Terrainaholic Gencon Coverage

Terrainaholic's YouTube Channel has posted six videos of Gen coverage . . .

Wargaming: An Introduction (2005)

 I am often asked what would be a good entry level book into the miniatures wargaming hobby.  There are many games that serve as a good intro if someone has already set their mind to a particular period or style but for a great overview I would recommend a book by Neil Thomas called Wargaming: An Introduction (2005).  (It can be purchased from Amazon here but always check eBay for a better deal first.)

This is an accessible, straightforward guide to the hobby of miniatures wargaming.  It begins with an introduction to the term Wargaming and then includes some notes on how to get started.  The layout of most of the book includes trilogies of chapters on six types or periods of wargaming beginning with Ancient Wargaming, with separate chapters for Rules and Armies (army lists).  It also looks at Pike and Shot wargaming, Napoleonic wargaming, American Civil War wargaming, Skirmish wargaming (a distinctly different style, such as it is), and then Second World War wargaming,  There are a few dozen full-color photos in the center of the book of games in action.  If you haven't played and are looking for a complete overview of the hobby, this is a great place to start.

Foam Terrain

I ran across a very nice ten minute tutorial from epicfantasy's Storm the Castle YouTube site on how to make foam terrain.  It covers a lot of the basics including types of foam, tools to use, what to build, and tips on technique.  Check it out -

POP Display or Tech-Tower?

I'm not sure what this is but have some idea what it will become.  I left this out of my recent Garage Saling blog post because I wanted to discuss it here as a potential miniatures wargaming set piece.  It cost me a quarter (of a dollar!) and when I saw it I assumed it was a point-of-purchase display for something but I didn't bother to ask, lest the price become harder to negotiate.  It was the end of the last day of a local garage sale and I off-handedly said that I would give them a quarter for it.  They said that would be fine, so I paid and left with it right away.  When I first saw it, I also pictured it as some sort of technological tower for a miniatures wargaming tabletop.  It looked to me like it could be fashioned as a reactor of some kind.  Here's a front view . . .

Here's a top view . . .

And a view from the bottom . . .

It spins, though that aspect might be restricted.  Anyway, I liked it then and like it now even more as I consider the possibilities.

Terrainaholic GW Games Day Coverage

One of my favorite YouTube Subscriptions os of Terrainaholic's channel (subscribe!) and he recently uploaded some videos of all the great terrain and figures at GW's Games Day Chicago 2011.  Check em out!

The RPG Athenaeum Painting Tutorials Links

Just a quick note to mention a good list of painting tutorials over at The RPG Athenaeum.  Rather than poach them, just head on over there and bookmark that page to add to your list of painting tutorial sites.  One of the coments to that list also mentions Painting Mum.

Civilization from Avalon Hill (1980 Edition)

As with Kingmaker, another Avalon Hill wargame, that was also not so much a typical wargame, was Civilization (not to be confused with Sid Meier's Civilization). This is a game I played back in the days when it first came out and it has a reputation for being a game that requires a good amount of time ans skill to play.  Last summer, my regular group broke it out and gave it a shot, some as experienced wargamers and others very new to the genre.  It is a diceless game, so it requires excellent strategic planning and resource management to stay in the running and have a chance at victory.