Angus Konstam's Edinburgh Wargames
Normandy Weekend
Here are a few more photos of "The League of Gentlemen Wargamers" Normandy games - the big 28mm one and the smaller 15mm D-Day one. the whole event was organised by Barry Hilton, who really deserves a stout pat on the back for providing us with such a great gaming experience.
Imagine a table of around 200 square feet to fight over, filled with really pretty scenery, and enough 1/50 scale tanks to gladden a wargamer's heart!
Many of these 1/50 scale tanks were Corgi models, although a few were from other manufacturers of die-cast AFV's. or were even built from kits. The AFV's we used included Tigers, Panthers, Pz. IV's, Shermans, Fireflies, Churchills, Cromwells, Priests and Wespes, plus a range of halftracks and softskin vehicles.
Most of us game WW2 in 1/76 scale (with 20mm high figures), so this was something of a novelty for many of the participants. It certainly looked fantastic, and while the game might have had its silly moments, it flowed along fairly quickly, and the rules seemed to do their job very efficiently.
The rules we used were Disposable Heroes, with the activation system amended slightly to cope with the size of the game and the large number of players. I've had a look at these rules before, and even played a couple of small games with them, but I've never seen them tried out like this! I was a little wary of them at first - they have a strange approach to terrain, movement and firing which takes some time to adapt to - but I've warmed to them after this game.
The basic idea is that infantry operate in half-section teams, while tanks move individually. With effective gun ranges of around 6 feet, and a top tank move of about 2 feet a turn, we were really glad we had such a big table to fight over. However, with decent terrain (or no tanks) you can fight on a more sensible table. When you choose a target you dice to acquire it, then again to hit, and then to determine damage. - each with a single D10. Infantry fire isn't quite so complicated, although the results can sometimes be a bit bloody.
As soon as I got home I was surfing the web, looking for die-cast models, and planning a new force. Up to now, my only WW2 unit in 28mm is a platoon of British paras, but after today I want tanks, half tracks and jeeps to play with! My only problem is figuring out if I should go down the British or the American road...
You can download our homemade Disposable Heroes playsheet here.
_____________________________________
Then there was the 15mm D-Day game, which used Flames of War rules. This really isn't my WW2 figure scale of choice, but the overall affect looked pretty good, and we all had an enjoyable game... although there were a few comments about the "Lilliputian scale"! After all, most of us are die-in-the-wool 28mm gamers, and if we do venture into WW2 its usually in the much prettier 20mm figure scale.
As for Flames of War, I take my hat off to the rules designers, who've created a very slick package - pretty-looking rules, bolt-ons covering different armies or campaigns, and a whole rang of figures and even terrain.
However, the rules aren't for everybody. If you like rolling loads of dice, then you'll like these, but for me the whole business of dicing (with handfuls of dice) to hit, dicing to determine damage, and then your opponent dicing to save got a bit wearing after a while. Then there were the lack of opportunity fire rules, which meant that Allied stands could sprint past the beach defences and so avoid being shot at!
Then again, to be completely fair, the game moved along at a reasonably brisk pace, and the system was easy to pick up. While I won't replace the much more sensible Battlegroup Panzer Grenadier with them, I wouldn't rule out giving them another try either...
