Unexpectedly Catching Up

The assembled bases. The larger of the two is 3” by 1 1/2” whilst the smaller is 1 1/2” square. Note the raised triangle along the leading edge in the centre - this denotes the unit facing - and the dice frame along the rear edge. The dice frame will be to denote the strength of the unit. I intend placing a strip of steel paper along the space by the dice frame so that an identification label can be added as required depending on what the blocks are being used for.

 Had things gone to plan today would have been the third day that Laurel was in hospital and I suspect I would have been ‘hither and thither’ on one domestic errand or another or, more likely, ‘fretting and fussing’! The postponement of her operation has, in effect, given me in effect a couple of spare weekends - spare being relative of course as the usual weekend domestic round still needs to be maintained - or, more accurately, some spare time of my own.

I have not been idle. There has been much parcel packing accompanied by the inevitable ‘thinking of great thoughts’ as well as some long outstanding modelling tasks attended to. 

I have decided to split the final ACW ships into two batches - mainly because the first four models are pretty similar in construction - as it makes it rather more manageable to fit in the construction into the odd moments that become available during the day. This in turn gave me the opportunity to see what bits and pieces I need to order from Warbases by way of replenishing my stock of hull components. I also need to get some 7mm d6s for use with the movement trays you see above which I finally managed to get assembled. 

Built at last - 30 of each size. The idea behind this is that I can use less blocks to represent a unit meaning that some can be freed up to be repurposed in additional colours.

I am really excited about these trays as it means that using the block armies on a non gridded playing surface is viable. Originally I planned to have two sets of these - one verdant and one desert coloured - but am now thinking that having just a single set in a neutral dusty earth shade would work for both setting. I could even leave them as they are but that option does not really appeal!

I also took another look in the Command and Colours Samurai Battles box and am looking forward to getting it ready for the tabletop.

Finally, I reorganised some of my rules folders so that the Balkan naval war supplement for David Manley’s Broadside and Salvo and the PDF of The First Balkan War 1912 - 1913: The War at Sea by A. J. Martins are all in one place. I also now have a second folder for the ironclad era - one containing David Manley’s Dahlgren and Colombiad and the ACW campaign supplement whilst the second contains the supplements for the Lissa campaign, the Boshin War, the Russo Turkish War and the War in the Pacific. My printed copies of the rules for Air Force, Dauntless and the Expansion set together with the rules for Axis and Allies: Angels 20 and all the in house stuff I prepared for them, especially around crew quality and pilot/aircraft special abilities are all now in a new folder as well.

Individually these are small ‘wins’ but they are wins nevertheless and so should be savoured as such. 

All in all then, not too bad a day despite the dreadful weather!

Block Changes or Why Didn’t I Think of This Before?

The three examples (best viewed ‘blown up’). The one on the right shows the constituent parts. The small triangle fits along the top edge (there is a triangle marked there) whilst the dice frame forms the edge of the pre cut square. I miscalculated this as I did not allow for the thickness of the frame itself as this should line up with the central recess. The thicker lower edge will have a strip of magnetic paper so that unit ids can be used.

In what seems like an age ago I mentioned about the plans I had to ‘pimp’ the block armies. Aside from the  ‘weapon’ counters (designed for the pre gunpowder and mechanised eras) I also looked at producing some movement trays that could be useful for games where a grid is not used. After some rather hasty designs were drafted and sent to those very nice people at Warbases, a small Jiffy bag arrived with some samples of what I was looking for.

Aside from a small error in the alignment of the dice square - easily rectified - these are just what I wanted. By using a combination of a dice frame and a reduced number of blocks (2 each for infantry and cavalry and a single for artillery) within the footprint of a movement tray I will not only have effectively doubled the size of the block army collection but I will also be able fight battles on a non-gridded basis. The small triangle along the leading edge of the base will be used to indicate the unit facing.

I plan to have two sets of these bases - one in green and one in a sand colour - and I am also planning one other design of base to complete the set up but for now I feeling pretty pleased with this latest iteration of the block armies. I am only peeved that I did nt think of this idea a lot sooner!

Blocks and Bases

The initial design - note the facing triangle, the strip for a name label and the frame for a dice for recording strength points. Note the 'border' around where the block(s) fit.

One of my original blocks - the space will take two half blocks easily as they are slightly smaller than a full sized version due to the saw cut when they were chopped in half.

 I have had a bit of a rethink about the whole ‘tokens to indicate weapon types’ idea I mooted previously. I am not going to do it! A far easier idea would be to print off the appropriate symbols and mount them in turn on MDF bases - in this case 20mm diameter circular ones - which in turn would then be placed on the blocks forming the specific unit. This idea is how Command and Colours: Medieval indicates bow armed cavalry so if it is good enough for Richard Borg then who am I to argue?

This will be one half of what I am planning for the block armies with the other being something base related. 

Some time ago I mentioned one of the problems I have with the block armies in that it is not always obvious which way they are facing. When using a grid based system this is not really much of a problem but could be when using them on a normal table top. I had considered using some form of standard deployed at the front of the block(s) in question but despite my best efforts I could never really get it to work. I have settled on a solution though, which I hope will further increase the potential of my block armies. 

I am working on the design for a base for a single half block and one for a full sized (in this case that will usually be two half sized blocks) version. The bases are essentially movement trays but with a couple of differences. To begin with the two longer facing sides of the base (the blocks will be orientated with the long sides top and bottom) will be deeper than just the more usual ‘edged’ variety - 5mm deep along the top and 10mm at the bottom.. The top edge will have a laser cut MDF triangle fixed to the centre so that this will satisfy the facing requirement. On the rear edge I will have a dice frame positioned to one side leaving sufficient space for a strip of magnetic paper. The former will be to indicate the strength points of the unit whilst the latter can be used to hold a magnetic unit identity strip. All I would need to do would be to type out the name of the unit, print it out and stick to some magnetic paper which in turn will go onto the back of the base.

