Historicon Picture Dump

How we all feel during Historicon

By The Whole Team

We had a great time at Historicon. We sponsored 4 tournaments, played a ton of games and had 115 people show up to the podcast on Saturday. We got to meet a lot of folks and saw many old friends of the show. We have to stop and thank our sponsors who really went above and beyond to ensure EVERY person who attended the podcast got some kind of prize.

Historicon is a convention where you can really cram a lot of gaming in a few days. Likewise, you can cover just about any era of history that you have an interest. Want to recreate Caesar battling in Gaul?  Want to fight against Cromwell in the English civil war? Want to fight ironclads on the open sees? You looking to lead troops across no man lands in WWI or command a Panzer Company against a Soviet T-34 horde? Historicon has it all. If you have a particular love of an era of history, but finding folks in your area is difficult you will find those games and gamers here.

We haven't even mentioned the dealer hall. You can buy just about anything you want for gaming, whether it is paints, terrain, miniatures, sculpting tools, air brushes or anything you could not find locally is there. The flea market always offers the opportunities for great deals on, well just about everything you can think of.

They made some improvements to the facility this year as well. The floor was carpeted and more dividers were erected to cut the noise factor down dramatically. Just for Judson they added additional toilet facilities and cleaned the bathrooms much more frequently. :)

The next convention is Fall In November 7th-9th in Lancaster, PA.  We hope to see you there.

On to the pics!

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Bolt Action - LRDG Podcast Episode 17, Hungarian Special

In this special episode of the LRDG we experiment with focusing on one nation and attempting to cover everything you need to know to field it in Bolt Action:  it's WW2 history, collecting the miniatures and then some crunchy listing ideas for getting it on the tabletop. The focus this episode is on a lesser known topic, the Royal Hungarian Army. Old Man Morin is joined by Anfernee and Bryan as they cover Germany's 2nd largest Eastern front ally, which at it's peak fielded nearly 1 million men under arms and fought in some of the most bloody battles of the infamous Eastern Front. We are also joined by a special guest from the UK, Bob Emmerson of 'Mad' Bob miniatures. He has some exciting news for anyone looking for Hungarian AFV's!

So, if you don't know the difference between your Toldi's and Zrinyii's then get listening.

Note: We are not historians or experts in anyway, just some amateurs with a passion for history and toy soldiers. So, we apologise in advance for any incorrect historical facts or pronunciation of names and places.

Click here to Download

These are some of the useful links we mention in the show:

Uniform reference books for the Royal Hungarian Army in WW2:
Osprey Men at Arms: The Royal Hungarian Army in WWII

Hungarian uniforms of WW2 - new full colour book by Black Army Modells


Further interesting reading on Hungarian formations:
Late war Hungarian Infantry

The battle of Torda

Assault Artillery Battalions

'Mad' Bob Miniatures 3D sculpts of the soon to be released Hungarian range
On our Forum 

On Facebook

Tell us on the forum if you liked this special episode format. and we will look at producing others in the future:

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Beyond the Foxholes Episode 16

WWPD presents Episode 16 of Beyond the Foxholes!

Click here to download!

Welcome to Beyond The Foxholes 16 - Great War Special

In Act 1 we join Ben and Winner Dave as they take us through the new FOW era The Great War. The guys talk about whats in the new book, a look at the missions, the British and German models and some of the extra bits coming out.

Then in Act 2 the guys round out the episode with a look at the army lists, what they are planning to do, some podcast you should check out, and any other thoughts.

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News from the Front Episode 79 - LIVE from Historicon

LIVE from Historicon!  Steven, Luke and Dirty Jon are joined by Eric Riha, Craig Baxter and James Brown as they recap all of the antics at Historicon 2014.  The guys give the results of several tournaments and talk about plans for upcoming events.  There is even singing!

