Pardon my French, British vs French, Napoleonics, Black Powder rules

"One does not simply walk into Mordor Portugal" Sean Bean, Sharpe's Rifles.

Below, we have an 8 foot by 6 foot table, with new cloth gaming mats from http://cigarboxbattlestore.bigcartel.com/, for a rousing game of Napoleonics.   My French with foreign allies vs Scott's British.  We have been using Warlord Games' Black Powder rule set (written by a bunch of ex-GW guys) an unlike almost every other block-unit game I have ever played,  the mobility is HUGE in Black Powder, so we are starting with nothing on the board, except each unit touching the board edge, if they rolled a 4+ to deploy.  If you click the below picture you will see I only got 4 units out of 11 while he got 9 out of 11!  He also rolled to get first turn....

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Intensify Forward Firepower XXVI: Return of the Judi

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WARNING: That be Rogue One Spoilers in the first 20ish minutes.

EZ and Dano are away from the conference room, trying to improve the Flesh Star Destroyer's defenses by spackling shut all the exhaust ports, so the ship's battle computer R1H4 steps in alongside the ship's doctor, Reinholt, to talk about their very early impressions on Wave 5. Obligatory Rogue One chat takes place as well, but for the most part Drunk Tarkin and Skyshuffler spend a lot of energy dodging all the blaster fire the newcomers bring aboard. 

Want to join the conversation? Please sound off in the comments below, or let us know on our forum!

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Good Riddance 2016; Hello 2017: The Year in Gaming

Every year I try to write an article that summarizes the passing year and share what I am most excited about for the upcoming one. Let’s be honest here, 2016 was a crazy year! A year ago did anyone think that we would end up with Trump for president? Or have the Cubs win the World Series? Would I after a 16 month hiatus resume paining again? Despite the turbulent year, it was yet another great year for the gaming community and 2017 looks to continue that trend. Over the last few years the gaming industry has a seen a boom as far as leveraging multiple platforms, broadening its appeal by expanding the span of topics in which we could play, and the explosion of card based games; all of these factors really point to the fact that we are in the “golden age of gaming”.

The Industry
In 2016 the value of the video games market alone is $99 Billion dollars worldwide with it expected to grow to about $130 Billion by 2019. This boom can be attributed to the growth of app based games.  Who didn’t almost run someone over while playing Pokémon Go this year? The popularity of board games has also dramatically risen  over the last few years and as more interesting titles hit the shelves this will continue to grow. Card based games such as Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Pokémon are attracting many young players to gaming and we can see the effect when 30-50 tweens jam into our local gaming stores and prevent us from getting a table. Historical based gamers have also seen a boom, this year Bolt Action came out with a second version, Battlefront’s Team-Yankee grew and has attracted many new players to the hobby. Of course the games tied to movies did well, Fantasy Flight’s Star Wars X-Wing had many new releases that were tied to the very popular Force Awakens movie.

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Finishing up Iron Maiden

Don’t you just love that feeling when you put the last touch of paint on a model and you know your work is done? It is a rare feeling since we always seem to be expanding our collections, however with the lower model count in Team Yankee I was able to finish off my forces from Iron Maiden and I think I will be set for the time being. Maybe it is one of the things I like about TY is that once you finish your core 100 point force, you do not have the need to keep adding models, I think between this and ability that you can take more than one formation adds to the games allure. My last article detailed my building and paining my Chieftains, FV 432s, Rapiers, and of course the infantry. I was left with building the Lynx helicopters and the recce vehicles for my force which were the last to be released.

I wanted to cover the Lynx for the article because I do not think these guys were be making it on many lists I plan to make. I think it’s a neat to have the choppers in the game, however AAA is just so good I do not think these guys will not have a long life span.

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Bolt Action - You're a Terrible Painter

You're a terrible painter Casey. I have told myself that countless times since I started painting miniatures. I truly love the game of Bolt Action and miniature wargaming, but the thought of starting a new game or army and having to paint it was not only intimidating, but I flat out refused to paint the army on my own. Making up excuses to myself would become a daily routine on why I should pay someone else to do it. "I don't have enough time", "I'm too busy at work", "Time spent painting is time away from playing", etc. Well, I am here to tell you that things have changed and I will share with you how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb..err I mean paint!

