If you think it's hot outside, the wargaming tabletop will be scorching this summer with a bevy of new miniature, wargame, and book releases coming to the On Military Matters shoppe in the next two to three weeks (unless otherwise noted).
WARGAMING…
Wally Simon's SECRETS OF WARGAME DESIGN: A Tabletop Toolkit of Ideas, Analysis, and Rule Mechanics Edited by Russ 'MagWeb' Lockwood. HMGS' Wally Simon helped shape miniatures wargaming through Potomac Wargamers Review – his monthly photocopied newsletter that analyzed the mechanics of wargame rules. First published in the 1970s, PWR ran monthly through August 2002, delving into the nuts and bolts of how rules worked – and how they did not. Published rules, home-grown rules, and even his own rules came under scrutiny as he created, destroyed, and tweaked rules mechanisms to try and 'produce a game which keeps all players continually busy and interested in what's going on.' SWD pulls a dozen of his best articles from the pages of PWR. Stuffed full of ideas, concepts, and rules mechanics covering wargaming action across all eras, they offer provocative wit, wisdom, and imagination to help you tweak an existing set of rules or create your own rules to make a better wargame. Wally Simon was one of the founders of HMGS, hosting the first meeting in his basement. A statistician by trade, he used his mathematical skills to analyze probabilities within wargame mechanics. Wally's Basement is named after him.
- ACW Telescoping Battlefield: Battleline Melee, Reaction Points, and the d6 Crowd
- Renaissancing The Rules: Support, Rally Zones, and River Crossings
- Revolutionary Morale: Reaction Levels, Cards, and AWI Battles
- The Parade Ground Indian Mutiny: Loyalty Quotients and Rally Points
- Pushing Panzers in WWII: Barbarossa Ho! Thunder From The Sky Artillery
- The Theory Of Melee: Routs, Rallies, and 'Rithmetic
- Card Movement Systems: Wild West Gunfights and British Colonials
- Ancient City Fight: Gridded Play, Reinforcements, and a Melee Template
- Ancient Country Fight: Nodes, Battle Boards, and Command Points
- Great Napoleonic Thoughts: National Characteristics and Quantitative Playability
- Big Picture Siege Game: A Variable Time Strategy Idea
- Sixth Sense For Sequences Of Play: Options, Consequences, and the Future
60 pgs. $19.00 USD (here next week)
STEEL TYPHOON Scenario book features 36 scenarios covering the biggest and most famous naval battles of WWII in the Pacific: Rabaul, Truk, the Marianas, Leyte, and Okinawa, plus hypothetical scenarios that challenge the players with historical alternatives. Designed specifically for the Command at Sea 4th edition rules. Includes three full-color countersheets with all the ships, aircraft and game markers. Boxed. Clash of Arms. $44.00 USD
AMATEURS TO ARMS Wargame of the War of 1812, Americans versus British/Canadians, that's playable in three hours or less. The game includes all of the theaters of battle including the U.S./Canadian border and the Great Lakes, the wilderness of the Northwest, the Atlantic Coast of the U.S., the civilized Indians of the South, and New Orleans. Components include: 22x34-inch period style map, deck of 150 full color cards, 352 5/8-inch full color counters, 30 wood expedition markers, multiple cardstock charts and player aids, twelve-page rulebook, designer notes and historical commentary book, and two ten-sided dice. $98.00 USD
VAE VICTUS Board Game #7: Cassino 44 – The Allies Assault the Gustav Line In the town of Cassino and around the monastery of Monte Cassino, ruined by the massive bombing of February, the Green Devils of 1. Fallschirmjager Division, supported by mountain troops, would contest the Allied attackers until the night of May 17 to 18. The game examines the bitter nature of the melee between Polish, English, and German paratroopers. In the Liri Valley, the Allies needed to create gaps to run Canadian and British tanks down the road to Rome. Packaged in cardboard sleeve format 21 x 29.7 x 0.5, containing: map sized 59 x 41 cm, 216 pieces and two-sided pre-cut markers, a booklet rules and scenarios, and two-color play aids. $36.00 USD
