Historical Games, a year in review and a look ahead

[Primarch]

It's been a busy year for me as far as historical games go. I've finally got a game in with my Anglo-Zulu War project, I started collecting Samurai and have a couple of games of Pike & Shotte and Ronin under my belt. I have assembled and painted a pile of minis for Bolt Action and bought a massive stockpile of Tamiya and BA kits to continue expanding my forces. My Napoleonic force has grown a little and I've added a little to my Romans and Celts.

Warlord and the Perrys have announced a few new products for the new year already. The Perry Bros are working on some plastic light dragoons for Napoleonic British. Warlord have posted previews of some plastic late WW2 German Panzergrenadiers. Paul 'Fat Bloke' Sawyer (ex White Dwarf editor and manager of Warlord), has also teased that they are working on three more new plastic kits in addition to the grenadiers, 2 allied and 1 axis. 2015 should see the release of the third Napoleonic supplement for BP covering the French invasion of Russia and the subsequent retreat back to France. The first supplement for Pike & Shotte, titled The Devil's Playground and covering the Thirty Years War, is scheduled for release in the early part of the year along with a couple of new ranges that Warlord have picked up and developed. Osprey are releasing campaign supplements for Bolt Action covering the early stages of WW2 and then later in the year they are releasing Bolt Action WW1.

So, the question becomes 'what do we, as a group, do next?'
Currently we have quite a few BA players, so I can't see that going away anytime soon. Napoleonics seem quite popular, but I'm wondering if other people were going to keep expanding their collections, or whether they are going to leave things as they are. Currently I believe Job has the largest force having absorbed Badruck's Brigade. It might be nice if we could all work towards a specific battle or campaign, obviously, my vote goes for the 100 days, but I recognise the fact that that doesn't involve the Russians or the Austrians very much.
I'm also interested in some of the medieval/dark ages stuff available these days. Saga looks ok as does Lion Rampant, both skirmish-y games with perhaps 20-60 minis per side. However, I also like the idea of refighting Hastings or parts of the War of the Roses.
I know we all have our little side projects (AZW for me, 20mm BA Cold War for Pikey etc), but perhaps 2015 should see the start of more coordination between us as a group. Settling on a conflict and a scale, with 6+ players working towards it could lead to some truly awesome games.

So what do the rest of you think? Any particular period, campaign or battle that you want to see on the tabletop?

[Lovejoy]

Historicals wise I am keen to expand in the new year. Skirmish games are more do-able inmy life at present, but the right project could change that! I definitely think that selecting a period or particular campaign, or even action is the way forward, but we want our minis to have as much utility and crossover for as many eras and games as possible - I know I do. So, some generic qualities can be a plus.

Okay..I'm interested in, and also own rules and minis (starter armies or factions) for the following:-

-Saga (Normans, Vikings..Dark Ages in general very interesting- Hereward the Wake and Anglo-Saxon resistance to norman occupation interesting too)
-Ronin (the four 200pt starter sets)
-Muskets and Tomahawks (indians, french, brits, highlanders)
-Lion Rampant (I have Perry late medieval plastics. WotR era for preference)
-Hail Caesar - Again, I very much want to do WotR (probably as Yorkist. Neville/Percy rivalry also has potential. A full blown HC army would require a partner keen to build the opposing side, but I intend to do this one day).
-Pike and Shotte - English Civil War definitely first choice..I fancy a Royalist army of effete ponces.
Ashmie was also starting a project for this era. TYW is interesting but not half as inspiring at this stage. I know little about it.
-Bolt Action - Fallschirmjagers, Brit Paras, Late War Brits, British Armour (thinking Market Garden and Normandy for all these). Definitely a game that is here to stay. Dont imagine collecting WWI BA, but never say never.

Others;-
Black Powder is a great ruleset. But Napoleonics wise I have more interest in the British than my French to be honest, and wish I had started redcoats instead. I do quite like my French, but doubt I'll expand them - the task of putting together a huge army for a faction I am only 'quite interested in' seems unlikely to reach completion, or enjoy any progression. I would even consider jettisoning them to start over. There are other eras for BP of course, who knows what I'll do for it.

Hail Caesar wise I also have a small Celt starter army. I am not sure if this will be completed or started any time soon, but it is at the back of my mind. Wotr is much more exciting to me at present.

Those are my interests, and also a list of shame (unpainted models, unplayed rulesets). If any of the above tally with the interests of others, perhaps something can be worked out. Not sure if there will be 6 people who all want to do the same thing, but it seems like a good idea to try and co-ordinate efforts.

Pretty obviously from the above, War of the Roses is the current historical draw, but such things can change weekly for me. If enough buzz is there for another historical period I could be swayed.

[ashmie]

Historical was one of the best things to come out of this group in recent years. Keep at it I say.
Personally I'll be aiming to continue with and possibly finish my ECW project which was started in 2013 and I have some more units of Prussians to paint for Black Powder.
In terms of other systems, if you have the toys and the games to demo I'm happy to turn up and play. That's a good way to get a game these days I find. Yoroshiku.

I have some Persians and some American Civil War minis for further future projects. Looking forward to playing Old World Hail Caesar still as well.

[job]

Well, I have thought about where I'll be going with historics in the near future a bit.

Flames of War: Pick up games with those interested from time to time and hobby projects from time to time. (jumbo Shermans, a few odd panthers in my collection). Maybe a Total War event if Mike, Ashmie and Voss are up to it.

Black Powder: Paint those conscripts and guards amalgamated into my collection. I really like the idea of playing a historic themed event. 100 days would be great, but maybe a Leipzig with the British would be better?

