Cotswold Wargames Day 2023

A gloriously sunny and crisp Atumnal morning on Sunday saw me take my annual trip to the Cotswold Wargames Day, held at Northleach community centre. Stopping at Cirencester to pick up Chris Gregg, we arrived before 9.00am having had a nice catch up chat in the car. Many games were already well on the way to being set up, but I had plenty of time to sort our game our before Dave arrived, which was nice.

The show is very relaxed in nature, with many familiar faces from previous years and good to see new ones too. Having had a good chat and wander, I set everything up and then realised that I needed to expand the width of the game, which was easily done, with the gaming area in the end being about 5' x 2 1/2'.

What I like about this show is that you see all the games being played in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, rather like a club night but without, dare I say it,  competition style gamers spoiling the show. Everyone is happy to chat, explain what is going on, what rules are being used etc. Even though it is a small event, many of the games could quite easily have graced the recent Partizan show.

Anyway, enough waffle from me and onto the photos. Sadly I lost the e-mail outlining who was running which game and what battle etc, but I hope this won't detract from your enjoyment. So without further ado:

An Indian Mutiny game that one 'Best Game' or the 'Stuart Asquith Trophy', something akin to that and well deserved too.

Elephants and bullock carts doing the heavy lifting. Nice!

Loved this camel train and very useful to see for my more modest offering, which I've yet to paint.

Again more inspiration for a possible General mounted on an elephant for my 18th Indian force.

The fort was very eye catching and with lots of little vignettes too.

Sadly no idea if this 3D printed, resin cast or something else.

Stu Surridge's lovely Operation Exporter game, using Bolt Action rules.

You can't beat a bit of early Western desert action between the Italians and the Commonwealth forces.

Lovely terrain and plenty of people were playing all day, which showed how popular it was.

South American Wars of Liberation in 20mm. A very clever set up as it was a night attack, and so a black cloth was placed over everything, forces then deployed, with it removed to reveal the actual terrain etc. A simple but effective way of simulating the disorientation of night operations.

Lots of lovely figures.

An ACW game using Sharpe Practice II. It shows that plenty of action and eye candy can be fitted onto a normal 6' x 4' table.

Confederate troops.

The Union troops.

Good old lichen being used:)!

Peninsular War in 28mm. Sadly no other info than that, but it was a participation game.

A wonderful custom terrain set up that one the 'Most Innovative Game'?

So many lovely details and vignettes to see, that I chose it as the deserved winner of 'Best Vignette or Terrain Piece', with the prize being kindly proved by Leon at Pendraken. 

It's one of those games that you could have spent a long time admiring all the details, like many others on the day.

Crimean War in 28mm. Again sadly no idea on the scenario, but plenty of gamers played it all day.

Russians by the look of it and very nice too.

Another early war Western Desert game, in 10mm and using BKCIV rules, put on by Paul James.

Seeing all this lovely armour reminds me that this is on my list to game at some point in the future.

Finally some shots and action from our game, with a bit of introductory fluff, which plenty of people enjoyed:

1^st Rhawand War

India 1755

After the failure of the '45, Bonnie Prince Charlie and chums have been a bit of a problem for the French King, Louis XV. With the growing competition for the lucrative trade with India, Louis sees an ideal opportunity to send the Bonnie Wee Laddie overseas and out of his whig.

Rumours have been circulating there that a certain Ranald McDonald has been making a lot of money for the Honourable East India Company by brewing up the local rhubard to make a rather potent concoction, know locally as Urn-Brew.

Seeing a chance to make re-ingratiate himself with Louis XV, Bonnie Prince Charlie plans a daring attack on the McDonald factory, ably supported by his loyal Highlanders, some French regulars and their Indian allies.

Unfortunately for him, the HEIC have got wind of the attack and are waiting and ready to receive him, fortified no doubt by a few drams of Urn-Brew...

The HEIC deployed for battle.

Tribal light infantry and elephant support.

The HEIC factory with its famous Mughal arch...

