Battleshed Diaries

Thursday 29 December 2016

The 2016 Festive Haul



The Christmas tree was fruitful! My tactic for this year’s ‘subtle hint campaign’ focused on board games rather than wargaming reinforcements, reasoning that anything easily found in popular non-gamer online stores, like Amazon for example, has more of a chance of finding its way onto Santa’s sleigh. And it paid off! A cunning plan!

Friday 23 December 2016

Merry Christmas and a Good Luck for 2017. We may all need it!




Wishing all my readers a Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year!


If you’ve been good gamer, then hopefully Santa will leave you plenty of miniature presents!

Who knows what I’ll find under the tree this year? Maybe I’ll be getting in some Sharp Practice by going all Rogue’ trying to Escape from the winter cold, it’s...going to be a Saga whatever!

I’ll post my annual review once 2017 arrives, looking back on what has been quite a roller-coaster of a year both for the gaming and me personally. Then it’ll be time to plan (OK, pipedream!) all those shiny new projects and lament all those still to be completed!

In the meantime, have a good one and stay safe. SlĂ¡inte!

Thursday 8 December 2016

Brains for supper



Brains for Dinner followed by Brains for Supper. My recent zombie-themed survival regimen has continued with another fraught group of survivors planning to pilfer the local Z Mart and possibly make their escape by boosting an abandoned cop car, or a Pimp Mobile rumoured to hide Ma’s Shotgun or even maybe the fully automatic Evil Twins.

Wednesday 30 November 2016

Brains for dinner



A battle of survival between two gangs of desperate survivors foraging for food, supplies and weapons whilst fending off bloodthirsty zombie hoards. So, another evening up at the Falkirk club then. Luckily, we were all playing the survivors, otherwise it would’ve been difficult to tell! Zombies seem to have infested my gaming schedule recently. The cause of this miniature outbreak is still unknown.

Friday 18 November 2016

Legends Untold




The pledge button clicked and another potential new addition to the teetering stack of boxed games in the Battleshed threatening to collapse on the unwary desperately trying to catch escaping dice before they disappear forever into the under-table depths. This time it’s a cooperative adventure RPG/Card game called Legends Untold.

"In Legends Untold 1 to 4 players take on the role of unlikely heroes, the final hope of a conquered people. Starting with only your wits and a crude weapon you will explore the Weeping Caves trying to gain access to the great free city of Dun Mordhain."

Recommended by Fiona and Andy from my local club and produced by Inspiring Games, an independent design studio based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was previewed at the UK games Expo in June this year. I think it’ll be a fine addition to my collection, especially with the solitaire and campaign options being a key factor for me when choosing games. The game can be played with up to 8 players if more than one pack is purchased, so also expandable for club play.

Definitely worth a look. Head over to the Kickstarter for the full blurb. (Ends 15th Dec.)

Tuesday 15 November 2016

Armpit Heights



For the first time on Monday, the Livery and Mountain boards from my Old West town left their dusty Battleshed residence to make the trip up to my club in Falkirk. Encouraged by the two town sections successfully making the trip without any issues I gingerly loaded boards 3 and 4 into the back of the car and set about drivin’ like an elderly vicar.

Tuesday 8 November 2016

Rubber suits and stetsons



One of the most appealing aspects of our hobby for me is how many of us can effortlessly switch between the most contrastive genres and gaming systems without even a raised eyebrow. Or any irony. Or even registering the incredulity of our long suffering other halves! Take the last few days for example. I’ve played the part of a gravelly voiced Superhero and led a posse of Old West Lawman attempting - and failing miserably - to bring order to a frontier town. But I had a blast whilst doing it!

Thursday 3 November 2016

Vince and Jules go downtown



All Things Zombie
Zombies. What's their collective noun? A horde, infestation, legion, shuffle? Searching online throws up all sorts of interesting ideas and usage. How about a reek, splatter or lurch of zombies? Personally, I like a moan - of zombies I mean. Why am I thinking of such things? Well, this week I shuffled my way down the hill for my regular mid-week gaming session for All Things Zombie.

