Friday, 22 August 2014

Worminators...the next few moves.

Following the last post, where the idea for the Play-by-Facebook and Worminators were introduced, I have been encouraged to continue the game report. I must add that one of the problems I have had in running the game is me correctly interpreting the orders given by the players. There are no fixed distances or obvious landmarks that one might find in more traditional game and so the communication aspect is very important. This is a trial game, of course, and so such points are very helpful. Importantly, the two players and several observers seem to be enjoying the game so I think I am on the right track. I have also noted one or two issues with the rules that I now need to tweek, nothing major but, certainly things that will help game flow.

Anyhoo, lets get back to the action. We return to the start of round four. Taxes worm has been killed giving Team Drew Bader an advantage over Team Andrew Massoura......

ROUND FOUR

Twelfth move. A Supply Crate arrives! Oh my, oh my, oh my! What can I say? Clearly upset by the death of his compatriot, Taxes, Death worm took some revenge by attacking Inigo Montoya worm and causing a massive 61 points of damage! Death abseiled down next to Inigo, jumped over him and...simply shoved him westward. Inigo fell from the edge, taking 14 damage points from the fall, and landed on the mine. This exploded causing 35 points more and pushed Inigo far enough for him to fall into the small cavern next to Screw You...causing 12 more points of damage! Very impressive and not a little embarrassing for Inigo!  It is now Screw You's turn.




Thirteenth move. Screw You fires his Homing Missile at Death before moving as far west as he was able. The missile flew through the small opening at the top of the small cavern. It then attempted to make a right turn to hit Death but, it proved too tight a manoeuvre and it crashed into the roof of the large cavern. Oops. It is now Inigo's turn




Fourteenth move. Inigo Montoya worm moves east, jumping over the odd crater on the way. From his new position he fires a Bazooka into the area below Death worm slightly undershooting the target. The medium damage template didn't touch Death worm but he certainly felt the earth move! Ok, new round! Inigo starts this fifth round, this could be pivotal...





ROUND FIVE

Fifteenth move. Inigo places himself under Death worms position and again fires a Bazooka into the terrain beneath Deaths feet....long slithering body...whatever...the blast catches Death and throws him into the air where he flies back to earth with a bump! The blast and terrible fall inflict 41 points of damage on Death and leaves him on the floor of the large cavern. Inigo also used the remainder of his move allowance to get back to the wall of the cavern. Meanwhile, a second supply crate has arrived, this time at the top of the Wormery, section 2. It is now Screw You's turn.




Sixteenth move. Ooooooo! Unlucky Screw You. Screw You moves eastward to a better position and tries to throw a Banana Bomb at Death worm but, it fails to clear the narrow gap and instead lands in the corner of the small cavern. The four bomblets leap about but all stay away from Screw You, who looked more than a little worried as the explosions were a little close for comfort! No self inflicted injuries though, phew. It is now Death worm's turn.




Seventeenth move. Death worm, no doubt shaken by the violent actions of team Drew Bader, teleports out of the danger zone and onto the second supply crate at the very top of the Wormery terrain. Death worm is now the proud owner of an Exploding Sheep! Round six - Screw You worm goes first this round.



ROUND SIX

Eighteenth move. Screw You worm teleports to the remaining supply crate and gets.......20 points of health!! Screw You now has just 16 damage points...could be a life saver. Death worm is up next.




Nineteenth move. Death worm fires a homing missile at Screw You worm which has to negotiate a tight turn to reach it's target. The missile hits Screw You square-on and takes out a chunk of the Interactive Combat Wormery too! Screw You worm is injured by the missile and the resulting fall taking 46 points of damage. The recorded damage for each worm is: Death = 41 points, Screw You= 62 points, Inigo Montoya = 75 points. Inigo Montoya worm to go next and close this round!




Twentieth move. Inigo end s the round by firing a Bazooka round I to the terrain below Death worm. It takes out a chunk of Wormery but that's it. Death worm's turn.