I would look to make two sets of bases - a green set and one in a sand colour and in terms of how they will be used the smaller base, holding a single half block, would be used for small detachments or similar - in the ‘modern’ era I would use this for infantry support weapons and such like - whereas the the larger base will be for a full sized unit.

To the purist the prospect of blocks on movement trays probably seems a little close to being a board game rather than a wargame but for me it represents something quite radical. By using these movement trays I will be able to consider using all manner of rules other than purely grid based ones.

The next step will be to get that very nice man at Warbases to work his magic!

On the Starting Block

 

Preliminary ideas for troop type tokens with a few more to add. Very much a first draft (and with number five needing a little trimming!)  and work in progress but you can see the direction my thoughts are heading in.

I plan to have these tokens produced in laser cut MDF, 3mm thick. They will be quite small as they are designed to be placed on an existing block as required so I reckon they will be no larger than 11mm by 11mm. When ready I could use them as they are or could paint them. In the interest of economy I was thinking of using black as this forms a good contrast to the block colours. I also plan to have a only one such token per unit as having one on each block would not only mean I would need a lot of them but also the chances of them falling off would be far greater and so rather irritating during the heat of battle!

Most of the initial batch above are very much geared towards the pre gunpowder period. This was intentional as whilst I already have some suitable labels for the mechanised era I had nothing for the period prior to the 1700 to 1900 period.

I am rather excited about this as once realised it will increase the scope of gaming activities immeasurably meaning that I can fight battles from the time of the Pharoahs up to the present day using my core block collection with the appropriate token as required.

Back to Block

One of the blocks I use - 29mm x 21mm x 12mm or half a Works style ‘not quite a Jenga block’. 

 I have taken a good look over my block army collection and have more or less settled on what I want to do to increase the scope of how I can use them. I have decided not to draw up any more labels but will instead opt to use some specially designed MDF tokens that will sit on the top of the appropriate block as required to designate specific troop types.

The plan now is to design the symbols that I want - these will not be counters as such - and then to submit the designs to Warbases for them to work their magic for me. At this stage I envisage using a single token per unit as required - for example a bow token would be deployed on a standard infantry or cavalry to indicate an archer or mounted archer type formation. Command and Colours: Medieval uses a counter in this way to distinguish bow armed cavalry so my idea is really just an extension of this.

For the modern period my initial thoughts are for token to represent HMGs, mortars and anti-tank units.

Another significant use will be to identify skirmish style formations or detachments. 

Getting the designs for the tokens right should not be too difficult and having these separate from the block increases their flexibility as well as meaning that I do not as many of them.

So, on to the planning!

We will, we will Block you….

 

Army Blue from the block collection with the direct types shown to good effect on the inside of the lid.

A curious thing has occurred over the course of my temporary back affliction. As I have been reluctant to do anything that involves carrying or moving with any degree of acrobatic contortion - entry to the man cave involves an ascending right hand turn with a twist, imagine the start of an Immelmann turn that flattens out at the highest point - I have been contenting myself with catching up on my reading.

This has proven to be a rewarding but frustrating experience. As I have been reading about various periods of military history - no details as yet, it will spoil the surprise - my natural inclination is think about how to game them. This will then mean a couple of hours of researching figures ranges, thinking about organisation, looking for additional books and all the various other assorted tasks one associates with a new project. These days I tend to see reason for more often before ‘pulling the trigger’ so aside from the time spent usually little is lost.

A picture from a while ago of the block army collection in its entirety - there was an awful lot of ‘not quite’ Jenga blocks involved in the production of this lot!

Enter stage third left the humongous collection of block based armies I have. You may recall that these were originally intended to be used to experiment with rules and periods before committing to a figure based set up. They have served me really well in the past and I am pleased that I got them to where they are. I want to take them further though.

It does not bother me using blocks over figures in conjunction with 3D terrain and so I am thinking that what free time I have now that I am back at work may be better served by adding to the blocks rather than replacing them wholesale with figures.

The blocks in the top half of the picture I use for tribal types whilst below you can see some of the 20th century options. These are the types I am address in a far more aesthetically pleasing way - but not with figures for the moment!

One of the ideas I am thinking about involves the use of figures for an army command base - almost a mini diorama style affair with perhaps the C in C himself and an ADC/staff officer type. Block units of infantry and cavalry will benefit from a standard of some kind - I have experimented with this previously but have yet to get it how I would like. Finally, WW2 would see the use of MDF tokens of some kind to differentiate weapon types etc. 

If it all sounds very abstract and stylised then that is exactly what it is - and I have no problem with it being so. I have invested too much time and effort in producing the block armies to give them up so I plan to take them to the next level and if this means that figure based solutions are pushed down the batting order I can live with it. 

The ideas I am pondering at present would also enable me to explore the ancient/medieval period as well so I will report any progress as and when I make any.

Taking Stock of the Blocks

One of the seven colours of block army I made showing all the current troop types available - the other colours being red, blue, green, light grey, khaki and a mixed set for tribal irregular types. At the top is a command block and the next three rows are of infantry, cavalry and artillery with the black band being fro heavy and the white for light versions. The next two are a machine gun and mortar whilst the bottom row is of a tank, a truck and an anti tank gun

Two of the twelve boxes

It has been a while since I did anything block related despite having a few developmental ideas currently simmering away. As I write this I can see the dozen boxes of the block collection - this does not include the Command and Colours types - and can remember the frenzied round of games I fought using them with a sense of pride and of enjoyment. I had a lot of fun with these despite their limitations - which was as much to do with how I made them as anything else.

