Historical Miniature Wargaming --Preparing for a Game

Historical Miniature Gaming and Keys to Good Gaming 

Preparation for the Game

An important part of any historical miniature game is preparation. Experienced gamers know this. (So you guys just enjoy the pictures please. Maybe the less experienced will learn something or get some ideas.) Let me suggest the following as common things to consider when preparing for a historical miniature game.

A large multi-player game of Bolt Action that involved
many players recreating a portion of the World War Two
D-Day Normandy landings. This game took place at the
Schenectady Wargamers monthly game-a-thon.

1. Historical research. 

Historical games are best appreciated by people who know enough history to put things in context. Of  course, imagination is part of these things too, but knowing at least a little of the history of what's being simulated can go a long way to increase appreciation of the game. 

Some games are recreations of actual historical battles but most are imaginary or hypothetical battles set during a particular period of history.

2. Collect and paint some miniatures

A Scottish Highland force from the 1745 Uprising. Figures are Old Glory 25mm painted by Doug Bradt.

To play most miniature games, miniatures are generally required. Of course, some people substitute things like tokens, cardboard counters, clothes-pins, coins, buttons, or whatever seems to be at hand, but I for one, just don't get it. Without miniatures why not just play boardgames?  

And then there are those people who buy expensive figures and put them on the gaming table  without painting them. I for one, don't get it. It's like those people who drink fine wine from paper cups.

No! No! No! If you're going to play historical miniatures games, then it's best to get some historical miniatures and paint them. (Some people hire others to paint them. Enh . . . I'm not sure what I think about that. It's kind of like cheating maybe in my opinion, but, then again, what do I really know?

3. Select and learn rules

A French and Indian Wargame

Of course, to play a game, you need to have some idea of what the rules are. Or do you?

If a historical wargame is using a set of rules that produce a historically accurate result, and you are reasonably familiar with the history and the tactics and troop types of the period being gamed, and there are people present who are feeling friendly and tolerant of new players and who know the rules well, often you can sort of play along when your turn comes by telling the other players what your troops or units of troops intend to do, and then guide them along as they do what their historical counterparts would have done.

Of course, if you don't know the historical tactics and types of units, strange things can happen. I recall once playing a World War Two skirmish game using a set of rules called Fireball Forward. This was a pick-up game played one afternoon at a Boston area store called The Hobby Bunker in Malden, Massachusetts, so new players were welcome. I was not terribly familiar with either the rules or tank tactics of the period and to make it even worse, the terrain was the hedgerows of Normandy, home to some very fierce fighting during the Second World War. ( The Normandy hedgerows were among the most unusal and challenging terrain of word war two. For an interesting PDF on the subject you can click here.  It is intended for American school children taking history classes.)  Not only that the game was set at night and the rules provided for this by giving all the players limited ability to find each other's units.

I figured that it woul dbe a good idea to send some of my tanks forward at high speed to scout out the situation and find the enemy. Unfortunately what I learned is that people who were inside a world war two tank travelling at high speed at night can not see or hear much of the world outside the tank. The result was that I learned nothing and soon got ambushed and lost the tanks. Oh well. Not good, but probably a mistake more than one naive, inexperienced American takn commander of the time made as well. (Again, consider reading the above linked PDF on the subject.) .

A quick game without scenery. This was just to try out some ideas for a set of rules I am writing to simulate Kung Fu movie action. The figures come from a variety of manufactures, Hasslefree martial artists, Obelisk Tong gangsters, Wargames Foundry Taiping War figures and Frontier Boxer Rebellion figures. 

4. Acquire scenery 

This is another area where some people skimp. On the other hand, good scenery can make or break a good gaming experience. Model trees, model houses, terrain, and other pieces of scenery are an important part of the hobby. 

  

Probably the most elaborate piece of scenery I own. a home-built gaming model of a Roman Gladiatorial arena. The photos are of a game using Habet, Hoc, Habet rules simulating four condemned men (miniatures from Crusader Miniatures) fighting a lion (I'm having time remembering who made this. If someone recognizes it please let me know.