FIRST IMPRESSIONS: 100 Years War halberds and banners adorn the cover with the catchy by-line "Knight vs Right".
EDITORIAL: This consists mostly of an apology for a mistake in Gary Mitchell's "Is the Wargames Show Dying" article from the last issue. Salute is NOT stopping being at Excel for the foreseeable future. Mr Mitchell's article set off a few alarm bells but here the rumour is finally put to rest.
MINIATURE REVIEWS: Lots of juicy bits on offer here. The picks here are the fleece terrain mats from Cigar Box Battles, a useful WW2 building in 1/72 from Valliant which enables you to remove the top part to create a rubble version, Afghan Wars in 28mm, MDF Lorries, Ninja Superheroes and much, much more.
MOVE, SHOOT, FIGHT: Rick Priestly talks about how most rules revolve around the sequence of play of move, shoot and fight. Departures from this sequence are very rare and he goes into explaining why.
BRENNUS AND THE CURSED GOLD: Did you know about the Celtic migrations to Ancient Greece? I didn't and this simple campaign is interesting as history and as a gaming challenge. The scenarios themselves are in text form, with only tiny maps and no OOBs but it gives you the basics.
IN A SILENT AND SECRET MANNER: A scenario for Black Powder's "Rebellion" supplement with all the OOBs, a map and background ideal for a club night game.
RIB RAIDER: I saw this game at Salute and it looked amazing. It's a Cold War skirmish game set on a Soviet Destroyer and you can't help but marvel at the almost entirely scratch built vessel. Fortunately, the scenario designers don't expect you to do the same and recommend that you can play it on a paper or card 2D ship.
THE BATTLE OF AULDEARN: Continuing Montrose's campaigns in Scotland, this is a longer scenario with lots of historical background and gaming information. If you liked the other instalment, you'll like this.
PLANTAGENET VERSUS VALOIS: The background to this issue's theme of Agincourt is more than just dry history; it suggests the kinds of battles you can re-fight in this era and across quite a large area of Europe using the same basic types of forces. History from a gaming perspective.
MUD, BLOOD AND STEEL: A pretty decent Agincourt scenario covered in 5 pages with maps, OOBs and ways you can vary the battle with some "what ifs".
AVENGING BRETONSIDE: Fancy something a bit different in the 100 Years War? Try this amphibious operation at Blackpool Sands. Size wise, this should suit Lion Rampant.
WARRIOR QUEEN OF KALMAR: Another bit of history I was hitherto unaware of…the English Queen of Demark, Sweden and Norway and how she rallied the troops at Copenhagen in 1428. Very off the beaten path but, again, good for Lion Rampant.
CHEVAUCHEE: Using these particular troops for, you guessed it, Lion Rampant (I must get a copy one day) with a scenario added and special rules.
WE HAPPY FEW: Painting techniques for padded aketons and suits of armour. Pssst, can't I just dip them in Army Painter instead? No? Very useful if you're quite a good painter…which I'm not.
ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH: What's out there figure wise for the 100 Years War. Mostly 28's with a couple of ranges in 15 and the ubiquitous Pendraken is there for the 10s.
THE RED HARLAW: The making of the cover vignette is based around a Scottish unit in the 100 Years War.
IT'S THE FIGURES, STUPID: Phil Dutre talks about a precious antique collection of toy soldiers and how our old figures in collections are still a thing of delight and practicality and we shouldn't be in a rush to change our armies to suit our rules. The rules come and go, the figures endure.
FACES OF WAR: Amazing paint jobs on offer here with hints and tips on painting 28mm style faces on 15mm figures. The results look fantastic but my old hands and eyes aren't up for the job methinks!
ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL: Painting and scratch building fences and walls. Yes, the zig zag snake fence made from matchsticks makes yet another appearance in a wargaming magazine.
LET'S PLAY FIGHTING SAIL: The newest Osprey wargaming title about fleet battles in the Napoleonic Wars. This article covers much the same ground as in the recent WI issue on the subject.
DESINGING FROSTGRAVE: There's a new set of Fantasy skirmish rules on their way and they seem to bear a passing resemblance to a venerable fantasy RPG. There's not much on the background to this game, rather an explanation as to how why decisions were made to make this game a D20 system and to have one die roll to determine hits and damage.
GAME REVIEWS: There's To Defy A King, Blucher and Bloody Big Battles here. I've tried the latter recently and can attest that it's pretty good (wears its Principles of War and WRG influences clearly on its sleeve).
WARGAMING DARWINISMS: The fallout from Gary Mitchell's piece on dying wargames shows continues with Richard Clarke's rebuttal about his views on them. He argues that shows are changing, evolving if you will instead of dying. Those that can make the change thrive, those stuck in the past die. I feel this story isn't going to go away yet.
BOOK REVIEWS: A couple of books on the ACW, Osprey's Panzer II vs 7TP (WW2's light featherweight championship fight) and the lost battlefields of Wales get reviews.
PARTING SHOTS: Another rebuttal to Gary Mitchell from the organisers of Campaign in Milton Keynes, How to bend resin walls, tips on stable terrain mats and dicing with Dai.
OVERALL: If you like Lion Rampant, this is a must-have issue. The theme was well covered this time, even if it did seem like one game was getting the Lion's share (pardon the pun) of attention. The supporting articles were also good and there's plenty of club night gaming possibilities on offer.
