An account of our recent activities; or, why I haven't posted in four months.

Sometimes, as we know, Real Life(tm) can interfere with our little hobbies. And blogging on the wargaming hobby is only another aspect of the hobby alongside painting, making scenery, and playing games. Since my last post in February on the DBA event, I have played a few games, including more DBA, Power Legion, as well as a few board games.

But we have also taken a road trip, and put up a privacy fence, which took us about six weeks to complete, thanks to my work schedule and that of my neighbor. Our garage became the storage facility for all of our building materials, and a lot of my free time was directed toward the fence project, planning the road trip, taking the road trip, and working lots of overtime. So it has been awhile since I've had time to put paint and brush to figures.

So this past week, I broke out some Blue Moon 18mm War of 1812 American infantry. I had already finished two battalions of these figures a few years ago, with the intention of fielding the forces of both sides for Queenston Heights and Chrysler's Farm. I have the Canadian Wargamers guide, "Rocket's Red Glare", and have only played the rules once, for an AWI scenario, Cowpens. I have about three, almost four battalions left to paint, before I can justify buying more. 

The War of 1812 is a small but significant conflict, especially for Canadians, and well within reach of modest figure collections. It also appeals to my American and Canadian heritage. This project also allows me to cannibalize some of the British figures I had collected for Napoleonic wargames back in the 90's, and I will also be able to use a lot of the same worm fences, plowed fields, and log cabin models as I use in my Civil War and AWI games.  I still have some ways to go, as I will need generals, artillery, militia, and a few cavalry and Indians. But I have other figure collections I can work on in until Christmas rolls around on the calendar.

One thing I have found that makes painting more enjoyable is listening to podcasts and YouTube videos. My current favorite is "Tabletop Minions" with "Atom Smasher" Tabletop Minions: "Why don't you just start?"

Indeed, why don't I just start?

DBA Day of Battle

Last Saturday, February 18th, some local members of De Bellis Antiquitatis Carolinas, a facebook group, gathered at my home to play DBA 3.0 for a few hours. I will have to write a special post in the near future to extol the many reasons why I love De Bellis Antiquitatis, but suffice to say it is one of my favorite wargames.

Beefier than 2.2, with a higher price tag to match. But worth every penny.

I was concerned after attending Siege of Augusta in January, and Historicon in 2015, that interest in DBA might have waned since the last time I had played in a tournament in Glendale CA; 2006, or 2007. Some of this may have to do with the split in the DBA community over the development of 3.0, but more likely it is that in the age of Flames of War, Saga, Bolt Action, etc., DBA does not have the flashy commercialism and exposure that the newer, more popular games do.

Charles runs my Republican Romans vs Robert with Charles' Carthos. Elephants are one of those special troop types that ancients wargaming offers.

 So I knew that if we were to continue to enjoy this great game, especially as I believe this edition is the best yet produced, we would have to organize our own game event, and invite as many people as we could. We hope to do this at least every 2-3 months, and generate interest in building armies and encouraging others to join in. I believe that DBA is one of those games that requires the players to spread the word and help it succeed.

So I began furiously assembling the materials to host a few games in my garage, in case no one else brought their own gear. Of the six of us who were there, four of us had our own armies, but I had plenty to share. What I did not have was more than one game mat, so I bought some felt, some elastomeric patching compound, and a few cans of spray paint. For the cost of about $25, I had enough to make one 2'x2' standard mat, one 3'x4' mat for a big battle scenario, plus a water way.

 

We met in agreeable weather in my garage, with six of us in attendance. Jason up from Columbia, SC, while Robert, Nicholas, and Sean came down from Charlotte, NC, and Charles from Fort Mill. We casually determined pairings, then set to with our first games. Sean was the only one who had never played before, so I made sure he was paired with Jason, who is a veteran DBA player. My first game was against Nicholas, as I had promised to pitch my Hittite empire army against his Mycenean Greeks. Charles and Robert faced off with my Polybian Romans vs Charles' newly-painted Carthaginians. Charles had been so jazzed about playing DBA again, that he painted his entire army in about a week!

My Hittites, trying to break out into the open plains to take on the Greeks beyond.

In the second round, I faced off with Robert, pulling out my Shang Chinese and Koryo Dynasty Korean. These are 2.0 list armies, and definitely the most exotic in my collection. For those who complain that 3.0 has made their 2.0 armies obsolete, the figures work just fine with 3.0. We simply used the figures on had, and had a great time.

In the third round, we moved into the high middle ages with Hundred Years War vs Medieval French, me against Sean. By this round, Robert was playing against Jason, using Jason's Arabs and Rajputs. Nicholas and Charles mirrored our game, also with HYW English vs. French.

