FIRST IMPRESSIONS: We're invading the New World this time. Cue "Conquistador" by Procol Harum, pretentious Terrence Malick films and the slow motion battle scene from "Royal Hunt of the Sun".
EDITORIAL: Guy introduces the theme and explains a little about the nature of portraying asymmetrical warfare in games, ie where one side is clearly more advanced or has a massive advantage over the other.
MINATURE REVIEWS: Mainly 28mm stuff, with the odd 20mm and 15mm bit in there and covering a wide variety of eras from WW2, Napoleonics, SYW, Kung fu fighters from North star and terrain from 4 Ground and Warbases. One point of information: There's a nice quartet of 36mm figures depicting Sam Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" but there's an error in the text…it's not Edmund O'Brien as Freddie Sykes who's depicted there, it's Warren Oates' Lyle Gorch (brother of Tector). Piiiiiikkkkkeeee!
IN PURSUIT OF THE POINT: Rick Priestley offers up his thoughts on pointed games and makes a good point about making a distinction between recognising what constitutes the rules of play and the scenarios when considering pointed battles.
THE GURU BEHIND GANESHA GAMES: An interview with Andrea Sfiligoi, the designer of Of Gods And Mortals and Fistful of Kung Fu.
PILLAGE THE VILLAGE: A bitesized battle which could work with SAGA or Valhalla where you have to ransack a village with your Vikings. No map, but a photo of the game board plus some special rules are included.
MOHNKE BUSINESS AT BERLIN ZOO: I've given up punning for Lent and so I brush aside the groaner of the title. Very late WW2 scenario where the last remnants of the German army have to fight the Soviets at Berlin Zoo. Maps, OOBs (suitable for a number of rules) and a list of 3 scenarios to choose from.
WEIRD VICTORIANA FOR DUMMIES: Rejecting the glossy printed Victorian Sci-Fi games IHMN and EotD, Richard Lloyd presents his own simple set of rules for the genre, which you can get from the WSS website. Some really nice photos of figures accompany this.
THE CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD: This is a historical article by Gary "the only person to have liked John Carter" Mitchell (I still haven't forgotten his review in an old MW) which gives you the background to the European conquest and settlement of the Americas. He breaks the whole period into 4 distinct phases, which is helpful if you're planning to game this era.
THE BATTLE OF XOCHIMILCO, 1571: Cortes v the Aztecs in a frenzied battle. Lots of historical background, stats for Pike and Shotte but sadly no OOBs or maps, although suggestions for setting up the game are given.
THE SKULKING PRACTICE OF WAR: Meanwhile, north of Mexico, the European settlers are having trouble with the natives of their own. You get a couple of scenarios for a 17th Century game of Sharp Practice, maps and simple OOBs.
IN SEARCH OF EL DORADO: Rules for a campaign game, depicting Hernando de Soto's expedition deep into Louisiana and Mississippi in the 1540s. The rules are fairly abstract and you use the rules set of your choice to resolve battles.
TLAXACALA THE AZTEC'S ENEMY: A painting guide for these Central Americans, including the famous "Jaguar Men" costumes.
A THATCHED AZTEC HOUSE: How to build one with foamcard and miliput. It's that simple.
THE HALLS OF MONTEZUMA: A review of what's out there to buy for the Conquistador era. Mostly 28mm, but with one 40mm, two 15mm but no 10 or 6mm on display here.
LA NOCHE TRISTE: A step by step guide of how to recreate the diorama depicted on the front cover. A regular feature of WSS that might be of use for those who like the modelling part of the hobby.
DO WE NEED MINIATURES TO PLAY MINIATURE WARGAMES: I've noticed a trend in WSS opinion pieces. You have Rick Priestley's usually measured and thoughtful piece early on, Richard Clarke's slightly more opinionated but still moderate piece at the end and a weirdigan out there piece by a guest contributor in the middle. So, in the past we've seen arguments for 10mm is the one true scale, why can't we all use just one set of rules for all periods and the uselessness of terrain so this time I approached this article thinking "miniature wargames without miniatures? That's board wargaming, old school Avalon Hill and hardly a new idea" but I was wrong: This is Sam Mustafa talking about gamers going off painting miniatures (surely not!) and opting for mini-lite games, as he calls it. Low on number of figures needed and possibly not just the preserve of the younger gamer. Then he suggests using cards for units, and miniature figures for status markers. Ah yes, Sam, but where's the visual impact in that?
PAINTING BIG ARMIES: I tell you, it's here, right in the next article, Sam! So you've gone and bought 1,000 figures for one war and you don't know where to begin painting them all. Never fear, Dr Phil…Hendry (nothing to do with Oprah) gives you advice how. Now, carefully prize open that can of Army Painter Quick Shade…
MAKING YOUR OWN DECIDUOUS TREES: How to get the most out of DIY model tree kits, basically.
FLAGS AND SHIELDS: How to jazz up printable battle standards for your armies. I remember an article a long, long time ago which recommended scrunching up a square piece of paper 30 times in order to "break down the fibrous qualities of paper" before painting. Thankfully, this article is a more straightforward affair which doesn't leave your battle flag looking like a piece of paper scrunched up 30 times (I still have that flag).
LET'S PLAY FI
L OF KUNG FU: A playtest of the new Osprey game book and it all looks hunky dory and fun. I might still stick to the great RPG "Hong Kong Action Movie" though.
GAME REVIEW: Reviews of the German Kugelhagel 19th century rules and Ronin.
THE GW GENERATION: Richard Clarke asks whether the Games Workshop system, which has been adapted and re-spun by other games designers, is really all that young gamers are looking for. He argues that it's fallacy to think they can't handle more complex or original rules systems. Also, the rise of smaller skirmish games is partly driven by younger gamers…probably a lot of truth in that apart from GW products, it's cheaper to skirmish game than collect a full army. From my own personal experience, I've had some success in showing 40K players 7TV and IABSM (the card driven turn is funky); neither rules are like 40K.
REVIEWS: A Polish boardgame about sabotaging V2 rockets, Osprey's Trojan War myths book, Black Powder Zulu and books on Napoleonic battle despatches and D-Day beach defences on offer.
OVERALL: I'm not really into the age of Conquistador's and colonial settlers in America so I appreciate the articles rather than be enthused but having said that, it's a bold choice of theme given that it's not trendy right now, or ever has been. A solid issue which, in the latter half, is really dominated by painting and modelling articles. I could have done with less of this and a bit more wargaming articles in their place.
