This is not really the post that I had intended to write. The intention was to take the previous post about doing a Black Powder game with 12mm ACW figures on a large pinboard and transferring that scenario to a 4' x 3½' table with some 28mm figures from the Perry's 28mm ACW Battle in a Box set, in the hope of doing a post on easy entry level gaming for 28mm in a limited space and maybe encourage a new gamer or two to dip their toe in the water.
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| Part of the Perry box art |
It was our face-to-face night and my plan was to introduce Mike, who is predominantly a boardgame player, to the Black Powder rules. We have done occasional figure games on Kallistra hexes, but I was interested to get his opinion on the open table format and wanted his thoughts to then feed into a post that was, as said, intended to reach out to new gamers.
So, I set up the pinboard game on the dining table for a quick knock-about and rule teaching session, with the intention to then move to a temporary table that had the 28mm version of the scenario set-up, but with the measurements returned back from centimetres to inches, to see which style of game he preferred.
What could go wrong?
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Well, as a persistent bad back sufferer, the last few weeks have been problematic with a flare-up that refuses to settle, but rather has become progressively more difficult, with the time that I can actually spend on my feet between rest becoming much shorter each day and so this post is going to connect back a bit with the very roots of this blog and why it came into existence.
In our face-to-face last night, the seated game at the pinboard was very enjoyable and relatively comfortable for me. The 28mm game was set up on a temporary table that has a height that is a useful 40" off the floor, which requires me standing to play, but gives a much reduced need to bend / lean forwards, so is kinder to backs. However, within a few moments last night, I realised that I would not be able to even partly see the game through and we retreated back to the dining table.
The 28mm scenario had meant to be a bit fancier, I had the Conferederates attacking this time, with one of their regiments (randomly selected) given smoothbore muskets and another the 'Rebel Yell' attribute. The Union inside the walled field were given the 'First Fire' attribute, reflecting that they were formed up against the wall, with their muskets rested on in and as such, their first volley would likely be more effective.
Anyway, we re-set the pinboard and ran that scenario with due amendments and had a really enjoyable game. In fact with the 12mm on the pinboard, we actually had more room to space out the terrain and manoeuvre than the bigger table was giving us. Mike 'whooped' me with an early charge against my disrupted Union troops that were lining the wall. My second regiment occupied the farm building and tried to regain the field by assaulting from the building position, but to no avail.
In our face-to-face last night, the seated game at the pinboard was very enjoyable and relatively comfortable for me. The 28mm game was set up on a temporary table that has a height that is a useful 40" off the floor, which requires me standing to play, but gives a much reduced need to bend / lean forwards, so is kinder to backs. However, within a few moments last night, I realised that I would not be able to even partly see the game through and we retreated back to the dining table.
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| The game that didn't happen! |
The 28mm scenario had meant to be a bit fancier, I had the Conferederates attacking this time, with one of their regiments (randomly selected) given smoothbore muskets and another the 'Rebel Yell' attribute. The Union inside the walled field were given the 'First Fire' attribute, reflecting that they were formed up against the wall, with their muskets rested on in and as such, their first volley would likely be more effective.
Anyway, we re-set the pinboard and ran that scenario with due amendments and had a really enjoyable game. In fact with the 12mm on the pinboard, we actually had more room to space out the terrain and manoeuvre than the bigger table was giving us. Mike 'whooped' me with an early charge against my disrupted Union troops that were lining the wall. My second regiment occupied the farm building and tried to regain the field by assaulting from the building position, but to no avail.
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| This is how Mike's charge would have looked in the 28mm game! |
We enjoyed the two pinboard games. Mike thought the system worked well. We discussed the comfort zone that we usually rely on with hex play and both agreed that the open game looked nice and worked well and that our gaming style meant that measuring disputes etc. just don't happen. A couple of 'what do you think' moments did crop up, which of course you simply don't get with hexes, but these were sensibly resolved.
I suppose the important point is that I was really looking forward to the 28mm game, but we were able to create exactly the same game back to the pinboard with perhaps a different rather than a worse aesthetic.
I suppose the important point is that I was really looking forward to the 28mm game, but we were able to create exactly the same game back to the pinboard with perhaps a different rather than a worse aesthetic.