Click Here to Download Episode 79

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Bolt Action - Painting Guide for DAK – A beginners Guide

Hey all, so I am almost finished an army for the indomitable Old Man Morin who’s thirst for new armies knows no bounds however his ability to find time to paint them all is as likely as just splashing a new coat on the Great Wall of China in a week.   He presented me with an army of Deutsche Afrika Corp (DAK) to knock over and I accepted the challenge with anticipation as I have been really keen to try out some techniques I have been learning from reading the Painting War.

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FoW Great War: Mitchell's Marauders pt II: The Support Platoons

In Part I, we looked at the core rifle platoons in the Mitchell's Marauders box set. Today we'll look at all the support options included.

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Bolt Action - Smoke 'Em If You've Got 'Em

Today we have a tasty contribution by our old buddy Uncle Mal. If you were are at Cancon last year you would know Mal as one of the guys helping run the show. A prolific BA player, Mal is going to walk us through the joy of… smoke!  

I love smoking. I really do.

And while I am now amongst the ranks of the painfully sanctimonious ex-smoker brigade when it comes to cigarettes, it is a very different story when playing Bolt Action. When playing with my little army men I really find smoke to be one of the best tools to have at your disposal.

What? Why? But you can’t kill anyone with smoke! No you can’t… well not directly.

Many of you have come over from other gaming systems where there is a fantasy or magic component. And when we started with those games we always took the fire mage, or whatever, just because we wanted to inflict direct damage on our opponents with balls of fire or calling down lightning. Boom! Pow! Your guys are dead! But as time went on and you finessed your game, you found value in the other magic types…. Increasing your speed, slowing your enemy, reducing their effectiveness etc. and you began to play the game a bit smarter. Your force became less of a blunt instrument and tactics came to the fore.

With this in mind, let me share with you the joys of “smoke magic”.

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FoW Great War: Mitchell’s Marauders Part I: The Riflemen

We're going to talk a two part look at the Mitchell's Marauders box set (the upcoming 1500pt British box set for FoW Great War). First, we're going to look at the meat and potatoes of the set - the riflemen. In a later post, we'll look at the rest of the support options included. Part two will be posted on Wednesday, so make sure to check back!

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Review: Star Realms

Star Realms is a quick little deckbuilding game, designed for two players, but expandable for more. It's basically Ascension with a sci-fi theme, if you're familiar with that game, but at a fraction of the price (Star Realms retails around $15, although it's currently sold out and the secondary market is filled with inflated copies)

In Star Realms, you start with a deck of 10 cards - 2 Vipers and 8 Scouts. Each Scout generates one currency when played, and each Viper generates one attack. You draw five cards a turn. Once you play a card, it goes to a discard pile and eventually gets reshuffled back in. You use currency to "purchase" more cards - adding them to your deck, and you use attack to...well...attack your opponent.

One of the most basic and common upgrades is the Explorer ship. There are always multiple Explorer class ships available for purchase. They cost two currency (as seen in the upper right corner under the glare), and generate two currency when played. In addition, you can "trash" the card (removing it from the game entirely) to generate two attack as well. This is shown by the two attack next to the trashcan icon at the very bottom.

The majority of the cards for purchase fit under one of four factions. Each faction of cards plays a little different. You can mix and match as you please, but many cards have additional bonuses when played at the same time as cards of the same faction. For example, the Blob Fighter below generates three attack on it's own, but if played with another Green card, it also lets you draw an additional card.

Whereas most of the cards reflect spaceships and are played, used, and discarded, there are also space station cards, that are represented horizontally. Station cards remain in play until destroyed, so the Recycling Station below would generate one currency every turn, or allow you to discard two cards and draw two more. The "four in a shield" on the bottom right reflects it's hit points - if your opponent hits it with four points of attack, it is destroyed and sent to the discard pile, although it'll get reshuffled back into your deck eventually.

The goal of the game is to reduce your opponent's life total to zero. Each player starts with 50. By using attack points, you can reduce your opponents life total, although your opponent can also heal themselves through various cards as well. They include cards numbered with 1, 5, 10, and 20 to help keep track of life, but I much prefer pen and paper or phone's calculator than flipping through cards.

