So continuing with the gaming theme.... this really was the best Salute (for
me) in some years.. I easily took 3 times more photo's this year than I
did last year..
Zzap the Zzep
"Come and have a go at downing a WW1 Zeppelin! A rolling participation game to shoot down a 1/72nd Zeppelin, using CTK's new Kaisers Aces WW1 air rules".
Huge Zeppelin got my attention - this was a participation game - players took the role of the pilots trying to blow it up... I'll forgive them the hexes as they know not what they do.... 😏
The Zeppelin material was a slightly rough surface so when hits were scored cotton wall explosion markers could be stuck direct to it... very effective...
Agincourt 1415
"Fought near modern day Agincourt in Northern France, this game is based on the famous English/French “St. Crispin's Day” clash (Field of Glory rules) - put on by www.ancient-modern.co.uk"
There were two Agincourt games, but I thought this was the nicer of the two... presented in 15mm... I liked the backdrop behind the French (on the right)
The Battle of Luetzen 1632
The last of the non-top 3 games, was this lovely effort...
"Full scale representation of Gustavus Adolpus's last battle against Wallenstein. Open to participation – quick play rules – can you alter the course of history? Will Gustavus survive?"
Presented by www.captaingeneral.co.uk
For a participation game I thought this was extraordinary.. a huge table, lots of lovely figures, only slightly let down by the mis-matched base cloth(s); on terrain boards this would have been stunning..
Fur, but not too much of it.. (there are probably specialist web sites for that...
)
It was those windmills that first got my attention... but then it was the blocks of pike and shot....
Nice game... but... on to the top 3!
Third - The Battle of Guildford Courthouse, 15th March 1781
"Recreation of this well known battle at a 1:10 representation, using Black Powder Rules, and organised by the author of the “Rebellion” supplement for Black Powder".
Presented by the Newark Irregulars, and a fellow (but far more talented) blogger Steve of the PaintingShed
Plenty to see and all of it very good looking, and it's one on my main periods of interest so it was always going to be a shoe-in...
Lovely - also a nice bunch of fellers happy to stop and have a chat...
Good effort - I've heard the game won the "Best Painting (Bill Brewer Memorial Prize)" award.... very well deserved..
2nd - Plastic Soldier Company / Battlegroup Blitzkrieg
Plastic Soldier Company had released their latest iteration of the Battlegroup Blitzkrieg rules at Salute, and this game ("End of the Line, Dunkirk, 1940") was put on to demonstrate them...
The set covers the Blitzkrieg in France and Poland so, not surprisingly, what got my attention after the stunning scenery, was the plethora of early war armour - always a favourite of mine... give me Pz 38T's and Pz II's over Panther's and Tiger's any day....!
..words almost fail me as to how good the terrain was on this table...
...and all the little details.... ooh look.... 38T's.. must be France then...
British early war Cruiser's march out to take the 38T's on.. only a matter of time until the Stuka's turn up.
..simply superb.... in any other show that would have been my no.1 no contest, but then I saw this...
1st - Fort George Summer 1779
Presented by the Essex Gamesters mainly from the collection of a chap called Ron Ringrose, this game was based on the Penobscot Expedition of 1779 [clicky] during the American War of Independence
...words just escape me as to how good this was.... and before anyone comes up with the "yeah, but it's not really a game is it?" comment - yes it is... the game had been played to completion a couple of times...
..all in 25/28mm... the ships were from various sources including French flea markets, and an internet market trader in Singapore....
...such a level of detail.... Ron is clearly single minded....!
Assault on Nautilus Island, site of a British battery, by American marines under one Paul Revere..
Simply stunning... well done guys... I did hear that they had won the Best Game Scenery award and how justified is that...
...and that's it for another year....
Stay tuned... got a post lined up for the 2015 John Corrigan Memorial game, which DG and I managed to fit in on the Friday evening before Salute.
Zzap the Zzep
"Come and have a go at downing a WW1 Zeppelin! A rolling participation game to shoot down a 1/72nd Zeppelin, using CTK's new Kaisers Aces WW1 air rules".
Huge Zeppelin got my attention - this was a participation game - players took the role of the pilots trying to blow it up... I'll forgive them the hexes as they know not what they do.... 😏
The Zeppelin material was a slightly rough surface so when hits were scored cotton wall explosion markers could be stuck direct to it... very effective...