The wide variety of armies used at the event showcased the different character of each army, and how these differences affect the tactics to use. Next time I will use my Parthians to test the rules for rear support for light horse.

The plan was to finish up the day with a final big battle game, 3 on 3, but we ran out of time, and it was raining and becoming uncomfortably cool. If I was hopeful that our event would generate sufficient interest to play this game on a regular basis, this was confirmed in the next week as facebook postings and messages among the attendees started to share their plans to buy the rule book, collect and paint armies, etc. Since interest seems to be focused on republican Rome and the Macedonian Empire, I may have to look into putting together a campaign map that would allow us to play a simple campaign at one of our future events.

Siege of Augusta 2017

Only last month, I attended the Siege of Augusta wargames convention for the very first time. This event ran from Friday evening to Sunday of MLK weekend. I had requested Friday off from work, and so I headed down to Augusta from Rock Hill, SC.

I went primarily to take part in the DBA 3.0 tournament, but also to support what is, to me at least, a local convention. Even with some traffic issues on the way, it only took about two hours. This was comparable to the distance between San Diego and Los Angeles, but without the headaches of driving in Los Angeles. Since I left in mid-afternoon, I made it to the venue by 5 or 6 pm.. This was enough time to wander around the hall, admire the tables, and talk to a few people.

One of the impressive tables for the Bolt Action event. I have so far resisted the lure of this game, but perhaps I can dip my toe in...just in time for the game to lose popularity.

As expected this convention was smaller than Historicon, and most of the action was in the central ballroom, with a Flames of War tournament on Saturday in one of the smaller rooms across the hall, and a Kings of War tournament in yet another room to the side. While waiting for my friends Charles and Robert to arrive from Charlotte, I wandered the main hall, taking pictures of the lovely tables, and chatting with a few of the players.

The local garrison of the FFL outpost guards a truck carrying the latest discovery from the forbidden tombs of the valley of the kings. A scenario for TSATF with hordes of undead taking their revenge.

One of the games I stopped to watch was a skirmish game between a husband-wife duo who were playing Warmachine/Hordes. As a sci-fi/fantasy game, it is not something I care to invest in, but I could admire the paint jobs and the enthusiasm they had for their game.

Another impressive setup for a game I would have no interest in collecting for (Malifaux?). But I sure can appreciate the work which went into this presentation.

I also took time to peruse the dealer displays along the walls, and considered where to spend my $5 in "Siege Bucks", a sort of refund and incentive to spend even more money at the con. The trouble is, I already had a lot of projects underway without adding more to the pile. While I understand that shopping is one of the main attractions at conventions, this can lead to overstuffed closets if you don't have a plan to use your purchases soon after you bring your loot home. So I passed on buying terrain items, or more figures, even some Gripping Beast plastics that I could see using for a second SAGA army. I ended up buying an un-punched copy of Avalon Hill's Tobruk for $15, or $10 out of pocket. Tobruk had been my first ever 'real' wargame back in 1978. $10 for a little nostalgia is not bad.

One of the handful of naval games at Siege: the littoral terrain made the game more interesting than the typical scenario on the high seas.

The DBA tournament took place on Saturday morning, at 9:00 am. Unfortunately, the start time had not been published ahead of time, and only three of us showed up! With the son of organizer Tom Thomas, we barely had enough to run a three-round tournament. I lost the first game against David Crenshaw with his HYW English vs my Carolingian Franks, 2-5 (which included the loss of my general). In the second round, I won against my buddy Charles' Spartan hoplite army, 5-2. In the third game, my army was clobbered by Tom Thomas Jr's Burgundian Ordonnance, 0-5.

While DBA is always fun, the poor turnout, and being located out in the lobby was a disappointment. The unpublished event time may have had much to do with it, but I didn't hear from anyone else at the con who came to play and missed it. Historicon in 2015 had 6 people involved in 15mm, and 8 in the 28mm event, but this is a far cry from the huge crowds reported to be at Historicon in the late 90's and early 2000's. Even way out in Los Angeles in those days, we'd have at least 20-25 people playing. It was exciting to meet other players outside your local circle, and see what people have painted, and what scenery they had made for the game.

The only other game I signed up for was a 40mm French and Indian game. I was on the French side, running regulars and Canadian militia, while my teammates ran French Marines and three units of natives. It was a beautiful game, with beautifully painted figures, and Bob Moon, the gentleman running the game, was well-prepared with player equipment, dice, and reference charts. I understand that he ran the same scenario two other times at the con using a different set of rules. From what I could tell, everyone had a good time, and the game ran very smoothly. For the price of admission to the con, I could enjoy a 'big game' without investment in all the scenery and figures. It also reminded me why I like to play on smaller tables. Since there were some 8-10 people involved, the table had to be big, maybe 8'x10' or so, but having to lean way over a wide table can be bad for the back.

