Thursday, December 7, 2023

Sometimes, thin gruel is fine: Neil Thomas Wargaming 19th Century Europe

 I finally got the chance to play a face to face historical game since my last one in Istanbul/Constantinople in January 2023. Vern, our resident GW master (he has many collections from various GW games), was willing to accommodate me. We played a minigame scenario with the Neil Thoma's  Wargaming 19th Century Europe rules, using my 10mm 1897 Greek and Ottoman collections.

Now Neil Thomas rules got me into 19th century wargaming, but quite quickly after I used them, I got Bloody Big Battles , and it won me over. I am not disparaging the NT19TH rules. They are great for what they are aimed at (an introductory set) but I also will not delude myself. They are thin gruel compared to BBB. But BBB does require dedicated terrain, and until I get a board for Grimbovo 1897 made, I cannot really do them justice. When rich broth is not available one must enjoy the thin gruel. And enjoy we did.

I kept the force similar, three infantry units, one skirmisher unit, and one artillery unit per side. I more or less set up the table as close to the sample scenario map in the rulebook. I commanded the Padishah's askerlik, while Vern commanded my countrymen. 

The game went fast, after a bit of explanation of rules, and ended in a draw. We both ended up focusing on one of the two objectives (the village), which changed hands twice. It was quite bloody with the Greeks losing one infantry unit and their artillery, and the Ottomans losing their skirmishers and two infantry units.

Unfortunately I did not take good photos. But here are the best of the bunch




Other hobby news

1) Started painting the Tau.

2) Finished reading Xenos Rampant. I am very excited to try it. 

3) Rebased the Greek and Ottoman cavalry. 

4) Order some movement trays for my 25mm stuff and model trees. 

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