Can Science Fiction Wargames ever be realistic?

Can Sci-Fi wargames ever be 'realistic'? This is a subscriber question from some time ago that got missed (sorry). But its was an interesting topic to explore. 

 

Termagants?

The young Padawan bought these plastic figures at SELWG last month and has been repainting them. Thankfully I think I have persuaded her to go down the historical route but these models were a useful painting lesson. She decided on the colours (I wouldn't want 40k players complaining in the comments!) but this was more about explaining basic techniques like dry brushing and washes than producing models to game with. 

Whatever they are, they look angry.

She has sat and painted with me before many times, but that was just daubing paint on models, not proper technical painting. This time I felt like she learned something as well as having fun with her weird old father. I'm not that much into sci-fi gaming these days but I still think she did a good job for her first proper painting session. 

Games that define us Meme

The Frontline Gamer kicked off an interesting Meme that has started building momentum on various wargaming blogs (check the posts on Ferbs Fighting Forces and The Wargaming Site). Games that Define Us was his Sunday Sermon a week ago and I responded with my own list of 10 games that have defined my gaming heritage. Far be it for me to ignore a good meme so here's an expanded version of my reply to his post.

Fighting Fantasy - In my original list on the Frontline Gamers Blog I didn't list the Fighting Fantasy books partly because I discovered them just prior to and simultaneously with D&D. But over the weekend I was thinking about my list and realised that I shouldn't have left these off because without the Fighting Fantasy series I might never have got into D&D and from there into a lifetime of other great games. One the first (if not the first) I read was the classic Warlock of Firetop Mountain. It opened my eyes to a whole new way to play games and I remember sharing books excitedly between my group of friends. I have long since lost that original copy but a few years ago I bought a new edition of the book in a revamped boxed set and started playing these with my youngest daughter instead of a regular 'boring' bedtime story!

Dungeons and Dragons (Red Box) - Discovering Dungeons and Dragons was life changing, without a doubt. My group of friends at school had just discovered the Fighting Fantasy books  and then someone suggested this game called Dungeons and Dragons. I had a vague understanding of what it was - based mostly on negative press about this supposedly dangerous game - and jumped at the chance to give it a go. We bought a copy of the Red Box version of the game and played the scenario that was presented in the DM's book. I’ll remember my first ‘kill’- a Carrion Crawler - for the rest of my life. That first character wasn't particularly well rounded or even original (a hulking barbarian with a passing resemblance  to a certain Cimmerian) but he sparked a love of the game that still burns strong thirty years later!

Risk/Diplomacy - I played both of these boardgames obsessively for six months while I was in the 6th Form of my school. I probably should have spent those 'free study' sessions studying because I flunked most of my exams as a result! But instead of learning Biology or English Literature I learnt an important life lesson - success or failure was in my own hands and nobody else's. Somehow I managed to scrape a place on a University course and with the experience of failure still burning brightly within me I decided to buck up my ideas and work hard. I probably had the most boring and well behaved University years of any student, but I came out the other end with a 1st Class Honours degree thanks in no small measure to the lesson I learned playing Risk!

Warhamer Fantasy Battle - My group flirted briefly with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay in between D&D but we then moved on to WFB and our first venture in Wargames. For me this was an important time because this was when I really got into painting miniatures in a big way. Up till this point I had only painted a few models for replaying with and these had been done with enamel paints and little or no skill! But with WFB I suddenly needed to paint large numbers of troops and special character models meaning I needed to buy a proper set of paints and brushes. I chose Citadel paints mainly because they were the easiest to get hold of, and I stuck with these for years. I always fielded a fully painted army but would invariably get my backside whooped by masses of unpainted miniatures.

Warhammer 40,000 : Rogue Trader - This was the first incarnation of the WH40K universe and was our first foray into Sci-Fi gaming. I loved the models as much as the game and still have the first Space Marine I bought. Despite all the versions of this game that have followed I still love the old Mk I  Power Armour of the Space Marines. I always felt that the original game still allowed for a little bit of the spirit of exploration and optimism that Sci-Fi embodies. Later versions feel like that have become increasingly bleak and dark and while I understand the creative merit of this path its not something that I find particularly attractive.

I still have the Rogue Trader rulebook amongst my treasured collection of old games and now and again I get it down just to admire the artwork in its pages. We didn't play this game for very long but it was important as it got our group into Epic which we stayed with for many years.