As part of my ‘to do’ list for this year I want to ‘pimp’ the block collection in a number of ways so as to improve the overall look and increase the visual appeal. The wags amongst you will no doubt say the best way to pimp a block based army is to buy the appropriate figures for the army in question and get painting! That would be far too logical for a man of my somewhat eclectic tastes in table top finery!

The block armies worked best for straightforward army types - the archetypical horse, foot and guns of the horse and musket period. The troop formations operated in blocks, the maps of the battles used blocks so it all works rather well. Where is falls down is when you are trying to represent army types that have a larger variety of troop types operating at a tactical level - this level is after all where most table top battles are fought. 

Taking WW2 as an example I want my armies to feature separate machine guns, mortars, anti tank guns, tanks, trucks, APCs and so on. With the best will in the world a labelled block does not really convey the right impression at the tactical level. I may be block-fixated but aesthetics are still important!

Similarly for the pre gunpowder period where you have a plethora of infantry types from light javelin armed skirmishing infantry up to pike blocks via tribal warriors, roman legionaries, Greek hoplites to fully armoured Knights, horse archers and so on - the blocks as I have made them struggle to differentiate between types.

My block collection can differentiate between the notional ‘weight’ of types - heavy, line and light - which is fine for the Horse and Musket era but is a little anonymous for everything else.

I have been thinking about this whole subject quite a bit and have come with an idea that will not only address the additional troop types but will also add to the aesthetic appeal of the exiting block types as well as enabling me to explore something rather more novel. I am still drafting the appropriate designs and so will share these once they are ready but suffice it to say that painting will be involved (there, you see, I am a proper wargamer....) as well as Warbases and the inevitable lashings of MDF....

A Block for One's Own Back

A generic infantry block

Some 'top down' infantry

A lorry - typically this would be for motorised infantry or logistics, perhaps even in conjunction with the artillery

A generic tank

For bodies of archers

Infantry blocks in formation

Another variant of the infantry block....

....and the cavalry block

Now this was something I never expected to see available! Battlescale Wargames Buildings  have launched a range of resin blocks for wargaming purposes, samples of which you can see above. These are really nice looking and had they been available before I started chopping up vast quantities of Jenga blocks would have certainly made an attractive alternative. I particularly like the small triangular facing indicator (?) at the base of the block which would be very useful when used on a 'free' table top. I also like the 3D effect using raised surfaces to ease painting (even I would struggle to struggle with them!) as well as the symbolic vehicles.

The blocks are sized as follows:

Larger blocks: 35mm frontage x 20mm x 6 to 7mm

Smaller blocks: 20mm x 20mm x 6 to 7mm*

*The vehicle blocks are also available in the 20mm x 20mm size block.

These fit very nicely on the same company's hex tiles which are 80mm across the flat sides (slightly smaller than than the Hexon 100mm version).

I would certainly like to get some of these to experiment with - perhaps with a proper Portable Wargame set up - and I hope that the range is successful for Battlescale, if only so that they persevere with the range and add extra pieces to it.

Who would have thought it? Blocks going all mainstream....whatever next?

You Win Some, Zulus Some....

OK so the lyrics were adapted for the film and the singalong never happened but what the hell, this never fails to inspire me!

"Men of Harlech stop your dreaming

Can't you see their spear points gleaming

See their warrior's pennants streaming

To this battle field

Men of Harlech stand ye steady

It cannot be ever said ye

For the battle were not ready

Stand and never yield

Form the hills rebounding

Let this war cry sounding

Summon all at Cambria's call

The mighty force surrounding

Men of Harlech onto glory

This shall ever be your story

Keep these fighting words before ye

Cambria (Welshmen never) will not yield"

I suspect that here are few, if any readers of this blog that are not aware of the 140th anniversary of the opening of the Zulu War of 1879, immortalised on screen by the film Zulu (and you could add Zulu Dawn if you wish).

The film Zulu is quite unique for me because this particular film, alongside the Battle of Britain were the only classic war films of the era that I saw on the big screen. I should qualify this by saying that I saw Zulu about five years after it came as a Saturday matinee performance - not when I was four years old! It is a great film to see on the big screen and even now, after having watched it umpteen other times on a variety of televisions, PCs and tablets, I can still recall how it made me feel listening to the beating of shields, that hair-raising Zulu war cry - "Usuthu!" and of course "Men of Harlech!" Stirring stuff indeed.

Fast forward to the last few years and my interest in the conflict from a wargames perspective has been, well to be frank, quite lazy really. I have owned a number of books on the subject and have even gotten as far as investing in some figures for it but like so many of my best intentions the enthusiasm waned and so off they went. I had a small set up in 15mm Essex as well as some Newline figures which were very nice indeed. Further back I even dabbled in a 42mm set up from Irregular Miniatures but again, my short attention span once again consigned the collection to Ebay.  If I am honest my interest in the war kind of hits a roadblock at the end of the first invasion which is a shame as there is much else to look at. I believe this is the reason for my apparent lethargy - I cannot seem to get past Isandlwana or more likely, Rorke's Drift.

The advent of the block armies gave me an opportunity to fight a couple of games set in the war of 1879 and these were enormous fun to do. From the gaming perspective I find the war an interesting one to fight because the two sides are so different. Simply put one side needs to close to be effective whilst the other needs to keep their distance to do so. This makes for an interesting tactical game.

