponent. Of course, Guy’s Uhlans would have no idea that enemy reinforcements are on the way, in the same way that I would have no idea that he has none! It would be legitimate, therefore, to wait until the appropriate time to reveal such arrivals.

So, we have a couple of cracking little fights in the offing. First of all, there’s Von Wacht’s grenzers attempting to hold the bridge and the town against Pilsudski Uhlans. Of course, now that both commanders have the detailed hex map at their disposal, they might choose to do something clever. I don’t know if you can see clearly on the copy I sent you, but just south of the centre, there’s a ferry point marked on the river, next to one of my favourite-named villages, Uthersmangel-an-der-Steinwasser! This conveniently allows the inhabitants of the village on the opposite bank, Eichmannsdorf-am-Steinwasser, to communicate and trade. A canny light cavalry commander might decide to send a small force to outflank the defenders of Mickelpfronn using that method; and of course, an equally canny defender might decide to place a few men to guard such an approach!

Now, on the large hex maps, you’ll see that I used a scale of about 1mm = 50 yards (you can change this if you like), so that it’s possible to use your normal battlefield rules to carry out map-moves leading to the actual encounter, or even while your tabletop game is in progress. I would suggest that troops moving on the map like this are allowed generous ‘march moves’, at least double, perhaps even 2.5 or three times, the distance of the standard tactical moves. So if, for example, a normal infantry move is 150mm (6 inches), which would equate to just 3mm on the map, then allow infantry to move at least 6mm, or even up to 9mm when map-moving, as they aren’t fussing about keeping drill-square order, they’re just trying to get from A to B.

Each of those smaller squares, 2.5cm (1 inch) across, therefore represents a tabletop space of about 1,250 yards square. So, if you use 1mm=1 yard in your wargame rules, that equates to 1.25 metres, or just over four feet. If you play ‘old school’ style with 1 inch = 10 yards, then our 1,250 yards require 125 inches (10 feet 5 inches) of tabletop space. As with all wargames, you can certainly get away with a bit of ‘fudging’. My own table is 8 feet by 6 feet. In the days when I used 1mm = 1 yard rules, that equated to an area on the map about 2 squares by 1.5 squares. Using ‘old school’ dimensions, this reduces to an area on the map just over 19mm x 14mm.

I would also recommend that you allow 48 half-hour moves to represent a full 24-hour day. This forces you to introduce reduced night-time visibility, getting lost, fatigue and so on. It also enables you to work out with reasonable precision when reinforcements arrive, flank attacks go in, and so forth. And don’t forget that ammunition isn’t inexhaustible! You may also find yourself occasionally using cavalry on foot, either to defend a position or (as in our example) trying to winkle defenders out of built-up areas.

Naturally, you might judge Guy foolhardy to take on Von Wacht’s grenzers in this way. But because it’s part of a campaign, it raises all sorts of questions. What’s he up to elsewhere? Is this just a demonstration to fix my attention at this place while he amasses his forces? Is he just trying to whittle down my strength? Will he bug out before the cavalry and jäger arrive? And so on.

Finally, once whatever actions have been fought or avoided are carried out, you may have to amend your intended co-ordinates for the rest of the week. For example, let’s take the happy hypothetical that Faltenland’s uhlans have been scattered in M20, and forced back into N19. If, for example, Czapka’s hussars had actually been ordered to move through to Iferbrücke at O19, then it will be assumed that they will pursue the enemy into N19, where Guy would once again have to make a decision whether to try to stand and fight. However, with his uhlans routing, the logical thing would be that they would retire to Iferbrücke and head for cover. Then, when Prunkland’s hussars arrive outside the walls of Iferbrücke towards the end of the week, Faltenland declares a Brigade as their strength there, and Von Czapka’s nerve fails! Czapka therefore stop at O19.

Right, that’s your lot — the rest is down to you!

I hope that others find these replies useful and, of course, if you have any questions of your own concerning the campaign mechanisms, then do get in touch.

Von Klinkertor Kürassiere on the march

I promised it wouldn’t be long before I added to the growing forces of Prunkland, so here I present Von Klinkertor Kürassiere, veterans of the Sittangbad game staged at Partizan a couple of years ago alongside Von Eintopf Musketeers (see Battlegames magazine issue 4, picture on p.18). Of course, they were veterans of the Wars of the Faltenian Succession long before that, having been involved in every campaign from 1741 to 1745, and their guidon bears the battle honours of Martinstadt, Niffelgletsch and Schmickelhofbrücke, as well as the more recent battles against Borscht of Momplitz and Kwitzelwitsch. As a souvenir of that wonderful day spent with The War Gamers at Kelham Hall, I have cheekily added Sittangbad to the list as well!