Agincourt 1415
"Fought near modern day Agincourt in Northern France, this game is based on the famous English/French “St. Crispin's Day” clash (Field of Glory rules) - put on by www.ancient-modern.co.uk"
There were two Agincourt games, but I thought this was the nicer of the two... presented in 15mm... I liked the backdrop behind the French (on the right)
The Battle of Luetzen 1632
The last of the non-top 3 games, was this lovely effort...
"Full scale representation of Gustavus Adolpus's last battle against Wallenstein. Open to participation – quick play rules – can you alter the course of history? Will Gustavus survive?"
Presented by www.captaingeneral.co.uk
For a participation game I thought this was extraordinary.. a huge table, lots of lovely figures, only slightly let down by the mis-matched base cloth(s); on terrain boards this would have been stunning..
Fur, but not too much of it.. (there are probably specialist web sites for that...
)
It was those windmills that first got my attention... but then it was the blocks of pike and shot....
Nice game... but... on to the top 3!
Third - The Battle of Guildford Courthouse, 15th March 1781
"Recreation of this well known battle at a 1:10 representation, using Black Powder Rules, and organised by the author of the “Rebellion” supplement for Black Powder".
Presented by the Newark Irregulars, and a fellow (but far more talented) blogger Steve of the PaintingShed
Plenty to see and all of it very good looking, and it's one on my main periods of interest so it was always going to be a shoe-in...
Lovely - also a nice bunch of fellers happy to stop and have a chat...
Good effort - I've heard the game won the "Best Painting (Bill Brewer Memorial Prize)" award.... very well deserved..
2nd - Plastic Soldier Company / Battlegroup Blitzkrieg
Plastic Soldier Company had released their latest iteration of the Battlegroup Blitzkrieg rules at Salute, and this game ("End of the Line, Dunkirk, 1940") was put on to demonstrate them...
The set covers the Blitzkrieg in France and Poland so, not surprisingly, what got my attention after the stunning scenery, was the plethora of early war armour - always a favourite of mine... give me Pz 38T's and Pz II's over Panther's and Tiger's any day....!
..words almost fail me as to how good the terrain was on this table...
...and all the little details.... ooh look.... 38T's.. must be France then...
British early war Cruiser's march out to take the 38T's on.. only a matter of time until the Stuka's turn up.
..simply superb.... in any other show that would have been my no.1 no contest, but then I saw this...
1st - Fort George Summer 1779
Presented by the Essex Gamesters mainly from the collection of a chap called Ron Ringrose, this game was based on the Penobscot Expedition of 1779 [clicky] during the American War of Independence
...words just escape me as to how good this was.... and before anyone comes up with the "yeah, but it's not really a game is it?" comment - yes it is... the game had been played to completion a couple of times...
..all in 25/28mm... the ships were from various sources including French flea markets, and an internet market trader in Singapore....
...such a level of detail.... Ron is clearly single minded....!
Assault on Nautilus Island, site of a British battery, by American marines under one Paul Revere..
Simply stunning... well done guys... I did hear that they had won the Best Game Scenery award and how justified is that...
...and that's it for another year....
Stay tuned... got a post lined up for the 2015 John Corrigan Memorial game, which DG and I managed to fit in on the Friday evening before Salute.
Many great looking games! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan
DeletePhenomenal collection of pictures - thanks very much for posting these - inspiration for those of us who couldn't go!
ReplyDeleteThe top 3 were mouth watering... quite the best games I've seen at a show in some time... easily as good as that huge Blenheim game of a few years ago which is kind of my bench mark now...
DeletePirates with actual RIGGING! simply marvelous! thank you for the share
ReplyDeleteMurdocK - not pirates, but definitely rigging... :o)
DeleteJust want to echo the thanks above for your great photos and making the effort to report so well - cheers
ReplyDeleteChris G
Cheers Chris - appreciated...
DeleteGreat pics, Steve. The Fort George game was amazing, although I couldn't work out what some of the figures were actually doing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Giles - I'd have guessed that would be one of your favourites..
DeletePS. I like games with little scenes where you don't quite know what's going on ... practically every AWI game I've played, if there's a river, then I deploy my two rangers in a canoe... for no good reason whatsoever... other than I like the model... :o)