Epic - My group of friends played this for a long time. Once again I always fielded a fully painted army, and nearly always lost to unpainted figures! Darn-it!! This was my first foray into small scale miniatures (I think these were 6mm) although the Titans were significantly larger. The pride of my Space Marine army was a huge Emperor Titan that literally towered over everything on the table. Unfortunately my tactical prowess was still zero resulting on one game where I failed to turn it at a crucial moment denying myself the use of half its weapons.

Blood Bowl - Space and money were limited and Blood Bowl filled the gap. I wish I had kept my original box because this is a great game to play over an evening. It would serve our group well now when we can't play our regular campaign and need something quick and easy to fill the evening rather than cancel. I'm tempted to buy one of the newer versions but I may hold out for one of the original boxes if I can find one at a reasonable price.

Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition - Third Edition got me and my group back together after a few years in the wilderness. It got us playing RPG's again and for me, is still the best version of the game. Sure it had its flaws but if one thing is certain it is that any sufficiently complex game will be flawed in some way. But I always felt that for everything this game got wrong there were ten things it did brilliantly; which isn't a ratio achieved by 4th Edition IMHO.

Flames of War - My first venture into WWII Wargaming and 15mm. Regular readers will know that this game has ignited a long dormant passion for 2nd World War history in me. Personally the game system is secondary to the history, I just happened to stumble upon Flames of War first. The key thing about this game is that it gave me the impetus to get back into wargaming again after many years away from it. It has also helped forge a lasting friendship with my Brother-in-law who like me shares a passion for Second World War history.

Fire and Fury - Another set of rules I really enjoy playing are the Fire and Fury rule for the American Civil War. After WWII this is my favourite period and one I love to play. The first game I played with my current wargaming group – Posties Rejects - used these rules and I have enjoyed them ever since.

As I said in my original comment of the Frontline Gamers post this list may not be to everyone's taste but these are the games that have defined my gaming career and hold a special place for me. Of course I could add lots more to this list - such as Dungeon Quest, Talisman and Call of Cthulhu RPG - but I'm limited to just 10 choices!

Ultramarines Movie

Today sees the release of the digitally animated movie Ultramarines. Set in the Games Workshop Warhammer 40,000 universe this has been a long awaited - and much anticipated - move from game to film. Featuring the voice talents of Terence Stamp, John Hurt, Sean Pertwee and Donald Sumpter amongst others the makers certainly haven't stinted on paying for good actors. However the animation looks a bit ropey, especially when a live action version was dangled before fans of the game as a possibility for many years.



The movie is a straight to DVD release and can be bought via the website address listed above, although I expect this will also be available in all GW stores at some point in the future. The 'Special Edition' collectors set includes 2 DVDs, one of the film and the second with 'bonus' 40k material on it. The set also includes a graphic novel by Dan Abnett and David Roach. Priced at a whopping £25.99 in the UK and $39.98 in the US this is definitely aimed at the committed enthusiast.

Skirmish 09

Yesterday I went to the Skirmish show in Sidcup. This event styled itself a Modeling & Toy Soldier show. The main hall contained traders with the Display Wargames in a separate hall elsewhere in the Grammer School buildings.
Some of the traders were selling rare or highly collectable Toy Soldiers. Nice as these models were I always feel sad for them because (for the most part) these were toys designed to be played with and many of these collectables will never be held by a child again.

Having said that there were also a lot of much cheaper toys available to buy, as well as some items for the Wargamer or painter. Harfields (one of the sponsors of the event) had a large presence and were selling a wide variety of Airfix models and other items.

In the Wargames hall there were about a dozen tables with a wide variety of games on display. I was particularly interested in a boxed set of Bloodbowl (I had a set many years ago) which almost made me want to go out and buy the game again.
One of the most impressive tables was the Warhammer 40k battle. There was lost of detail and action going on on this table.

Another interesting table was run by the Southend Wargames Club. They were recreating events in the Pacific in 1945 with a British Task Force nominally under the control of the US in a fight against Japanese aircraft.

I got chatting to one of the players and he told me about an event next year that might be worth putting in your diary. Three clubs are pooling resources for a large wargaming open day to be called Essex Eagles. The event is scheduled for June 6th 2010 and will be at Highfield House.