WORLD AT WAR 25: Keren 1941 – East Africa Battle of Keren between Italians and British Commonwealth forces. Includes one counter sheet (228 counters) and one map of the Keren area of Eritrea (each hex represents about 220 yards). $30.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 10%. New price: $27.00 USD
TURNING POINT SIMULATIONS #20: The Battle of Tours Wargame with 100 counters, Muslim units are activated by 'tribes,' as a collection of varied unit types that all happen to move together. Frankish units activate by type-all the heavy infantry, all the light infantry, all the cavalry. Players designate basic orders by selecting counters, then find out who obeys. $30.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 15%. New price: $25.50 USD
TURNING POINT SIMULATIONS #12: Joan of Arc's Victory 1429 AD Campaign of the siege and relief of Orleans, with one-month turns beginning in April 1429. French player must consolidate his polyglot army and its inspiring leader, while dealing with Joan's 'voices' via a random events table that leaves him feeling slightly out of control. Includes 200 counters, a full-color, mounted mapboard, and all the charts you will need to keep your focus on the Maid. $30.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 15%. New price: $25.50 USD
MINIATURES…
INDIAN WAR PARTY 28mm Metal Miniature Figures North Star 18th Century Indian war party with 1x Sachem (War Chief), 4x Warriors with Trade Rifles, 6x Warriors with Bows, 6x Warriors with Muskets, 6x Warriors with Muskets, and 23x plastic bases. This gives you a 200-point army for Muskets and Tomahawks. $49.00 USD
SAGADICE Each set contains eight of the same, faction specific, die. Unlike some other special dice, these Saga dice have symbols on each side (no 'pips').
- Anglo-Danes and Anglo-Saxons
- Norman and Bretons
- Viking and Jomsvikings
- Welsh
- Scots
$19.00 USD each set of eight.
ITALIAN INDEPENDENCE…
L'ESERCITO PIEMONTESE: Seconda Guerra Per L'Indipendenza 1849-1859 Part 1 Infantry Includes 32 full-color pages, with many b/w illustrations and maps. Italian text, but English captions to images. All color plates have full English translations. $49.00 USD
UNIV OF NEBRASKA DISCOUNTED BOOKS…
THE STATE AT WAR IN SOUTH ASIA Comprehensive look at 3,000+ years of military actions in South Asia. The author leads the reader thru a selective study of significant battles and campaigns. Includes b/w maps, tables, biblio, and index. 640 pgs. $65.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 40%. New price: $39.00 USD
ARMY AND EMPIRE: British Soldiers 1758-1775 Going beyond war experience, the author examines the British soldiers and their role on the American Frontier. Includes 30+ b/w illust, maps. $50.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 40%. New price: $30.00 USD
OSPREY…
163 SPARTAN WARRIOR 735-331 BC This is Sparta! $19.00 USD
ARCHIBALD WAVELL Bio. $19.00 USD
044 BONHOMME RICHARD vs SERAPIS: Flamborough Head 1779 $19.00 USD
129 WWII U.S. CAVALRY GROUPS: European Theater $19.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 15%. New price: $16.15 USD each
083 ME 262 Bomber and Reconnaissance Units $23.00 USD
108 P-38 Lightning Aces of the 82nd Fighter Group $23.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 15%. New price: $19.55 USD Each
481 THE SPANISH TERCIOS 1536-1704 $18.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 15%. New price: $15.30 USD
PANTHER – Germany's Quest for Combat Dominance $25.00 USD
