paints brigs for the British fleet.
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and here's a copy of your favorite wargames magazine to read in a Santa hat:
In this issue:
- Marcus Wheeler presents Snowfall – spy-fi ski action, a brilliant game recreating the off-piste action of famous 007 movies. Can your hero escape the pursuing baddies, complete with helicopters and snowbikes, or will he drift into trouble? Load your Walther PPK and find out!
- Jim Webster is always able to see the potential in overlooked historical episodes, and here he explores the Stono Slave Rebellion of 1739, an absolute corker of a game suitable for solo play or a club night. Can you lead the slaves to safety? Or will you be cut down by the marauding militia?
- If domination of the ancient Mediterranean is your thing, then Mike Haran's Peloponnesian War may well be your thing. A full game, including strategic, naval and land warfare options, accompanied by maps and gaming aids drawn by the Editor (who learned a lot about biremes, triremes, quinquremes and more in the process!), this could keep you busy for the entire Christmas break.
- Franz Ehart, our Austrian contributor who brought us the landmark Wiener Planspielregeln a while ago, returns with an opening piece on artillery entitled King of the battlefield. Franz intends to explore the battle-winning power of this arm further in future issues.
- Tony Harwood is full of terrain-making energy again, here describing how to go about making attractive haystacks for your agricultural settings.
- The Editor has plenty to say this month about Vaubanesque defenses. Cádiz for wargamers: a fistful of fortifications is a photographic overview of one of the most interesting parts of Cádiz in southern Spain, the Castillo de San Sebastián.
- We also have a show report, with John Treadaway and Brad Harmer-Barnes returning from SELWG 2015 with a host of pretty pictures.
Of course, we have our regular spots too:
- The Editor returns from his holidays full of the joys of tapas and pondering the preservation of battlefields in his Briefing; in his World Wide Wargaming, he remembers Larry Brom, celebrates Christmas with an excellent poem from Arthur Harman, honors two more 'Blogs of the Month', and gets excited about a forthcoming movie.
- Neil Shuck is talking about terrain again in Forward Observer, has something to say about shows, and realises that the 'cult of the new' isn't all it's cracked up to be.
- Diane Sutherland has been hacking up household objects again for her Wargames Widow column, and proves that miniature gardening can be fun.
- Fantasy Facts columnist John Treadaway scans the worlds of fantasy and sci-fi wargaming, this month looking at the forthcoming Dragon Rampant rules by Dan Mersey, a host of 1:100 sci-fi models from Brigade and GZG, and the latest in spy-fi inspiration from Crooked Dice.
- Boardgame specialist Brad Harmer uses his Hex Encounter column to take a look at what's on offer in the related world of card games for wargamers, with some pithy things to say about the best and worst.
- In his Send three and fourpence column, Conrad Kinch considers the psychological effects of terrain to be as important as the physical delay it might impose.
- Of course, we have our Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal – look out for an announcement of a unique eBay auction next week, delayed from last month – and our highly respected Recce section reviews all manner of books, rulesets, and other wargaming stuff.
- Finally, our competition this month features a prize worth an astonishing £240.00 GBP from E W Baylis & Sons – two of their beautiful boxers of collectible 42mm toy soldiers!
There will be a load of gaming aids and extras to download from our website this issue, so check out the "Goodies" section on miniaturewargames.co.uk.