The bases have been made from the same 0.8mm ply that I bought from 4D Models in London; you could, of course, have the bases pre-cut for you by Litko Aerosystems who create an amazing array of useful things for wargamers.

The guidon was created using the same system as for the infantry colours, but I realised that this was the opportunity for me to establish the form that all Prunkland’s cavalry flags would take. I decided to create three shapes, to help differentiate the different types of cavalry: a guidon for cuirassiers, somewhat resembling that used by British cavalry, with a half-round end bisected by a ‘dart’ shape cutout; a square flag for dragoons, which pays homage to their origins as mounted infantry; and a classic swallow-tailed design for the light cavalry. You’ll see them all in due course, but here’s a close-up of the one carried by Von Klinkertor Kürassiere.

Next on the painting table are Von Renscher Musketeers, but I shall also be re-basing all Prunkland’s artillery. I also uncovered a lovely selection of wagons and carriages and limbers that I had ordered from Minifigs ages ago, and have started assembling them. Real little gems, these, nominally quite a ‘pure’ 25mm, but as background pieces for most games, and occasionally taking centre stage in wagon train type scenarios, they are ideal. See the wagons in their Napoleonic list (they are clearly described as not all being Napoleonic!) and some bits right at the bottom of their SYW list.

I was also very fortunate to have received an unexpected boon to my collection of original plastic Spencer Smiths lately. I was doing some work updating the Spencer Smith website when Peter Johnstone uncovered about 200 of the marching musketeers, which I happily accepted as part of my fee! You will be seeing these as they come under my brush in due course.

I am also delighted because it looks as though my dear friend Steve Gill, who proof-reads Battlegames for me, is making noises about wanting to get involved with the command of the forces of Borscht, and has already made some sartorial suggestions for their uniform. From my point of view, this is wonderful news, as it will help maintain the momentum of painting and organising forces, and as you all know, I’m a campaign man to the core, itching to start manoeuvring forces on my maps again. For Steve, the experience will be a novelty, as he has never had the opportunity to fight a campaign before, although he has of course been reading my Wars of the Faltenian Succession series in the magazine with more of an eye for detail than most!

So, lots to keep the momentum going, but it’s at this point that I have to down tools and turn all my attention to the production of issue 13 of the magazine, due to go to print in a couple of weeks time at the latest. Plenty of midnight oil to be burned between now and then!

Back to basics

There comes a time in every wargamer’s life when he has to make some critical decisions. These are often prompted by such statements of the bleedin’ obvious such as, “I’m not getting any younger”, “I have umpteen unfinished projects”, “My eyes aren’t what they used to be”, “The rising price of lead is scandalous”, “What’s that funny smell?” and, not least, “Isn’t this supposed to be fun?”

In my case, the scenario has been somewhat ironic. As author of one of the most highly publicised fictitious campaigns, I’m ashamed to say that the miniature soldiery for representing the Wars of the Faltenian Succession have been in a bit of a parlous state. Over the course of the 20-odd years that Prunkland and Faltenland (and assorted belligerent neighbours) have been battling on the pettiest of pretexts, I have made use of several sets of rules, various sizes of miniatures and have enlisted the help of at least five wargaming opponents, as well as playing solo. 6mm, 15mm, 25mm and 30mm figures have all had their turn; the Grant rules, Charge!, the Newbury 18th century rules, WRG 1685-1845, Bruce Quarrie (amended), and then my own concoctions, have all conspired to test the nerves of such bold warriors as Von Eintopf, Luzian Marcklenburg and the great King Ludwig of Prunkland himself. This was all exacerbated by the purchase of someone else’s collection of old and brittle (but painted) plastic Spencer Smiths a couple of years ago. They are nice, but not quite nice enough, and the unit sizes just aren’t right at all.

I’m 47 later this month, and I’ve reached the point where I want to clear out the clutter, and make some bold and (this is the important word) permanent decisions about my collection, and the rules I’m using for the few periods and scales I’m settling on. And core of all the projects is my fictitious 18th century imagi-nation campaign. If I can’t sort that, I asked, then what can I sort?