ROUND SEVEN

Twenty first move. RELEASE THE SHEEP! Death worm let loose the first sheep of the game from the right hand edge of the large floaty bit. The sheep dropped onto the tiny block but couldn't reach the adjacent terrain piece, instead it fell to the bottom of the cavern before completingg it's forward move which took it into the wall behind Inigo worm and bounced back. The rules allow the player to detonate his sheep at any time 'after the initial launch distance' and so the independent adjudicator (not me btw) did the following. 

The entire sheep move was played out and the most advantageous point noted. The adjudicator detonated the sheep at that point. The huge explosion caused 43 points of damage to Inigo Montoya worm, killing him instantly. 

It is now Screw You worms turn, can he exact revenge?

Note the toombstone just visible beneath the explosion

Twenty second move. Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey...Screw You continues the work of under-mining Death worm!



And so we prepare to start round eight! Another worm has been killed leaving just one worm in each team. The Interactive Combat Wormery is getting a pounding, chunks being ripped out every move, but the game progresses well. Photographing  the action is a little tricky given the scale of the individual worms; I feel something is lost here. The name labels are all well and good but...well, maybe I need to work on this bit. That said, any more work to pictures would make the execution of this game a lot harder and slower. I think the beauty of the game by facebook is the relative speed, which suits a game like Worminators. More action to come of course!!!

Sunday, 17 August 2014

Worminators!....a Play-by-Facebook trial.

I have been suffering from a major case of Wargame Doldrums. The run up to and execution of Broadside left me in a real depresion where little if any wargame stuff happened at all for at least two months. I have had the odd quiet patch before, we all have I am sure, but this has been something very different; no interest, no spark, no direction....all very worrying and quite depressing. With the club Open Day (September 27th btw) edging ever closer I knew I had to do something to get myself moving again but nothing worked. I even promised myself something new and shiny for a Donnybrook project but, if I am honest, I really couldn't be bothered. I know, weird eh?

Anyway, this depression draged on until I had a chat with my mate Clint. He was chatting about playing a wargame by Blog, a modern version of play-by-mail, using my Blood, Bilge & Iron Balls rules. This, at last, seemed to get through to my shut down mind and got a few wargamey brain cells firing.....at last. Take a look at Clint's blog game, its early days but oozes promise http://clint-anythingbutaone.blogspot.co.uk/

I wondered if there was something that I could do in a similar vein, without appearing to steal his idea, and had one of the first wargame based light bulb moments I have had since before Broadside. A good while ago I wrote a set of rules for MJ Figures and their range of Worms, designed to play table top versions of the old PC and Playstation (etc) game. I could run a game at home for up to eight players although, I soon realised, given the turn based nature of the game (one worm moves and shoots at a time) it would be be a pain for the players to have to wait so long between turns. So, to speed it all up and keep it bubbling I would run the game as a play-by-facebook version! I started small using two teams of two worms with one player per team, Drew and Andrew form the club. This, as with Clint's game, would actually be a test of theory; it could all go horribly wrong. What appears below is the first three rounds of the game, further rounds will appear as further blog entries so as to not clog up your day with a long winded blog post! The text and pictures are taken directly from the Facebook posts so you get to see the game unfold. blow by blow.
(The game board, or 'Interactive Combat Wormery', is a 600mm wide polystyrene board. As worms dig or shoot the polystyrene is removed and so the game board changes turn by turn.)


The game begins!

Okie Dokie! Things are all set here at Worminator HQ and we now await word from the two players that they have read the rules and are ready to go.
The Interactive Combat Wormery has been prepared and the two teams of two highly trained Warrior Worms have been randomly placed. The first picture should show you, the viewer and players, the initial set up.
Team Andrew comprises worms 'Death' and 'Taxes'. Team Drew comprises worms 'Screw You' and 'Inigo Montoya Worm'. Each worm will be activated randomly once per round.

note the shape...see how it changes turn by turn
NEW RULE UPDATE - I have allowed each worm an abseil wire that will allow them to lower themselves, reasonably safely, down to lower levels. This option can be taken as part of the normal move distance and it is not a separate action like combat. Please note that you cannot use this to climb up things, only down.
The problem you will have of course is being unable to measure distances accurately so there may be a bit of a drop at the end of a downward climb! This could be enough to end your move so be careful!!

