13th November Games

Holidays, illness and work commitments reduced our numbers this week to myself, Dave K, Matt, Mark, Nigel and Steve S and we decided to re-run Dave's 'Last Night on Earth' zombie apocalypse game. Nigel and I ran the undead and the rest played characters whose task was to destroy the places where the zombies appeared from. We ran the game twice and the characters were able to destroy the 'nests' on both occasions, despite Nigel and I generating zombies at an alarming rate. Great fun all round, a good game that does require the character players to cooperate to survive.

The room we use was noticeably cooler than usual (keeps the zombies fresh I suppose); I've had a word with Scott and he's promised to put the heating for our next meeting.

Next week, I'm not sure if Andy P will be able to run either his Corespace or Dead Man's Hand games as originally planned for this week, so I'll bring Ludus Gladiatorus as backup.

See yer soon, Neil

6th November Games

Our numbers last night were increased by the welcome return of Dave K to the fold; he brought a zombie related board game 'Last Night on Earth' which involved survivors Andy P, Steve S, Eddie and Dave escaping from zombies run by Nigel and myself. Suffice to say that the survivors managed to fuel and start the truck in the middle of the table, albeit with a few tooth marks from the zombies. Paul and Steve H were trialling a new Dungeons and Dragons game, which was apparently fairly straightforward once they'd run through a few scenarios. Dave C popped in and spoke with Iveagh staff about the use of the other available room with a view to running an ACW naval game with his extensive collection of scratch built ships.

I've discussed the possibility of running Ludus Gladiatorius as a participation game for the show circuit with Steve H using the Italeri 54 mm figures I have in stock; this might take a while to bring to fruition but there is work to be done first....

Next week Andy P has offered either Dead Man's Hand or Corespace for our entertainment, and I've no doubt there are other plans afoot.

See yer soon,

Neil  

30th October Games

Greetings

We were reduced to myself, Andy P, Steve S, Eddie and Nigel for the bulk of the evening yesterday; Dave C visited to show and tell some of his scratch ACW ironclads. These are closer to the club  'purely representational' standard, but very well made and clearly identifiable as the originals. Dave has offered to run a game of his Portable Ironclads Gridded Wargame (think I got that right...) in the near future. Looking forward to that......

I ran a Ludis Gladiatorus game for those remaining; much blood covered the sands of the Iveaghan Amphitheatre before a lone survivor remained. I can reveal that it was not Maximus Decimus Merideus, but I can't  remember who it was. Will the hero not reveal himself? A quick game of Art of War (set in 16th century Japan) involving lots of dice rolls to gain control of provinces. Modesty does not prevent me from saying I won................

Next week, Andy has offered to run either Dead Man's Hand or Corespace next week. Any other offers? 

See yer soon,

Neil    

23rd October Games

Greetings

Gradually, more of the club membership are returning to the fold; Mark and Andy P attended this week, although Dave K hasn't been able to make it yet (best wishes to you and family Dave.) We played Andy's new edition of Zombiecide, which can safely be classed an non-survivor friendly. We were each tasked with collecting tokens representing 'pimp weapons' before exiting the table; whether the deck of zombie movement cards had just been shuffled to allow for high numbers appearing or that the new deck is more effective I'm not sure, but it seemed we had a zombie rush hour before long! The attached picture shows the situation towards the end of the game; two of the survivors had escaped with their weapons, one had been taken down by the zombies, and three of us (self included) were cut off mid table. The two other characters succumbed to the zombies; I was left lonely and VERY afraid, and decided to go down fighting - I actually maxed out the casualty count for my character, gained an additional skill and managed to hot foot it off board, albeit without pimp weapon. I think the zombies won.............

Next week, I'll bring Ludis Gladiatorus, while Paul and Steve H are looking at a new dungeon crawl game.  

See yer soon,

16th October Games

This was our first week at our new venue of the Iveagh Conservative Club in Southend (see bio for new club address).

Sorry not to see more of you last night, but given the volume of sickies involved I quite understand. Steve H, Matt and I were joined by Steve S and Dave C when I ran an Angels 20 scenario based on US Navy Wildcat fighters against Vichy French aircraft during the Torch landings in North Africa (based on a recent article in Flypast magazine). We ran the game twice in the evening, with honours mostly to the French at close of play.

