Victorian SF & the Yuletide Invasion

Bastet, in the form of our cat Vader, couldn't
resist nestling down amid all the
plastic foliage.

I’ve wanted to run a Victorian science fiction miniatures game for a while now, ever since John from the 54mm or Fight! blog generously sent me a box of 15mm painted and based miniatures. In the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing – and reflections on gaming and colonialism – I started developing a storyline in which I could fight battles between the various forces John sent, including French Foreign legionaries, African troops, some American Civil War zoaves, and a massive host of lizardmen. I pulled out my jungle terrain and Egyptian temple pieces, set them up on my three foot square green felt mat, carefully assembled and deployed my units, jotted stats on record sheets, prepped my dice and cards...only to realize the yuletide holidays were bearing down on me. Although I’ve done everything to set up the initial battle in a campaign, including developing an overarching storyline, playing will have to wait until after the holidays.

Reconnecting with Tunnels &Trolls

I’ve been busy lately more with wargames than roleplaying games – both core elements of the adventure gaming hobby (along with board games) – but I recently took a break from various wargaming projects and dove back into an old yet renewed game I’d enjoyed in my youth: Tunnels & Trolls. At first I didn’t get very far, just reviewed the rules and rolled up a character, but soon I was perusing different adventure books and couldn’t resist running a solitaire scenario. For a short while I basked in a comforting feeling from my earliest gaming days, sending my character wandering through programmed adventures, stumbling around traps, and either fighting my way to victory and fantastic treasures or failing that one saving roll and suffering a seemingly arbitrary and undeserving death. The experience proved a refreshing change from my current activities and one I intend to return to when I need a bit of contrast to my usual gaming scene.

Card-Driven Battle Games

I’ve recently enjoyed playing around with some wargames using cards for unit activation and actions. They’re new acquisitions with elements I thought I might like to explore, something different from board games and miniature wargames, though with plenty of similarities in different aspects. Manoevre from GMT Games (2008) covers early 19th century combat (the Napoleonic era), while Airfix Battles from Modiphius Entertainment (2016) offers an introductory wargame experience set in World War II. They loosely fall into the “board wargame” category, though enterprising hobbyists can craft their own conversions to a more visually impressive experience with miniatures and terrain. The central card mechanics work well in providing players limited choices maneuvering units on the field. As with any game, each has its own strengths and disadvantages; but on the whole each game provided a positive play experience.

Star Wars RPG Instant Adventures

I’m trying to jumpstart my work on a neglected system-neutral fantasy roleplaying setting and, in seeking inspiration to fuel some creative momentum, I’m looking at some of my favorite roleplaying game supplements for ideas and reviewing notes I’ve gleaned from others on relevant game design. My reading includes the Instant Adventures collection for West End Games’ D6 System Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Although filled with scenarios, its original design parameters offer some ideas on how I might approach developing and presenting my setting sourcebook – short, easily digestible sections with maps and sidebars to quickly orient readers – still useful 20 years later in our Internet Age of instant gratification and dwindling attention spans.

Considering Bloody Tarawa

 “I cannot tell you what profound respect I have for these Marines who took Tarawa, the living and the dead. I do not believe any Americans ever fought more bravely or so unselfishly.”

– Robert Sherrod, Time-Life photographer

A few weeks ago I reflected how our wargaming experience might have more depth when we consider it more than simply playing a game, but give thought at some point to the history behind the battle, the ramifications for people who, on the board, often look like cardboard chits and playing pieces. Although that piece focused on issues of colonialism in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, it also pertains to other issues, notably the human cost of war. I’m reading John Wukovits’ One Square Mile of Hell, an account of the battle for Tarawa in November, 1943, from its planning and training phases, through the ruthless fighting, and its aftermath with survivors and families. Coupled with my occasional visits to the National Museum of the Marine Corps and my enjoyment of Worthington Publishing’s solitaire Tarawa 1943 game, the book offered a vivid, painful reminder of the price we pay to wage war.

Gaming Artifacts: AD&D Deck of Encounters

I’m always on the lookout for interesting resources to inspire and enhance my solitaire roleplaying gaming. Most work just as well for group play, but some can form the basis for solo adventures when the gang just can’t coordinate schedules and you want to spend an afternoon immersed in an imaginary game world. Years ago I recall using the second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Deck of Encounters: Set One for a few weekend forays back into my favorite Basic/Expert D&D rules. I don’t recall much about the few play sessions other than they offered some satisfying entertainment and relief from stress at the time. Perusing the deck today I can see how they provide a range of adventure seeds one might develop into sole encounters or springboards for more involved adventures. It’s quite AD&D specific, but enterprising gamemasters can adapt most encounters to their favorite game setting or genre with a little work. Alas, it’s not cheap to acquire these days, especially when other resources exist today with a similar if not more effective inspirational impact.

Considering Wargaming & Troubled History

 “Time is the king of all men, he is their parent and their grave, and gives them what he will and not what they crave.”

– Pericles

Queen Elizabeth II figure
by King & Country

Last week’s missive on Osprey books’ wargaming notes – along with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II – reminded me how the legacy of colonialism shaped the supposedly modern world in which we live. It’s not easy, in our tribal mentality, to separate individuals from nations, a monarch from an entire government, to appreciate the good in one person despite living in an imperfect world. People have written carefully considered and respectful pieces on Elizabeth’s long reign and the service she rendered to her country and, arguably, the world, especially as it emerged into a post-colonial, more globally aware era. I’ve seen other pieces reminding us of her role as head of a nation troubled, like most countries, by turmoil and transgressions past and present. Most of this discourse reminds us (or makes us aware) of colonialism’s lingering ills. Those of us who study history in various capacities keep these in mind; for sensitive historical wargamers it presents a quandary. How can we play games based on historical events that reinforced the colonizers’ power and abuse of those they conquered? Is it all simply a game we can blissfully play for sheer enjoyment while ignoring the historical context, especially what that meant for the conquered? Should we abandon our satisfying pastime lest we perpetuate the very ills of colonialism people still denounce today? I fear there’s no “right” answer here (or at least no reasonable person would claim and enforce a “right” answer), but the issue’s worth exploring as our adventure gaming hobby pursuits occasionally intersect with real-world issues.