No games to report on today but I did get a box in the post yesterday.
Upon opening it I was very happy to find the Spanish Army expansion for GMT’s Command and Colours Napoleonics. I had put an order in for it with GMT’s 500 reprint club, and had gotten a message from them recently saying my card had been charged, though they didn’t say for what (I have several 500 orders in and they charge credit cards once they reach 500 orders, hence, you know, the name 500 club, but I probably didn’t need to explain that to you, did I? Right, never mind, carry on).
Anyway, hurrah, says I, I’ve now got the whole CCN series, though as I’ve just finished putting the Prussian Expansion stickers on the blocks, I think I’ll take the Prussians out for a test drive first.
This morning, as I was about to take the packing box down the hall to the recycling bin, I said to myself, “Hello, this box is still rather heavy. Can they be using extra heavy packing peanuts?” I looked under the peanuts and found this.
If there’s one thing the nice folks at GMT could do better, it’s tell you exactly what’s shipping to you. Once I heard how good The Hunters was, and being fascinated by U-Boats since forever, I really wanted to have this game, and it was also shipped out to me. Super excited to get it. The components look very intriguing, even if there’s no map. I’m taking the rulebook off to bed with me now,
Nice find in the bottom Mike. A rule book in bed eh? You ole romantic!
ReplyDeleteFunny! This may be too much information, but usually the Missus has a crossword or a book, I have a book or a magazine, and there are 1-3 cats in various positions around us, so a set of rules is hardly going to spoli the mood. I do draw the line at taking my painting projects to bed.
DeleteGood gracious Michael - you almost threw it out? My Scottish heart is beating wildly at the very idea. Do you find that you have groups of people collecting near your dustbin, waiting for nightfall?
ReplyDeleteThe U-Boat game looks pretty good. My relationship with board wargames is tentative - I own a fair number, but very rarely play them - solo, I find the overhead of setting out the counters and tidying up is too high a price for admission. I enjoy games of Carcassonne with the family, though - I guess I find boardgames more of a social thing?
The C&CN boxes are excellent - I find there is too much focus on pre-digested set scenarios, but hey - I'm happy doing my own. I am waiting for the Napoleonic expansion sets for Generals & Leaders and the "Epic" sized game.
And where is the TYW/ECW game I keep hearing about?
And another thing, ....
Ha! My dear Foy, if you were to hang around my dustbins, you'd find a lot of meticulously washed cat food tins, barely read copies of our mediocre municipal paper, and precious little else of value.
DeleteBoardgames were always my first love. I have some 1970s and 80s era monster games, and this spring am hoping to play a four map, 1000+ counter game from that era, Wellington's Victory, to observe Waterloo 200. I wish my board gaming was social. Most of my friends avoid boardgames, though I do have a few I can talk into the odd one. I find miniatures gaming satisfies my desire to do smaller level games in periods that I find visually interesting, but I am not fanatic enough to tart yp the table to what you Brits call exhibition game standard.
I am curious to see where GMT goes after the Prussian box. Since I am a late blooming student of the period, I find the CCN scenarios very useful as primers of the major engagements of the period. In time I hope I can refight them using my 6mm collection of figures, once they are finished. All plans for an exciting dotage, I am sure.
Above us the games! I've just order CCN Spanish myself.
ReplyDeleteGood call - the original CCN game with its handful of Portugese units and Penninsula battles got me interested in the Spanish expansion, which was out of print at the time. I've been dipping into Charles Esdaille's excellent 2003 book The Penninsular War and he's got me quite interested in the subject now.
DeleteI've read Charles Esdaile's 'Napoleon's Wars', which, although I don't agree with the author on every point, I would still recommend very highly. Offering as it does information on wars that did not involve Napoleon and the French, I would value the thing for that alone, but it presents its thesis well and (very nearly!) persuasively.
DeleteI'd be interested in your views on The Peninsula War'.
Thanks Ion. I'll crack on and finish it. My sense thus far is that Esdaille is a revisionist who has little patience for the myth of the thin red line and British genius (e.g., the sainted Sir John Moore), etc, but he's no great fan of any side - they all come across as thuggish and rather incompetent. . From his accounts of the competing Spanish juntas, it's amazing that the Spanish did so well.
DeleteI have the old Avalon Hill Submarine! It was a great game in its day, not sure how it will compare with The Hunters
ReplyDeleteI always wanted that AH game. Back when I played a lot of computer games I was very fond of one called Silent Hunter where you got to sink Japanese ships. There was a computer game called Aces of the Deep which was also fun as I recall, but my computer at the time wasn't really up to it.
DeleteI will be getting the Spanish expansion at some point. Do you know if you need to get the expansions in order or will each stand alone alongside the core set?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Ian
Hi Ian:
DeleteAs long as you have the core set, you're good to go with whatever expansion you want. The expansion rules are all specific to the national units and terrain types introduced in each expansion set.
Both sounds intriguing will look forward to your thoughts on them once you have got a game in or two.
ReplyDeleteOf the two I suspect I'll try UBoat first, it just looks like too much fun!
DeleteSerendipity. Ain't it a blast, though?
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ReplyDeleteWhoa! That was a close call. Nice save!
ReplyDeleteI would have cried had I found out later I'd thrown it away. :)
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