Nothing fixed for next week as yet, but Steve, Matt and I are off to the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham for the RE Play show organised by the Milton Hundred Wargames Club. More details anon; if anyone is thinking of going let me know, and I'll supply details but a search for 'RE Play show' will probably give enough details.

See yer soon,

Neil   

4th September Games

We ran two games last night; Steve S put on a Terminator game at the request of Andy P for the bulk of those present, whilst I ran a pre-dreadnought naval game for Nigel using the DBA based De Bellis Navalis rules. I haven't used these for some time as different  systems have been under investigation, but as a starter set for the period allowing players to manoeuvre squadrons of warships they have merit. I'd made a few changes to the rules and cleaned up the layout so we could field my Italian and Austro-Hungarian fleets for the first time in a while. All ships are Navwar, as produced by the late and much lamented Tony Anderson.

So far as the game went, Humanity had a very thin time of the Terminator game (and need a different script writer) while Nigel and I steered our fleets in a vaguely professional fashion; there was a lot of action with the destroyer flotillas but the big guns had little influence on the game before time was called. I have a couple more ideas about damage inflicted on ships but these are for consideration only.

I won't be down next week, but I gather another Here's Negan campaign game is planned. I've booked a table for a Wings of Glory WW1 aerial game for the following week, so hopefully I'll see more of you then.

See yer soon,

Neil

28th August Games

Still down on numbers due to holidays etc., but we had three games to hand last night. Steve S, Eddie and Dave K played Fallout (SF post nuclear Armageddon type board game), Alan and Rob ran a Stargrave skirmish and I put on my Angels 20 game for Nigel and myself. This had been planned for a larger number of players around an encounter during the Allied invasion of Vichy French controlled Syria in 1941 using Curtiss P40 Tomahawks against Dewoitine 520s - based on an actual event.

I took the opportunity to let Nigel take a Dewoitine while I handled two P40's; the French fighter had the 'bounce' on the P40s, but had to survive after the first pass. I flew the P40s as a pair and tried to give Nigel the chance to manoeuvre his fighter and explain how to get into a firing position. As expected, numbers counted in the end and the Dewoitine was duly despatched, but there had been a lot of manouevring before hand. An enjoyable game overall, and I think Nigel has a better idea of the game mechanics now ; I'll keep this scenario in hand as a training game. 

Next week, I've arranged a predreadnought game, and there is a Terminator game booked for Andy P's benefit.

See yer soon,

Neil

21st August Games

The holiday season reduced attendance again last night, so my planned Angels 20 WW2 aerial game didn't go ahead. Andy P ran one of the Zombiecide variants for Eddie, Mark ,Nigel and Steve S; Andy's friend Rose (who has been visiting from the Philippines) graced our gathering with her presence and also took part. She is returning home shortly, and we hope her visit to the UK has been a pleasant one. I've attached a picture of the game early on when the various characters are hoping to avoid zombie contact; it was necessary to attain certain objectives along the way, but I don't think they were able to reach all of them.

I've offered to run Angels 20 next week with a scenario set in Vichy French-controlled Syria when a patrol of British Curtiss P40's were bounced by French Dewoitine 520's. They appear to be fairly closely matched aircraft and it should prove interesting. We've also booked a table for another game if numbers warrant this.

See yer soon,

Neil

14th August Games

Reduced numbers this Wednesday still allowed us to run two games; Alan and Rob set up a Star Wars: Legion game with Separatist forces against Republic clone troopers and Mandalorian forces, while Steve H ran a new game called Dungeon Karting for myself, Eddie, Mark and Nigel. As the name implies, players drive karts around a track strewn with hazards - there were a few errors in play due to a first time out, but great fun and the opportunity to do unto others before they do unto you is always enjoyable. Nigel and I have had a chat about some tweaks to Space Weirdos which I'll take a look at asap. 

Next week, Andy P has offered to run an (as yet unspecified) game, and I'll bring Angels 20 as backup.

