Angus Konstam's Edinburgh Wargames

The

South-East Scotland Wargames Club

Wargaming is a social hobby - where you usually play with your little toy soldiers with other overgrown kids, geeks and anoraks.

I'm no exception to the rule, and for the past couple of years I've been a member of the South East Scotland Wargame Club (SESWC) - the local group here in Edinburgh. As you can see from the photos, wargamers look a little strange, and are liable to bore you with in-jokes about German tank sprockets and Celtic shield designs... but at least there's a bar...

   Now, the club doesn't just include members who play historical miniatures - no Siree! In fact we seem to be just in the majority, holding the line against a bunch of fruitcakes who play games with Space Marines, Orcs, Hover-Robots and other such nonsense.

Then there are the boardgamers, who get off on shuffling little cardboard counters around in the corner of the hall! As you might guess I don't have much time such nonsense, but I try not to snicker too much when I pass their tables on the way to the bar.

Almost as bad (but not quite) are the historical gamers who don't really care much about history or enjoyment - the DBM players. DBM and DBR have been a relatively recent blight on the wargames world, and all I can say for them is that the rules do serve a purpose - they tend to attract all the  nitpickers and rules lawyers who would otherwise get in the way of a good game! Still, even though they do seem addicted to their clunky rules system at least they're not fantasy or board gamers. Call them the middle rung on the wargaming evolutionary scale if you will!

While the DBM-ers are happy shuffling their shabby little 15mm Ancient armies around squalid little tabletops, their betters are playing with nicely painted 28mm figures using Warhammer Ancient Battles (or WAB). Now, while I don't play WAB myself (as I've always found the rules are a little too flaky for my tastes), I do admire the effort these lads put in.

Then there are the rest of us - the rarified upper echelons of wargamers! That means the good, sensible gamers who enjoy playing historical games with each other, don't use DBM, and enjoy playing while sinking a beer or three in the process. There are still quite a few of us left, even though we seem to be in a minority!

Wargamers can also be a miserable bunch of old sods .. especially when they're losing

It seems that different periods go through phases of popularity, although WW2 (in both 15mm and 20mm) are always popular here in Edinburgh. Thanks to Colin Jack (that's him in the red shirt) the whole "Back of Beyond" and Colonial type of game is also played a lot, along with its Russian Civil War and First World War spin-offs. Other fads seem to come and go - for instance Wild West Gunfights, AK-47 (Modern Africa) and Vietnam all make the odd appearance, but like buses, games of these kinds tend to follow in groups, then you don't see any for a while...

Inside the Navy Club there's a large "L" shaped function room, which means there's plenty of space. On an average club night we usually have about a dozen different games going on, ranging from the usual fantasy nonsense through "dreary" 15mm DBM Ancients games, pretty but silly 28mm Warhammer Ancient games, and then on to just about any form of historical gaming you can think of. Oh, and of course there's a bar...

The Club also runs CLAYMORE, still the largest and best wargame show in Scotland. 

 CLAYMORE 2008 is held in Edinburgh's Meadowbank Stadium on Saturday, 2nd August.     

     We meet every Thursday in Edinburgh's Royal Navy Club from 7pm onwards.

Come along and see the whole wargaming circus for yourself!

____________________________________________________

Home                 Official SESWC Website (not very pretty)               Links