HOME BEFORE THE LEAVES FALL: A New History of the German Invasion of 1914 $25.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 15%. New price: $21.25 USD Each
AMERICA'S SECRET MiG SQUADRON: The Red Eagles of Project Constant Peg $26.00 USD
TMP special offer: Save 15%. New price: $22.10 USD
AND DON'T FORGET THE MAGAZINES…
WARGAMES ILLUSTRATED: Issue #297 July 2012 Includes: PEIPER'S CHARGE: Battle of Bulge King Tigers and Fallschirmjager scenario; VICTOR'S CHARGE Battle of the Bulge FoW replay; CHARLIE'S LAST CHANCE: history and a battle report on the last Jacobite victory of the 1745-46 rebellion – the Battle of Falkirk; BOLT ACTION!: forthcoming WWII rules from Warlord Games and Osprey; WOLVES GUARDING THE FLOCK: Illyrian Revolt of 6-9 AD with a lot of great ideas for how to build an army of the Roman legions or the dissenting Illyrian tribes and their allies; WARGAMING IN THE CLASSROOM: ACW; WABASH-ING: Battle of Wabash, 1791, native Americans' greatest victory over the U.S. Army, history and scenario; PHOTOGRAPHING FIGURES: how to shoot in-focus photo of miniatures at play; RISE OF IMPERIAL JAPAN – THE BOSHIN WAR: Second article in our trilogy on The Rise of Imperial Japan, history behind the Boshin War 1868 – 1869 and a wargaming scenario for refighting one of the great battles of the war; PAINT SERIES: Part Four (Faces and Skin); and show recaps of Salute (U.K.) and AdeptiCon (U.S.). $8.50 USD
VAE VICTUS #105: June 2012 Includes wargame Battle of Nieuport 1600, a follow-up scenario of Paris vaut bien une messe (Vae Victis 50). The rules are derived from Musket & Pike (GMT Games). It includes a rules booklet of six pages, 108 counters, and one A3 map. $24.00 USD
TRADITION #262 July-August 2012 The Health Service of the Grand Army. Also: Hierarchy, Rank, and Position; The National Guard during the Revolution; Malta in 1798; The Eagles in Spain: Light Infantry; The Health Service of the British Army. French Text. $15.00 USD
SOLDATANI #93 May-June 2012 Grenadier 18th Royal Irish 1751 75mm Henry Azeglio, Battle of Sillery, Quebec 1760 54mm Maurizio Berson, Drapeau capture 54mm Ivo Preda, Settler Horse III AD, 75mm Franco Mocci, Ignis 1/7 David Caynes (senyac), Dance Pyrrhic 75mm Cristian Maffet, Final touches of Peter Ballarini, Wolfen Prowler 28mm Alessio Bernesco Lavore, Caledon, Fragments of History, The Last of the Mohicans and the historical reality of Massimo Predonzani. Italian Text. $14.00 USD
GLOIRE & EMPIRE #43: Napoleon in Russia 1812 – The Burning of Moscow The Burning of Moscow in 1812. The agony of the French to come so far, only to see the city burned and ruined as a place of refuge from General Winter. A look into the Russian motives for burning Moscow and other cities and towns. Also includes the preparations by the Russians in the city, the initial French arrival, what they found, and French hesitation at abandoning the city. French Text. $28.00 USD
PRETORIEN #23 The power of demographics is examined using a variety of historical analyses: Ramses vs. Sea Peoples, Sparta vs Macedonia, Crusaders vs Islam, and Swiss vs Hapsburg Empire. French text. $18.00 USD
GBM: Blindes & Material #101 All the tanks in the French Army 1914-1940. 100 profiles, 200 photos. Includes: 49e BCC: un grand cru retrouve redaction collective; Le 16e BCC, un destin d'Est en Est, juin 1940; Le canon de 80 mm de montagne modele 1878; Le 2e GRCA face a la Grossdeutschland; Une station TSF mobile et blindee, 1917-1919; L'automitrailleuse de decouverte Laffly-Vincennes, 1934-1945; Chars legers FT, de sacres numeros; Antichar: le canon de 25 leger modele 1937, le petit de Puteaux; and Dossier panoramique: les tracteurs d'escadrille 1912-1918. French text. $20.00 USD
MORE ON THE OMM WEBSITE…
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