See yer soon,

Neil  

7th August Games

We were down to two games this week; I ran a Wings of Glory WW1 aerial games for Steve H and Andy P, and Nigel umpired a Space Weirdos game for Steve S, Mark, Dave K and Eddie. Nigel was umpiring a four way skirmish with players not entirely familiar with the rules and therefore liable to 'creative' interpretation thereof. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and I think Nigel will be off the medication by next week with luck........

My game which I set in 1916, pitted two French Nieuport 11 scouts against two German Halberstadt DII scouts. I 'flew' the Nieuports while Andy and Steve took the Halberstadts. This was the first game I'd used the former and I found them to be very nippy and manoeuvrable but less durable than the German fighters. The end result was one aircraft each shot down (soz again Steve!), the remaining aircraft both damaged but mine carrying more damage and therefore heading for home. A good game with lots of manoeuvring, more to come.

Next week Steve H has offered to run a new fantasy car racing game he's just received, and I'll bring some backup for good measure.

See yer soon,

Neil     

31st July Games

Another unpleasantly warm evening at Wayland (not their fault, I hasten to add!) but we had two games up and running last night. Rob, Alan and Andy P were playing Star Wars: Legion with a Clone Wars vintage scenario. The clankers/droids took a hammering as usual, and I left Anakin Skywalker and Count Dooku going at it hammer and tongs - Anakin still had both arms at that point.

Steve S ran a Zombiecide derived Marvel game wherein certain of the Avengers and other assorted characters were infected by a 'zombie mosquito' and went forth to satisfy their need for blood and brains. They were opposed by various members of SHIELD, and other superhero types. I wasn't able to play due to the game limitations, but there are lots more photos and it was interesting to watch. 

Next week I'll run a WW1 aerial game, and Nigel has offered a Space Weirdos game as backup.

See yer soon,

Neil  

24th July Games

We had two games on the go last night; Rob, Alan and Andy P were playing Marvel Crisis Protocol, while Dave K ran a WW2 themed zombie game featuring British commandos storming a Nazi stronghold teeming with zombies and sundry monsters created by Josef Mengele - the mission for myself, Eddie, Mark, Steves H and S and Nigel was to recover secret plans and remove said Dr. Mengele from this life of turmoil and trouble. We used the same terrain as last week's dungeon crawl (thanks again to Wayland for the loan) and were able to complete the mission in time to return home for tea and medals. 

Next week, Steve S will run Marvel Zombies as our game of choice; I'll have a look for a backup game just in case. 

See yer soon,

Neil  

17th July Games

A very hot and sticky night at Wayland last night saw two games involving club members. Rob, Alan and Andy P played a further Marvel Crisis Protocol game, while Mark ran his ever -popular dungeon crawl for myself, Steves S & H, Eddie, Dave K and Nigel. This involved the usual levels of mayhem but we fell short of stopping the Lords of Evil disappearing to an alternate dimension.

Next week, Dave K will run a version of his Zombie apocalypse game. 

See yer soon,

Neil 

10th July Games

We were a bit thinner on the ground last night than usual (something to do with a football match, I believe) but there were enough of us for two games. Rob, Alan and Andy P were playing Marvel Crisis Protocol again, while I ran an Angels 20 WW2 aerial game for Steves S & H, Eddie, Mark, Nigel and myself; aircraft in use were Fw190's for the Luftwaffe (Steve S, Mark and Eddie) and Spitfire IX's for the RAF (Steve H, Nigel and myself). Lousy dice rolling by the RAF saw Steve shot down, Nigel blown from the skies by hits exceeding the armour value of his aircraft, and myself barely escaping with three 190's after me.

Thankfully we had better news from Germany, and England are through to the finals of Euro 2024; best wishes to the squad for Sunday (I'm sure Gareth and the team will be thrilled to know this........). Next week I've prevailed on Mark to Run his Dungeon Crawl game, and Steve S will bring a boardgame

See yer soon, 

Neil 

3rd July Games

A quiet evening for us last night (albeit not quite as peaceful elsewhere onsite!). Dave K, Nigel, Eddie, Steves S & H and I played a selection of games during the evening by way of a change from our usual multi-player affairs. Alan and Rob were playing Marvel Protocol in the main hall (Guardians of the Galaxy vs. Spiderverse if I understood correctly).

