The Wind and the Lion has always been one of my favorite movies. In fact, it may be my absolute favorite. I’ve always wanted to do a game based on tehe climactic battle at the end of the movie.
Apparently it holds a similar spot in the hearts of gamers everywhere. Over at Warflag, there’s a great battle report—with wonderful pictures—of one man’s replay of that classic battle.
The Flames of War guys have a useful Stalingrad terrain generator. Although its intended for their own system, I think it could be adapted for practically any World War II rules set.
If you’re looking for something a little different, how about Normans in the Balkans? The Balkan Military History site has an article—with army lists—on the battle of Dyrrachion in 1081
Now that the summer upon us, many of you out there will be thinking about making up a killer DBM army for Bob Beattie’s DBM tournament at Historicon. If you’re wondering about the best way to walk away with the trophy, you might want to consider reading this article on choosing a good DBM army for competition.
Q Space hulk is a computerized version of Games Workshop’s classic miniatures board game, Space Hulk. Its designed for two players via hotseat, over the internet, home network, or by email.
If you want to do a WWII game set in Normandy, you’re going to need lots and lots of bocage. The Point Blank web page has some good instructions for making cheap and easy bocage for your wargames.
Miniature Wargaming is part of the "adventure games" hobby, which includes r ole p laying and board games. Wargamers recreate battles on the tabletop with toy soldiers, like a more complicated game of chess. Models range in height from 6mm to 28mm tall, with 15mm and 25mm being the most popular. There also is a growing interest in toy soldiers and military models, such as the 1/32 and 1/35 scale plastic soldiers from Conte, and Marx.
The most popular miniature wargames are fantasy and science fiction based, such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and The Lord of the Rings. World War II games such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies are new favorites. Other favorite historical periods include Napoleonics, the American Civil War, and ancients, such as Romans or Greeks. Other gamers enjoy miniature naval wargames, recreating battles like Trafalgar, Jutland and the Coral Sea.
Hobbyists research historical periods and paint their tiny soldiers in accurate uniforms. Others develop "historically realistic" rules sets or build scale battlefield terrain using model railroad techniques.
For pictures, visit the gallery.
Some of the bigger hobby companies are Games Workshop, which produces Warhammer, Wargames Foundry and Old Glory Miniatures. Wizards of the Coast produces several lines of pre-painted miniatures games, such as the Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons miniatures games, and a historical game with pre-painted miniatures: The new Axis and Allies game. Wizkids produces a fantasy collectable miniatures game, such as the Mage Knight and Heroclick fantasy games, the science fiction games MechWarrior and Rocketmen, as well as the quasi-historical Pirates of the Spanish Main.
