Like most, if not all, of the World, we have been affected by the current Covid-19 virus restrictions that have been put in place for entirely sensible reasons. However things ramped up a notch when our son was informed by the NHS that he was one of the estimated 1.5 million people at increased risk from the virus and would have to remain indoors for 12 weeks or more. For the rest of the family we also have to maintain social distancing whilst in the house and minimise outside contact with the society.
Before this things weren't too bad as the weather has been lovely and we've all been able to keep a fairly normal life going on. The social distancing thing has actually had the biggest impact as trying to maintain this in a normal sized house with 4 people is somewhat tricky and a bit of a juggling act to say the least. Still it's something we have to do and are happy to do it to keep him safe.
However this has had an impact on my planned wargaming and painting plans, which have gone out the window. Setting up a game on my 4' x 4' table is not really feasible now, so I will have to focus on my 2' x 2' one, which is not a problem, but more of an opportunity. I'm fortunate in some respects that the rules I use are all solo friendly, so it's more a case of finding the space to safely get a game in that's the issue. For my 2' x 2' table the 'Lion Rampant' stable of games are perfect, as are Bob Cordery's 'The Portable Wargame' and its variants. I have tried BKCII on this size board and was very happy with the results.
But my interest was piqued recently by the following post on Stu's Dust & Tears Blog. Then I saw on The Wargames Website that the Too Fat Lardies were having a sale and so it seemed an opportune time to buy the Platoon Forward pdf as a little treat to myself. The download came through straight away and I was very impressed by what I read. Broadly speaking it is in 3 sections, with the first and third to do with character generation etc, which I'm not interested in at present. The second section dealing with scenarios and threat generation was my main interest and was very well laid out and presented.
Although aimed at Platoon and Company level action for rules such as Bolt Action, Chain of Command etc, I thought they would work well for BKCII, especially for my small table (I think they could also work for earlier periods with some tweaks, but will only know when I've played some games). I have Bolt Action II but have yet to play it due to lack of painted figures, but might try them using my BKCII bases or shock horror, unpainted lead. The shame of it! Along side this I hope to get some 'The Pikemen's Lament' games in and maybe some games using my wooden blocks. Plenty of ideas but actually finding the time and space to 'safely' game will be the issue.
I hope all of you out there keep safe at this challenging time and luckily we have our wonderful hobby to help us get through this and come out the other side smiling. Enjoy your gaming if you can.
The threat generation sounds interesting, as of course does 2’ x 2’ :-)
ReplyDeleteI have just had a parcel arrive that has been in transit for 5 days and another that was posted yesterday, so it seems a bit hit and miss and instant PDF’s might increasingly become a ‘go to’ purchase point.
Hope your son stays free of complication, we are okay with the isolation thing, it’s strange how the unusual becomes normal .... well almost!
I think they are only available as a pdf, but at 50 - 60 odd pages, probably not worth their while to print them. Shame as I do prefer a book over a pdf.
DeleteI'm trying not to order anything so as not add to the Post Office's load and to minimise deliveries to home, for obvious reasons. I would like to but am, for the moment, being good...
It's the social distancing that's the issue now, as that's hard to maintain, as we all have to take turns in rooms etc to minimise contact. Thanks for the best wishes for our son who's taking it remarkably well.
Best wishes on keeping the plague at bay, Steve. We have been shoved into uncertainty, for sure.
ReplyDeleteWithout your regular gaming space, a 2x2 sounds like a good choice and reasonable compromise. Even Norm's ACW or WWII games good be played on a 2x2 gridded surface.
You culd move towards wargaming via VASSAL. There are hundreds of board wargaming playable with this medium. Commands & Colors might be a good choice too. My 6mm CCA on a 2 inch hex mat is about 2x2.
Thanks Jonathan. Luckily all of my normal rulesets would work on a 2' x 2' table, but naturally with smaller forces and actions. C&C I'm drawn to but am trying to limit my purchases this year so as not to dilute my gaming experience.
DeleteI really wish I could type... "culd" should of course be "could"...sheesh.
DeleteTo err is human Jonathan;)
DeletePlatoon Forward I have found is great for scenario generation (I have not used any of the character generation stuff either). I have run a few of the scenarios using 6mm on a 2'x'2 (with a few platoons a side). I used to used the A,B,C blinds generation system but for solo play I have found it suited me better to still use the A,B,C generation system but deploy all the enemy forces at the start.
ReplyDeleteAnd 2'x2' rules! Despite my favourite games being 20mm WW2 on a 9'x5' table, I think 99% of all my gaming in the last 10 years has all be solo and almost all on 2'x2' tables (occasionally I have gone smaller)
I'm glad you've found Platoon Forward to be useful Shaun and I'm hoping to try and get a small game in tomorrow, all being well. 2' x 2' gaming is gaining traction given our increasingly hectic lives, lack of space etc.
DeleteGlad to have helped Steve, hoping to sneak in game two on Friday night.... Not like I have anywhere else to go :-)
ReplyDeleteCheers
Stu
You and the rest of the World mate! Struggling to find the space for a game at present, but at least getting painting done, so not all bad.
DeleteTrying to move house in the midst of a Pandemic is playing havoc with my wargaming so only just catching up on some of the blog posts. We are moving into a rented house for a couple of years and looks like my wargaming space will be limited. Like you Steve I will be exploring games on a 2'x 2' board. Although not a fan of skirmishes I may nevertheless explore some of the rules I have accumulated for playing in 6mm.
ReplyDeleteMoving is never easy at the best of times, so hard to imagine what you're going through at present, but fingers crossed it all works out. I'm trying to get some 2' x 2' games in at the moment, so watch this space...
DeleteSteve, what a tough time for you and the family. I'm having a pretty easy life at the moment, and it's hard to imagine social distancing in a normal family home. Managing it between just Jane and myself would be a real task - with Jane being in the NHS frontline we discussed it but in the end thought it would just be too tough, not to say near impossible.
ReplyDeleteMassive respect to you and the family for your efforts on your son'e behalf. And thanks for the link - I'll definitely look into it.
Go well my friend.
Thanks for the kind words Keith:). We've more or less got it sorted, helped in no small part by the wonderful weather of late. It is tough but it's just something we've got to do.
DeleteFingers crossed for you and Jane too, given that she is one of those on the frontline as you say.