It’s curious how a visit to fellow wargamers can provide the fuel for change in unexpected ways. In the last twelve months or so, I’ve trodden paths to the doors of John Ray, John Preece, Phil Olley and Charles Grant. Each of them, in their own way, has an impressive collection that reflects a certain single-mindedness which I cannot help but admire. Heck, I’m a Gemini, so most days I don’t know if I’m coming or going, and in the creative maelstrom I inhabit, I’m interested in everything and pretty good at most things. Well, that’s great for dinner party chatter and idle flirting — even for designing, editing and publishing a magazine — but it sure doesn’t get the painted figures on the shelf.

I looked long and hard at Phil Olley’s stuff in particular. His Pils Holstein campaign is a near-perfect rendition of an imagi-nation based heavily on historical precedent. He uses Front Rank figures, many of which are professionally painted, together with wonderful basing that is his trademark. As a project manager, Phil is peerless, and his advice is rightly sought by many gamers (not least, me!) when they find themselves wallowing in the no-man’s-land of loss of focus.

Phil, of course, will be the first, in turn, to pay homage to the great John Ray, whose magnificent, self-sculpted AWI collection is now being swollen by his European armies of the late third and early fourth quarters of the 18th century: this is his Fulda campaign, evidence of which is also being hosted by Phil. If you want absolute proof of one man’s vision being translated into miniature reality, this is it, right down to the little individual vignettes and personalities that John has created, based on tiny sketches prepared for him by miniature architect and artist Brian Rigelsford. To be able to sculpt unique miniatures to this quality is something I envy hugely, and I am filled with admiration for John’s work every time I see it.

Now, without question, these are oeuvres of the highest order. For quite some time, I hesitated to continue my own core project, questioning the worthiness of my efforts, lured by the sumptuous detail of the Ray/Olley mould. I looked at my Spencer Smiths and was torn inside, loving their simplicity, but desperately unsure of whether they would provide me with the satisfaction I craved long-term.

But then, something happened. First of all, I became heavily involved with a project being put together by Charles Grant. I was honoured to be asked to contribute in certain ways to his forthcoming The War Game Companion, which has just gone to the publishers. In the course of this work, I was privileged to be asked to edit certain sections of the book, and whilst I cannot reveal the contents, I can tell you that the effects of reading Charles’ recollections of campaigning with his father were completely restorative. The adventures had by father and son, as they commanded the forces of Die Vereinigte Freie Städte and the Grand Duchy of Lorraine, make for enthralling reading; anyone who loved The War Game will want to have this tome alongside it on their shelf. In essence, it made me realise that, for 18th century gaming at least, what I first read in Charles Grant senior’s book back in 1971 IS wargaming for me. Simple, elegant figures, marching in serried ranks, organised into big battalions and squadrons, on an equally simple terrain. Virtually nothing is literal, and there are acres of space left for the imagination. THAT, I thought to myself, is what I want for the Wars of the Faltenian Succession. For me, personally, anything else is compromise.

But at the same time, there is no point me slavishly copying what the Grants did, any more than I would find originality in aping the Ray/Olley ‘realistic’ approach. I’m a graphic designer, and as such, need to achieve my own ‘branding’ on the project. I was already happy with the figure painting style I had used for our Sittangbad game at Partizan a couple of years ago, so now I needed to fix what would help me achieve the ‘look’ I wanted in short order.

Well, it just so happens that I’ve been a heraldry nut for as long as I can remember, and even did a stint as official shire herald in the medieval recreation group I used to be involved with. Over the years, I’d done loads of sketches of ideas for Prunkland’s and Faltenland’s flags, and had even hand-painted a few in both 15mm and 30mm sizes (the latter on tin foil at the time — I still like the folds that medium can give). But now, with my knowledge and some wonderful graphic software at my disposal, the time had come to put the power of Freehand and Photoshop to the test. And, at long last, after several days of trial and error, the final product emerged. What you can see on the left are the regimental colours of Regiment von Eintopf, complete with battle honours. That, in itself, provided hours of fun, sifting through the old campaign diaries and battle reports to see just which units had acquitted themselves honourably at each encounter. One unit — you’ll have to wait to find out who — had even disgraced itself! (Amazing how selective one’s memory can be: my recollection had been that every Prunkland unit had covered itself with glory…) The next picture shows the King’s Colour for the same unit. Whereas the ground of the regimental colour will change according to the facing colour of each unit, the King’s Colour will remain the same, except for the name of the unit on the scroll below the lion. The heraldic description of this flag is lozengy gules and argent, a lion passant regardant or, and crown or and gules. Beside the crown are the initials L[udwig] R[ex] and on the scroll beneath the lion’s feet, “Am 1.Regiment zu Fuss”. Both flags have had a slightly ‘billowing silk’ effect applied in Photoshop, and the gold embroidered parts have been given a very slight embossing and metallic effect. I can’t point you at specific filters here — it’s the result of nearly 20 years experience with computer graphics which tells me what is ‘just enough’. Better to be somewhat restrained than to overdo the effect.