Bolt Action: I am up in the air about adding an allied force to my collection. My Germans are more or less where I want them to be. Maybe paint a tank or some metal troops from time to time. There's also the idea of running a Bolt Action event that I've been rattling around.

Skirmish games: I have interest in Saga, muskets and tomahawks and the ronin game along with a song of muskets and swords or whatever it was called. But most of this is kind of on the back burner. Mostly I just want to paint individual models of things like samurai.

Warmaster: I want to do a 6mm army of Pre-Marian Romans

ECW: I've always toyed around with doing Coventers or Malcolm Irish for sometime, I can't commit to such an investment.

[Lovejoy]

@Job, I have been sorely tempted by the Montrose Scots/Irish for ECW as well! But it's a bit of an investment.
I know very little, but he seems to have been an interesting man to say the least who still divides opinion. I was in Edinburgh for the day a few years ago and didn't realise that I was in the Cathedral with his tomb (St. Giles) until I stumbled on it. There were fresh flowers there, so I suppose he has his acolytes even now. So that intrigues me.
The War of the Roses thing is from my mother. She used to be very interested in things Ricardian (Richard III related history) and is, or was very well up on it. She thinks that he got a bad press from Tudor progagandists, Shakespeare sadly included, history neing written by the victors and all that. And he is at least part of the reason I am called Richard myself
I think these little asides illustrate the reasons why we pick what we pick with historicals sometimes - for me, I prefer something to hook me, whether its a personal family or national connection to a conflict, or just a cool story I've heard. Usually, I need to find a way 'in'.

[job]

@Job, I have been sorely tempted by the Montrose Scots/Irish for ECW as well! But it's a bit of an investment.
I know very little, but he seems to have been an interesting man to say the least who still divides opinion. I was in Edinburgh for the day a few years ago and didn't realise that I was in the Cathedral with his tomb (St. Giles) until I stumbled on it. There were fresh flowers there, so I suppose he has his acolytes even now. So that intrigues me.
I think this little aside illustrates the reasons why we pick what we pick with historicals sometimes, I prefer something to hook me, whether its a personal family or national connection to a conflict, or just a cool story I've heard. That's why with TYW I need to find a way 'in'.

That is a really nifty and cool discovery. (And thanks for the correction on the name. Whoops! )

I totally agree with your sentiments. Part of the pleasures of historics I suppose is to recreate and explore those connections we have to the past.

BTW, I totally recommend to listen to Mike Duncan's Revolutions Podcast series on the ECW, or I guess the English Revolution. It is a nice purview of the complex and exciting history of the period.

Once you are a few episodes in, you'll probably be replaying your ideas of building an ECW army (or TYW - BBC In Our Time podcast has a nice discussion of the Siege of Vienna).

[Lovejoy]

Thanks, I might check those podcasts out. I often listen to In Our Time, great source of learned info on all sorts of topics, and I've learned a lot from podcasts on Napoleon and WWII, precise names of which I can't recall at the moment. Apologies, I edited my post a little to include a bit about the WotR interest not really noting that you'd responded. Essential point is the same though.

Getting back to the original theme, does anyone else have an interest in historicals as a major or minor project for the coming year? Mutual encouragement for getting stuff done is always good, but settling on something we all fancy is difficult.

[job]

Thanks, I might check those podcasts out. I often listen to In Our Time, great source of learned info on all sorts of topics, and I've learned a lot from podcasts on Napoleon and WWII, precise names of which I can't recall at the moment. Apologies, I edited my post a little to include a bit about the WotR interest not really noting that you'd responded. Essential point is the same though.

Getting back to the original theme, does anyone else have an interest in historicals as a major or minor project for the coming year? Mutual encouragement for getting stuff done is always good, but settling on something we all fancy is difficult.

I'd be up for Napoleonic project. Maybe we should do a Waterloo-Ligny themed event considering this coming June marks 200 years since the closing months of Napoleonic epoch? Afterall, many of us play that game and we could probably find a way to work Russian and Austrians into the game.

[Primarch]

Getting back to the original theme, does anyone else have an interest in historicals as a major or minor project for the coming year? Mutual encouragement for getting stuff done is always good, but settling on something we all fancy is difficult.

I'd be up for Napoleonic project. Maybe we should do a Waterloo-Ligny themed event considering this coming June marks 200 years since the closing months of Napoleonic epoch? Afterall, many of us play that game and we could probably find a way to work Russian and Austrians into the game.

No offence to the Rus/Aus players, but if we are planning to do a Waterloo/Ligny game then surely including Russians and Austrians means it isn't Waterloo or Ligny? Same with having Brits at Austerlitz.
Honestly, if we were to try to recreate a historical action, I'd prefer to make it less "what if" and more "what was." I'm happy to play games much as we have been doing, but focussing more on the historical accuracy is high on my list of priorities as far as future gaming goes.
I wouldn't be averse to picking up some forces from another Napoleonic faction and painting them up if we had a definite target and everyone was on board with working towards it.

[job]

Well, we can work towards that. I'd happy to do it if others are onboard.

I'm not all too concerned with historical accuracy because that is all so debatable and it is all a game after all. There's lots of fun to be had just debating who really assaulted the ridge at Waterloo and how much of a chance really Napoleon ever had. Hopefully we could at least capture the spirit of something like that.

Anyway, looking at rosters of units at Waterloo, there are probably going to be lots of substitutes, especially in my French force which is loosely modeled after units at Borodino. So, one way or another I think we'll have to be comprising.

But if we want to fastidiously stick to a historic perameters I'll see what I can muster.

And I guess we shouldn't limit ourselves to Waterloo if others want to push for something else. I'm all ears.