Heavy Indain artillery defends the factory.

Another elephant.

HEIC troops and Sepoys.

The 'Hand of God' (ie Dave) pointing out his planned troops to move.

Ship's crew, aka Pirates', with some neat 3D printed ships in the background.

The confused battle develops on the HEIC right flank.

Elephants and Zumburak Camels cause problems for the HEIC.

Tribal infantry in the rocks with heavy cavalry on the flank.

Probably over half-way, with stalemate on the HEIC left flank, but doing well in the Right and in the Centre.

The HEIC have the slight ascendency.

The Franco-Jacobites were hampered by having lots of Dithering Commanders, with the Highlanders being commanded by one of them and they never saw action.

Post Show Thoughts

The day flew by and sadly it was time to pack away and head home. As always such a great day out with friends and a chance to meet new gamers. It really doesn't feel like a show, more like a bunch of chums getting together for a days gaming. What's not too like?

For our game it was the first chance we had to have a proper playtest and we learnt a lot from it, which we will incorporate into an updated list. Dave has put together some ideas for Army Lists, which I need to peruse once a few real life things are out of the way. It is certainly a fun and colourful period to game, but sadly one without much info as it all seems to focus on the Wellesley chap and his battles. Still there is fun doing some research and trying to get a feel for the period gamed.

As mentioned earlier, all the games were being played and everyone was happy to stop and have a chat about their game, the terrain, figures etc. Sadly this is often not the case at the bigger shows and maybe this is something that the organisers could encourage those putting on the games to do? I know it takes effort having done it in the past, but it makes for a more pleasurable experience for the visiting punter IMHO.

I loved the variety of games on offer, as there was lots to enjoy and to gain inspiration from. Sadly a few people had to drop out at the last minute, but we still had 8 very nice games to enjoy. I think the most the centre can hold is 11 games, by using a side room, but having enverything in one place was rather nice.

Finally a big thankyou to everyone who came to make it such a great day, and of course to Keith and Jane for all their hard work in getting this organised! Time to start thinking of what to put on next year...

18thC India List for Honours of War

As mentioned recently, Dave and I have been working on a list for use in 18thC India for our forthcoming Honours of War game at the Cotswold Wargames Day. This is based upon admittedly limited reading on the mid-18thC in India period, but I feel enough has been read to make some informed decisions, at least for what we have planned. As always our games are to have fun, have a feel of the period and hopefully learn something along the way too!

Now please feel free to comment, belittle our ideas (not too much😉) or make suggestions to improve things. Afterall this is very much a work in progress and by no means set in stone. Things might change if and when I get chance to run a few trial games, or during the game itself on the day. We are flexible in our approach as it's only a game afterall!

Background Info

The early days of the Honourable East India Company and the conflicts it was involved in have little info with regards to the battles fought. There appears to have been lots of bribes prior to battles to get one side to defect, no intervene or simply ride away, with the battles not being battles in say a mid-18thC European sense, as there was little action, despite large numbers involved. So there is some artistic licence that can be taken in how to replicate these actions and it is up to you how you want to reflect this. These then are our take on things:

The French and British sent some European troops to support their respective trading concerns in India. These were the best troops there and so it is appropriate to class them as Superior. Each of the Companies had their own troops or militia that were trained, but no especially to any high standard. So these have been classed as Standard. Given both sides used lots of Sepoys due to the limited number of Europeans there, they were relatively well trained to support the Europeans in military actions, yet could be fragile, hence classing them Standard for shooting and melee but Inferior Class for rallying. 

For our game and for fun, we have included European ships crew as well as some nominal Jacobite forces after the failure of the '45. Whilst not good for shooting that are pretty good at getting stuck in, hence the Onferior shooting but Superior melee.

Both sides Light Infantry, of which there were large numbers of, they were more used to raiding rather than pitched battles, so these are classed as Inferior Light Infantry. The same is broadly true of the Indian and Afghan Light Cavalry, that are also classed as Inferior. The limited numbers of Heavy Cavalry with armour as classed as Standard only.

