UPDATED 18/06/2015 at 1215
The current session list is as follows. I will be putting together the programme and timetable over the weekend.
The current session list is as follows. I will be putting together the programme and timetable over the weekend.
Tim Gow & WD Display Team North
DON’T LOOK NOW! The 2015 Plenary Game:
Players represent the first line of defence against the
WarPact hordes. The appearance of this
game may not be entirely unrelated to the Conference Organiser having recently
acquired most of a 1980s-vintage Miltra British Army Recognition Kit Mk III.
WD Display Team North
COASTAL COMMAND
Ensure Britain's survival by keeping its vital sea lanes
open in a short participation game for up to six players about something which
is long winded and where not much happens on most sorties…
WD Display Team (North)’s game for the 2015 season is
sponsored by Tumbling Dice who kindly provided the 1:600 scale aircraft.
Tim Gow et al
LITTLE COLD WARS
An outdoor toy soldier game – much developed since
COW2014. Featuring toys in 54mm and at
least two other scales, matchstick firing cannon and daft hats.
John Bassett
EAST IS EAST
A crisis management game set in Singapore and looking at a
forgotten episode of Imperial history.
Will you end up enjoying gin slings with the Governor's daughter or be
remembered with scorn and contempt across the East?
Bob Cordery
KRIEGSSPIEL 1914
Professor Phil Sabin’s ‘Campaign in Two Hours’ kriegsspiel
of the opening moves of the 1914 campaign on the Western Front has been played
at Windsor Castle and King’s College, London. Now you will have the opportunity
to try out this deceptively simple-looking wargame. The session will take 1.5
to 2 hours, and will need three teams: An Allied Team of two/three players, a
German Team of two/three players, and an Umpire Team of three (two liaison
Umpires and the Master Map Umpire).
John Curry
Paddy Griffith, his Rise and Fall
A frank 1 hour lecture on one of the most important wargamers
of his generation.
Colin Maby
Gangsters, or it's only business really
A card driven game set in probation era America which sees
the players each taking the role of an up an coming gangster who’s aim is to
end up having more money than anyone else, which also usually means controlling
most of the crime in the notional city. Along the way this is likely to lead to
brushes with other gangs and the law and possibly some difficult choices of who
they annoy. The game uses areas with representative buildings for different
parts of the city and 28mm miniatures to represent characters but is not a
traditional skirmish game.
Ian Drury
1777: YEAR OF THE
HANGMAN
A map-based multi-player strategic game of the 1777 campaign
in North America, arguably the last chance the British had to regain control of
the American colonies. Roles include louche aristocrat Lord Howe, ‘Gentleman
Johnny’ Burgoyne, the notorious Benedict Arnold and, of course, George
Washington.
John Curry
The Return of the Bear
A game based on a large map and giant counters. The system
is the type of game that some countries might play to explore a hypothetical
Russia threat to some Eastern European Country.
Feedback will be actively sought on the game model.
John Armatys and
Martin Rapier
Mini-Jutland
A derivative of a WW2 naval derivative (found on the AWM
Yahoo Group) of Neil Thomas’s One Hour Wargame. A simple and fun game for up to
four players with dramatically scaled down fleets…
Jim Roche
WATERLOO REVISITED –
ABBA 200 YEARS ON
The now traditional Saturday night singalong session!
Jim Roche
Osprey Trench Poker
To mark the continuing anniversary of the Great War, may I
introduce Trench Poker, an unoriginal game based on the colour plates from old
Osprey books. "I have a full house of three German officers and a pair of
Highland pipers...I think he's bluffing; a Straight Flush of five different
French ranks indeed!"
For up to four players at five minutes per hand (coins only
for bets)
Tom Mouat
Daughter of the Skies
The date is 1947 – Jean Batten, famous female aviator and
holder of the record for the London to Auckland solo flight is trying to beat
her own record. She has, however, gone missing in a storm over the Pacific! Her
wealthy fiancée is desperate to find her! This is a single-session role playing
game with up to 8 players using modified “Footfall” rules featuring a
Consolidated PBY Catalina, a rich heir, his bodyguard, a society photographer,
the aviator’s closest friends and a rather dodgy Flying Company…
Tom Mouat
Kazhdyy Gorod
Welcome to the city of Kazhdyy Gorod in early July 2015,
with a population of about 250,000, in the former Soviet Republic of Belaria.
In Kazhdyy Gorod there are protests in the street in some of the poorer parts
of the city and journalists have been giving them much publicity. The Mayor has
been debating whether to get the Police to crack down hard to prevent things
getting out of control and the Militia Commander has been quietly reviewing
security at the base in the light of rumours that there are armed rebel troops
in the forest to the East of town… This is a Matrix Game for up to 6 players
representing the key players in this troubled city…
Tom Mouat
The Battle for the Slim River
The Imperial Japanese forces have invaded Malaya! They have
advanced relentlessly driving all before them until this moment where they are
facing stiff British resistance at the Slim River. You are part of the Japanese
attacking force consisting of about 17 Type 97 medium tanks and 3 Type 95 Ha-Go
Light Tanks, under the command of Major Toyosaku Shimada preparing for a daring
assault down a single road! Banzai! This game actually features toy soldiers
and the longest terrain map in the history of wargaming. Roles for up to 10
players.
Ian Lowell
Trump It!
A workshop session on using unusual playing cards for
wargaming. Following some of thoughts on
the German Peasants’ War 1524—26 sessions at COW 2014. An introduction to the earliest packs of
cards and gaming with them, especially the following :
Karnöffel, The Visconti-Sforza Tarot and the Mantegna
‘Tarot’.
