The back of the box
One of the inspirations for the famous Madasahatta campaign organised by Eric Knowles, in which both Bob Cordery and myself took part in (Bob published the campaign journal, complete with the full back story and a biography of Eric following his death), was the campaign conducted in East Africa by the German commander Paul Von Lettow Vorbeck.
I have a soft spot for many aspects of this campaign - the operations on Lake Tanganyika as well as the hunt for the Konigsberg for example - and given that is it quite low level in terms of the numbers involved (although not the area of operations!) it would translate into a Portable Wargame style set up, complete with a naval dimension.
The game itself features a mounted map board - always a bonus - along with the associated charts etc for initial deployments and reinforcement schedules. A nice touch is that all the key naval vessels get their own counter (including Mimi and Tou Tou!) and also the salvaged guns of the Konigsberg! The rules are quite straightforward and are contained in a 16 page booklet. All in all then, it is an easy game to play and one that is crying out to be used as the basis for the figures/models based table top set up.
I do not have any figures for the period - the block armies would suffice - but I do have a selection of models for some of the naval protagonists as part of the planned Madasahatta: The Sequel, set up.
For the present though, I shall go back to Battle for the Bundu for some extra inspiration!
My eye has been on this title too. Although reports are that Bishop’s game of the same name as Jim Bumpas’ 1975 game is different, I am curious how Bishop handles the campaign with respect to Bumpas. I played Bumpas’ game with the designer, himself, in the early ‘80s and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteDavid,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up about this game. I am very tempted to buy a copy even though I’m not really into board wargames … but as you know, World War I warfare in East Africa has a special place in my wargaming heart.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing the original version but never played it so am unable to compare the two. It certainly looks the part and as you would have probably expected, I was delighted to see the naval aspects included and not just as an afterthought!
All the best,
DC
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling that your curiosity would be piqued by this and for the reason you mentioned - as it was for me!
It is quite straightforward to play - at least the rules look pretty user friendly.
My plan is to use this as a campaign type tool to generate tabletop actions.
All the best,
DC