Game Number 43

Game Number 21

The two block games I fought set in the Zulu War

Should I tackle this period using figures then it would be using the range available from Spencer Smith and I would opt to paint them in an old toy soldier style. There are some quite exquisite figures around for the war but I prefer the simpler style of older figures - they suit my painting technique far better. For the time being though, I shall be using the block armies as I have done so in the past.

I am looking at the Portable Wargame as the rules to use with the block armies and The Men Who Would Be Kings for the figure game in due course.

I suspect I am probably not the only one that is watching either of the films if they have not done so already - my viewing of Zulu will be for the commute to and from work.

This will be a pleasure.

WW2 Blocks, Hexes and Squares

A WW2 game fought using an early version of the rules that would eventually appear as the Portable Wargame. Germans attacking US troops during 1944.

Part of my block army collection includes units for fighting actions set during WW2. In the games folder there is a number of games I fought ranging from the pine forests of the Eastern Front via France and Belgium during 1944 and the Greek Islands in 1943. They were all good fun to fight and I used a combination of both a hexagonal and a square grid.

The only hexagonal playing surfaces I now own are the laminated and geomorphic maps that originally came with the Axis and Allies WW2 collectable miniatures game and these have seen much service with the block armies. Unfortunately, as far as I know, they never produced a desert map  which is a shame. There is of course the old standby of the Memoir '44 map boards but these are a little on the small side for the blocks - as are the Heroscape tiles I still have unless I use a single block units.

Bob Cordery has, through the medium of his Portable Wargame series of books, outlined the advantages and disadvantages of squared, hexed and offset squared grids which was very useful. For my own part I am leaning more and more towards using a square grid for those games where I need to use one. The biggest hurdle in using a square grid has always been the old chestnut of allowing for diagonal movement and firing. There are ways to allay this and I have previously mentioned the system adopted in the Napoleonic naval rules 'Ship 'O the Line' originally published in the early 1970s (and the forerunner of the excellent Avalon Hill board game Wooden Ships and Iron Men - ironically using a hex grid rather than the square version of the original rules) which adjusts diagonal distances to match as closely as possible to the orthogonal versions.

Within the Portable Wargame I simply allow a unit to make a single diagonal move during its movement as the rates are quite low so the distortion is minimal. This has the effect of really opening up the board especially if you also extend the same to direct fire. Essentially you can work with 8 possible directions of movement or firing rather than the 6 of a hex. I would also argue that it is easier making terrain to fit in a square rather than a hex!

Using a square for naval games has the advantage of being able to reference natural compass headings and again, with 8 directions available rather than 6. As movement is an important consideration for naval gamers again you can see the practical advantage of using squares.

Taking the above into consideration I have decided that my games will primarily be fought on a square grid. Using the diagonal option from the naval rules mentioned as a guide means that a square grid is far more open and, dare I say it, natural in respect of facings etc.

The original 'brown' vehicle labels I designed using MS Paint. The set includes tanks, self propelled artillery (open topped) and anti tank vehicles, armoured cars, half tracks and trucks. I produced these in three colours with light grey and olive green joining the brown types above. I also toyed with the idea of producing a set with a sand coloured background for use in the desert but never got around to it.

When I decided to include WW2 in the great block project I was really torn as to how best to represent vehicles. Tanks, SP Guns, Armoured Cars, Trucks, Half Tracks and all the permutations associated with them really gave me some problems as I was unsure whether to draw representational types or to go down the military map symbol route. After much thought I decided to go down the military symbol route and opted to use combinations of blocks to represent specific types. For example, an armoured infantry unit would consist of three infantry blocks and an armour block. You can see what I mean looking at the game above.

The Block On Effect

So much for me scaling back the blog posts due to readying my book proposal! Well at least this post is relevant to the book and so scrapes in under the wire as being worthy of mention....

A welcome bag of blocks - three quarter size. Note the Jutland ship block - I have both fleets ready in this fashion - and also the small quarter size block destined for use as a command, unit identifier and facing piece.

Now that the Christmas and New Year festivities are over I took the opportunity to tidy the man cave in readiness for the spring campaign season. The focus gaming wise will be very much Portable Wargame based so I took a close look at what I have completed and what will need attending to - both for the block armies and terrain. Whilst doing this I came across a bag of blocks that I had not done anything with other than having a quarter section lopped off. These quarter sections are what I shall be using as command blocks with the national flag and unit identification number. This in turn will help to tie in the game narratives to the action and indeed, is essential for helping to tell which way the unit is facing.

A closer look at the sizes and the Jutland based block

Back in the day I had made use of the three quarter sized sized blocks to stick the printed Avalon Hill Jutland counters I have (since replaced with the real thing). I had flirted with making some ship labels for naval gaming sing the blocks but never really pursued the idea with any great conviction. The upshot of this is that I found a carrier bag full of three quarter sized blocks - some 150 or so - that I had forgotten about.

Now here is the thing. I need to make a further set of blocks with black and white as the main colour - for use as Austrians primarily - which would mean getting these blocks cut into a 30mm and a 15mm size. Aside from getting to the chap that cut the originals for me this would presents little difficulty. The only thing is I am now seriously thinking about a naval block system and so will need a quantity of the three quarter blocks. I have plenty of time to think about this though and for sure I will need to park the idea for a while.

My proposal for the book is virtually finished - I merely need to check a couple of points of detail - and so that will be winging its way to the commissioning editor in about a week or so. I will then need to wait whilst he does his thing and then, all being well, we should be good to go come early March. Then all I have to do is write it....

Army Level Napoleonic Considerations

Another map of Waterloo showing the topography in a little more detail. Note the areas of higher ground missing from the previous map.

