A Test Of My Resolve

This year I had no plans to buy any new rules, given that I was pretty happy with everything that I had and used regularly. Afterall my bookshelf has plenty of rules that were bought, glanced at and never really did what I hoped they would. Maybe one day I'll get around to selling them or sending them to a charity shop.

But my resolve was sorely tested when I read Norm Smith's excellent review of the 'Test of Resolve' rules on his Blog. For once these rules intrigued me and, after a bit of deliberation, I decided to treat myself to a bit of retail therapy, as life had been rather hectic on the parent carer front.

The 'new' print of the rules, with a contents page and definitions section which really helps when looking for or reading through the rules.

Not the cheapest rules, but being self-published and with an admittedly limited audience compared to the 'Big Boys' of the industry, I was very happy with what I received. After a couple of read throughs, these really seemed to be perfect for the solo players and as one would expect, they are very much full of period flavour.

Now whilst I do not have any figures based up for this period, I have some that cold at a squeeze, pass muster, but given these will be mainly used for solo play, it's only me I need to keep happy! If I was to do two 'Starter Forces', I worked out that I would need at least several hundred figures, possibly up to five hundred, which was a daunting prospect painting wise, aside from the financial implications.

So instead, for the moment, I went down the route of using my wooden blocks to allow me to get to grips with the rules, the size of games like to play etc. Luckily these blocks are a perfect fit for what I would most likely use base wise, namely 25mm square ones, with unit frontages of 50mm or 100mm if in 'wide' formation.

Said blocks all set up to run through the basic scenario, on a 2' x 2' board. This is a tad small, but currently works well as I can put it down anywhere with minimal fuss and roll the dice.

From my trial games so far, which have been VERY basic, I'm really taken with these rules, as not only do I feel like I'm playing a WotR game, but the inherent friction within the system makes for really good solo play. As Norm mentioned on his Blog, the run of the cards and the actions that arise from them, prevent one from going about the game in the same old fashion, something that I've been very conscious of when I tried pre-Black Powder period games.

To help me with some inspiration and a bit of background reading, I pulled the following fodwn from the bookshelf.

I remember when these came out, as at our local show, these were incradibly popular and certainly breathed new life into a period that wasn't gamed that much, or so it seemed to me.

Suddenly every 'Tom, Dick & Harry' seemed to be jumping on the band wagon, with Lion Rampant II containing some sample warbands, and then HCII having a section on the WotR, before this supplement came out. This is a great book and I'd forgotten it has a nice and simple campaign section in the back, which I hope to use in due course.

A superb book that highlights to me at least about how little we actually know about the battles, how the armies fought etc. In the end I think it will be down to personal preference whether you have 'Bow & Bill' units as per HCII, or go with seperate Archers & Foot as per Test of Resolve.

Another cracking book and one that again highlights how little we really know.

As we are in the 3rd heatwave of the year and once again breaking records on multiple fronts, I hope to give these rules a good run out in the next few days, as frankly it's too hot to do anything else after about 10.00am!

WWII

I had planned on doing some more painting on my AVBCW forces, alongside sorting out a possible Greek campaign again, but a mix of the heat, 'real life' and these new rules has put all of this on hold. I did look through the very good Osprey book on the first part of the Greek campaign, just to refresh my understanding of things, so progress in that respect.

I also bought Max Hasting's book on Sword Beach, which Norm Smith had highlighted as being very heavily discounted at a supermarket, so I was happy to find that Amazon had price matched it as it were. I do like his writing style so this is most likely my next read, aside from perusing some WotR texts.

Woodworking

In between the heatwaves, I was able to pop into the garage and have some more fun doing some woodturning, which I find is a nice and therapeutic break from my life as a parent carer. Wargaming hits the same spot too, but I was in the mood to do some turning, which can be seen below:

Some small Yew bowls and bud vase, all about 4" diameter. A joy to turn and they come up to a smooth finish and should develop a lovely patina as they age.

What Next?

Well with the heat not breaking for at least another 5-6 days, trying to stay cool and get a good sleep will be the number one priority! I do have Waterloo game scheduled for 4th August at Shrivenham, which should be good. Being an all day affair this should be a real treat and a good chance to meet up with some old gaming friends and some new ones to boot. 

As Blogger has been up to its very annoying tricks of late, whether anyone gets to see this is a mute point. However, if you have received this, then I'm happy and as always, any comments greatly received!

TTFN.