Being naturally fat-handed, I managed to push a button or something that meant that I could no longer upload photos to this blog without enabling Cookies that I had already blocked and couldn't reverse. Or something. Anyway, that meant that I have been unable to publish anything here for a long time and so have not reported on a trip to Oxford to help play test a new set of rules, Joy of Six 2025, the big CWC game last October or a nice game of Maurice with m'colleague Neil. That, combined with an onset of general malaise has resulted in radio silence here for about 12 months. Still, hopefully I have fixed the issue now so let us press on.
Joy of Six, being the only wargames show dedicated to 6mm wargaming as any fule kno, was held in Sheffield today. The original plan was for the Cold War Commanders to be out in force, with a game based on the Soviet invasion of Iceland from Red Storm Rising plus a TACWW2 game set in Calais 1940. Unfortunately our leader Richard Phillips was unable to attend due to ill health and Neil & Andy C were both double booked. This left Richard C to lead with his Calais 1940 with Ian and myself in support.
Initial set up of the table and deployment. The recce battalion of 1 Panzer Division have blundered into advance elements of 3 RTR, who have been thrown into action piecemeal, on the outskirts of Calais.
I took command of the Germans while Ian led the Brits, with a help from a few spectators who joined in and rolled some dice. My faith in the German armoured cars proved misplaced as they were no match for A13 cruiser tanks.
Air support proved scarce for both sides but late in the day an RAF Spitfire tussled with a Luftwaffe ME109.
This cleared the way for a Stuka to have a run at the BEF troops. My unerring ability to roll low continued though as my air attack failed to inflict any damage.
It was a feature of the game that the Germans were unable to call in reinforcements of any note. It took until turn 7 of 8 for a panzer company to show up. This was a real problem as the German recce battalion was outgunned by the British troops. Without reinforcements we managed to reverse the historical outcome and 3 RTR managed to roll up the German advance troops.
In between game turns I took a few trips around the rest of the show:
There were a few sci-fi games, including this Battletech one. Battletech seems to have been around forever but it still endures.
This was the triple urban combat game, from the guys behind 3and6.myshopify.com, featuring some of their 3-D prints. The sci-fi game was very effective, with the neon paint effects.
This was a NORTHAG game that remained busy throughout the day. Apparently it got so destructive that they ran out of blast markers to add on to destroyed units.
I've never really understood what Glorantha/Pavia was but it seems to have a dedicated fan base. This was a big fantasy game set in that world.
Finally, my contender for best looking game was this Battle of Five Armies, with lovely terrain and a splendid mix-up of minis, mostly from Baccus but with a few other manufacturers thrown in too.
According to Lindy, numbers were up on the last 2 years which was encouraging, particularly with the heat this week and the football last night. From what I saw, the games were a good mix of historical, sci-fi and fantasy. If this show is anything to go by, 6mm wargaming is in a very good place.
My thanks to Richard C for organising today's game, to Ian for helping to play and for all the friends and players who popped by to chat.
I like the simple but effective paint job on the urban warfare game of painting some buildings windows in yellow to create the effect of lights being on. Looks like a good mix of games.
ReplyDelete