Next week, I've arranged to run an Angels 20 WW2 aerial game, not sure if anything else has been fixed. Any details would be welcomed.

See yer soon, 

Neil  

26th June Games

A fair turnout on a very hot and sticky evening; Rob, Andy P and a friend were playing Lost Souls again following last week's trial game, while I ran a Wings of Glory WW1 aerial game for Mark, Steves H & S, Eddie and Nigel. Having recently been reading up on the air combats in 1917 featuring more advanced aircraft, I gave the Steves and Mark two Albatross DIII fighters and an Albatross CIII two-seater reconnaissance aircraft tasked with a photo sortie over Allied lines, the fighters there to provide an escort. Eddie, Nigel and myself took three SPAD VII fighters to prevent this, possibly destroying the two-seater in the process. The ensuing fight went to the wire, with Nigel's SPAD catching fire and destroyed in the process, while Steve H's DIII fell to my guns (soz mate). The two-seater completed its mission, and escaped with some damage, having dished out some considerable damage in its own right; proof indeed that the two-seaters were formidable opponents in the own right by this time in the Great War. 

We've an evening of small scale games scheduled for next week by way of a change.

See yer soon, 

Neil     

19th June Games

We were down on numbers due to holidays and sickness (best wishes to Steve S) but we still ran two games last night. Alan, Rob and Andy P were playing a new fantasy game called Dark Souls which featured some very nice painting by Rob, while Dave K set up a Ruthless Old West gunfight game for myself, Mark, Steve H and Eddie. Steve and I ran a gang of bank robbers who eventually fought off the forces of law and order as played by Mark and Eddie, although not without casualties.

I’ve offered a Wings of Glory WW1 aerial game for next week, having recently read up on Bloody April 1917; this will bring in some later aircraft than the 1916 models we’ve been playing. Any news on other games would be appreciated.
 
See yer soon,
Neil    

12th June Games

A lower than expected turnout meant my Angels 20 game didn’t go ahead; this was more than compensated for by the chance to distribute the ACW and FPW collections of the late Jack Alexander. Jack was better known as the designer of Jacklex 20mm figures for many years (and the range continues in production under new management) but we were offered a great deal of figures, building and rules so long as the figures would be used. Most will need refurbishment but I’m sure we can deal with this. I’d offer Jack’s family our sympathy at their loss, together with our profound thanks for their generosity.
Game wise we saw Alan, Rob and Steve H settle to a Frostgrave game (Steve had a bit of a bad time I gather), while Andy P, Paul, Mark, Eddie, Dave K and myself played Zombiecide to a successful conclusion – no-one got bitten!

Next week, we have a distinctly Old West flavour to games, with Dead Man’s Hand and Dave K’s Western Gunfight rules.
 
See yer soon,
Neil

5th June Games

We were a bit spread out but busy last night; Dave K ran a further ‘Here’s Negan’ game for Steve S, Mark, Eddie, Andy P and Paul, Rob and Alan were engaged in a Frostgrave game, a welcome appearance by Mike and Steve B with a Warhammer 40K game, while, Nigel, Steve H and myself settled down to a further Space Weirdos game.

This involved three groups (terrorists, mercenaries and a SWAT team) attempting to gain control of an object resembling a sword in a stone (which of course was purely representational), which led to serious amounts of firefights, casualties and general mayhem associated with these simple but very entertaining rules. Steve came out on top in his first game.

Next week, I’ve offered to run an Angels 20 game, Dave K is running another ‘Here’s Negan’ game, and there is some further Frostgrave action.

A reminder that Matt, Steve H and I are running an ACW game at the Broadside show this Saturday at the Medway Park Sports Centre, Mill Road, Gillingham, Kent ME7 1HF. Hopefully we’ll see some of you on the day at this entertaining event.

 

See yer soon,

Neil

29th May Games

My thanks to Andy P for posting details of last week’s games in my absence. Mum’s doing better and thanks you for your kind thoughts.

There were sufficient of us to run Mark’s dungeon crawl – Alan and Rob were engaged in other games but I don’t have any details. Suffice to say that Eddie, Dave K, Nigel, Steve S and myself took on large numbers of assorted opponents, which ended in Eddie butchering a snake goddess with more arms and sharp cutting weapons than was decent. We used the Wayland dungeon setup.