Hey diddle diddle, right up the middle. But as the only regulars in the attacking force, I couldn't exactly skulk through the woods, could I?

The British regulars awaiting my regulars, ready to shoot them down. The upper floor was also manned by provincial infantry with muskets. Imagine if he had had one MG42 up there!

After this, I headed home, so I didn't get to play in any other games. I did however, get to catch up with Jerry F. and Kim A., a couple of acquaintances from Charlotte, and meet a new friend, Nick, who would come to our DBA game day in February. I plan to go again next year, and will probably stay through Sunday morning to get into one or two more games, or host one of my own. If I am ready to start another project, I may even buy a few things there. But more likely I will go just for the games and meeting new people.

Why "Minimalist Wargamer"?

When one considers the miniature wargaming hobby, the word 'minimalism' does not readily come to mind. Collecting rules, figures, and scenery, like any collecting, is antithetical to minimalism. Some wargamers may even tend to be packrats. Clearly, indiscriminate purchasing of figures which never get painted or rarely used is a commonly acknowledged problem. How often do wargamers share stories about their 'lead/plastic mountain', or joke about being immortal because they cannot die until they have painted their last figure?

Since I started miniatures wargaming with Avalon Hill's Napoleon's Battles in 1990, I have collected and painted figures in at least four different scales, in periods from ancient Mesopotamia to the Vietnam War, not to mention naval miniatures as well. I encountered so many different periods, rules, and projects, that the inevitable accumulation of hobby 'stuff' began to cause stress and frustration.

My personal observation has been that the excitement of a new set of rules, or a new army, is so easy to gratify with an impulse purchase. With the growth of the internet marketplace in the last 20 years, this compulsive buying is easier than ever. We  place our order for the materials, but what are we really buying? In all honesty, we are buying the expectation that we will finally have the right figures, finally have the holy grail of rules for our chosen period. But all too often we are then faced with the daunting task of painting all the little fellows, then collecting or crafting scenery, etc. This is not limited to our joyful hobby. The first world epidemic of excessive consumption is powered by the belief that the next purchase we make will finally make us happy, but it never does.

Some time around 2004, while I still lived in a 256 sq. ft. studio apartment, I began to critically evaluate my belongings, both miniature and non-miniature. All the 'stuff' was choking out the life that I wanted: free and uncluttered. I had been watching Peter Walsh, organizational expert on Clean Sweep talk about how our lives are often held captive between 'I might need this one day' clutter (unpainted figures and models) and 'memory clutter' (completed figures or collections that are no longer used). While it was easier to get rid of unpainted figures and unused scratch-building materials, it took longer to decide to give up on painted miniatures. After all, I put a lot of time into painting those little guys, not to mention the money I spent to acquire them! But around this same time, I was helping the widow of a dear departed friend sell off his painted and unpainted miniatures. The painted stuff sold, but not for nearly as much as I thought they'd fetch. And as for the unpainted lead, the effort to sell it was not worth what little I could get for it. So I ended up giving much of it away to close friends, and keeping some myself.

 In the last 3-4 years, I have sold off painted collections I don't use anymore, like the DBR condensed scale army I played with only once or twice, or the Warmaster Ancients army I played with only once before we moved on to Field of Glory. By the time my wife and I moved across country two years ago, I gave away about a third of my painted lead, as well as a substantial number of books. The end result is that I feel lighter and more focused, and able to enjoy other things in life, which I may share here as well. After some 26 years of miniature wargaming, I have come to know what types of games I like, and what new challenges I wish to pursue. I am intentionally limiting myself to keep from getting discouraged by too much painting and not enough gaming. Sharing my choices, and why, as well as showcasing the new things I am painting and games I am playing will be the focus of this blog.

My choices to simplify my wargaming life are not for everyone, and I salute those who bring visually outstanding games to entertain at conventions, or build their own man-caves with 12-foot tables and glass cabinets around the walls. If your things still bring value to your life, then keep on collecting! It is also clear though, that many miniatures gamers also suffer from excessive exuberance in following the latest fads or dream projects, only to decide later that it's all too much. Minimalism is merely a tool to helping me evaluate what I truly want out of this crazy hobby. 

The secret to wargaming happiness in my opinion is sharing fun games with cherished friends in good humor. I hope everyone can find value in what follows.

Hi,

I'm a long time wargamer located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. I enjoy most any kind of historical miniatures wargame. In this blog, I will chronicle my attempts to focus on only the most meaningful projects, get figure collections game-ready, and avoid the ever-present 'ooh shiny!' syndrome.

Thanks for visiting my blog!