The second V-Mail Postcard Game, UNTERNEHMUNG 25, chronicles the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941. The basic game system is similar to the of its predecessor, Malaya. New elements include German mountain troops, Panzer Corps, air support, and the bombing of Belgrade, as well as the effects of mountain and river terrain. Hungarian and Italian troops also make an appearance.
Can you, as the Germans, make a lightning-fast assault and capture Belgrade in time to release units for the upcoming invasion of Russia? As the Yugoslavs, can you derail the German timetable and buy time for the Allies to react? It’s all up to you.
18 counters at the Corps and Army level and a full-color map of Yugoslavia- all on a 5x8 inch postcard!
The Veni Vidi Vici site has some great photos of Dark Ages miniatures. I’m painting a variety of Dark Ages armies and always like to reference other peoples’ painting projects. These are really good.
Mustangs is a classic Air Combat game from Avalon Hill which, like most of their great systems is long out-of-print. Warflag, however, has a set of rules for playing the game in miniature.
Stourbridge Modern Jet Rules (SMJR) are a beer-and-pretzels game of modern fighter combat intended purely to get some nice 1:144 model aircraft on the table and have a knock-about game that owes more to arcade flight sims than any real world events. Aircraft are kept purely generic so that players can field models based on their “supercoolshinywow!” factor rather than any real world
abilities or weaknesses.
Altitude is factored into the game length and the assumption that it is not vitally important to modern jets with thunderous rates of climb and dive is made mainly in order to remove the need for fiddly height differences and the difficulty inherent in creating flight bases for such.
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.
