My wargame club, GDWS, runs an annual Napoleonic Open Day, funded by a bequest from a former club member who was a serious fan of the Napoleonic period. We mostly run Napoleonic games, invite other clubs, and make it open to the public to encourage interest in the hobby. It is an opportunity to play longer games as the hall is open all day.
I ran the big 28mm game on a 12 x 6 table based on the interesting French 1814 campaign. A surprise to many in the club, as it wasn't in the Balkans! However, there was a link, as the French commander was Marmont, the Balkan Marshal, and the Austrians had several regiments of Grenzers. The Austrians, with a Russian division, were defending a river line, and Marmont's job was to destroy them. Part of Napoleon's interior lines strategy in this campaign. He didn't quite destroy them, but did manage to roll up the Austrian right flank. The rules were Black Powder.
Then we had Eylau in 1807, fought in the snow. The Scottish weather was unseasonably (well, maybe not😏) wet, but not quite that bad. Nevertheless, the guys put on a good version of the battle using Blucher rules.
Next up was Sagunto 1811 using the Empire Bataille rules. Suchet's French army against the Spanish commanded by Blake during the Peninsular War. Nice to see a Spanish army on the tabletop.
Then the Soldiers of Napoleon rules using the 18mm WoFun miniatures, which look pretty good in this scale.
Finally, Black Seas, which, as ever, had a happy band of participants. They make what used to be a complicated period to game very simple.
Hopefully, there was something for everyone, and I was particularly pleased about the range of different rules played.
Most of us will be meeting up again next Saturday at the Carronade show in Falkirk. We will be putting on a participation game based on the Battle of Banja Luka in 1737, using Lust for Glory rules. Back to the actual Balkans!
Some nice looking games & toys there 👏👏
ReplyDeleteDoes the public interest shown on the day actually lead to many new gamers? I appreciate new gamers can often borrow an army when they first start out in the hobby, but I wonder whether the thought “gosh, these gamers seem to need lots and lots of painted figures” might be somewhat daunting for many. To counter this I would argue that there are plenty of rules out there now that don’t require a large number of figures or a big tabletop/battlefield (The Portable Wargame series, DBA etc). Good luck at Carronade.
Cheers,
Geoff
We usually pick up a couple of new members, often people returning to the hobby. They may have figures or be prepared to get stuck in. Of the two main players in my game, one was a young new entrant to the hobby who has painted a large Austrian army in 28mm and is moving into other scales. The other is a returner and has bought a large French army from someone selling up. However, you are correct that we should be careful not to put people off. We give all potential new members two free visits, and at a typical club session, there will be everything from skirmish to big battles.
Delete