Big Game at Sheffield, 21-22 April 2012

There seeming to be little enthusiasm for an SOTCW game at Hammerhead, it seems our next event will be the Big Game I am organising for Sheffield this coming Spring.

The event will be a weekend-long tabletop campaign based upon General Sir John Hackett's The Third World War.  The plan is to put on a game (using Cold War Commander rules) that explores modern(-ish) mechanised warfare in width and depth.  I want commanders to have to worry about their supply lines (without getting bogged down in book-keeping) and to have to think about protecting key points from raids by enemy airborne forces etc.

The venue is Dungworth Green Hall in Dungworth, near Sheffield.  The cost will be £10 per player and the event will run from 10am to 5pm on the Sunday and Saturday.  There are B&Bs within walking distance.

Please make yourself known if you'd like to play.

Hammerhead show, 12th February 2012

Do we want to put on a participation game at Hammerhead in Newark, Notts this coming year?

I had originally planned to put on a 6mm scale Cold War Commander game set in Andreivia and designed to showcase The Baggage Train's 1/300th scale Arnhem Bridge model.  However, the show coincides with a family commitment of mine so I can't make it.  I'll lend kit, though, if there's the enthusiasm to put on a game and it's needed.

I haven't specified to the organisers what, if anything, we'd put on so were not committed to scale or subject it just has to be a participation game within our society's scope.

Can you please let me know what you think so I can let the organisers know if we are interested.

Richard

Game for 2012

The time has come to plan the SOTCW game(s) for Hammerhead, Gauntlet and where ever else we end up playing.

I've agreed with Stephen Oates from The Baggage Train that we'll showcase his massive Arnhem Bridge.   Now I'm not keen on building Arnhem so I thought we'd move the bridge to Andreivia.

If you're up for discussion of the possibilities of a 6mm scale Andreivian game using (I propose) Cold War Commander, follow me now to Andreivian Tales....

Saturday in Barnsley

The Gathering this weekend was a pleasant and successful event thanks to the cheerful participation of the visiting SOTCW members and local Barnsley club members and in particular thanks to the organising efforts of Mark Kniveton.

We ended up with five games (I left my Arc of Fire game it is boxes as we didn't need it).  On the "big table" Mark Kniveton ran the Battle for Lingevres in 28mm using Disposable Heroes.  This looked really good and kept its four or five players enthralled all day.  Here we see a Panther that's just taken a fatal penetrating hit on the mantlet from the Sherman Firefly in the distance.

We had a couple of small, fast play games.  Phil Gray presented "The Men From Del Monte" in which, hours after Pearl Harbor, USAAF B-17s operating from dispersal fields on a Del Monte pineapple plantation, try to launch ad hoc bombing raids against the Japanese.  Meanwhile, Gordon Hanson ran his
short game "Intervention Strategy".

Meanwhile, a couple of the Barnsley members put on a very pretty Rapid Fire game:

And I got to play in Rob Connolly's epic Plickem Ridge game.  This was a Square Bashing game using the authentic order of battle for this bloody sector of the Passchendaele campaign.  Phil took on the role of General Blackadder (no, really, one of the British commanders actually was...) and Carl Luxford and I took the Germans.

The muddy fields of Flanders can be seen below.  Huge mass of Brits in front of Phil in the foreground; thin line of gallant Landsers in front of Carl in the distance:

A Map of Barnsley

This map shows where to park your fuel guzzling, CO2 belching, death machine.

I'll be bringing mine ;-)

Northern Gathering 11am, Saturday 17th September 2011

Can I please remind you all of the SOTCW Gathering taking place in Barnsley shortly?

We will be meeting at Barnsley Association of Wargamers' premises above D.C. Studios on Shambles Street (about 5 minutes' walk from the station).  1100-2000 on Saturday 17/9/11.

All SOTCW members and any interested non-members are welcome to attend.

There should be at least three twentieth century games in a variety of scales but there's room for a couple more if you fancy running something.  Please let me know if you're interested.

Richard Crawley

SOTCW Events Co-ordinator 

Next Year's Game?

For some time I've been discussing with Stephen Oates of The Baggage Train the possibility of SOTCW putting on some sponsored participation games using Stephen's recently completed, massive 1/300th scale Arnhem Bridge.

At Gauntlet I suggested to the team that we put on a series of Cold War Commander games using the bridge as a centre-piece of the terrain.  I thought we could do a series of scenarios linked by a common narrative thread with the result of each game influencing the set-up of the following game.

Now as usual my first thought was to pick a setting for which I could provide all of the toys now as that way, other people could get involved but in the case of a disastrous no-show by someone we would already have everything we need.  this in turn led me to suggest that the game be set in the fictional North African republic of Maghrebia - I'd like to use my late 1980s Spanish Marines as interventionists against the republic's suspiciously Iranian-looking armed forces.

However, I think I may have been too prescriptive in my enthusiasm for my idea.  Ian Shaw suggested reusing the Andreivia setting and in retrospect I think that's got a lot going for it.

So what do you think?  I'd like to hear from the members.  What should we do?