Star Realms is a quick, fun little game if you like these "deckbuilding" games. There's nothing really new or groundbreaking with it - most in the genre is the same. But the price point ($15) is low enough on this one that if you get a few play throughs of it, it's paid for itself. It also fits into a small deckbox, so is easily stored in your car's glove compartment to pull out when you just have a few minutes for a quick game.

I wouldn't pay the inflated secondary market prices for the game ($50 on Amazon as of today), but when it's reprinted, it's a great buy at $15. I hope to play a few games of it at GenCon this year!

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Bolt Action - French army project: the vehicles

After painting 2 platoons of infantry for my French colonial reinforced platoon, it is time to work on some armoured support. Surprisingly, the colonial French forces have access to a few unique and useful AFV's and transports. You won't find any great tanks in the list but there are some hidden gems in there that really add a different flavour and play style. Let's have a look at each, en avant!

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New Bolt Action Shirts available at Wargaming Shirts UK!

New release from Wargaming Shirts.

We are proud to announce the release of our first range of Bolt Action shirts which we have been working on with our friends over at Warlord Games.  This range of shirts has the Bolt Action logo across the back and your favorite troops in the thick of the action on the front.  This first wave covers the ‘Big four’ with the UK, US, Soviet and German shirts.  Don’t worry if we have missed out your favorite nation as we have a lot more shirts to come.

For those of you who don’t know us Wargaming Shirts is run by Steve MacLauchlan from the WWPD network and Gary ‘Big Gazza’ Martin.  We supply top quality Wargames related shirts direct from either the U.S.A. at Wargaming Shirts or from the U.K. at Wargaming Shirts UK.  Just pick which site you are closest too and get your order in. Please Note: Unfortunately, the US store's provider is not accepting new shirt designs, so the Bolt Action shirts are not quite available but we are currently looking at moving printers, we'll let you know when that happens!

Enough of the talk, have a look at the shirt artwork. This artwork can be printed on a variety of sizes and colors!

Hope you agree that it’s a great start for the range but it is only the start.  We plan on releasing a second wave in the near future.

These are exciting times for Wargaming Shirts in both the U.S. and U.k.  and I hope you will join us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.  

Thanks

Steve and Gary

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Desert Battle: German Panzers vs British Rifles in 1942!

By Steve MacLauchlan

At long last, our belongings are home and my game room is 80% unpacked! With all of my desert terrain and armies ready to go, I couldn't wait to throw down. Sean and I decided to do a '42ish game. We rolled randomly to see who would play what, and then rolled for the mission. We came up with Fighting Withdrawal, which felt just right for the matchup!

The Lists:

So without further ado, let's get started!

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Bolt Action - Bolt Action Radio Episode 25

In the twenty-fifth edition of Bolt Action Radio Judson is joined by CH, C-Bax, and Dano Colrissian. The boys kick things off with some tournament announcements for future events around the world, as well as events that have already passed! Baxter let's Chris know that Gordon and his NVA guerrillas are gunning for him; a bunch of tank related shop talk, questions, and predictions happen; and a compete participant list shop takes place based on the troops brought to the Historicon events. A big consider congratulations go out to Brad and Kirsten for getting hitched, too!

Download the BAR here! 

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Historicon Mid-War Doubles!

By Eric Lauterbach

Luke having out of control fun!!!

 Another great year at Historicon! The WWPD crew joined in the fun with 70 players in the doubles tournament.  The Mid-War event had each two man team playing roughly 1000 point companies, joined up to make 2000 points on the table.  The doubles event is always a good time.  Playing with a friend takes some of the hard work off you. If you have never tried one of these tournaments, I would recommend it greatly.  This year I allowed each team to pick a team nickname and I was not disappointed with what they came up with!  Probably have to keep that for next year.

