Wargaming Wednesday - Wargaming Resources

Over on archive.org, check out old issues of "The General Magazine" here.

Also, on spigames.net, get your "SPI Wargame Resources" here.

Finally, on miniaturewargamingthemovie.com, learn about a film in the works here.

Wargaming Wednesday on MFWARS.com 

A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Icelandic Chess, TSR AD&D Sheet, & Footprints

Over on icelandmag.visir.is, have a look at a "2200 year old walrus bones suggest the most famous medieval chess set might be Icelandic in origin."  See more here.

Also, on ebay.com, on the Collector's Trove pages, check out an auction for a "TSR AD&D A1-4 Slavers Tournament Played Character Sheet GenCon XIII 1980" here.

Finally, on dragonsfoot.org, the new issue of Footprints is available here.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Tabletopper Friday - Gygax 6, Rare Board Games, & Painted Descent

Over on drivethrurpg.com, Gygax magazine issue #6 is now available in PDF form from TSR Inc. here.

Also, on geekandsundry.com, they share "Ten Rare Board Games to Snap Up the Second You Can" here.

Finally, on the theDMsCraft YouTube channel, a recent video features "Painted Descent 2.0 Monster Miniatures by DM Scotty."  Enjoy!

Tabletopper Friday on MFWARS.com 

Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Search for the Emperor's Treasure (1981) Revisited

I wrote about the cool fan-made version of Tom Wham's Search for the Emperor's Treasure (1981) that was sent to Tom and played by us here.  It was lots of fun and we decided to break it out again last Friday for what turned out to be a rather quick game.

I snapped a few pictures while we were getting the modular board together and sort the characters and spells, then dove right into playing.  One of our house rules when playing at Culver's has been that we play until one player draws a second Imperial Treasure and the winner is whoever has the most treasures overall.

As it turned out, in six turns, one player drew a second Imperial Treasure and had six treasures, one or two more than the others.  It was, perhaps, the fastest game we've played taking a little under an hour including set up.  We probably need to revise that game-end mechanism.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Search for the Emperor's Treasure (1981)

One of the great things about moving to Lake Geneva has been getting the chance to regularly play games with legendary game Designer Tom Wham.  One of the bonuses is getting to play games he has designed or even games that are in development.  Then, sometimes, something happens that seems to top all of that.  Tom gathered a few of the Friday faithful at Culver's for a little boardgaming last week to show off a copy of Search for the Emperor's Treasure (1981) that a fan had sent him.  But it wasn't a copy to sign and return, which happens from time to time, but something rather more special.  A fan who loved the game, since finding it years ago, had wanted to teach it to his kids, to instill a love of gaming in them.  He did so but wanted to make sure they had something more, so he made a copy of the game in a sort of deluxe version but also made a third copy for Tom.

In case you aren't familiar, here is the description of the game from Board Game Geek here:

Originally published in issue #51 (July 1981) of Dragon Magazine. Republished as part of the The Best of Dragon Magazine Games boxed set in 1990.

A tongue-in-cheek version of "classic" Dungeons & Dragons (some even say Mertwig's Maze is a similar treatment of Advanced D&D). As such, players become a warrior, elf, cleric, or magician, then wander around the board collecting treasure and resolving encounters. The Emperor's six magic artifacts are both high-powered magic items and a countdown clock, as when enough have been found, the game ends. (Exactly how many depends on number of players.)

Treasure, encounters and equipment are all randomized with chits in three cups. Characters obtain them by fighting monsters or lucky die rolls on result charts associated with various board locations (e.g., castles, villages, The Wizard's Tower, The Pirate Lair, etc.). Not all encounters are monsters -- some are travelers who will bestow treasure upon completion of quests, others are annoyances, and there's even Imperial Guard patrols looking to confiscate the Emperor's Treasure.

Terrain types are a key strategy feature, as a player whose current location's terrain doesn't match the encounter drawn can bestow it on someone else who does. So a character in rugged forest or mountains can get stuck fighting several monsters in succession during other players' turns.

A surprising amount of flavor is included for a magazine game. There's an assortment of magic spells, ranged and close combat, magical weapons & armor, damsels in distress, evil wizards, a volcanic demon, even a wandering elephant.

The boxed version changes the encounter mix around, adds a deck of treasure clue cards, and expands the character selection with a dwarf and a "hairfoot." Counters are die-cut, but monochrome rather than full color. The nice Darlene Pekul map painting is traded in for a hexmap with generic terrain symbols that Wham suggests you mount to cardboard and cut apart, thus creating a new map each game a la Kings & Things. The cards force characters to move a lot more, and most encounters can no longer be given away, so this edition plays quite differently.

He put together two rules booklets and included some Tom Wham artwork from other sources to fancy it up a bit.  The Darlene map is included both in the original form as as the hex version.  He even made draw bags of Dice (and wounds), Encounters, Weapons, and Treasures.  It's a wonderful set and lovingly handcrafted.  More photos of the game can be found in my Facebook albums here and on my Google Photo albums here.  Quite the tribute!

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Wargaming Wednesday - Mariners Museum, Magazines, & 6K FB Likes

Over on Lair of the Uber Geek, a recent trip to the Mariners Museum has sparked a pictorial post with photos galore!  See more here.

Also, on wargamingforums.com, the Wargaming Recon podcast, episode #139, focuses on "Magazines for Wargamers" and it might not be what you'd expect.  Listen up here.

Finally, on wargamesillustrated.co.uk, their giveaway states "To celebrate hitting 6,000 Facebook likes, we are giving you the chance to win this huge bunch of gaming goodies!"  Join in the fun here.

