No not that kind. Although you should do that.
A few days back now, over at the wonderful The Duchy of Tradgardland, Tradgardmastare posed a question for readers as to what their desert island hobby book, rules, and armies would be.
You should go and read the comments on that thread and then come back - lot's of inspiration there.
Back? Good.
To my own surprise, my answers were nearly instant:
Asquith's Solo Wargaming - no offense to Featherstone's premier work on the topic, but I prefer Asquith's writing style, plus he includes several practical scenarios - even one programmed scenario!
G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. by Christopher Palmer and Buck Surdu. It's a game that seems to have fallen out of popularity since its heyday some years back, but a system I have always found enjoyable and incredibly flexible. Card based activation and a morale system that is less than serious leads to all manner of battlefield chaos, even if you aren't fighting Martian invaders or laser equipped dinosaurs.
For my armies, I chose my mostly Armies in Plastic 19th C. Russian and British forces, in large part because of the narrative freedom and possibilities a completely fictional conflict brings.
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| Progress on these 7 British figures stalled back in March. Time to get cracking. The Germans are not new paints - for some reason, the batch of Airfix knock-offs I got don't glue well to the wooden bases and they constantly pop off. |
Given my answers were so immediate, I have to ask myself, why do I play so many WWII games with all manner of rules?
And, perhaps more importantly, why am I lately drooling over Frontline French and Indian War figures for ultra-small skirmishes?
You’re making me miss my thousand AIP figures I have packed! As for French and Indian Wars, I would recommend Fistful of Lead! They work wonderfully for small actions.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely what I was thinking, given the cost of the figures - maybe 4 or 5 figures per side. Of course, then again, surely even I who isn't much for painting most of the time could paint 10 figures total? Hmm, by that logic, I should do something with the AWI figures I have languishing!
DeleteI've never looked at G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T but laser armed dinos sound good..
ReplyDeleteEven though a wargamer is very keen on one style of gaming, he/she is still a wargamer so MUST try multiple games/armies etc - it's in the DNA.
True. I wonder if it's a natural predisposition or it's something that changes - a mutation perhaps - once one becomes involved in the hobby for any length of time.
DeleteThe Armies in Plastic FIW figures in 54mm are very good for bulking out your armies https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2020/08/14/armies-in-plastic-54mm-woodland-indians-painted-and-out-in-the-wild/
ReplyDeleteI have looked at those often. It certainly would be much cheaper for me to pick up a set and paint half as French regulars and half as British regulars and call it a day. That would be more than ample figures for small skirmishes.
DeleteAwesome! I am working on the exact same British AIP colonials - the ones with a bolt action rifle. About halfway through 10, and then 20 pathans to paint up.
ReplyDeleteThe AIP FIW are very nice, btw. They are a different sculptor they acquired elsewhere. I have one set of each, and look forward to painting them.
I do love the AiP figures generally speaking. I'm just not super excited about painting lately. Got started again last night, so we'll see how it goes!
DeleteI may pick up a box of the AiP FIW regular infantry just to get a good look at them. I have one of the woodland Indian boxes and they are fantastic (so nice, I refuse to try and paint them).