"Throck of War" fighting the hordes of team "Lots of Dead Guys"

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Love Letter: A Lovely Little Game

OVERVIEW Dear Readers, You've probably heard us talk about this inexpensive little gem over on the WWPD Podcast. The name can be a little off-putting, and I've done it no favors by protecting the cards with pink card sleeves and replacing the generic wooden score tokens with pink acrylic hearts... but I'm telling you, this game should be in every game collection! Alright, so what's so great about this game? First, the entire game consists of 16 cards, and 13 score tokens (as well as a short rulebook and 4 reference cards). The rules for the game are deceptively simple: Either be the last player standing or have the highest value card in your hand when the game ends

BASIC GAME PLAY
At the beginning of the game, one of the 16 cards is set aside out of play (we call this the burner- it makes card counting leave a bit to chance!). Each player is dealt a single card, kept secret from other players. On a players' turn, they draw one card (making a hand of two) and must play (or discard- which is functionally the same as playing) one of those two cards. When cards are played, they are set in front of the player face up so everyone can see what cards have been played so far. If you'd like to read the full rules, Alderac Entertainment Group (the publisher of the game) has a PDF available.

At the end of each round, if you're the last player standing OR you have the highest value card when there are no cards left to draw, you win a token of affection. Depending on how many players there are, the first player to X tokens of affection wins the game!

THE CARDS

image borrowed from Amazon.com

There are 8 cards, with some being duplicated several times adding up to 16 cards. There are 5 Guards, 2 Priests, 2 Barons, 2 Handmaids, 2 Princes, 1 King, 1 Countess, and 1 Princess.

Each card interacts with other cards in a variety of ways, which I will briefly describe below.

The Guard, when played, allows you to name another non-Guard card and choose another player. If that player has the card you named, he is out of the round. Early in the game, you can make wild guesses (knowing that 4 of the cards appear twice in the deck will help you make a guess based on your odds). Later in the game, clever deduction can often help you identify what cards players have.

The Priest allows you to look at another player's hand (remember in this game a "hand" is just one card). It's often helpful to know what someone else has if you suspect them of having a high value card- or to force them to get rid of the card you saw. If they don't, they run the risk of you using a guard to knock them out since you know what they have!

The Baron enables you to secretly compare hands with another player (after playing the Baron, you each will have one card). Whoever has the lowest value card is out for the round! Remember, however, that cards when discarded (or when someone is knocked out) are placed face up in front of them, so using a Baron and knocking out someone else who has a high-value card alerts the other players to the fact that you have one higher! If you knock out another player, and that player had a Prince, the remaining players know you either have the King, the Countess, or the Princess.

The Handmaid protects you from all card effects until your next turn. Great to play early and let you watch what other players are doing.

The Prince forces another player to discard their hand and draw a new card. Particularly helpful if you happen to know they have the Princess!

The King allows you to swap hands with another player. A dangerous play, but one that can be very rewarding particularly near the end of the game!

The Countess is unique, in that she doesn't actually have an ability. Instead you MUST discard her if you have either the King or the Prince. However, you MAY discard her at any time to play mind games with your opponent.

The Princess is the highest value card, but has a significant drawback! If you ever have to discard her, you're out.

CONCLUSION
I bought this game on a whim because the price tag is sub $10. I've played it SO MUCH now that it's probably one of the best returns on my investment of any game I own. It's great to play with hardcore gamers- particularly between tournament games, at a conventions etc... OR with not-so-hardcore-gamers due to its simplicity.

Not only do I think this is a great game, I truly believe every single gamer in the world should own it.

Suggestions: Get some card sleeves/protectors. You will likely wear these cards out from excessive play. Consider replacing the wooden "tokens of affection" with something more... thematic.

Thanks for reading!

Love,
Steven

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Bolt Action - Armored Platoons will be Standard

Yesterday morning, for those of us on the east coast of the United States, Alessio Cavatore dropped a big surprise in our laps. It was something that I, after reading the review copy, said was not going to happen in Bolt Action. As Alessio made quite clear in his article, however, I had interpreted it incorrectly.