Wargaming Wednesday on MFWARS.com 

A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Dragon Mag #88 with Tom Wham's Elefant Hunt

One of the treats I have from living in Lake Geneva, WI, is getting the chance to play some games with legendary game designer Tom Wham.  Recently, on a trip down to Games Plus in Mount Prospect, IL, I snagged an old issue of Dragon Magazine #88, August 1984, which includes his game, Elefant Hunt.  Naturally, the very next chance I got, I asked Tom to sign my copy.  It's in great shape and was well-preserved in plastic.  Tom tells me he has a copy of this that we can play so mine can remain save and secure.  Thanks, Tom!

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Wargaming Wednesday - Wargames Illustrated

If you haven't been keeping an eye on the Wargames Illustrated website, you are missing an excellent resource.  Indeed, you should likely also have a subscription to their wonderful magazine, but even if you do not, that's no reason not to check in on their website on a regular basis for all sorts of goodies and information.  See more in general here.

Just to point out a couple of the recent things on the website, have a look at a recent posting on "Painting Alexander’s Companions," a pictorial tutorial that could fill half a magazine on its own!  See more of the photos and tips here.

Finally, to beat a dead horse, check out "In Her Majesty’s Name Day at Wargames Illustrated 27th June 2015" here.  In this article they spotlight an events and includes a video (from their companion Wargames Illustrated YouTube channel), something that a print magazine cannot do and a testament to the broad service that this website devoted to a print magazine is willing to deliver.  Enjoy!

Wargaming Wednesday on MFWARS.com 

A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.

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Nostalgia Thursday - O(O)D&D, White Wolf, & Choosing Adventure

Over on Sean Michael Kelly's thegreengeekdad Instagram page, he has a pic of his (O)D&D collection that he has carefully assembled, so go comment here.

Also, on Drive Thru RPG, they now have the first three original issues of White Wolf magazine available for download here, here, and here.

Finally, on the NerdAlert YouTube channel from last November, they have a video on "How 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Changed Gaming & Reading Today."  Enjoy.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Dungeon Crawl, Shadowrun, and Chivalry & Sorcery

Did you know that over on initiativeone.blogspot.com, you can get the first issue of Dungeon Crawl Magazine for free, then maybe get some more here?

Also, on battlegrip.com, Phil Reed shares how a "1993 Newspaper Article Describes the Shadowrun RPG" here.

Finally, from mesmerizedbysirens.blogspot.it, they share an old article penned by Edward E. Simbalist in which he discusses Chivalry & Sorcery.  Read the full article here.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Those Were the Wargaming Days

A bit of humorous one-upmanship transpired over the weekend in the Facebook Wargamers group when someone posted a pic and mentioned "The last Christopher R. Wagner Strategy & Tactics, 17 May-June 1969. Excellent artwork by Redmond A. Simonsen."

Naturally, someone else, not to be outdone, posted an image with the caption "Christopher Wagner – Founder Strategy & Tactics Magazine – Jan 1967, Issue Nr 1."

Finally, someone slipped in another and wistfully posted "Ah those were the days, we turned up wearing ties to play wargames and here is the proof Charles Grant (Snr) and his son Charles S Grant (Jnr)."

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Old School Quarterly, 7 Secret Maps, & Tactical Wargamer

There's a new quarterly in the works for Old School gaming material.  It's appropriately named Old School Quarterly and more information is available here.

Also, it seems, that Dyson Logos and his Seven Secret Maps are tied into this new OSQuarterly venture but it has yet to become apparent.  Check those maps out here.

Finally, The Tactical Wargamer includes "Information and history regarding commercial games depicting modern ground combat at the tactical level."  Check it out here.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Nor All Monsters, Space Gamer's Scanner, & Avalon Hill's Bestsellers

Over on OSR Today, they took a look at some early monsters and they tell us "Not All Monsters are Monsters" here.

Also, check out Scanner column from a 1985 issue of Space Gamer that was shared around Facebook recently.

Finally, have a look at this 1975 Avalon Hill "fiscal" best sellers list that was shared on Facebook as well.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Avalon Hill's General Magazine, Strange Dragons, & AD&D Character Sheet

Over on ahgeneral.org, catch up with the excellent Avalon Hill's General Magazine here.

Also, on io9.com, they recently took a look at "The 16 Strangest Dragons In Dungeons & Dragons" here.

Finally, the 2 Warps to Neptune blog uncovered an "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Character Sheet, Circa 1982" here.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Wargaming Wednesday - Grognard.com, Wargames Illustrated, & the Wargaming Addict

If you want to keep abreast of some of the latest in tabletop wargaming news, keep an eye on Grognard,com here.

If that website isn't enough, there are still some fine magazines to pick up and one of the best is Wargames Illustrated.  Learn more about it here.

Finally, the enthusiasm for wargames is infectious on the Wargaming Addict website.  Bookmark this one here.

Wargaming Wednesday on MFWARS.com 

A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Forest of Doom, Jousting Rules, & Delve!

There are a whole pile of pictures from the Forest of Doom and related Old School toy lines here.

Also, the Medievalists.net website came across with some 1330 "Medieval Rules for Jousting" here.

Finally, issue two of Delve! is out and available here.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Frozen Frazetta, Fields's Hackmaster Mod, & "&" #10

A few things to herald today including a video uploaded by Mickey Leach to his YouTube site showing off a diorama he fashioned back in the early 1990s with some Frazetta influence.  Enjoy!


Also, and I've already been crowing about this one, my buddy George Fields has a new Hackmaster release in the form of an adventure titled "Legacy of the Elm King" which is available here.

Finally, the industrious Eric Fabiaschi has reviewed the new "& Magazine" #10 and has the skinny on it for us here.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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