I keep these on my shelf to remind me of where I started.

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Bolt Action - Review: Warlord Games Plastic Mark V Sherman

I recently decided I needed some armour support for my Canadian Kangaroo army list and what better way to do that then to add in a Sherman? As a fan of plastic kits, I knew I had to try out the Warlord Games Sherman V and I recently picked one up as a prize from the All Over October event I attended in Melbourne. The Sherman V is also known as the Sherman M4A4 and is the lend-lease version of the Sherman used by Great Britain.

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Behind Enemy Lines Episode 31

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Episode 31 is a double act with Damo being OOA and Dan and Greg ready to assault your ears!

N00b News for part 1 with discussions around Team Yankee, GW and…….DUST?

In part 2, we’ll have a wee chin-wag about whats been going on at the local club, some of the games we’ve been playing and you know…..stuff?

Part 3 gets preeeeeeeeeeety interesting…...we sit down and have a chat about Team Yankee and what it means for the future of historical games and games in general. Warning: OPINIONS ENCLOSED!

Want to join the conversation? Please sound off in the comments below, or let us know on our forum!

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Why We Fight Ep 10: Version 4 Deconstructed

            Well the title says it all, this episode is all about version 4! In Act 1, the guys talk quickly about some up coming events. They then quickly switch over to Act 2! In Act 2, we start deconstructing version 4. We got a rough copy of the new rules and start from the beginning and we continue going over the rules in Act 3. If you want news and updates on version 4, this podcast is it! 

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Viet-Nam, 1952, France vs Viet-Minh, Force-on-Force (Fall-In 2016)

I was able to make the drive down from Canada to Lancaster, PA for Fall-In 2016 this year.  While my main goal was to see old friends, buy more miniatures I don't need, and play in the Flames of War singles tournament put on by Kurt Reese for Wounded Warrior Project, I did have a spare day to partake in some other games!  

Anyone who has been to an HMGS convention knows that with the small description of the game in the convention book, it can be tough to discern if the game will be any good.  As soon as I saw the jungle table, I knew I had to try and play it!   

This one features French forces landing from the carrier group "Arromanches" near Hue, in order to clear out a 'ville' of some pesky Viet-Minh.  It used Force-on-Force rules, 28mm scale, and was being run by Pete English.   The game/table also won some award, as the convention organisers paused our game to hand out a prize and take pictures and all that!  As the only actual person on either side who is French (Cdn) I obviously chose to be on the French team!

The 'ville' had only civilians visible, working the rice paddies, though we knew they had a box full of soldiers yet to be seen.  As the french, we had an LVT4 Amtrac,  2 Chaffees, 3 mech platoons initially as tank riders, an Amphib command jeep and 2 M20s.  

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Bolt Action - Painting BEF and Tartan

My latest project is to create an all metal British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Whilst I have predominately used Warlord Games miniatures (which are excellent) I jumped with excitement when I saw Pulp Figures come out with a range for Highlanders. There are three separate packs being offered, Infantry Rifles, Command and Special Weapons, all wearing early war attire with kilts which is perfect for my BEF. While many of you out there might be put off painting tartan, I will hopefully show you an easy way to get them to a simple but effective standard so that you too can include them in your force. I will talk more about the composition of my force in a later article and leave this one just for the painting.

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Bolt Action - Bolt Action Alliance, Who Are These Guys Anyway?

Many people don't know who the Bolt Action Alliance (BAA) are, what we do or why we do it. We have our loyal readers and listeners for sure, however many in the community may just see our articles pop up now and again on various feeds or perhaps may have even caught a podcast or two but don't really know the story behind the BAA. This article is intended to let you all know, loyal readers and listeners as well as new players, what makes the BAA tick.

From left to right - Anfernee, Patch, Tristan and Bryan and yes, red beards are mandatory!