As part of the preparation process in respect of my Corps level horse and musket rules I am currently revisiting some old friends in respect of the books in my Napoleonic library. Needless to say 1815 features quite prominently although there are other titles on the wars against Napoleon present. What I am looking at are orders of battle for the three combatants.

I am planning on three types of game which will use broadly similar gaming mechanics with each tailored to suit the command level of the action being fought. The levels of command can best be shown as follows:

Level of Commander    Main unit of Command    Sub unit of Command

Army                              Corps                                   Division
Corps                              Division                              Brigade
Division                          Brigade                               Battalion

Using the above structure as a guide my plan at this stage is to use a single half block to represent each sub unit. This means that a Army level Main unit is a Corps which is turn made up of Divisions acting at Sub units and consist of a half block for each division and any accompanying cavalry, artillery and other assets. The end result is a formation of around half a dozen or so blocks depending on the organisation being represented.

Moving down a step and the Corps level game then the Division is the Main unit and is made up of a number of Brigades, again with each being represented by a single half block. As Divisions varied in composition in respect of the number of constituent Brigades these could also be anything from two half blocks upwards in size.

Finally at the lowest end of the scale we have the Divisional level game where the Main units are Brigades with the Sub units being individual Battalions.

From the outset you can see that there is a degree of similarity in the composition of the units at each level of action being fought. A Corps in the Army level game may have three divisions of infantry (represented by 3 half blocks), some cavalry and artillery (represented by a half block each) meaning the entire formation may consist of around 5 half blocks. A Division in the Corps level game may have 3 Brigades of infantry (again each of a half block) as well as some supporting cavalry and artillery (represented by a half block each). Finally a Brigade in the Divisional level game could typically feature three or four Battalions each of a single half block with supporting cavalry and artillery again represented by single half blocks if required.

Taking all that into consideration it would be beyond the realm of possibility to have a Main unit from each level of game that is the same size on the tabletop e.g. a Corps of 4 Divisions, a Division of 4 Brigades or a Brigade of 4 Battalions (admittedly this would be rather on the large side!). The use of a unit roster for recording combat losses and also 'what goes where and with whom' is essential given the variable scale of engagement I am considering. With these rules your printer will be your friend!

A print of the battle by William Heath. Coincidentally the pseudonym he used in the 1820s - Paul Pry, after a snooping theatrical character - is the name of a public house in my home town of Rayleigh. I was struck by the similarity of style with the later works by Kurz and Allison depicting the ACW and providing the inspiration for my Spencer Smith project.

Thoughts on Scales

This is very simple in that the only scale I am going to be consistent with is that a single half block will equal one unit/formation. The ground scale is fluid and so will expand and contract as required by the command level of the game being fought as will the associated battlefield topography.

Thoughts on Combat

This will be D6 based and the only constant is that a single D6 will be used for combat by each individual half block regardless of type. There will be no modifiers to consider as such as combat results will be dependent on the effects table being used which will take into consideration such things as terrain, range, attacker/defender situational advantage/disadvantage, troop quality - you know, all the usual stuff.

Plenty to be getting on with then.

Finally facing my Waterloo....

Even after nearly 50 years of reading about it, watching it and gaming it using figures, cardboard counters and blocks the Battle of Waterloo still has the power to move, excite and fire my imagination!

When you look at the map above what do you see? This is a stylised interpretation of that most famous of battles: Waterloo in 1815. Looking closely you can see some of the major topographical features - the road network, towns and villages, woods and waterways - and the approximate starting positions for the major formations that took part in the battle. The map also shows the various attacks and counterattacks that took place during the battle and the approximate times these occurred. The terrain appears to be flat with no significant relief to be seen so we can safely assume that the countryside the battle was fought over was, by and large, gently rolling fields and meadows. As a high level map this does the job reasonably well.

Looking at the way the units are depicted on the map one is straightaway faced with a number of questions. What does each block represent? What units are where? How strong was each unit? Who commanded what?

If one could enlarge the map scale then these points, rather like focusing a camera, become clearer in that one would expect the various blocks to subdivide into smaller blocks e.g. a corps block would split into divisional blocks which in turn would break down into brigades then battalions. All the while the terrain would become more detailed so that if one were to look at a map of the battle at battalion level it would look very different to the above.

This is a very obvious point but what it serves to show is that a single block labelled similarly to the above could serve quite happily as anything from a corps to a battalion. As long as one preserves the appropriate level of detail in the organisation of the forces, the terrain being fought over and the scope of the rules being used for the scale of action being depicted all should be well.

The best way I can think of to describe the above is when you are coming in to land in an aircraft. As you descend to earth the details in the countryside become larger and clearer the closer one gets to the ground and so by extension should the armies being represented and the battlefields one is fighting over.

Due to my lifelong interest in the campaign of 1815 I shall be using this as a test bed for the army level rules I am devising and indeed, depending on how it works out it may even feature in my book but there is  a lot of ground to covered before we get to that stage.

The first step I shall be undertaking is to, in effect, translate the orders of battle into game sized units. At this stage the only decision I have reached is that a single half block will equal a brigade sized formation so a typical division will contain a number of these (typically anything from 3 to 6) plus the all important command/identification block. In order to achieve this I shall be making use of the Napoleon Returns Volley and Bayonet supplement as well as the order of battle from Columbia Games: Napoleon (3rd edition). I will also call upon the various books I have about the campaign in my library. This should be fairly straightforward although I will need to be careful not to overdo the artillery element.

As far as the rules themselves are concerned I have a number of avenues I am investigating but at this stage it is fair to say that the end result will feature a number of game mechanics that have been seen elsewhere although with a couple of 'Crookisms' thrown in for good measure.

Onwards and upwards then!

