Wargame Bloggers Quarterly - Volume 2, Number 1

The new WBQ (Wargame Bloggers Quarterly), being issue 1 of volume 2, arrived online while I was away for a few days again in Northumberland.  It's a fantastic issue, and I think one of the best yet.

There's the second part of Eric the Shed's excellent guide to making Egyptian desert terrain, a very fine piece on "SAGA Do's and Don'ts" by Monty Luhmann (I wish I'd read that a long while back, Monty!) and a terrific article entitled "How to Design a Rulebook" by Mike Reynolds (The Dark Templar).

Mike's article really repays a second reading - it's full of helpful information, practical good sense and valuable design suggestions.  Mike's advice that a rulebook is a "piece of communication" carries a lot of thought behind it, which Mike's article goes on to demonstrate in exemplary fashion.    As with so much in previous issues of WBQ, Mike's article has had me looking and thinking afresh about how I can make written information for gaming look better.  If you do get the chance to have a look at WBQ Volume 2, Issue 1 (see the sidebar on the right hand of this blog for the free download), have a read through Mike's article.  There's something in there for every aspiring rules or scenario writer.

Huge congratulations to all of the editorial team of WBQ for a great edition, and in particular to the tireless Evan (as editor) and Millsy (as designer) for pulling this one together so well.

Congratulations, guys!

Wargame Bloggers Quarterly Issue Two is OUT!

One of the greatest things about blogging is the way in which it strengthens the wargaming community across the globe. There are hundreds of ways this happens, but one of the very best and most attractive is Wargame Bloggers Quarterly, of which Issue 2 is now online and available.

Prepared by the super-talented Michael “Millsy” Mills, and edited on this occassion by Dave “Brushes” Docherty, WBQ Issue 2 builds on the wonderful work of the first issue earlier this summer.

 
There’s wargames set in places as varied as the Sudan and New Zealand, featuring action from Durin’s Middle Earth Causeway to the cricket fields of 1930s England and the bootlegging ganglands of Serenity City. Painting, modelling, book reviews and cooking are covered in detail. The standard of photography, the quality of writing and the efforts made by each of the contributing bloggers worldwide to produce the magazine are really remarkable.

In fact, I’d so far to say that the contents are guaranteed to be of interest to any discerning wargamer, wherever you are, whatever you paint and whatever period or game you play. It’s a great way of paying tribute to great bloggers and our hobby, at the same time as sharing their work and ensuring that its preserved in a single handy resource which you can turn to at any time.

And, its FREE !

Anyway, don’t listen to me waffling on about how great it is … download it for yourself HERE.

The hobby really doesn’t get better than this. Great job Millsy, Dave and all the authors!

WBQ, Mud & Blood and "From Empire to Revolution"!

One of the items of news which I have been unforgivably tardy about is the much-anticipated and thoroughly wonderful first issue of “Wargame Bloggers Quarterly”(WBQ). This is a FREE community driven electronic magazine in PDF format composed of the best wargames and miniature painting content from the collective blogosphere.

It’s the brain-child of Michael Mills (Millsy) and many others and, in short, its absolutely terrific. The purpose of the WBQ is to help promote wargaming and miniature painting and ensure that the best material generated by participants in the hobby is available to the wider community in the long term. Kind of like a “Way Back Machine” for wargames blogging, if you will.

For a long time I’ve been bowled over by the talent of the wargames bloggers working on the internet, but the speed and sheer professionalism of the first edition of WBQ has blown me away. A wonderful community project, and one which I shall be supporting any way I can.

You can find Issue One HERE, with an Official Charter for the magazine HERE. Millsy’s own very fine blog, "Cannister & Grape", provides more details, HERE.  Submission guidelines for future issues are HERE.

Other news which might be of interest is that TooFatLardies have been updating their popular First World War rules, “Through the Mud and the Blood” in time for the centenary of the War. The rules have been out of print in hard copy for some time, and I know Richard Clarke is keen to get them back on the shelf as they have been a steady and popular seller for many years. The new printed edition rules have been updated for some errata picked up in hundreds of games and play-tests, and we’ve been busy preparing some new photos to grace the interior pages.

Here’s some images from a photo-session this weekend to hopefully help direct your mouse to the TooFat Lardies’ shopping carts.

Finally, and also in First World War mode, my friend Chris Stoesen posted on his blog earlier that his Eastern Front Supplement for “Through the Mud and the Blood”, “From Empire to Revolution”, is nearing final preparation. Chris kindly sent me a very early draft of the supplement a few years ago and even at that early stage it was an excellent piece of work. Accounts of low-level platoon-scale actions from the Eastern Front of the First World War are hard to come across, but Chris has done a great job of tracking down more than a dozen. All of Chris' supplements which I have purchased have been well worth the cover price, with his supplement booklet "The Coming Thunder" (for the ACW in Virginia) being a real favourite of mine.   I am sure that "From Empire to Revolution" will be no exception. 

Head on over to Chris’ blog for updates, but in the meantime, here’s a copy of the cover which looks splendid.

Next up ... wargaming with Zouaves, Tirailleurs Marocains and l'Armée d'Afrique !