Anyway, the point I wanted to make, but am 'drifting' away from, is that the episode brought into focus the reason why this blog started. I had been going through a similar flare-up with my back and had moved into a small apartment to get rid of stairs. My wargaming immediately became 'different'. A distinct lack of gaming and storage space had driven my games into having small footprints and with shorter play times. The latter because the family needed the table for boring old meals :-)
Physically, the smaller games didn't require leaning over, significantly reducing back pain or strain. So, on the boardgame side of things, I reduced my collection to 1 mappers, with an emphasis on half mappers and on the figure side of things, I set about going for 10mm / 12mm figures on a pinboard sized area that used hexes in an 8 x 6, from which of course the Tigers at Minsk rules were developed.
Once you start to get your 'eye into' games like that, you connect with a lot of clever, playable, small games that allow a fuller wargame experience to be had while limited to say, a large tray that you can rest on the arms of an easy chair, or that can occupy one of those hospital bed table things and games resting on pinboards can be moved off the dining table for meals and just placed onto an ironing board or bed, ready to bring back to the dining table when it once more returns to its true purpose of a wargame space :-)
Any success that this blog has, probably falls directly out from the fact that it tends to look at the smaller footprint game, which I think, strikes a chord with gamers who have very real storage / gaming space restrictions or mobility restrictions.
We did eventually move out of the apartment (too late to save my book collection that was sold! - hello Kindle) to a larger place, that allows me to occasionally set up a two mapper boardgame on a temporary table and to have slightly larger collections, but in truth, it only seems big by virtue of the smallness of the apartment. Actual real storage space is still quite limited and I have already hit that wall and am seemingly in a permanent semi-state of streamlining and pretending to cut back as those ever present gaming space / storage practicalities kick in.
Anyway, after all of that waffle, my soreness today has me in something of a reflective mood in which I am thinking a bit more about the significance of the 'compact game', which is something that is likely to play out in more of my blog posts returning to the roots of this blog.
On the boardgame side, games such as ASL, the Decision Games Mini Series and half mapper games such as the Leningrad reprint from Decision Games, are just a few of the many titles that come in with small footprints and relatively low counter densities for games that can be played right under your nose.
On the figures side, both 6mm and 10mm / 12mm can give interesting situations in small spaces, using just slightly expanded starter armies and terrain that is light enough and small enough for convenient storage, quick set ups and an easier level of access to wargaming.
I am going to be delving into some of this stuff with renewed enthusiasm and purpose.
Physically, the smaller games didn't require leaning over, significantly reducing back pain or strain. So, on the boardgame side of things, I reduced my collection to 1 mappers, with an emphasis on half mappers and on the figure side of things, I set about going for 10mm / 12mm figures on a pinboard sized area that used hexes in an 8 x 6, from which of course the Tigers at Minsk rules were developed.
Once you start to get your 'eye into' games like that, you connect with a lot of clever, playable, small games that allow a fuller wargame experience to be had while limited to say, a large tray that you can rest on the arms of an easy chair, or that can occupy one of those hospital bed table things and games resting on pinboards can be moved off the dining table for meals and just placed onto an ironing board or bed, ready to bring back to the dining table when it once more returns to its true purpose of a wargame space :-)
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| Union gun positions from the 28mm game don't get chance to fire in anger! |
Any success that this blog has, probably falls directly out from the fact that it tends to look at the smaller footprint game, which I think, strikes a chord with gamers who have very real storage / gaming space restrictions or mobility restrictions.
We did eventually move out of the apartment (too late to save my book collection that was sold! - hello Kindle) to a larger place, that allows me to occasionally set up a two mapper boardgame on a temporary table and to have slightly larger collections, but in truth, it only seems big by virtue of the smallness of the apartment. Actual real storage space is still quite limited and I have already hit that wall and am seemingly in a permanent semi-state of streamlining and pretending to cut back as those ever present gaming space / storage practicalities kick in.
Anyway, after all of that waffle, my soreness today has me in something of a reflective mood in which I am thinking a bit more about the significance of the 'compact game', which is something that is likely to play out in more of my blog posts returning to the roots of this blog.
On the boardgame side, games such as ASL, the Decision Games Mini Series and half mapper games such as the Leningrad reprint from Decision Games, are just a few of the many titles that come in with small footprints and relatively low counter densities for games that can be played right under your nose.
On the figures side, both 6mm and 10mm / 12mm can give interesting situations in small spaces, using just slightly expanded starter armies and terrain that is light enough and small enough for convenient storage, quick set ups and an easier level of access to wargaming.
I am going to be delving into some of this stuff with renewed enthusiasm and purpose.
Resources.
The post covering the same game played in 12mm on a pinboard. LINK
COMMANDERS is my other bit of webspace, which is a bit more snippet based and doing something different than here. LINK