ROUND ONE

First move. Screw You Worm moved east to the edge of the small cavern and used his trusty pickaxe to cut out a 45' tunnel. He used the full cut allowance too and has ended his turn at the end of the tunnel by the new opening into the larger cavern above. NEXT WORM - TAXES.






 













Second move. Taxes inches forward and fires a bazooka at Screw You. The fired round was a slight over-shoot but caught the enemy in the blast causing 24 points of damage and pushing Screw You 4cm back down the tunnel. Once the smoke dies away you will notice a new hole in the interactive Combat Wormery.



Third Move. Ka-blam! More blood spilt as Death throws a hand grenade at extreme range...the 20cm range of grenades allows for the perpendicular drop found here. The grenade only just passed the narrow gap between the small floaty bit and the sticky up bit and dropped, neatly, onto poor Inigo Montoya Worm. The damage was fairly light though, 14 points, so Inigo will have plenty of time to plot his revenge! In fact, it is Inigo Montoya Worm's go now! That's lucky, Inigo, its your turn now.



Fourth move, the last of this initial turn! Inigo Montoya Worm moved to the west as far as he was able given the steep angle of the terrain. He then took a leaf from Screw You and used his pickxe to tunnel west at 45' for 10cm. He now sits at the top of the newly excavated tunnel....waiting.... Note the small crater where Inigo was at the start of the move; and so the landscape of the Interactive Combat Wormery changes.

 


ROUND TWO

Fifth move. Death dropped a Banana Bomb into the crater above Inigo Montoya Worms head! This weapon deployed four bomblets that bounced around randomly from the initial impact spot, these tore a large chunk out of the crater as three bomblets fell close together but, none of them actually touched Inigo! Miraculously, he survived unscathed with no damage....and now it is Inigo's move!



Sixth move. Inigo Montoya Worm jumped over a minor terrain obstacle and moved west to get a clear shot at Taxes Worm. Choosing the chaingun option, Inigo let rip at long range but managed, just, to hit the target! Taxes took 39 points of damage before Inigo used his remaining move allowance to retreat a little to a possibly safer distance. It is now Screw You worms turn. 



Seventh move. Screw You worm moved west, using his jump option to maximise distance, to reach the supply crate and gain some dynamite! This cam be used by either of Team Drew Bader worms. Overjoyed by his find Screw You fired wildly into the air to celebrate it is now Taxes turn!

 Alan Abbey's photo.

Eighth move. Taxes drops the Banana Bomb straight onto Screw You! The initial blast inflicts 12 points of damage but the other three bomblets spread far and wide missing Screw You completely although, he is probably now deaf and the Interactive Combat Wormery is taking a pounding in places! But, I am cleaning as I go so still no stingy smack on the back of my legs yet notice too that a mine has been introduced to a random location so no touchy touchy...of course it might be a proximity mine.....



So, we start round three and it is Inigo Montoya Worm to go first.

ROUND THREE

Ninth move. Turn three gets off to a blistering start as Inigo moves, blasts Taxes with a Chaingun and inflicts a massive 46 points of damage! He then slides off to the right of the iffie stick (inter-fibre friction fastening integral extender stick). Taxes Worm has now taken a total of 85 points of damage but team Drew Bader has used up two of their three Chainguns. Death worm is next to play.



Tenth move. Death worm throws a grenade at Inigo but narrowly misses so inflicts no damage! Screw You worm to play next. (sorry, no picture...I have no idea why....I hate my life.... ) 

Eleventh move. Screw You has the first kill!! His Homing Missile successfully negotiated a narrow gap and a tight turn to fall just short of the target, Taxes worm. The blast was more than enough though, it caused a fatal 32 points of damage and hurled the still twitching corpse up the hill where a tombstone marks the spot. 

 



With the death of Taxes worm the round ends as it would have been his move next. The fourth round begins with the twelfth move but that will be another blog post....assuming you want to hear about it, of course :)

I hope that this ramble has been of interest, even if it is only the idea of running a play-by-Facebook game. It has proved to be a lot of fun so far, even for me, and the wife is still happy as I have kept the bits of polystyrene off the floor....no stingy smack on the back of the legs for me......yet....