The French had the edge on the British in terms of how they used their artillery, so these have been class as Superior, whilst the British is Standard only. The Indian States had heavy artillery that was more of a status symbol rather than being especially effective. Their rate of fire was low and they were pretty much immmobile once deployed, hence being rated Inferior but Heavy guns and immobile.

Both sides had plenty of fun and exotic troops, such as Elephants, Zumburak Camels and Rockets. The Elephants were certainly at the end of their useful period but are too fun to leave out, ditto the Zumburak Camels. All of these were largely used to break up the very large Light Infantry and Light Cavalry units that were found on the flanks of all armies of the period. So whilst not being especially devastating (famous last words!), their main use to attrit units on the flanks to limit their offensive abilities and to make them less able to resist attacks.

In terms of C&C, the British had the edge (think Clive of India) but the French did have good commanders too. So here the British have the slight edge. In contrast the Indian and Afghan commanders are much less able in comparison, to reflect their tendency to switch sides, to go raiding after the baggage etc. Again they did have the odd excellent commander, but rarely so.

The List

French & British Infantry – Superior Infantry.

European Infantry – Standard Infantry.

Scottish & Ships Crew - Inferior Infantry for Shooting but Superior Infantry for Melee.

Sepoys & State Troops - Standard Infantry but Inferior Class for Rally.

Light Infantry – Inferior Light Infantry.

French Artillery - Superior Medium.

British Artillery - Standard Medium.

Indian Siege Artillery - Inferior, Heavy, Immobile (possibly shoot every other Turn to reflect long reload times).

Elephants - Inferior Light Artillery, Infantry Move Rate, No -1 for Moving, Large Target, Ignore Terrain penalties.

Camel Zumburaks - Inferior Light Artillery, Light Infantry Move.

Rockets - Inferior Light Artillery (range of Medium Artillery). Deviate on D6. 1 – Miss, 2 – 3 Deviate and hit next nearest unit, 4 – 6 Hit target.

Indian Light Cavalry – Inferior Cavalry.

Indian Heavy Cavalry – Standard Cavalry.

French Commands - 1-2 Dithering, 3-5 Dependable, 6 Dashing.

British Commands - 1- Dithering, 2 -5 Dependable, 6 Dashing.

Indian Commands (Light Infantry & Light Cavalry) - 1-3 Dithering, 4-5 Standard, 6 Dashing.

So there we have it. I hope you found this interesting and possibly informative too. As mentioned at the start, this is very much our take on things and the above has been done to try and balance things to make for a fun game. Please feel free to change, tweak or amend things to your hearts content. As always any suggestions to improve things would be grealty appreciated.

TTFN.

Colours 2023 - A Test Of Endurance & Stamina

Yesterday I took my annual trip to the Colours wargames show at Newbury racecourse, which I always see as the start of the wargames season for me. It was forecast to be the hottest day of the year and so it proved to be! Normally it is a question of do I need a light fleece or something a tad more substantial on the clothing front? This time it was how little can I wear whilst maintaining decency and not being confronted by the police;)! So read on for an overview of the show etc.

The Heat

You could not escape the fact that it was unbearably hot in the venue. Even when the doors opened just after 10.00am, it was already hot and stuffy on the ground floor with no breeze at all. On the top floor it was even worse. Everyone was suffering and needing to take repeated breaks outdoors to try and cool down, rehydrate etc. It was actually giving me a headache on the top floor and I know how to cope with heat, having lived in Nigeria for 5 years, but even so, it was a test of endurance the whole time I was there. I had planned on spending a good 4 hours there, having a good browse and a good look at the games on display. As it was I managed 2 1/2 hours and sadly whizzed round the games due to the heat. How the poor souls putting on the games coped I'm not sure.

Attendance

The show seemed well attended but not as busy as previous years. For once you could walk relatively easily along the ground floor where most of the traders are, without feeling like you are on the London underground during rush hour. The same on the top floor where the display games were. Even the B'n'B was busy but not three deep as is often the case.