As usual I've uploaded all my pictures to Picasa and the link to view them is here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/BigLeeH/Skirmish09?feat=directlink

Regrets, I have a few

I like the motivational posters you can get on the Internet. This one made me laugh because it sums up for me the quintessential gaming experience....
Like the time I forgot to move my biggest baddest unit in a 40k game... and only noticed when I tried to use it to fire on a target that was outside its fire arc. Or the countless times our D&D group decided the GM wouldn't possibly pit us against an enemy we couldn't defeat... ignoring the subtle hint to turn back.

Recognising significant moments in a game is almost as hard as it is in real life. The turning point in a war/campaign/battle is rarely obvious until after the event. Hindsight, as they say, is a wonderful thing.

Rampage 09 - Pt 5

This is the concluding part of my picture review of Rampage 09 . Monday I focused on the Dambusters game by Whitsable and Hern Bay Wargame Club. On Tuesday I looked at the Brécourt Manor Assault which was run by Horchurch Wargames Club. I also looked at a game run by Dagenham Wargames Club. This post is a selection of pictures of the other games also on display including another WWII game, Pirates of the Cursed Seas, Wings of War and Warhammer 40k.

This game was Big Cats & Hedgerows by Enfield Wargamers. Again I liked the attention to detail with this game.

This is a Wings of War game run by South East Essex Military Society.

A Pirates of the Cursed Seas game run by Graves End Gamers Guild.

Truk Waagh! by Braintree Wargames Group.

I've put a Picas Album up now will all the photo's shown plus a few more.

Dungeon Tiles

When I run a game I like to use every visual aid at my disposal. First and foremost are miniatures (obviously, given the nature of this blog) and scenery items like buildings or dungeon debris. In part this is because I have always enjoyed painting scenery almost as much as character models or monsters. This was especially true when I played Warhammer and 40K and I guess I never changed even when I returned to playing Dungeons and Dragons . I still enjoy the wargame display tables at conventions as much as the stands promoting RPG's.

When I was thinking about running my own D&D campaign I quickly decided I would only do it if I could indulge my passion for miniatures and painting. At this point its worth adding that I have nothing against games that don't include these elements. I have enjoyed lots of games that have been run without the need for floor plans or scenery or miniatures of any kind. But that's not the way I wanted to run my game.

This picture was a scene from the climax of a city campaign and I used every building I owned (or could borrow) to maximise the visual impact.

I also love to use floor plans or dungeon tiles in my games if possible. I have collected a large selection of PDF floor plans that I can print as required for set encounters, like the fungus caves shown in this photo.

One of my favorite publishers of such tiles are Skeletonkey Games. Reasonably priced and beautifully detailed I don't think you can go wrong with their products. In my last D&D campaign I prepared tiles for a whole dungeon complex for the princely sum of seven dollars.

When I haven't got the time or the resources to make floor tiles I'm not above photocopying maps from supplements and printing them out to make floor plans. This is part of a castle called Overlook that featured in Dungeon magazine back when it was still in print. I adapted the encounter to my own campaign and enlarged the map provided to make a relatively quick and easy floor plan. Of course all this extra effort is totally unnecessary for a Roleplaying game like D&D but I guarantee that players won't forget an encounter that looks like this...

Of course my players also won't forget the time I threw real fish heads at them over the GM screen... but that's another story.

Scale Creep Pt 1 - Defining Scale

To understand Scale Creep it is first necessary to understand scale.

Scale can be expressed two ways; either as the size ratio between a full sized object and its miniature version (e.g. 1/58); or as a measurement that represents a given standard (e.g. 28mm). Most wargamer’s use this latter expression of scale to define the models they game with. Using a consistent scale ensures that miniatures and their ‘equipment’ remain in proportion to each other. This is especially important when purchasing from different manufactures. For role-players some variation can be tolerated but for tabletop wargamer’s such differences are not acceptable, especially for large projects like building a period army or creating a large diorama.

Tabletop wargames use a proliferation of scales but the most common type is 6mm, 15mm, 20mm and 28mm. The smaller 6mm miniature is roughly equivalent to 1/300 scale and has the advantage that the gamer can put massed units on the tabletop. Many historical wargames come in this scale but sci-fi games such as Warhammer 40k Epic also utilise 6mm miniatures.
Probably the most popular scale for pre 20th century historical wargames is 15mm (1/107th). This is also a popular size for ‘skirmish level’ games. Also popular for historical games are 20mm (1/76 to 1/72 scale ish). However my main focus is on so called 28mm models as these are the type that I have gamed with and painted most over the last 20 odd years. 28mm scale is roughly equivalent to 1/56th scale but there is huge variation within this group of miniatures.
In Part 2 tomorrow I’ll be giving some real life examples of scale creep and try to explain some of the reasons for its occurrence.