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M26 Pershing/Super Pershing Build & Paint

By Sean "Throckmorton" Sarah

Historically, the M26 Pershing is a fascinating tank. It's development cycle was rife with internal dog fights between Army generals. Some, like Leslie McNair, were convinced the M4A3 variant of the Sherman was the best tank of the war with the perfect mix of speed, mobility, survivability and firepower. Others, like Generals Devers and Marshall, were convinced that a heavier tank was needed, one that could confront Panthers and Tigers head on.

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Bolt Action - Review: Tamiya Sdkfz 222 Armored Car

Need a cheap Armored Car to include in your German force? Consider getting an SDKFZ 222.  This little guy is really cool looking with his 20mm cannon and MG-34.  While not the best armored car in Bolt Action, it has some great lines which make it one of the sportiest looking of the armored cars.  It is also essential if you want Hanoswag (TM - J) points for your early war army.

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Bolt Action - Historicon 2014 Review

 Historicon occurred in Fredericksburg this weekend.

Bolt. Action. Happened.

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US 3rd AD vs Westfalen SS in Counter Attack

With my game room again fully operational, I was excited to get a Remagen game in! I prepared for the game as we often do- the host sets up the board and makes 2 army lists, and then we roll to see who takes what.

For the board, I wanted it to look like the outskirts of an industrial region- a vital train depot AND crossroads with the US hit with a preparatory bombardment before striking. For this game, I ran Westfalen, and Jon ran the US.

US 3rd Armored Divsion Light Tank Company (Reluctant Veteran)

HQ + Recovery Vehicle (which I forgot to take out, but wouldn't have made a bit of difference)

5x Chaffees

5x Chaffees

Tank Platoon (2x M4A3, 2x M4A3E8)

Armored Mortars

Armored Rifle Platoon (dismounted)

Armored Recon

SS Westfalen (Fearless Trained)

HQ + Panzerschreck

Ersatz SS-Aufklarungs Platoon

Ersatz SS-Aufklarungs Platoon

Ersatz SS-MG Platoon

Ersatz SS-Tank Platoon

512. Schwere Panzerjaegers (2x Jagdtiger) (Confident Trained)

Panzer AA Platoon (2x Ostwind) (Reluctant Veteran)

Volks Rocket Launcher Battery (Reluctant Trained)

Volkssturm Platoon (Reluctant Conscript) (Xyzax)

The mission was Counter Attack.

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Bolt Action - A Look At The National WWII Museum

Having recently returned from my honeymoon tour of the United States, I thought I would switch gears from our usual article topics to tell you about the National WWII Museum. You might be surprised to learn that such a large and well resourced WWII museum is located in New Orleans, a city more known for great food, strong drink and loose morals. Initially called the National D-Day Museum when it opened more than ten years ago, the museum unsurprisingly focused on the lead up to, the event of, and the aftermath of the D-Day invasion. New Orleans was chosen as the location because Andrew Higgins, the inventor of the D-Day landing boats, lived there along with his company that made literally thousands of landing craft for the Allies over the course of the war. 

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt IV- The Missions

by Eric Lauterbach and Steven MacLauchlan

The Great War Booklet contains three all new missions for the unique type of warfare representing WWI.  Also included are many new special rules designed to bring the feel of trench warfare to life...  but before you go anywhere there are some major changes right up front! First, all of the missions are played on a 4x4 table not 6x4 like normal, and the mission dictates where trenches go or even if they are present.  Another unique characteristic to WWI is that your army composition may decide if you attack or defend (as discussed in the overview).  Example if you choose “Stoss Platoons” you always attack, or if you choose “Field Batteries” you will always defend.  Of course there is still the roll off if you both end up the same. The missions presented in the booklet each use some (or all) of the following rules, reproduced in their entirety with permission from Battlefront.