Monday, 12 May 2014

Broadside 2014 ready to go!

 That's it, that is the last piece of the puzzle in place, Broadside 2014 is ready to go (all bar the last shouty bits of course)! It has been one hell of a ride but once we get to this point it all starts looking very real.

I hope that these lists will excite you, there are some very cool names on board and I think 2014 is really going to be our year! Despite losing the small hall we have managed to keep Broadside at the same size as before with the number of games and traders we have. This is of course thanks to the brilliant clubs all getting behind the new game competitions and taking the small 6x5 tables. Take a look at the plan and let me know what you think. Keeping the space between traders and around the games tables is important to us, visitors comment on how much they like the openness of Broadside.

There is still a lot to do behind the scenes but that is always the way and I am working day and night to tie those loose ends. But, for now, a great milestone is passed!


T1 - Adler Miniatures
T2 - Armourfast
T3 - Brigade Models
T4 - Redoubt enterprises
T5 - David Lanchester Books
T6 - Fenris Games
T7 - Ainsty Castings
T8 - Cymbeline Games
T9 - Tablescape
T10 - Harfields Military Figures
T11 - ToleHaven
T12 - Realistic Modelling
T13 - Early War Miniatures
T14 - Shellhole Scenics
T15 - Col. Bills.com
T16 - Lesley's Bits Box
T17 - WargamesNkits
T18 - 7th Heaven Games
T19 - Monarch Millitary Books
T20 - SHQ Miniatures
T21 - Polly Oliver Castings
T22 - Red Knight Wargames
T23 - Wargames Emporium
T24 - Always Darkk
T25 - Warmill
T26 - Andy's Models
T27 - Royal British Legion
T28 - Wargames Foundry
T29 - Warlord Games
T30 - WW1 display by Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne
T31 - Pilum Painting
T32 - Gladius Game Arts
T33 - Essex Miniatures
T34 - Sphere Products
T35 - Wargame Solutions
T36 - PE2 Collectables
T37 - East Street Games
T38 - Engine Shed Toys

G1 - Gravesend Wargamers Club
G2 - Maidstone Wargames Society
G3 - Posties Rejects
G4 - Whitstable Wargames Club
G5 - Deal Wargames Club
G6 - Skirmish Group
G7 - Shepway Wargames Club
G8 - The Gamers Hub
G9 - Southend Wargames Club
G10 - Hornchurch Wargames Club
G11 - Friday Night FireFight Club
G12 - Gravesend Gamers Guild
G13 - South East Essex Milliatry Society
G14 - Medway wargames Society
G15 - East Grinsted Gamers
G16 - Rainham Wargames Club
CTK (Crush The Kaiser) Wargaming will also be providing a demonstration game using their WW1 rule set but are not part of the club competition.

Wednesday, 30 April 2014

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA  HA HA HA HA HA
. . . .
. . .
. .
.
. .
. . .
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Why do I put myself through this each year? Following the phone call I have just ended my wife has told me that I am not allowed to organise another Broadside. I think she found the fifteen minuets of dangerously hysterical laughter followed by another ten of sobbing too much to handle.

I now know why the ad did not go into the Miniature Wargames issue this month! After not receiving the call I was promised by young Alex, she who organises the advertising, I decided to chase her and see what was going on. Her phone was answered by another who was a little reserved once I explained the situation and passed me onto a higher manager. I explained to this third party all that had gone on (or hadn't) and she promised to get back to me too. I decided to call Henry Hyde himself, a passing acquaintance who loves Blood Bilge and Iron Balls BTW, and raise the issue with him.

It seems that lovely Alex did not raise the invoice for the ad despite her emails to me and so the ad was never passed along. Alex has also left her job and started another elsewhere so is unavailable for comment or summary execution. I know. This is the point at which the worrying laughter started.....I can still hear it you know, just there, on the edge of my senses...can you hear that?

