Sunday 19 January 2014

Miniature wargames 369




Reading, reading,reading. Seems like all I'm doing lately is reading gaming mags, had quite a few to catch up on from before Christmas maybe I should just stop buying them but what else do you do sat on the loo or in the bath?
After the last MW I brought I didn't think I would buy another one but a glanced at this one in smiths and saw that the sci-fi was back so I gave it a go.
Now MW is the only wargames mag in the UK that doesn't have a theme each month so the chance of it having something of interest is high but then if the theme is your period then you've scored big. I'm not sure which still I prefer. Anyway on with the mag, first few pages covers news which unfortunately in this techno gizmo age isn't news any more, then we get a 3 page article on making huts from cardboard tube, I like these build your own terrain articles, haven't done any yet but one day.
Then YES!!! 4 pages of sci-fi releases. This is what I used to buy MW for I I'm glad it's back, their are so many small sci-fi figure makers out there to many to keep track of, so it's much better that some guy does it for me. You can google historical  because you know what to put but if I've never heard of it how can I find it? This section in my eyes has always been MW selling point and with the line between historical and fantasy gaming getting more blurred all the time MW needs to keep it up. I wouldn't be surprised if WSS and WI start to follow suit as well. Next a 3 page piece on a 7th century British battle with a nice pre battle add on game to enhance the coming battle clever .
then you get a Christmas themed skirmish game oddly  enough set in Napoleonic Spain or warhammer 40k , i don't think I've seen a wh40k article outside of white dwarf for 30 years. Then you get one of those get the author to explain his thinking about his rules' articles that all the wargames seem to love right now but at 8 pages i think this one was a bit to heavy.5pages of Boer war follow some history and a scenario, and same again but featuring mongols in the Caucasus,the Caucasus is one of my favourite areas for wargaming history, Khazar's, Georgians, mongols!, army group south etc. shame its only 3 pages but its part of a series so i'll keep an eye on this. 4 page interview with mr ground zero games(second bit of sci-fi, sweet!) is up next and then a filler in on the royal mails crazy outlook on paint this is really stupid on their part, i want some plastic soldier company spray but ill have to pay to have it couriered which is almost as much as the paint itself this must be hurting online games shops and doesn't really make much sense, i don't know how many paints leak in the post but i bet it isn't many. sort of interesting piece on varnish i probably like a lot of others thought gloss varnish was stronger than matt butt apparently not go figure. The rest of the magazine is made up of reviews. one thing that you cant say about MW is that they can be brought if they think something is bad they say so that's what you need from a review.
well i have to say after the disappointment of last time this edition is much improved more like the MW of old and not like battlegames, maybe they listened to me last time although a doubt it but still ill take the credit in my own head and if in case they are listen the contents page ? since you can see the contents page on MW's website i think it would be a good idea if it actually said what each article was about not just the title and author that means nothing to me what period is it, what kind of article is it  i think that is what a contents page should tell you. 
ps google's spell check doesn't know the word google someone at corporate needs to get on that.

 

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Wargames soldiers & strategy No69



Ahh WSS it's no secret that this is my favourite but does this month's offering measure up? Well let's see.
This months theme is the Cold War (not bad, my first historical wargamming was 1/300th modern tank battles back in the early nineties when Russia was still the enemy)  plenty of articles covering 21 pages which is not as heavy as WI is with its themes which depending on if you like the theme is a good/bad thing, even covers the rules available and admits that 1/300 exists in the figures ranges overview which WI does not(very often) the rest of the magazine had a medieval Scots vs English battle,2 pages. A piece on the long range desert group,3 pages. Some Napoleonic,5 pages. An ACW battle,3 pages plus 3 modelling articles and a bunch of columns and reviews . All in all a good magazine up to the usual standard my only complaints would be I don't know why they still review board games and they needed to have bunged in something for the ancients player

Thursday 9 January 2014

Wargames illustrated 314


http://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0/all_images/WargamesIllustrated/ArticlePics/WI314/Cover.jpg


Thought I had a reason I wanted to buy this so got it without looking inside whoops!
The main theme is Spanish war of succession, if you like horse and musket or London fashion week then you'll love this, me I like camo or chainmail so the 34 pages in 4 articles on this was a bit of a bust and to finish you off they throw in 6 more pages of ACW officer uniforms( doesn't that belong in an osprey?) .Still we get an introduction to fow latest desperate measures 4 pages just an extended advert really shame. They give you the rules to skyraiders in tour of duty( give me a b52 strike danger close , game over) 6 pages on Gettysburg (again) to keep the yanks happy, then you get an article on 18th century Belgium robbers ( actually a bit interesting) and a piece on the start to Jutland, World War One navel. There are also 3 articles just kind of like columns or blog posts sort of about wargames but not about actual games of war if you see what I mean. So all in all about a usual effort from WI. Outside of the main theme not much background history or fluff as the sci-if gamers call it and you  couldn't really say it had something for everyone .