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Bolt Action - AAR: USMC vs Japanese in a game of Point Defence

Recently I played a 1000 game where my USMC faced off against Japanese ran by a friend of the site (Mal). We were eagerly anticipating this game as both of us built our forces for the express reason to fight the opposing nation so it was a historical grudge off!

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt III- Tanks!

by Jon Baber and Steven MacLauchlan
The Great War adds some very interesting rules for tanks. Though the tanks are relatively protected against rifle fire, they do not have super heavy armor - artillery in direct-fire seems like it would be super-effective. But wait! There are several special rules for tanks that add some interesting mechanics for tank survivability, especially for the massive Landships.

GENERAL TANK RULES
MOVEMENT
Tanks are very slow in The Great War, so you need a little something to get them going. With the Push It rule, you can push your tanks a little farther with a skill check immediately after normal movement, but watch out: if a 1 is rolled, your tank either gets Bogged or takes a Damage marker (more on this later). If you succeed, your tanks can move an additional 2". Using the Slow and Steady rule, tanks cannot move at the double. This rule also states that tanks move 4” in rough terrain or slow going. You can still Push It in slow going, but you take an additional bog check, if necessary.



SHOOTING
One good thing about moving so slowly is that it is nearly the same as standing still! Because of this, tanks get to shoot all of their guns at full ROF, even when moving! The tanks also get to target different platoons with each individual gun.
Infantry and Man-packed Gun teams shoot at tanks normally. All other teams reduce their ROF by half when shooting at a tank that isn’t Bogged, Bailed or Damaged (They aren't trained for shooting at a big, moving target!). As normal, take a +1 to hit if your ROF is already 1.

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Bolt Action - Review: The Condor Legion by Osprey Publishing

Osprey already has an amazing reputation, so when I received a trilogy of Osprey books about the Spanish Civil War I was very excited. The three books I have in my hot little hands are ‘The Spanish Civil War’, The International Brigades’ and finally ‘The Condor Legion’. In this review I will concentrate on The Condor Legion as this is what drew me towards this period in history.

Written by Carols Caballero Jurado and Illustrated by Ramiro Bujeiro

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt II - Army Lists

The Great War takes the core Flames Of War game, and modifies it to better represent the fighting of 1918. In part II of our sneak peek into The Great War, we will dive more seriously into the two army lists and the rules that make them work.

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Bolt Action - CBax's Historicon List

Historicon is just around the corner and it's time to get out the war dollies.  Here is my 1000 point army for the two Bolt Action tournaments I plan on participating in.  This force looks much larger than it actually is.   This is because my army consists of a lot of Cavalry and troops that will be riding into combat on the back of vehicles.  Having mounted and dismounted versions of most my units means my model count will dwarf other armies of similar size.

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WWPD Sneak Peek: The Great War Pt I- The Overview

The Great War is a Flames of War supplement scheduled to be released with Wargames Illustrated 322. It is 36 pages in length and chock full of background information, army lists, and special rules that allow you to play German and British infantry companies in 1918.

The supplement starts with some brief background information on the Great War, with a very high level overview on the first four years. It quickly settles into 1918 and focuses on the British and Germans, culminating with some relatively detailed information on an armored fight at Villers-Bretonneux. But fear not, the supplement is mostly focused on the infantry fighting - it's not a "WW1 Tank Battles" as some folks had feared!

Getting into the army lists, there is one for the British and one for Germans. They are both classified as "infantry companies", although that doesn't mean as much as it does in FoW WW2 (more on that later!). Both options can come as regular Confident Trained troops or more battle-hardened Confident Veteran.

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Bolt Action - Partisans Part 2: My List and Why

In part one of this duo of articles concerning the Partisan army list, I talked generally about the Partisan army list, why I chose the theme of my particular brand of Partisan force, and listed a few of the specific challenges that the army generally encounters in game. Today I am going to talk about the list that I have built, used and tweaked over time to create a historically accurate, fun and effective group of resistance fighters.

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