Thursday 27 October 2016

Chase me!



I’ve long wanted to try a set of gladiator rules. I’ve no idea why I haven’t after years of tabletop gaming. It’s probably down to the usual prospect of finding regular opponents which, for me, is a key factor when deciding to invest in a particular system. Mostly. I still have my fair share of rules purchased with the usual gusto along with their unpainted miniatures that’ve been languishing in dusty half-forgotten storage trays after an all too brief encounter on the Battleshed table.

So, when Sam Pate suggested we try out another set of rules from 2Hour Wargames -  this time simulating the gladiatorial period from around 264BC to its abolishment in 681AD - when desperate combatants valiantly fought for the chance of freedom for the callous amusement of the mob, I was keen to give them a try. Come on! Gladiators! I have Hans Zimmer's theme tune playing as I write this! The format ticks a lot of boxes for my particular gaming proclivities; strongly narrative and campaign focused, relatively quick to play, requires few (and optional) miniatures and minimal terrain. And caters for solo play. Tick, tick, tick!

Tuesday 25 October 2016

Back in the Groove



I was quite looking forward to a welcome and restorative return to gaming back at my local club yesterday, after a difficult few weeks for me personally, but found myself in a bit of a quandary. What to play? I felt I needed to play something that was familiar so I could enjoy a game without rule thumbing and which also didn’t require too much preparation. And preferably a game that was a good multiplayer and a laugh to boot. Quite a considerable number of gaming systems sprang to mind with that rather vague proviso!

So, whilst dithering through the Battleshed rule library (OK, rule pile), my eye was eventually drawn to the tottering stack of board games. A nostalgic theme tune popped into my head and before I knew it I was making arrangements with one of my gaming buddies to put on demo game at the club.


Saturday 15 October 2016

Dad

The last three weeks have been the toughest of my life as I lost my dad on 30th September. He was my rock, as he was for my younger brother, James. I was unsure whether to divulge our loss on this platform but it was dad that made me what I am today, with my varied interests, experiences and a family that I dearly love. Thanks so much dad!

His Eulogy is copied below for my readers that may be interested in the man that guided this gamer.

For anyone else, apologies for my indulgence on this occasion. Please skip this postI. I hope you understand. Normal service will resume shortly.







Saturday 8 October 2016

Considering terrain



For those of us constantly swapping from one genre or rule set to another on a regular basis, and complicating matters even more by actually going out and travelling to other gamer gatherings, the well-known issue of transportable and multi-purpose terrain will be familiar dilemma. Mobilescape Adventures might have the solution for you…

Tuesday 27 September 2016

A farewell to Henry Hyde at the helm of MWBG



One of the biggest stories in our hobby the last month has been the surprise announcement that Henry Hyde tendered his resignation as editor of Miniature Wargames with Battlegames magazine. Issue 402 will be his last at the helm. For those that subscribe to this magazine (myself included) it came as a bit of a shock, which naturally generated much ‘speculation’ on the various hobby news and social media sites.

For those of us interested in the reasons behinds Henry’s decision you can find it from the man himself over at a special edition (178) of the Meeples and Miniatures podcast. 


I heartily recommend a listen as not only does Henry provide his candid opinion on recent events, he also gives his qualified and perceptive insight into the world of hobby publishing, editorship and the current state of the gaming communities that make up our hobby. He also hints on the possible future direction of MWBG  - or Miniature Wargames as it will be - and its relationship with its sister publication, tabletop gaming . He also touches on his future plans, including the nascent Gladius Publications and a foray into fantasy fiction which particularly piqued my interest.

I for one, fully admire Henry’s longstanding editorship over the tears and I regularly delve into my copy of his authoritive and comprehensive, The Wargaming Compendium. So from one lowly gamer, good luck Henry!