 
Next week, Dave K is running another ‘Here’s Negan’ game from the Walking Dead series, and Nigel and I will try to run the Space Weirdos game we originally planned for last week.
 
See yer soon,
Neil

15th May Games

We were slightly down on numbers again last Wednesday; Rob, Alan and Andy P were playing Frostgrave with some nicely painted miniatures while I ran a Wings of Glory WW1 aerial combat game for Mark, Nigel and Steve S. I ran three Sopwith Triplanes myself (no mean feat I assure you!) whilst the others flew a mixture of Halberstadt DII and Albatross DII fighters. This was the first time we’d played the updated rules (supplied by Dave C, to whom thanks again) and the various aircraft were new to us all. I enjoyed the manoeuvrability of the Tripes, but in the end one succumbed to an explosion card while the other two both took engine damage and one was unable to manoeuvre due to rudder damage; suffice to say I conceded defeat with my customary (and much-practiced) grace...........

 
Next week, Nigel and I are planning another Space Wierdos SF skirmish game, and I understand t’others will be playing board games.
 
See yer soon,
Neil

8th May Games

There weren’t quite enough members in attendance last night to run the Wings of Glory WW1 aerial game I had planned this week in addition to Dave K’s Old West gunfight using the Ruthless rules, so I joined Mark, Andy, Eddie, Nigel and Steve S as part of two gangs trying to rob the same bank and make off with the proceeds. No major withdrawals were made during the game, but a number of members of both gangs ended up n Boot Hill; for a first game with the rules on my part I’m very impressed and they have potential for public games.

Rob ran another Star Wars: Shatterpoint game with a selection of galactic ne’er do wells in action; not sure who won, but I recognised a number of characters from the various Disney+ (tm) series. 

 

Next week, I’ll run the Wings of Glory game postponed from this week, and Steve S has booked a table for board gaming if required.

 

See yer soon,

Neil

1st May Games

We were unable to run Paul’s planned D&D game this week, so Steve H ran a Zombiecide game for myself, Dave K, Eddie, Nigel and Steve S. A slow start led to the body count rising (due to the sheer numbers of undead we had to ‘convert’ to dead!) and at close of play it was decided we’d done enough to live another day. Rob was playing Star Wars Shatterpoint with a new collection of figures; as something of a Star Wars geek, I was able to confirm that the bounty hunter Cade Bane, Close Captain Cody and assorted badmashes took on Anakin Skywalker (appearing before his career change from Jedi Knight to Sith Lord); Anakin appeared to be doing all right despite the disparity in numbers.

 

Next week Dave K has offered to run his ‘Ruthless’ Old West game – nicely painted figures, Dave. Having extended my collection of Wings of Glory WW1 aircraft through the good offices of Dave C, I’ll run another game with a view to trying some of the new types to hand.

 

See yer soon,

Neil

17th April Games

We had four different games running last Wednesday night; Rob and Alan were playing Marvel Crisis Protocol (details of the factions were vague, but I did note the God of Thunder in one part of the table), Andy P ran a Wild West version of Zombiecide for Mark, Eddie and Dave K, Steves S & H were playing Achtung Cthulhu!, while Nigel and I tried out a low level SF skirmish set called Space Weirdos.   
No specific reports on the first three games, other than they were enjoyed by all involved. Nigel had supplied the few figures and stat sheets required, we borrowed some SF buildings from Wayland and I brought a suitable mat from my collection. The rules are pretty simple once you have the sequence of actions clear in your mind, and the game was great ‘cinematic’ fun, with Nigel’s space barbarians attacking my armoured Marine types. Firepower (and a commander with a jet pack!) proved to be the key to success, and Nigel’s command was removed from the gene pool within a relatively short period. I can see a future for these rules once we have some further play tests.

 
Next week, Dave K is running a Dragon Rampant game using his Game of Thrones collection. I’ve been asked to run a Dark Ages Lion Rampant game. I’ll be in touch if I’m unable to attend due to personal health etc.
 
See yer soon,
Neil