Sunday 5 January 2020

Charge! Or how to play Wargames (Part 1)

Hi!
Charge! Or, how to play wargames was the first book on Wargames I ever encountered. It was in my local library in the mid '60's. Yet while that fired my imagination I never played a wargame for over 10 years. Not until I was in Colchester stationed at Hyderabad barracks, now demolished, with the 3rd battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. In the garrison church behind the barracks the Colchester Wargames Club held their meetings. Luckily, I saw the poster and went along.
As I recall I only attended 2 sessions. These were a Napoleonic and a Renaissance game. I can't recall why I didn't go back but it was probably duty, beer or girls. Or all 3!

Roll on a few years and I'd moved to London and I bought my first two secondhand armies from a magazine advertisement. One Roman and the other Greek.









Yes. Good old MiniFigs. Where would we be without them.
These I recently sold. I never used them enough in my opinion.
Living in London at the time It was a blessing to be able to go down the Victoria to buy figures in the MiniFigs/Skytrex shop. 
But it wasn't Greek or Romans. I had read 'The Ancient WarGame' by Charles Grant. 



It was Persians! Persians, Persians and more Persians! Just about the whole list for the Later Achaemenids as prescribed in 'THE tome', WRG army list 1977 for use with rules 3000 B.C. - 1250 A.D. in 25 mm goodness.
Yes, I know. I should have gone for the Early Achaemenids. A better fighting machine with better troops. But. Ah! well!
There were some Greeks hoplites to for the Persian subjects which my youngest brother purloined on a visit. I haven't let him in the house since!
I needed opponents so then came Alexandrian Macedonian, another MiniFigs army in 25 mm. The trouble is they usually beat the Achaemenids.
Then I moved to Milton Keynes, where eventually, I met up with the Milton Keynes Wargames Club. A genial bunch but it was mostly WW2 at that time. So I decided to go solo.

TBC

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