Henry is now dealing with this personally and I have again sent him details and ads. I am sure things can be helped along via the web etc. In fact, Henry has just posted the ad onto the Wargames Illustrated facebook page. This will be a great help and go some way to filling the gap. Many thanks Henry! :) I knew I could rely on you! :)

Following this I have just confirmed that the ad in Wargames Illustrated is alive and well and in the shops today. Isn't that nice....I can still hear that laughing you know....its a sort of orange colour.....anyway. All I need to do now is fill one final stand and we are done-skie! Other than all of the other bits and bobs and stuff that still needs to be done of course.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Friday, 25 April 2014

Let down by Miniature Wargames


Bloody Miniature Wargames!

Organising a wargame show is bloody tricky at the best of times, always something to do or a metaphorical fire to put out. It is made all the bloody harder when 'Miniature Wargames Magazine' fails to publish the Broadside 2014 advert I placed!!!!!

This is not the first time we have been let down by the magazines and so I am extra careful to ensure everything happens in the right order at the right time. I even make a point of calling the relevant person to check things are okay. Imagine my disappointment of reading through the latest issue of Miniature Wargames...sent to me because I am running an ad, not because I subscribe, only to find a complete lack of sodding advert despite the promises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This sort of thing is deadly for an event such as Broadside, we are still only in our fourth year and so advertising is a major issue. I can only hope that the one in the other mag goes through now....although I will now call them too to make damn sure!

Can I call on all of you to do what you can in helping to spread the Broadside word? All you bloggers and club members, Facebook users etc. please pass on the news and help make sure that we do not loose a single visitor. Thank you in advance for the help.

Thursday, 17 April 2014

Maori Wars and why I hate me

A simple wargame discussion can get so out of hand. The shouting, the recriminations, the accusations, name calling...things thrown across the room; that once sacred boundary crossed......a relationship perhaps permanently destroyed. Some may consider it a tad disturbing that such unpleasantness occurred with me being the only person in the room. The Greek proverb, 'Know thyself' is all fair and well but what if it turns out that you are, in fact, a bit of a twat?

It all started with me thinking about wargames, as I often do in one form or another, and thinking about Donnybrook and Saga and Muskets and Tomahawks and Bolt Action and Wings of Glory WW1 and Hail Caesar and Black Powder and....well, you get the idea. The sad realisation dawned that I did indeed have a problem and one that affects so many of us wargamers....I am talking, of course, of OLABS or 'Oh Look, A Butterfly Syndrome'. Does the following sound a little familiar to you?

Mark: "Wow, Alan, your Marlburian French are coming along nicely. Many more to go"?
Alan: "Yeah, quite a few but I am really getting there now I ha.....oh cool, there are the new Donnybrook rules. I will go build a unit or two for them an......oh, hang on, I just need to go and buy some more Maoris...and some of these WW1 planes....and....."
Mark: "Oh for crying out loud...."
 
A Skaven Vermin Lord that I accidentally painted the other day. I have no idea.
 
I now have more projects underway than I have completed...ever. So, as terrible as the above row I had with me was, it did at least allow me to see a few things in a clearer light. I can now admit that I have a problem and that is the first step towards any form of recovery. After Salute I now have almost enough Empress Miniatures figures to complete my Maori Wars project; bar the odd command figure and perhaps four more Brits. The Wings of Glory stuff I picked up is actually self contained and needs no painting so will not affect much day to day so I can progress. My plan is simple and achievable, I will commit to running a Maori Wars game at a club meeting later this year.  
 
Here, in front of you all, I declare my intention to paint all of the figures I have and promise to run a Maori Wars game using Muskets & Tomahawks for several players on 
Tuesday 28th October 2014.

There. I have done it. I feel sort of ....odd, but actually very positive. I can do this. I shall use this blog to record my progress and my mental state....perhaps others will take comfort from my efforts.
 
A few figures completed previously, a few a quarter done...and a big box full of castings....deep breath....
 
So, what do I have to do in that time? Quite a bit. The Maori force consists of ten units of six warriors plus half a dozen chief/commanders. Six units are Braves with three officers, two are Blood Thirsty (increased attack but poorer shooting) plus an officer and two are Young Warriors with an officer. Then there is a force leader. This comes to some 618 points, or there abouts.
 
A few of the very nice Maori figures...notice how they are all looking at me in a funny way.....
 