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Iron Maiden: The Unboxing and Playing

As I was writing all those articles on the “Iron Maiden” release, I also volunteered to do the “unboxing”; not just because I wanted to write more about the subject, but to feed my desire to play with this new and interesting faction for Team Yankee. As some of you know from reading the past articles I penned on the Brits; I have always felt that this new force will change how the game is played. The forces in IM gives the player some really good infantry and a cheap but deadly main battle tank that can hold its own on the game table.

The Chief
I was able to get a hold of this box set that has 5 Chieftain Tanks and 2 Lynx helicopters. The box also comes with the new mini rule book witch is better made than the V3 FoW mini-rulebook, it will not snap its spine when you open it. 

Having made a Chieftain during the roll out event without instructions I found making them with the guide was a snap. Even the baskets on the sides of the turret fit right into a groove and you do not have to worry about misplacing them. One decision you will have to make is to use the regular or Stillbrew turret. While I love using magnets to swap things like this out, this kit does not give you the parts to do that; with only one cannon and one set of baskets available. I decided to use the Stillbrew turret for uniformity and for the fact that it not only looks a bit better, but it is also not that noticeable to the untrained.

Two things that will slow down your speed building of this model; the first is the cupola machine gun, which is just ripe to get ripped off the tank unless you are careful. The other is the side skirts, they seemed to go on at a slight angle and this is something you will have to play with to get it just right. Based on the pictures I checked out on the Chief, the actual side skirts so somewhat taper in the rear. The only real “complaint” I could think of is the commander who sits in the open cupola.  They seem to be at a larger scale and some of the included commanders will only fit in the turret at an angle. They also leave little logical room for the HMG, unless you want your crewman hugging the gun awkwardly.

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Bolt Action - German 'Aufklärungs' army project (Part 2)

Welcome to part two of this army building project as I put together a German recon force for 1944-45. In part one I began the project by modelling up some motorbike scouts and a Schwimmwagen. This month I have begun work on the core of this platoon, the Panzergrenadiers of the Aufklkärungstruppen. 

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Trees and Terrain for Wargaming

This past month I walked around the Fall-In commercial sales area during a break between a few of my games and found some interesting things. I am always on the look-out for new terrain or at least nice terrain to better dress up my gaming tables for a variety of systems. I mostly play Flames of War, Warmachine and recently took a dive into Team Yankee. Adventure Terrain is a company that has an interesting take on trees and other gaming terrain.

Realistic terrain really does make all the difference.

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Great War; Great Once Again!

For those who are interested in the Great War, the last few years has seen a boom in all sorts of media and games that highlight the bloody struggle that changed the world forever. This boom is not because the topic is gaining popularity, but rather it’s the fact that we are remembering the 100th anniversary of the conflict. Even after 2018, and the anniversary period is over I still feel that many of us who are amateur historians will enjoy greater company with a new wave of converts who got caught up in the boom.

Flames of War: Great War
While this is not new, I do have some new personal news to share. I finally got off my ass and painted the French and American forces I got many many months ago. The motivation was a hangover effect from painting my Team-Yankee Soviets and West Germans.  I got back into painting and I really wanted to knock these guys out. 

So sitting on my bench collecting dust was each of the box sets and some add-ons so I would have one of each blister and box.  My first project was the tanks, which was 4 Renault Ft-17s, 2 Schneider CA.1s, and 1 Char St Chamond tank. I will admit to being cocky and made the decision to paint all of the tanks in the French camo scheme. 

 

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2016 Holiday Gift Guide

Once again the holiday season is upon us. If you've been visiting the site for a while, you might have seen my holiday gift guide I did here two Christmas' ago. Here's a few new ideas and things to add to the list! Either for you or if you're looking for something for a member of your family, I'm sure you'll find something gaming or hobby related on this list that will make the gamer on your naughty nice list super happy during this time of year.

