Show Report; Attack, Devizes 2019

My ‘local’ club in Devizes held its annual show, ‘Attack’ this weekend. I felt it was quieter than usual, but the entry numbers were good and the car park filled nicely. Also the traders all seemed to be doing well. I think the most impressive game was a 15mm Stalingrad game (I forget who put the game on), the terrain was excellent. The strange thing about such games is that nothing seems to happen; I observed the game throughout the show, and could not see any meaningful progress, maybe this is historical. The competition gaming was going strong, but the FoW group was much reduced, whilst the Bolt Action crowd was bigger; is this a trend in the WW2 sphere? There was also an active Saga competition that friends said they greatly enjoyed.

I managed to catch-up with friends and do some shopping, but I was not inspired, so I spent very little: I bought the modern Seven Days to the River Rhine rules (Great Escape Games), plus a couple to carts (Col Bills) and box of early C18 French Infantry. I saw nothing on the Bring and Buy stall that took my fancy, which is unusual. My attendance is largely to help to set up and take down the tables etc., and my thanks (and those of the club) should be given to the organisers and club volunteers who put in so much effort. I look forward to next years show!

Boardgame session: 14 July 2019

Elaine and I have played, and enjoyed, a number of games of Western Legends. I was therefore very interested in how the game would play with more players, and this Sunday we got a chance to try it out.

Firstly there is no ‘Man in Black’ chasing you around the board doing almost random damage. I really like this mechanism to allow 2-player games, but it is not required in larger player counts. There is much more direct player interaction when the player count increases, but it takes time for new players to appreciate the need to attack others. In our group there is also a tendency to follow the Marshal points pathway, rather than the more uncertain Wanted path to glory. I kept to my character (Jessie James) profile and robbed as much as possible, but being the only Wanted player, I did get the attention of the Sheriff more than I would have liked. The Story Cards are more rapidly completed compared to the 2-player version. The increased player count does slow the game, and we found the short (15 point) game took roughly 2½ hours to complete. All the various location actions were utilised, and all players realised the value of the Cabaret in turning money in to Legendary Points near the end of the game. Chris (Bloody Knife) was the clear winner by managing to find 4 gold nuggets, depositing them successfully at the bank (together with some Fools Gold) and quickly spending the money on a blow-out at the Cabaret, thereby earning a large number of Legendary Points in quick time. Unfortunately neither Elaine (YB Rowdy) nor I could intervene to stop him due to our location on the far side of the board! Val (Billy the Kid) progressed steadily, mainly focussed on stealing cattle and being a skilled poker player! Chris clearly won, but the final scores for each other player were fairly close.

I hope all enjoyed playing the game, and I think they did, but it is difficult to judge when you are  playing, explaining and running a particular ‘new’ boardgame. I’m sure further plays will be faster now all are familiar with the concepts and options. I think both 2-player and multi-player versions are equally good, but do offer different experiences. For the multi-player game to work, players have to accept the need for their characters to interact and fight frequently. The fact there is no player elimination, and that wounds are a mere inconvenience, should encourage such behaviour.

Off the Painting Table (July 2019) part 2

The Western theme continues. I bought a box of 20 Wild West figures produced by Blue Moon whilst at the Partizan show a few months back. Any Western town needs a good smattering of civilians to add colour and break up play a little, so these figures will do nicely.

The figures are well produced and have a lot of character. The ‘soiled doves’ contrast nicely with the various shopkeepers and more prim townsmen and women.

I enjoy painting these small projects; they break up the ‘monotony’ of larger projects, such as my Han Chinese. I now feel re-energised to get back and complete those few pesky Chinese that have been awaiting my attention.

Off the Painting Table (July 2019)

Summer is here and my wargaming activity has declined; too many other things to do. My Han Chinese army lies in a near complete but dormant state. I have realised I need a few more units to enable me to field opposing armies, so an order needs to be placed. I will not texture the bases etc. until these fresh units are painted.

After returning from a break in France (based around Caen), I have painted the figures from the ‘Western Legends’ boardgame. I am pretty happy with the results photographed below:

My old camera, which was never very good, seems to have developed ‘issues’ since returning from France. The first photo has a streaking effect for an unknown reason, and the images are more blurred than usual. I think a new camera is becoming a necessity!

As an aside, whilst in Caen we discovered by accident a nice boardgame cafe/bar on the quayside called ‘Bar Newport’. They had a good range of games and charged no table fee. It was really pleasant to sit playing a few games over a beer or coffee and watch the world go by.

Later this month we have our local Devizes show; Attack. I will as usual be there helping out and will post a report on this blog. I always look forward to this show because it usually provides a kickstart to my wargaming mojo.