Ian Lowell
Rein-Bow Warriors Redux
A talk on the latest research into Late Bronze Age warfare,
especially focusing on chariots.
Followed by a chance
to experiment with and try out the latest Rein-Bow Warrior rules.
Phil Steele
The Battle of Bouvines 1214
A delayed 800th anniversary wargame . Historical
introduction plus toy soldier wargame in 15mm using adapted Basic Impetus. A decisive battle on the Magna Carta timeline
...
Phil Steele
Sink The BismarCk
Simple wargame using the 1:1200 Airfix models and the
combat/damage system from last year's 'pop-up' game.
Phil Steele
Yarmuk 636
The decisive battle of the Arab Conquests ... Historical
introduction plus a toy soldier wargame using classic 30mm flats and state of
the art DBA V3. A Society of Ancients
50th anniversary wargame.
Mike Elliott
Trafalgar
Naval wargames have always annoyed me. Detailed rules for ship to ship actions but
far too complex for actual fleet actions.
In the 210th anniversary year, I present a wargame of the Battle of
Trafalgar, with EVERY ship individually represented and ruthlessly simple rules
to (hopefully!) allow play to a conclusion in about 90 mins to 2 hours.
Mike Elliott
Waking Shark or Cyber Warfare - The Six Stage Kill Chain
A lecture and discussion about cyber warfare and how we
might simulate it in the context of a wargame.
Mike Elliott
Late Arrivals at the Duchess of Richmond's
Ball
A Dinner Table Game.
It is 15th June 1815. Time travelling military(?) figures
from all periods of history arrive for the Duchess of Richmond's Ball on the
eve of Waterloo ... Inevitably, with time travel being what it is they
arrive late ...
An across-the-dinner-table entertainment on Saturday evening
in the style of the Late Arrivals game from "I'm Sorry I Haven't a
Clue". Laughter and mirth will ensue (I hope!!)
The best submissions may even find their way into the Nugget
(Shock! Horror!).
Sue Laflin-Barker
GENTLEMEN GO BY
It’s the latest version of the usual game, smugglers trying
to deliver their goods and the revenue trying to intercept them.
Michael Young
Kestrel's Hover
This is a wargame developed for and played with 16th Air
Assault Brigade. They wanted it to compare helicopter and parachute landings.
It uses a 200m hex grid and the units are platoons or
sections, with 15 minute time steps. The
scenario is the capture of an airbase against light, but cunning opposition.
16th Air Assault liked the game so much they took a copy of
it back to Colchester with them.
This will be a double session: The first one will be a Helicopter Assault,
the second one a Parachute Assault. Feel
free to attend either or both sessions.
Jaap Boender
Five minutes of political courage
This game takes players into the byzantine complexity of
Belgian politics. After the elections, Flemish and Walloon politicians are
negotiating the formation of a government - complicated by the situation of the
Brussels electoral district, declared unconstitutional by the courts. The
parties will have to overcome their linguistic, ideological, personal and
electoral differences to negotiate a state reform, as well as a coalition
accord. Failure is not an option!
Ian Drury
Brave Admiral Benbow
Fleet action in the first years of the 18th century, when
the English Navy was a long way from establishing the dominance enjoyed a
hundred years later by the RN. Even the steering wheel was regarded as a dubious
innovation. . .Game features Tumbling Dice's range of 1/2400 toy ships on a hex
cloth
Graham Evans
Taiping Era 2
At its first appearance a couple of years ago this 15mm
figure game of warfare in 19th century China was criticised for not featuring
any Taiping rebels and having a dodgy mathematical model.
The game is now back with hordes of long haired Taiping
rebels and a revamped set of rules. The core system still features the
EDNA mechanism because I like it.
Graham Evans
Hurried Hydaspes
After the success of the Rapid Raphia card driven ancients
game last year it is back slightly expanded and reworked to cover Alexander
last battle. For those of you who missed it first time round the game uses a
pack of cards per player to even the luck out and a simple system that keeps
the players involved simultaneously throughout the game.
John Bassett and Jim
Roche
Tacitus and the North
A three part look at the Roman historian Tacitus and how
he's shaped our perceptions of Roman warfare. "Tacitus for Wargamers"
is an introduction to Tacitus and his writing by John Bassett. "The Romans in Scotland" is a
presentation by Jim Roche on recent archaeological finds on Roman operations in
the north. "Reign of Terror"
is a game by John Bassett on a key episode of Roman history.
Russell King
Canadian "Civil War"
A play of one of SPI's oddest offerings - a recreation of 70s Canadian politics at the
high tide of Quebec nationalism, which has some resonance with current day UK
politics. 4-6 players/teams vie for the trappings of office, and control over
key issues and interest groups. Each play is different, as players get to vote
over interpretations of the rules. With a quick look at some other political
games.
Alan Paull
Somewhere in Normandy, Summer 1944
This session will be an attempt at an interesting and
stimulating miniatures game and associated discussion about simulating tactical
/ operational engagements in WW2, focused on Normandy after D-Day. It will use Mission Command (the alpha
version of SSG Wargames’ draft WW2 miniatures rules) and some toy soldiers.
Jim Wallman
Designing Wargames to Order
Some experiences and insights from some of my recent work in
developing wargames in a military context.
A short presentation on some of the challenges, frustrations and joys of
meeting a game design specification.
Followed by discussion. Chatham
House rules will apply.
Jim Wallman
BLITZ!
A toy soldier game about fire-engines and burly firemen with
big hoses attempting to save a small part of London during the 1940s firebomb attacks. There might even be some role playing
involved. Any number can play.