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On the Road, Episode 3 Thanksgiving Special: Video Games, Turkeys and Toys

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On the Road, Episode 3 Thanksgiving Special: Video Games, Turkey's and Toys

With Sean Sarah and Mitch Reed, Hosted by Tyler Held and Ashley Nekomata

In episode 3 Mitch and Sean are not on the road, but outside of the house where they talk about their favorite video games and fry turkeys!  Ashley and Tyler also give us what video games they play and what they plan to play in 2017. 

In act 3, We talk about what games they look forward to playing over the next few months and in the final act they talk about new products coming out for Flames of War and their future road trips.

For comments, concerns, or if you want us to come out and cover an event, please contact me at WWPDMitch@gmail.com or on Twitter at @MitchWWPD. 

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Leopard Panzertruppen: Bella Fleck and the Flecktarn

When the Panzertruppen supplement came out for West Germany, I quickly downloaded a copy, it seemed like a great list to get my Leopard 1s on the table and the infantry mounted in M-113 APCs have 3 Milan teams per platoon vice the 2 of the infantry in Marders. So I wanted to get another blister of infantry for my German force.  I have some Command Decision M-113s and picked up 4 more from the Vietnam period during Battlefront’s Halloween sale.

With the Panzertruppen supplement you can not only field a Leo1 and M-113 company, you can also get a Fuchs formation to boot. The lists here are a must for anyone who wants to field a ton on Leopard 1 tanks. Since I have 9 of them I can field the HQ, 2 full platoons of 3 Leos each and maybe a platoon of 2 then and then grab an M-113 troop for about 35 points.

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Bolt Action - Ghost Army Podcast Episode 20

Ghost Army Podcast: Episode 20

The long awaited (and slightly delayed) Ghost Army Podcast episode 20 is here, as the crew talk about the recent events they played at, as well as what hobby they've been doing and what is to come. Also featuring a special second half with some new voices to the GAP with some strange accents.



Find this episode in your friendly neighbourhood iTunes store or HERE.

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Why We Fight Ep 9: The Return of the Pete Simunovich

            He's back and ready to take on the questions you submitted! In Act 1, the guys do a quick recap of their time at Fall In. Act 2 is what everyone here came for. The guys ask the questions you submitted to Pete and press him for all they can on about what to expect from Version 4! We close with everyone trying to digest all the new information they heard in Act 3. This will be one podcast you for sure don't want to miss!

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Star Wars Imperial Assault Cooperative Campaign Video Playthroughs

Sean and I recently caught the Imperial Assault bug. Set immediately after the destruction of the first death star, Imperial Assault takes players through an exciting story where the Rebels are uncovering plans for a weapons system.

Normally, the game is "one vs many" not unlike Descent, or any number of games where one person is the Game Master, Dungeon Master, etc. However, we found an interesting variant that allows the Empire to be run by an AI (not unlike the Heroes of the Aturi Cluster for X-Wing. Without further ado, here are the first five games in Sean and I's two-man Rebel Assault strike force campaign:

Game One

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Dropfleet Commander: Scourge Starter Fleet

Earlier we looked at the my demo fleet for the UCM - now let's take a look at their Scourge opponent! It mirrors a similar ship composition of three combat cruisers and one troop deploying cruiser, and eight combat frigates and four troop deploying frigates.

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Arkham Horror The Card Game

Lydia and I recently picked up the Arkham Horror Card Game. Made by much of the same crew who put together my beloved Lord of the Rings card game, Arkham Horror sees players teaming up to face the Eldritch Gods that live just beyond our realm.

The game has been built from the ground up with a focus on campaign play, including a neat system for "leveling up" certain cards by spending experience between games. Here, we begin with two basic starter decks and play through the first scenario in the included campaign.

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Bolt Action - Review: Warlord Games LVT Buffalo

The Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) is a beast and I love it. It is among one of the largest vehicles you will see on the table and is a real centerpiece for an army. Today I will review the LVT Buffalo from Warlord Games and discuss it in game. I will only be speaking about the use of the LVT with Commonwealth forces this time, as the entry differs slightly from those available to the US.