(Updated 16:45 with some scale corrections)

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire

According to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary a Liar is a person who knowingly utters falsehoods. So when I stated unequivocally in my earlier post that I had no pictures of my early games I wasn't technically lying. I spent some time over the weekend sorting through all my old photo albums. I have been trying (for some months now) to digitalise my old print photos that were taken before the advent of Digital camera's. And guess what I found....

This was an Epic 40k game c1995. Note the oval shaped table pressed into service as a games table. Note also the 'high tech' scenery in the form of felt rivers and painted styrene hills. This picture shows my friend Andrew pondering his soon to be overrun positions.
Another good friend, Peter, moving his Eldar into position for the killing blow. It must have been a stealth move because Andrew seems oblivious to the impending disaster. Both these guys are still part of my current gaming group, the Dagenham Dungeon Delvers.

Another Epic game this time on the floor of a friends house and utilising a more traditional rectangular battlefield. Space was always an issue when we played. We rarely had a suitable table on which to play and it was common for us to spend games crawling round the floor. My knees ache just looking at this photo!

I think this is an even earlier game - this time Warhammer - from about 1989. This is the only picture I have of my beloved Undead Army. We used cut up floor tiles for terrain but they were very heavy to transport and were soon replaced.

If I turn up any more pictures of these old games I'll post them as well.

The Turquoise Death

This weeks Larry Leadhead special cartoon [see it at the bottom of this Blog] had me laughing out loud today. It reminded me of a good friends Space Marine army, many years ago when we played Epic 40k. Epic derived from the earlier Games Workshop games Adeptus Titanicus and Space Marine and was based on the 40k universe but using 6mm scale models.

I fielded a largely Blood Angel Space Marine army and tried wherever possible to only use painted models when I played. One of my regular opponents played an Orc army and despite the predominance of bare metal in his fielded miniatures he nearly always won (the injustice!!). Then there was "The Turquoise Death". This was a space marine army painted in vivid Turquoise. They struck fear into the hearts of... well nobody actually... except perhaps Trinny and Susannah. But despite the fact that they looked awful and never won a battle we all still remember that army. Which just goes to show that even a badly painted army or model has more impact than a bare metal one.

On the Origin of Gamers

I was chatting to a college yesterday about my hobbies and it got me thinking about how I got into gaming and painting. What are my gaming origins? [screen fades to sepia images of 'the old days'].....

It was waaaaaay back in the very early 80’s as a teenager that I had my first encounter with the Sword & Sorcery genre. I read a compilation book of stories by Robert E. Howard, featuring characters like Conan & King Kull. I was enthralled and excited by these books, but even then I knew that I wanted more. Then one of my friends gave me a copy of a new type of game, a Fighting Fantasy book (Warlock of Firetop Mountain) by Ian Livingstone.

It was a short step from the Fighting Fantasy books to proper role-playing in the form of the D&D Basic Set. I can still vividly remember my first D&D game and the Carrion Crawler my character - a barbarian of course - killed in a pitched battle. This game undoubtedly changed my life and set me on the path I am still on nearly 30 years later. I painted my first model back then – a Knight in black armour with gold trim – It was an awful paint job but I was still very proud of it. I recall I used enamel paint and I was one of only a handful of player's to use fully painted miniature in those early games.
Later we moved to Advanced D&D, Call of Cthulhu & Ravenloft but I did very little painting back then being focused on role-playing. The revolution came with our introduction to Warhammer 40,000 with my first Space Marine model. I went on to paint various models in the 28mm range. From there I went on to play Warhammer Fantasy Battles & 40K ‘Epic’ and always prided myself on fielding fully painted armies whenever possible. Sadly it never occurred to me or my friends to photograph our games and my Undead army has long since been passed on to another player.
It was with my return to D&D (this time 3rd edition) that my painting became more serious and I tried to improve my skills. As a player I have always liked to paint a good character model but when I became a GM I transferred that enthusiasm to painting scenery, monsters and NPC’s.




Over the last three decades I have played lots of other games, from historical wargames to CCG's. For much of that time I have played with a core of close friends that now form a gaming group collectively known as the Dagenham Dungeon Delvers. Between us we have spent hundreds (probably thousands) of hours gaming and painted lots of miniatures. Time well spent? Absolutely!