I had a good chat with Leon and Adele from Pendraken Miniatures and to them lots of people seemed to be browsing, but not buying as much as before. We wondered whether the cost of living crisis, the recent jump in fuel prices and the hot weather put people off from coming. Certainly driving down, the M4 was busy West bound with families heading for the coast to enjoy the last of the Summer weather.

Books

I always like to buy a few books at the show, but once again I was amazed at the difference in prices for the same books, depending upon the seller. Anita's Books is always my first stop as her and her husband are always very friendly and they have a good mix at very reasonable prices. Paul Meekins comes next with a very comprehensive range but it is hard to have a good browse as his stand is always busy. Helion & Co had another good display, but I can buy their books at Paul Meekins one floor below for £10 - £25 cheaper!

Traders

There was a good mix as always, with Warlord Games having a big stand for once, which I don't remember from previous years. As mentioned above, they seemed to be busy but how many sales were being made is another matter. I just wished I'd been able to browse more which was my plan, but the heat put pay to that:(. I did manage to check out Brigade models as I was contemplating buying some of the airships for my Xenos Rampant games and is was good to see a few of them in the flesh so to speak. They were bigger than I'd imagined, even with rough sizes given on their web pages. H&R, Newline Designs and Baccus were on my lists too but hopefully iy will be cooler next year and I can spend more time checking stuff out. Just don't tell SWMBO;)!

The Games

Well enough waffle from me and onto the photos. No surprise that I had to whizz round taking photos in batches and then having a break to recover, so they are a tad rushed but hopefully you will get an idea of what was on offer. There was only one no-show, which was the Delhi 1803 game that I was looking forward to seeing. Hopefully I've got the right games against the photos as the show guide doesn't quite match the games...

Op Caravan - Barce, Libya 1942.

Peter Pig - Macedon - Conquerors & Kings.

TFL - Cannae - Strength & Honour.

Peter Pig - PBI- Factory Fight WWII.

I loved this game and wished I could have spent more time taking it all in.

TFL - Bonsai Bonkers.

No prizes for guessing the rules;)!

2nd Mantinea 362 BC - DBMM rules.

Breakthrough to Leipzig 1813.

Vietnam Skirmish.

A stunning Vietnam game. So much time and effort has obviously gone into making this game.

Saga - Samurai Skirmish. Another game with lots of attention to detail and much to admire.

A Gladiator game.

A Star Trek game.

Rolica, Portugal 1808.

To the Strongest - another Mantinea game.

LRDG raid.

Nagashino 1579?

The bamboo fences were a nice touch.

Rapid Fire.

Game of Thrones.

A mix of Mortem et Glorium games, inclusing the Pacto variant.

Isandlwana in 28mm using Bloody Big Battles rules.

The Haul

I feel the heat limited what I might have bought, which is probably a good thing given SWMBO reaction to what I did buy!

A mix of pre-orders from Pendraken (Russian WWII) and so ACW packs for some core forces to expand my Imagi-Nations forces, but more on that another time.

A steal at only £6.00! I remember this as a kid and have been after if for a while, really just to read and get some ideas from it for possible future games.

As with the above, excellent value for £5.00, both from Anita's Books. Perfect for uniform ideas, obscure conflicts and forces, such as the Andean Liberation Army. Never heard of it before and I doubt many people have.

Final Thoughts

I was glad I went even if it was a test of endurance and stamina whilst there! I was happy with my purchases and it is nice to not only support the traders there but to treat oneself now and then. Normally I would get inspiration from many games, but I simply could not spend the time I would have liked to looking at them for rather obvious reasons. When I got back in the car it was a toasty 37C! 

At least the weather is due to cool down to near normal temperatures by tomorrow, so I can get back to painting my 18thC Indian force as it's about 5 weeks to the show. Progress is going well but I need to keep my nose to the grindstone!

TTFN.