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Mid War at Fallin - Kurt Reese's Midwar Extravaganza - Nov 5th 2016

I finally made it down to Fall In! in Lancaster PA for the first time in my mini-gaming career.  I've made it to Historicon before, but never Fall in.  It was a well run really laid back convention, and I got a chance to meet a lot of people the WWPD crew has spoken so much about in podcast or article form.

I decided not to play in the Doubles on Friday, which in retrospect was a mistake, since I had my winter germans with me , and it looked like a blast. But I did jump into the Mid War tournament the following day.  I took a lot of pictures (with my good camera) and can honestly say that after a lot of travel and a lot of tournaments, I lucked out with the best 3 man panel of opponents I've ever had.  All were funny, gracious, and solid players.  I had a really hard time voting for favorite opponent.

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Bolt Action - Road to Victory

Road to Victory is finally here. After months of play testing and editing we are ready to release it to the BA community.

Our games over the last several months have been challenging and entertaining. Road to Victory is a campaign where generals play a series of games, growing the size of their platoon between each game using a unit randomizer. The randomization of units present players with unique combinations of units and challenges they might not other wise field.

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Intensify Forward Firepower Episode XXV

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Back with a sweaty vengeance, the crew of the flesh star destroyer brings you Episode 25 brought to you by Correlian Chew- the best treat in the galaxy! Things start off with a review of what the boys have been up to recently, including a quick World's review. Next up, the crew give a once-over to the new squadrons in Corellian Conflict, before moving on to the new objectives featured in the campaign! Yea, or Nay? Yea!

Want to join the conversation? Please sound off in the comments below, or let us know on our forum!

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Building the British Airborne - Part 1

Chapter 1 - July 2016

"I'm awfully sorry, but I'm afraid we will need to occupy your house" - Col John Frost - A Bridge too Far

"This is....Everything, 2 .30 cal machine guns, 11 Hawkins Mines, 17 grenades, two bazookas but we only got 8 rounds left, and assorted small arms.  We had a 60mm mortar, but an arty round took it out.  Might as well be spit wads if we run into some tanks." - Saving Private Ryan

I've always been fascinated by the British Airborne's campaign during Operation Market Garden.  The ambition of it, the audacity, the courageousness it took to hang on that long.  All the books I've read, documentaries I've watched, have made it a life's goal to visit the sites in Holland and see it some day.  And I know it is a relatively competitive force in Flames of War. So I went about collecting it all. But I didn't want to start assembling it or painting it before I was ready to do it justice.

So to paraphrase the quote above....here is everything....

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FOW: After Open Fire - Part 2

Back in part 1 of this piece, I began to offer some advice for the new recruits to the Flames of War game, after they've purchased the Open Fire boxed set from Battlefront.

In this part, let's look at topics like: more basic items to get for your gaming bag or box, and things to consider as you make that initial decision on which nation’s army to begin collecting.



More stuff to buy!


Talk to any gamer, and you'll probably find they prefer something different than the last gamer you talked to. Take measuring devices. My own preference for this tool is either a small tape measure, or one of BattleFront's weirdly shaped measuring sticks (they call them “RangeFinders"). This little tool has different sides, each with a measurement that is used in the game. Since I'm in the US, the Imperial measurements of six inches, four inches, one inch and two inches are all represented on the rangefinder.



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Bolt Action - Late War German Panzer Lehr Tabletop Quality Painting Guide

Welcome to another tutorial from the team at the Bolt Action Alliance, this time I, Patchimus, will cover how to paint a Panzer Lehr squad to a good tabletop quality. I have been heavily influenced by 'The Painting War - WW2' so if you want a more definitive and diverse guide  do yourself a favour a pick this book up. This guide will concentrate on the uniform and equipment only to keep it a reasonable size, that being said I have skipped over the flesh part however you can locate another guide from Master Bryan here that can assist you. All the paints I have used are Vallejo (Running joke among the crew is that I pronounce it Valley-Joe, which is apparently very wrong but I cant help it!) unless otherwise stated.

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