Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy issue 77 mentions both chickens and Frenchmen in the same magazine, but that's where the relationship ends. Far from the stereotypical cheese-eating surrender monkeys, this issue shows both how tenaciously the French defended themselves in World War I, as well as how diverse wargaming can be within the covers of a single magazine.
The 22-page theme focuses on the French in the First World War and has scenarios for large and small battles in northern France, and in the Dardanelles. Besides that, there's a how-to on building, a French motor balloon lorry, a look at how the 15mm cover vignette was put together, and of course an overview of appropriate miniatures.
Outside the theme, we have a Bite-size Battle on Jemmingen (1568), modifying Lion Rampant to make it suitable for the 15th century, Warwick Kinrade's ideas for the Battlegroup system in North Africa, and scenarios for French paras in Indochina – no, not Dien Bien Phu – and Algeria. Sam Mustafa explains some of the linguistic challenges a games designer faces, and Gary Mitchell weighs in on the fate of U.K. wargames shows and how to ensure their survival. On the painting front, Andy Singleton shows how he built a 1:56 model of 'Fury', Paul Burkin extolls the virtues of 10mm figures, and Mark Latham talks the reader through the steps he took to find inspiration to paint again.
Finally, no WSS would be complete without miniatures, games and book reviews, Parting Shots, and the columns by Rick Priestley and Richard Clarke. The latter is an interesting (and coincidental!) addition to Mitchell's column, discussing what a good participation game requires. And the chickens? They figure twice actually. The first time they occur in Rick Priestley's column entitled 'Birds of a Feather'. No worries though. Instead of an excursion into poultry, it's more of a look at how essential playing games is to their design. The last time is in Parting Shots. Who would've thought that chicken miniatures make excellent morale markers…?