The British force is made up of four units/sections of nine Imperial infantry plus three officers; forming a company. This is supported by two units of eight Provincial New Zealand troops with an officer and, last but by no means least, three units of five civilians/militia; settlers grouped together for safety during this uprising. This force comes to about 608 points, or there abouts.

This is quite a few 28mm figures to paint and no doubt other paint jobs may suddenly occur that need urgent attention but, I am confident. There, said it.

Thursday, 27 March 2014

3 months till Broadside 2014 and some great traders!!!

You would think, not unreasonably, that as you organise a yearly wargame show it would become easier year on year; almost look after itself in fact. You would think wrong.

Readers of this annoyingly sporadic blog will already know that the venue took away the smaller of the two halls and left us with a nightmare of reorganisation to deal with. We dealt with that and we think we have ended up with a better show having had to streamline and reinvent. In fact, we drew up a great hall plan that gave us a lot of options, found an interesting and unique (ish) way of presenting the games on offer and managed to fit in a bigger and better Bring & Buy than we ever thought possible.

We then had another call from the venue management team....something I have become to dread. There were two main points to the phone call, allegedly a 'good news, bad news' situation; their choice of words not mine.

 Good news? The work to alter the small hall into a huge gym has been postponed until July so you can have the hall back. This was not good news at all and they were a little put out when I explained why this was not actually good news. We will stick with the new plan thank you, it will have to change next year and I will not mess everyone around changing things back.....how stupid would that make us look?

Bad news? Due to a slight mix up (define slight) the main hall we use on the Sunday is actually booked until late at night on the Saturday. Usually, the club members meet up at the hall on the Saturday afternoon and set up the show, placing the tables etc. just where they need to be; it also allows some of the traders and clubs to set up early too. The venue staff, whilst generally attractive and pleasant in demeanour, tend to have IQ's somewhere between Courgettes and leaf mould and whilst they are supposed to set the hall up for us actually wander off, go home or get confused with any layout plan that isn't an empty room. I kid you not, one of these staff members cleared out a pile of rubbish from the store room to get access to the tables and dumped it into the very centre of the hall....then went home as it was 5pm leaving everything as it was. Oh how we laughed.

I have been assured that the venue staff will break down the equipment from the Saturday night event and set up ours for us. They are all working until 4am anyway so this should be fine as we have the hall from 8am. I was not convinced and said as much. We had planned to set up the new hall plan, label up each stand and game, chalk out the all important space allocation onto the floor around the strands (saves soooo many arguments between traders) on the Saturday night. We now have to get to the hall before 7am as the staff arrive, make sure the hall is not just set up correctly, chalk up the floor spaces and everything else that needs to be done from an extensive list.....all the time the traders and clubs will be waiting with various degrees of patients and trying to get in to set up ASAP.

Would you like some genuine good news, dear reader? The Flea Market style Bring and Buy now has its own room with plenty of space and disabled access, bring and buys at wargame shows are dying out quickly and it seem that we have one of the last! On top of that, take a look at the fantastic list of traders we have for you....and there are at least three more to come! I am particularly pleased with the number of manufacturers taking part both great and small.

  1. Col. Bills.com

  2. Early War Miniatures

  3. Shellhole Scenics

  4. Redoubt enterprises

  5. Brigade Models

  6. David Lanchester Books

  7. WARGAMESNKITS

  8. Realistic Modelling

  9. Monarch Millitary Books

  10. Polly Oliver Castings

  11. ToleHaven

  12. Lesley's Bits Box

  13. Wargames Foundry

  14. Cymbeline Games

  15. Fenris Games

  16. Tablescape

  17. Wargame Solutions

  18. Red Knight Wargames

  19. Armourfast

  20. Warlord Games

  21. Adler Miniatures

  22. Warmill

  23. Wargames Emporium

  24. Harfields Military Figures

  25. Andy's Models

  26. Pilum Painting

  27. Ainsty Castings

  28. Always Darkk

  29. Gladius Game Arts

  30. East Street Games

  31. Engine Shed Toys

  32. SHQ Miniatures

  33. 7th Heaven Games

  34. Essex Miniatures