Wargaming Wednesday - Men At Arms (1990)

I was super stoked the other day after a pleasant visit with my buddy Jim in Milwaukee to pop into a couple of Half Price Books and find some real bargains.  One of them was a copy of Strategy & Tactics Issue #137 with the complete Men-at-Arms game (including the unpunched counters!).

The cover by Angus McBride was licensed from Osprey's Men-at-Arms Series and depicts Celt Iberian warriors circa 130 BC.

The magazine includes the complete game rules as well as 32 Battle Scenarios by Albert A. Nofi and James F. Dunnigan as well as an article on the same subject by Dave Arneson (and a bunch of additional content).

The 6 pages of double-sided maps and the game charts and turn track are all on thin cardstock in the center.  I'm really very pleased with this find!

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A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.

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Wargaming Wednesday - Lion Rampant, Of Gods and Mortals, & Dux Bellorum

I've checked out the rules for Osprey's Lion Rampant (Osprey link here and Board Game Geek link here) and discussed them with a few folks, as well as watched some demo videos, and it looks like a fun skirmish game.  I'm still trying to get a game on the table locally.  I'm also still awaiting this year's end release of Dragon Rampant, the fantastical successor to Lion Rampant, also to be authored by Daniel Mersey.  Still, I'd like to get a game or three in of Lion before Dragon comes on the scene.

I've also been looking to see what Osprey Publishing has by way of comparable rules.  they also have a rule book by Andrea Sfiligoi called Of Gods and Mortals (Osprey link here and Board Game Geek link here).  It is a skirmish-level wargame but with the fantastical elements of gods, heroes, monsters, and legendary elements like that.  According to some publisher comments on Board Game Geek, "Factions represented in the rulebook include: Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Japanese, Aztecs, Pre-Islamic Arabs (Arabian Nights), Norse, Celts and Chinese. For every army list, a list suitable models from various manufacturers and scales will be included. New armies may be added as free PDF add-ons, keeping the game fresh for years."  Looks pretty good and I like that they make some figure suggestions.

Also authored by Daniel Mersey, from a few years ago there is Dux Bellorum (Osprey link here and Board Game Geek link here).  It's set in the Arthurian Age so it supports Dark Age and Late Roman figures and weaponry. It is more limited in scope period-wise than Lion Rampant and also purports to be more of a mass combat game where each figure represent 50 persons.  When I stumbled on Lion Rampant, I was casting about for something more like this but for a wider Middle Ages or Medieval period, perhaps even with fantastical elements.  I already own and have playted Field of Glory, but I was looking for something with singly based figures but with mass combat army versus army rules.  Even so, I might have to check this one out also.

Wargaming Wednesday on MFWARS.com 

A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.

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Wargaming Wednesday - Gen Con Pics, Frostgrave, & Texas BROADSIDE!

Over on polygon.com, they have a huge pile of photos from the wargaming halls of Gen Con 2015 here.

Also, from ospreypublishing.com, have you had a look at Frostgrave yet?  You can check it out on the Osprey website here but might see a bit more with the Look Inside feature at Amazon here.

Finally, on txbroadside.com, they want to remind everyone of the big convention coming up in October here.

Wargaming Wednesday on MFWARS.com 

A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.

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