A great box full of boardgame covering the conquest of Granada
The back of the box - the production quality is off the scale with this. Note the Medieval artwork on the cards - wooden blocks for armies, fortifications and even ships.
Aside from the Crusades the only Medieval history that I have fondness for, a fondness that could even turn into figures, is that of Spain. From El CID to the ‘Reconquista’ is a fascinating story of Christian kingdoms at odds with one another alongside the Moorish territories that has similar issues. Even in the final campaigns leading to the fall of Granada the Moorish cause was not helped by constant infighting and intrigue. In short it makes for a wonderful campaign setting.
Last year Laurel and I spent a week staying in Alcaucin (the name is derived from the Arabic Al Kautin - “of the arches” )in the province of Malaga, Spain. We had such a good time we are shortly heading back for a two week stay at the same place but this time with a visit to the Alhambra Palace - which I am really looking forward to.
The Art of War in Spain is a book of two halves. The Conquest of Granada section was extracted from a three volume history of Ferdinand and Isabella with a modern section describing warfare of the period in Spain. It is a really good read. Moorish Spain is an overview of the history of the Moors in Spain - I read the author’s book on El CID last year which was excellent. The WRG title needs little introduction from me but includes a modest but excellent section of Spain and Granada.
As is usual for me I tend to take reading material that is themed for the occasion and so the above is my library for this period of Spanish history. I shall be taking the top two books on the trip.
With the Portable Wargame 3x3 format, along with Dominion series, reluctant figure painters have even less excuse for not trying things out - certainly for me the largest figure painting project I would consider would be something DBA or HOTT sized!
This has been my thinking with the Colonial collection as well but that is for another post.
8 comments:
Like you the Crusades and Spain are my only real interest in the medieval period, so this ha piqued my interest. Be interested to seeing where this takes you. Granada, that's a blast from the past, there was also Radio Rentals on the go as well, youngsters would be baffled by the concept!!
Hi Donnie,
To be honest I seem to be looking at a lot of 3 x 3/Dominion/Portable Wargame/DBA style ideas at present but this one is quite apt given that I am soon going to be there!
Absolutely right about the concept and yes, I also remember Radio Rentals!
All the best,
DC
When I read the title, my mind immediately when to the tv theme tune, which I now can't get out of my head;)! An interesting period for sure, with so many gaming opportunities. On Amazon they have a Spanish 2 season series on El Cid, but sadly nothing new for a few years now. Still, you can't beat old Chuck in the classic film!
Glad you had a nice time on the continent - must check if the wife’s been keeping up the payments on the telly to Granada. Wonder if they’ll accept green shield stamps in lieu of any shortfall…I inherited several books of them.
Hat produce an excellent range of figures for this period, if you don't have figures already.
Hi Steve J,
It was an annoying spin on a classic tune! El CID is on BBC IPlayer at the moment - I have it downloaded but you would have guessed that methinks!
All the best,
DC
Hi JBM,
Green Shield stamps eh? I remember those! Not sure they are valid now….;-)
All the best,
DC
DC
Hi Mark,
I don’t have any figures for this but reckon that it may be an option for some 3 x 3/Dominion style games.
Something (extra!) to think about!
All the best,
DC
Post a Comment