Big Ideas and Small Steps

First of all, a very happy new year to one and all! Ours was a quiet one spent listening to a classic 70s/80s soul/jazz and funk playlist on YouTube whilst waiting for the midnight hour and the fireworks accompanied by a couple of very nice Gin and Tonics. It has been a number of years since we went out to see in the New Year but it does not matter as we still ritually link arms and sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at the appointed time - this year with our 8 year old grandson as well which he enjoyed immensely.

My main gaming effort for the coming year is of course my book. I am really excited about this (naturally!) and will be providing regular-ish updates as it progresses. I have the framework pretty much nailed down and without giving too much away it is devoted to fighting a variety of battles using block armies rather than figures. It is very early days and so I am not expecting it to be viable for publication until the latter part of the year. There will be play testing to be undertaken, photoshoots to be organised, not to mention proof reading of the initial draft - or in other words plenty to be getting on with.

Without going into finite detail I intend having three sets of rules and example games for each level of battle - from army sized engagements through divisional level down to battalion/brigade sized actions. There is a lot of other stuff that will be included and it is worth pointing out that the rules contained therein would be equally at home using figures so for non block gamers try not to be put off by the fact that the title will include the word BLOCKS!

I am starting at the top with the rules in that the army level game will be the first set that I tackle. The rationale for this is simple because when I first devised my block armies they were intended for use on a large scale. I allowed myself to get distracted in a way by the use of Command and Colours type rules culminating in Bob Cordery’s excellent Portable Wargame series. I have no regrets about following this tangent but it was never what the block armies were all about. Without a doubt Bob’s rules have given me much pleasure and indeed, they have established themselves as my ‘go to’ system for lower level games but recent events (mainly Andy Callan’s outstanding War of the Spanish Succession game using full sized Jenga blocks - the rules for this set up are superb) have served to remind me of what I had originally intended gaming with the blocks.

My plan was to be able to fight large scale Napoleonic battles - both historical and fictional - involving multiple corps on a 6ft by 4ft table. The forces used would follow historically accurate orders of battle where applicable and the basic half block would represent a brigade sized formation. A roster system would be used for recording combat losses as well enabling the all important order of battle to assume its rightful place in the order of things.

The rules I am working on for this project have received inspiration from various sources but, and this is the key point, they are intended to fight an army level GAME rather than be an uber-detailed simulation. They will be stylised and with a degree of abstraction but they will (hopefully) capture the all-important ‘feel’ of the period in question. My aim originally was to be able to fight Waterloo on a 6ft by 4ft table and so it will be no surprise that this particular battle will feature as part of the play testing, possibly even in the book itself.

There are a few other bits and pieces that will feature in the book and indeed, in many ways it would be very easy for a further volume to follow as the ideas I have would certainly be sufficient to write one!

With matters block-related being very much ‘front and centre’ it means that everything else will need to be self contained and modest in scope. Cruel Seas will feature (assuming it ever arrives that is...) and also some other WW1 and WW2 naval stuff but in a manner that may surprise you. Aside from these there is of course the Spencer Smith Kurz and Allison ACW project. I now have everything I need for this in terms of figures but, inevitably there is a curve ball in the shape of Rebels and Patriots - the forthcoming ‘Lion Rampant’ style rules due out later this month. Individual or multi-bases? That is the question!

Well that is me, so I hope that your own project list for this year works out - probably better than mine if truth be told if past experience is anything to go by!

Revisiting an Original Idea

The first version of the block armies. I many ways I think I may have gone slightly too far down the half block route as there are practical advantage to using the larger, full-sized blocks. I may look to go down the ‘half and half’ route and use a mixture of both types.

As part of the latest round of my block adventures I made a point of locating the original set I made way back in 2011. These were the original full sized versions rather than my later half-block standard. I knew I had squirrelled some away in an old biscuit tin but I was quite surprised to see just how many there are. I had only produced sets in three colours - red, green and blue. The latter is a lighter shade than I currently use but is still quite a pleasing hue. I used a stylised cannon for the artillery blocks and these, together with skirmishing infantry and cavalry, have double images on a single block. It seemed like a good idea at the time as it shows the unit operating in a much looser formation. I was never really enamoured with the command block I used in this scale as it was too large and it was for this reason I looked at the half-blocks. Originally I planned to use half blocks for command, artillery and light infantry and cavalry skirmishing.

I could readily bring these blocks up to what I am now calling the ‘the half and half standard’ - I would use the larger blocks solely for major infantry and  cavalry formations with the half blocks dotted in where needed. The only problem I have is that the blue blocks are a different shade to that I have used for the half blocks so some reprinting would be in order. I shall give this some thought and so may well tackle this over the Christmas holiday period. 

I must admit that seeing these blocks again was a real treat and served as a pleasing reminder of how much enjoyment the whole block concept has given me over the last six or seven years. They will feature in my book in some capacity and the temptation to fight a small game using them again is proving hard to resist!

Old Dog, New Tricks - Same Old Story!

The original version of Volley and Bayonet 

Napoleon Returns - one of the two Napoleonic themed supplements available with the other being for the 1809 campaign.

I am feeling a little on the embarrassed side. It is as though I have been trying to reinvent the wheel but of course the wheel is already in place and is perfectly serviceable as it is. For sure one could add some nice trim to the aforementioned wheel, perhaps even some glitzy chrome hubcaps or similar even, but the essential truth is that the tools for my large battle block game are already to hand - and I had completely forgotten about them!

Actually to say I had forgotten about them is not entirely accurate - I was aware of them but not exactly what was there to work with. Confused? I thought as much so allow me to explain.

