Category Archives: Personal Rant

Happy New Year Everyone

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Did you have a great night of fun and frivolity with family and friends.

Tips to achieve your Wargaming New Years resolutions

  • Game more often – the more you game the more you will lose and be encouraged to paint that new killer army, and save for those “must haves” to beat your opponent. Revenge provides the motivation.
  • Take short cuts in you painting. Not all of us can paint to a Golden Daemon standard. So why do we keep trying. Unfortunately I am a good example of the first and a bad example of the second.
  • Work out what you actually want to do and stick to. Guru is again a bad example.
  • Finally, lists work really well except for when they don’t, which is most of the time. I can attest to that!

There is actually some science behind that. To do lists tend to fail if they have more than 7 or 8 things on them as the brain has difficulty taking in too much at once. Wargamers are an outlier to these statistics. we tend to fail if they list has more than nothing on it!

Hope these words of wisdom from guru help.

Have a great New Year and may you and you family have a great year ahead.

May your dice always roll well.

Remember always be optimistic. Snake eyes may be a bad shooting roll but they are often an excellent one for morale!

Mick Evans Memorial Wargame – Offa’s Dyke.

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Every year during the weekend between the second and third weeks of January I join our Berwick Wargames Association colleagues to hold a memorial game for fellow war gamer Mick Evans.

Mick was an extremely funny, eccentric and likable guy who always regaled you with tales of missed opportunities, fickle dice, and sneaky tactics on the part of his opponent. Mick didn’t win many games but this didn’t seem to deter him as he fronted up next week with a brand new “sure-fire” tactic.

Mick is best known for his daring cavalry tactics, mostly unsuccessful, and his figure painting. His “conversion” of Airfix Africa Corps figures into Confederate Infantry with just a paint job still has us in fits of laughter. The club still holds these figures in honour of Mick.

Whilst most gamers would not want to emulate Mick’s painting prowess he said something to me one day that changed the way I paint. I was showing him some figures that I had just painted and was very proud of, when he said words to the effect of “hmm looks great, but they are all the same from four feet on the table top”. At the time I was a little offended but later realised that I am a gamer who paints to play not a painter who plays to show off his skills. I have since developed simple painting techniques that look effective but are quick and easy so I can game with the figures ASAP.

Thanks Mick, and as he would say let’s get to the game.

A fight over Offa’s Dyke (Clawdd Offa).

Needless to say when you get a bunch of middle aged wargamers together playing such a scenario, like teenage boys, much mirth was had about where to put your fingers, but enough said about that.

Peter R had gone to great pains building the dyke and like all gamers we started a vigorous debate about with side of the dyke the ditch should be on (even more mirth), Powys or Mercia. We googled to settle the debate but the pictures only help if you know which direction the photographer was facing.

 

Finally that respected authority Wikipedia was consulted to settle the argument!!!

As this was a Mick Evans Memorial game it had to have a twist. This time it was a rampaging goat herd that once the goat herders (do I hear yodeling in the distance) lose control of them head off in a random direction causing mass carnage.

Whilst the Romano British eventually won the real winners were the goats!!!

Vale Mick.

The Saga of Rudraige mac Dela

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The Saga of Rudraige mac Dela

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This saga I tell,

Of Rudraige mac Dela;

Bane of all enemies,

Strong and with valour.

With Dela’s five sons,

He came to our shore;

In the divide of our Isle,

Ulster he did score.

His great company consisted,

Of Hearth guard of might;

Of Curaidh and pack masters,

And their wolfhounds who fight.

Priests and, warriors

Fill out his pack,

Enemies of the Fir Bolg,

To destroy and to sack.

Ard Ri of this Isle,

He was to become;

When Slaine his dear brother

Did finally succumb.

From Ulster to reign,

He succeeded his brother

At the Hill of Tara,

Received like no other.

When his foot he did place

On the stone of Lia Fáil

A mighty roar was heard

Throughout Tara’s vale.

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The jewel in his crown

brave Ulster was sacked;

By Vikings and Danes

Who dared to attack.

Bretons as well

Did make up their number

Causing Rudraige mac Dela

To rise from his slumber.

The heads of these enemies

Now hang from his halls

A vision of splendour,

A lesson to all.

Rudraige mac Dela

Not one to slight

Rudraige mac Dela

For these he does smite.

Short was his reign

Two years at most

But that they did better

No Ard Ri can boast.

Of his fate I do say,

None can well tell,

Is he drinking in victory,

Or fallen to Mag Mel?

He rests in Brú na Bóinne

Or Newgrange, as it is now.

No enemies to worry him,

No frown on his brow.

Since then he’s been lost,

Not a glimpse or two,

Have we seen from him since,

or his great company so true.

The prophecies of old,

Tell of his return,

From out of Meg Mel,

Resolute and firm.

Now is your time,

Rudraig so brave,

Descendent of Dela,

Arise from the grave.

Arise from the grave,

Saviour of old.

Arise from the grave,

With your warriors so bold.

For then, Ard Ri you shall be,

Honoured at last,

As toward you none dare,

An evil eye cast.

Fragment from the apocryphal Saga of Rudraige mac Dela