Olde Weird: Whatever happened to cardboard?

Hi all,

I'm back once again pondering the olden days of gaming. Over the last week, I've had the opportunity to re-visit some of the older games (namely Epic Space Marine and 40K 2nd Ed), and I've realised something- where once we were surrounded by cardboard as players, now it's all gone away!

I'm not quite sure when it actually happened (I know it became part of the GW design ethos somewhere around 40K 3rd Ed) but it now seems to apply across ALL tabletop wargames. Nowhere anymore do you see wargear cards, magic item cards, power decks for casting, order counters and so on- it has all been replaced by dice. Yes, this does mean that the tabletop is less cluttered, and as a result moves towards being more immersing (a subject on which I am guaranteed to wax lyrical about at some point), which is a good thing.

But having gone back and replayed those old editions, I do miss the satisfaction that cards and counters bring. Revealing a well-timed wargear card or special item, slapping the card down on the table, gives the moment a certain gravitas and ceremony which is missing now. Plus, I like card games- what was wrong with the old magic "power/dispel" card system? It was fun, and isn't that what the game is all about?

From the point of view of Epic scale, the order counters are an amazing way of adding tension to a game and keeping both players active in each turn. Having units act based on their orders (given in secret before being revealed, so all your plans can be spoiled) rather than en-masse based on player turn, adds a lot to a game, and removes that "Tic-Tac-Toe" feel that has been plaguing wargames over the last 5 years.

So hark, all you games designers out there- take a look at cards and counters of yesteryear- just because there are things on the tabletop that aren't models, it's not necessarily bad. After all what's next, removing dice?

Comments, as always, are welcome.

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Olde Weirde- The Novels

 Hi all,

for this weeks delve into the murky past of our hobby, I'm going off on a slight tangent (yes, I know it's only the second post!) and I'm going to talk about the war game-inspired fiction of yesteryear. My inspiration- the fact that I'm currently reading "Angel Exterminatus", the latest in the Horus Heresy series from Black Library.

Now, this is a pretty good series of books. I especially like Graham McNeill's work (mainly because his books remind me of David Gemmell's Drenai novels). But there are books from years ago which evoke very fond memories for me. Krokidil Tears for example, based on the Dark Future games by Jack Yeovil (she also wrote Genevieve, which is again fantastic) Not great writing, but a fantastic daemon host-assassin story. If you get the chance, pick a copy up second hand.



But I'll stick to the main-stream: 40K and Fantasy. Top of the list on fiction inspired by/ written by GW has to be Rogue Trader and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (or, more accurately, the truly awesome Realm of Chaos pair of sourcebooks.) There are great touches in the background, like the REAL name of the 1st Legion Primarch (Lionel El'Ghonsen) and the name of the galactic rubbish-dump of the Galaxy (Birmingham.) These touches are missing from the books we get now, which are more concerned with Grimdark than they are originality, or Gods forbid comic relief.

I miss the glory days when Black Library was establishing itself- when we had Warhammer Monthly comics (bring back DwarfLords!) and Inferno. This was the first broad-scale exploration of the GW worlds, before they had become entrenched, and authors had freedom to write what they wanted. It made the whole game environment feel much more free and easy. Of course, the downside is that it gave us people like Dan Abnett (the Imperium should't have Railguns Dan) and returned writers like Bill King to us (surely Gotrek doesn't have a thumb left by now?), but I think that's a fair trade for fleshing out Space Wolves, Dark Angels, Vampires and Dwarves.

My favourite book from the old days? Ian Watson's "Space Marine". This was the first time Lysander of the Imperial Fists was presented to us, as an acolyte, then Scout, then Marine. Squats are in it. My personal high point- when a squad of Imperial Fist Scouts infiltrate an Imperator Titan, eat the brains of the crew, learn to control it and wreak havoc. Yes, the Ossmodula works in a novel (something that seems to have been forgotten about since.) This book provided the inspiration for my own Space Marine Chapter, and was the first book which really got me hooked into the background of the hobby (plus it starts with a great Necromunda style Hive description.)

The days of high fantasy in GW seem long gone (in all of their systems) and I think that's a pity. I now have to visit D&D for my dose of ridiculous swords and sorcery antics. In summation- Batman as Dark Knight is all well and good, but I can paint with Avengers playing in the background.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

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A Wargames Carole

Hi all, 

and yes, welcome to the first Christmas reference of 2012 on HoP- yes, only 44 days left to ask for all the shiny toys you want the Fat Man to deliver. Also, time for the first in a set of weekly articles on wargames past, and the history of this here hobby (thank to Auberoun for the inspiration). To kick off, here's a roughly accepted timeline:

5th Century BC. The Greeks start playing Petteia, before passing it on to the Romans. It is rumoured that they learned the game from the Egyptians (based on a game called "Senet"), however there is little historical evidence for this. For anyone wanting to try an approximation, check this out.



6th Century AD. We get Chess, out of India (yes, that's India, not China.)

1811. Leopold von Reisswitz and his son Georg, Prussian army officers, create "Kreigsspiel", an advanced wargame using specialist pieces, dice and a Gamesmaster.   In 1824 they present it to King Friedrich Wilhelm III (a refined version, heavily "playtested") and over the next 50 years it gains popularity- essentially, this is the Grandfather of modern Wargaming. It is currently available. 

1911. HG Wells publishes "Floor Games", a pre-cursor to his more famous "Little Wars." Traditionally, Wells is recognised as the father of wargaming. Anyone wanting to try his rules with their existing models feel free- it is a dice-less system. Instead, combat is resolved by shooting the models with rifles (yes, actual guns) like a toy-soldier Subbuteo. Hopefully, GW never employ this as a strategy to sell more models....

From here we get a few wargames, and the hobby starts to open up, as rules become available to the public rather than the military. Here's a few high points:

1957. Jack Scrubby founds Scrubby Miniatures (using cheap rubber moulds) and promotes affordable wargames through War Game Digest. This is the first time that enthusiasts (proto-hobbyists) get in touch with each other and start sharing ideas. 

1950's. Donald Featherstone. The man, the legend. Coming from a military wargaming background, Mr. Featherstone starts writing a series of books about wargaming. Combined with a flurry of companies making toy soldiers, this is really the birth of the Industry as we know it today.

1952. The start of Avalon Hill, who are almost single-handedly responsible for the birth of board-game wargaming.

The 1970's. The boom period for wargaming (yes, pre GW)- companies experiment with scale, subject matter (they venture into Fantasy and Sci-Fi) and style. This is coupled with the popularity of RPG's.

The 1980's. GW. Warhammer. 

2000+ Another boom? Again, we have lots of companies, lots of new ideas and mini-successes. The internet has replaced the magazines, and now hobbyists are even more connected. 

So that's where it all came from, for those that were wondering. I'll admit that this post is a little self indulgent (I love wargaming history, as well as historical wargaming). Over the next few weeks, I'll keep it more focused on the "modern era", and take a look at some of the gone but not forgotten games from the last 30 years (mainly GW, it should be said.) 

As an aside, the working title on my desktop for these articles is "Olde Weirde's Crapticus", to pay homage to a set of articles I miss from the past....

Comments, as always, are welcome.

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