Way back in 2012, during the height of the great block army growing pains, I messed around with a couple of ideas involving Volley and Bayonet by Messrs. Chadwick and Novak and Napoleon by Columbia Games (3rd Edition - and this is important as will be explained later). I even threw into the mix elements of DBA and also Bob Cordery's Memoir of Battle  - a Command and Colours based 19th century rule set minus the command cards. I took parts from each, mixed them up and tried to squeeze them into a hex-based set of rules that were unwieldy, unplayable and unsurprisingly 'fell at the first'.  However, and this is the important part, I made copious notes.

I suspect most readers of this blog are probably inveterate scribblers. I would go further and suspect that many have a number of notebooks or hastily penned scraps of paper lying around along with photocopied magazine articles, downloaded play sheets and all manner of written and printed material. In this particular case I had an A5 sized hardback notebook (I prefer these as they last longer when being carried around) with a lot of material in it relating to my plan to devise an army level set of block based Napoleonic wargame rules. I knew about the notebook but had forgotten exactly what was in it. In fact all I remembered for sure that was in the notebook were the Columbia Games order of battle charts. I was in for a very pleasant surprise.

The third edition version of Napoleon by Columbia Games. This version represented every division in the order of battle for all three armies. The map used to get pretty congested with blocks!

For reasons of convenience I had handwritten the tactical combat rules from Columbia Games Napoleon as well as photocopying the orders of battle from the game and sticking these into the end pages as a reference. I had also handwritten the complete order of battle from Napoleon Returns - the Volley and Bayonet supplement for the 1815 campaign - with strength points, exhaustion levels and morale and training ratings. I then when one step further and drafted not one but two variant sets of rules - De Bellis 1815 and Memoir of 1815. Admittedly these two are in fact incomplete but reading through them as I did last night they would not take much work to get table ready.

It is typical of me (the 'Same Old Story!' of the title) that not only do I no longer own a copy of Columbia Games Napoleon but that I have also disposed of both Volley and Bayonet and Napoleon Returns. Having the key information from both is extremely useful and so, in conjunction with the ideas of Charles Wesencraft and more recently, Andy Callan, I have plenty of material to work with in respect of realising a block based army level set of wargame rules.

The stylised battle board used with Columbia Games Napoleon....

....and the same in action - Prussians versus the French.

Sample labels from the third edition. The blocks are rotated as they sustain losses with the top edge showing the current combat strength point. As the labels face the owning player there is an inbuilt fog of war effect. Under the system I was working on and using the above as an example the Old Guard would have four 'brigade' blocks when at full strength.

Mention of Columbia Games Napoleon and the tactical rules contained therein reminded me of the idea I was considering in respect of the playing area. In the game itself when battle is joined on the map the blocks are then transferred to a battle board to fight he combat. This is divided into areas as shown in the picture above. Units (for this game the blocks represent divisions) fight for control of areas and the winner of the battle is the first person to clear an area of enemy troops. It is simple but works well in the context of the game. It would probably be a little too light as a standalone game but I reckon there is mileage in it to make it a little more 'wargamey'. It is an option to consider for sure.

Volley and Bayonet (I am referring to the original version) operates at a lower level than the Columbia Games offering and instead uses the brigade as its base unit size. As I recall my plan was to fuse the two approaches so that the strategic map moves were at divisional level and the tactical battles arising were to be fought using brigades. A typical Columbia Games divisional block has a strength of 3 or 4 which loosely represents the number of brigades or actual soldiery present. The plan was to use a single block to represent a brigade sized formation with the Volley and Bayonet strength points determining the number of combat dice used.

Where this all fell down was in trying to get it all to work on a hex grid which was why I abandoned the attempt. Now however, I am far better prepared to be able to make this a more viable idea and so for the umpteenth time I have offered up a prayer of thanks to the wargaming gods for hanging on to the notebook, even if I did rather foolishly let the game and the rules go!

Napoleonic Battles in the Grand Manner

Published in 1974 but now available from John Curry's History of Wargaming project

It never ceases to amaze me when the metaphorical wheel completes a revolution and comes back to where it started. The case in point is my long association with the Napoleonic Wars. I say long association deliberately because it was the period I cut my wargaming teeth on back in the early 1970s. I have mentioned previously my long gone but not forgotten Airfix British Army for 1815, my 1812 Russian Army and the 15mm 1815 set up I owned specifically for use with a set of rules called Le Petit Empereur. I have also mentioned my flirtation with Command and Colours Napoleonics and even a 54mm lawn based H.G. Wells style refight of the Battle of Leipzig, not to mention the naval side of the wars.

In short the Napoleonic Wars have given me much, if intermittent, pleasure over the years and so, for a variety of reasons, I now find myself staring down the barrel of dabbling in the period once again, albeit in different way from previously.

I am looking long and hard at army level actions - in effect fighting big battle/operational campaigns. This is a piece of pure indulgence for me as this is the type of game I wanted to fight years ago – in fact I messed around using Lego bricks as the units which will probably give you an idea about the vintage of this particular idea! Nowadays of course I use blocks of a rather different type. Having said that Lego is a great source for making simple 1:300^th scale buildings, at least the earlier ‘non model specific’ sets were and whilst I do not have any to hand I will build a few so you can see what I mean.

Whilst looking at this as an idea the first thing that crossed my mind was the inevitable question about rules. This style of action represents quite a step up in scale from my recent games and so a different approach will be needed. 

There are a few sets of rules pitched at this level - for example Blucher by Sam Mustafa or something like Volley and Bayonet, both of which have much to commend them. At this stage though I have something else in mind.

