Remember this? The four double sided maps I have (courtesy of Archduke Piccolo with eternal thanks!) from this series are now laminated so no more ‘paper fold’ ridge lines! These are going to see a fair amount of use over the coming months.
I think it is fair to say that the Portable Wargame is a popular, well established and supported system that has an ever growing band of devotees that seem to bend and stretch the core mechanics in many different and unimaginable directions! I have said so before and will continue to do so that it is testimony to Bob’s original design that it seems to be able to withstand any amount of tinkering without breaking! In short, it is a tool to be used as required by the individual player or players depending on how they wish to.
I am a huge fan of the system in its various iterations and so plan to make use of it over the course of the coming year with the block armies once again taking to the field. The only limit I have set myself is that I shall only be using the maps I have recently had laminated (the picture above is one of them) and that the armies will be quite small - ranging from 6 to 9 blocks a side. Sadly I do not have any desert style maps so will have to forego these for the time being. No matter - there is more than enough variety in the verdant parts of the globe for me to enjoy!
The decision to use such a small playing area was driven largely by practicality in that I wanted to be able to fight a battle on my lap, rather on a tray on my lap. The map just about fits on a tray (at least the ones we have) but works better on the lid of a 32 litre plastic storage box which has the advantage of being able to take the associated paraphernalia required to fight a battle, dice, notepad, pencils etc.
The big advantage of this is that I can sit on the sofa whilst gaming rather than heading for the man cave to do so. I am also hoping to be able to play any of the solo board games I have in a similar way.
So, a mini portable wargame is the plan - all I need to do now is to plan some games!
9 comments:
Firstly, Happy New Year. Nice to see the block armies appearing again. The gridded map is very nice. A range of such maps just shouts out "Mini Campaign", to me anyway! A truly portable system.
I really need to get to grips with the Portable War-game, it looks like the perfect way to introduce some folks to the hobby.
The map looks great - Archdule Piccolo is a good chap.
Cheers, Michael
David,
That’s a very neat solution and one that I can see others copying.
Conrad Kinch also produced a tray top version of the game some time ago, but i don’t think that it had the variety of terrain that yours has.
I look forward to reading your battle report!
All the best,
Bob
Hello there Maudlin Jack Tar,
Happy new Year to you as well old chap! I am looking forward to get some block army action in again - it has been a while for sure. There are four maps and these are not only geomorphic but also double sided which is really handy. I also have these with larger hexes for when I revert to the ‘one block equals a strength point’ system.
Funnily enough I was thinking about a mini linked scenario style campaign a while ago and tied in with the ACW ships.
We shall see.
All the best,
DC
Hiya Mad Padre,
All of the PW series are certainly worth looking at I am sure you will enjoy whichever you opt for. My initial hankering is for something Colonial although I could just as easily be tempted by the 18th century - I will see where the mood takes me.
Archduke Piccolo is indeed a splendid chap!
All the best,
DC
Hello Bob,
The maps have a reasonable selection of terrain to fight over so are very useful for a variety of actions. The picture I used is an old one, staged just to show how it could potentially be used.
I will take a look at Mr Kinch’s blog and do some digging to see what he did.
I shall get a game in soon - I am rather looking forward to doing so - and will be sure to post the report on the blog. I am undecided as to what to fight but have a feeling that the current front runner will certainly be of interest….
I will say no more.
All the best,
DC
What a clever idea...truly portable and it also looks great!
Hello there Jim,
Much appreciated old chap! I have a few ideas for a trial run - I just need to make sure that Laurel has one of her programmes on the TV first!
All the best,
DC
Hello there Aly,
It will be good to get them out again for a run out or two. I shall fit them in around the ship building and writing, when I need to cleanse the palette between courses, so to speak.
BTW, my mission this year will be to attend one of the Partizan shows - not sure which one but I hope it will be the one you are at!
All the best,
DC
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