Along with the flags came the decisions about basing. Those Spencer Smiths just don’t go with fancy, terrained basing. Look back at The War Game: originally, they were used completely unbased, and they looked perfect. Charles Grant has his father’s collection mounted on individual card bases (see the photos in Battlegames issue 8). But the fact is that in the early 21st century, none of us have as much time to shunt around monster battalions any more, requiring perhaps 70+ repetitive movements per unit. This has to be cut in half, or even better, quartered. But at the same time, I do want to be able to remove individual casualties from my units: I don’t want to have to keep roster sheets, or put chits behind the unit, or slip coloured whatnots over my muskets that will detract from the purity of the look.

And so the answer evolved from this quest. Each company of 12 figures has a six, a three, a two and a single. This makes it easy to line up the bases nice and neatly, cuts the number of repetitive movements to 16 per battalion, plus the command stand (colonel on horseback, two drummers, two ensigns and the Regimental Sergeant Major) and, given the very thin nature of the 0.8mm ply bases, does not detract from the figures at all. The cavalry will be given a similar treatment, based in threes, pairs and singles. The artillery will be based using a system similar to that adopted by my good friend Phil Olley, which seems to me an idea I cannot improve upon, a neat idea from a very clever man. See his Pils Holstein pics to see what I mean.

And so, last night, Das Erste Regiment zu Fuss (Von Eintopf) went on parade, with their grenadiers and other supernumeraries in support, resplendent with flags and bases. The final additions were some finials bought from Front Rank, painted to show the gold tassels and ‘royal’ red ribbons, tied on by His majesty King Ludwig himself during the Grand Review of January 1746. I have also converted the unit from three companies of 16 figures to four of 12, so some quick tricorne pom-pom revision was carried out to create ‘green company’ (the others being red, blue and yellow). A final spray of varnish overall for protection, and voila!

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that a few paragraphs ago, I wrote, “First of all, I became heavily involved…” So, what is the “secondly,…” that should follow?

Well, being a businessman and someone who is open to new ideas, I read quite a lot of self- and business-improvement books these days, and without going all pseudo on you, it is a fact that a great many people — myself included — go through periods of doubt that can leave you almost paralysed, like a man who suddenly realises that he’s stuck in the middle of a minefield. This is as true of life in general as it is of wargames projects. And I guess I had started to look at my Wars of the Faltenian Succession collection (though, curiously, not the campaign itself, which has by and large been resoundingly successful as a project) in the same way: as a series of aborted, dead-end non-starters, resulting in a disparate and jumbled collection of styles, scale and so forth. When confronted with the singluar visions of a Ray, an Olley or a Grant, it’s very easy to feel like a failure in comparison.

The secret to unlocking all this? You are not your mistakes. Just because you made a mistake yesterday, or the day before, or last month, or last year, does not mean you will necessarily make the same mistake again tomorrow, so go easy on yourself, relax, think things through calmly, and move on, with today being a brand new start. People are constantly surprising, and can turn around their lives almost ‘out of the blue’. And, after calmly going through the process I have described here, I know I’ve found my new beginning. I just had to focus on my own goals, not worrying about what anyone else might think, and proceed from there.

Phil Olley is not just a very decent bloke, he’s also a bit of a guru, and managed to put into words in an email (if I may crave his indulgence in quoting from it) the perfect summing-up of where this process has got me:

“When settling on your major project so much “wargamers’ muddle” falls away like a weight off shoulders.

• No longer need to think about basing; the decision is made.
• No longer need to think about unit compositions; the decision is made.
• No longer need to think about what figures to get; the decision is made.
• No longer need to think about terrain style; the decision is made.

And so on.
It is a feeling of great relief that, at last, one can just now focus on carrying out the plan.”

Amen to that.

Now, Von Renscher Musketeers are next, and a hefty load of aborted projects to sell on eBay and WargamesMarket. Bring it on!