Way back in 1974 Charles Wesencraft published the book you see above. I recently acquired a copy of this and was really pleased to do so as I remember reading it 'back in the day' and being hugely impressed with it. The author's ideas seemed pretty advanced at the time although there was one set of rules contained therein that really caught my imagination and indeed, have stayed with me, waiting in the wings, until I was at the same level as the concept. I am of course referring to his 'Army Corps in Action' rules contained in chapter 11 of the book.

These rules use the following scales:

12" equal 1 mile

600/700 men equal 1 infantry base

400 men equal 1 cavalry base

1 gun model equal 1 battery.

I seem to recall an article by Charles Wesencraft in - and I stand to be corrected - a Battle Christmas special where he looked to fight battles where a single figure represented a battalion so in effect a typical base of three or four figures would represent a brigade. By extension a couple of normal infantry units of around 18 figures each would furnish in effect a Corps. 

As an aside if any readers have a copy of this (or whatever magazine it was published in!) magazine I would really appreciate a scan of the article.

Now I am going to throw in my two pence worth and say that a rule set on this basis would be better served by using either very small figures - 2/3/6mm - or, dare I say it, BLOCKS!

Old school I know but it is something I want to tick off the wargames bucket list. Assuming it works out I would even look to taking the rules into other directions as I reckon there is a degree of mileage in them.

Flags for the Memory

One of the key areas in respect of using the block armies on a non-grid basis is the question of unit identification and facing. Neither of these ever seemed particularly important when using a grid but on a free table are a significant factor. I have experimented with a number of options as to how best I can tackle this including using miniature flag poles in some fashion but for a number of reasons this has not really worked the way I would like. I had a brainwave though, in part inspired by Andy Callan’s Spanish Succession set up. By placing a flag on a block you have an easy way of identifying a particular unit. That is all well and good but sadly for my set up it only works up to a point.

Ignore the green label although the position will be the same for the flag in due course. The top half of the label will be the flag itself whilst the bottom will be white with an identifying number or letter

The single drawback concerns the thorny question of whether or not to use regimental colours or national standards. Regimental colours would be fine is one was representing a specific unit but given that my collection is used for multiple periods the use of such distinctions would mean producing numbers of blocks for various periods as unit flags evolved and presumably added various battle honours. By far and away the simplest method would be to use a national flag with some kind of identifying feature which in turn would be referenced back to the army roster. That was my line of reasoning in any event and so that is what I am going to do.

When I was making the block armies I has a number of sets cut not only in half but also into a quarter and three quarters. The three quarter blocks I intended to use for naval forces whilst the quarter size - ended up being used for various status markers. They appeared in one of my Rogan Valley battles as markers for hidden units. I have decided though that these are far more useful being turned into in effect command groups. By placing a national flag and a reference number or letter on one of these small blocks I will be able to kill several birds with one stone.

A unit deployed in line with the command in the van



A column of march - once again with the command in the van



A column of attack with the command in the van spurring on their troops.

A square with the colours in the centre.

To begin with the unit will have an identity of sorts. I realise that it would only be from a national perspective but this will suffice for the time being. The reference number or letter will help with the use of the roster as well as drawing deployment maps. Finally, the position of the command block will be able to show the facing of the unit depending on where it is placed in relation to the blocks forming the body of troops being represented. The pictures below will show what I mean.

For the record the blocks I use are 60mm by 20mm and are 12mm deep. For comparison purposes one could say they are 10/12mm which helps as a useful guide for making or buying terrain. The quarter size block mentioned is 15mm wide or half the size of one my usual half blocks.

I am currently working out how many flags I will need for the most common armies and once I have done that I will get them ordered. Once the blocks have been labelled with their flags I believe it will really enhance their appearance and so I am looking forward to doing this and getting them into action.

My Terrain of Thought

One of the objectives that I set out to achieve whilst using my block armies is that the resultant games should look as close to a 'traditional' wargame as possible. I was keen to move away from the 'map and counter' style of board games but realised very early on that using detailed model scenery in conjunction with the blocks did not look right. What was needed then, was a more stylised approach.

Kriegsspiel 1824. Note the very detailed map in use.

Most of the games I have fought using the block armies have made use of some very basic and simple pieces of terrain. Buildings are usually from the Town in a Bag range or from my collection of Greek souvenir ceramic houses. I have a number of rather crude hills - cobbled together quickly and due to be replaced with something a little more suitable in due course - and for roads and rivers I use pieces of felt cut to size. I picked up a bag of 50 assorted trees off  EBay which look pretty good although the bases I used for them are rather large. I have yet to use any fields although making them is easy enough.

A version of the Hellwig chess inspired wargame from around 1780. The game was based originally on chess but was developed into what you see above.  The terrain would be arranged as required. By all accounts it was very popular.

Going forward I shall be persevering with the buildings but I shall be doing something a little more detailed in respect of roads, rivers and hills. I have always liked step hills so will look to organise some of these as well as road and river sections. Depending on what is available commercially I will probably buy these and am thinking that 1:300th would be a good place to start. I will also be rethinking trees as my own are a real mish-mash of types.

Command Post Games in the US produce a number of map based block wargames using reproductions of actual maps of the battles themselves.

I am not averse to using printed maps with the blocks and indeed, using them really puts one in mind of a commander poring over a map plotting the downfall of his enemy, but there are a few problems in my mind. Large maps are unwieldy and limited to the area they cover. Hand drawn maps are easy enough to produce - I have done this in the past many times - but again will be quite specific to the area covered unless of course they are fictional. Maps may have a certain degree of flexibility in that they can be geomorphic to an extent and certainly the Axis and Allies versions I have used are useful in this respect. However, for my needs the use of traditional wargames terrain will be the way forward.

Simple and effective - the church, walls and trees from the Town in a Bag set.