Diana Preston’s Boxer Rebellion:The Dramatic Story of China’s War on Foreigners That Shook the World in the Summer of 1900 was a primary source when I was researching scenarios for my Boxer Rebellion miniature wargaming project. The book reads like a novel, carrying the reader from one exciting event to another. While it doesn’t have the copious numbers and orders of battle so favored by wargamers, it more than makes up for this by providing dozens of raw ideas for good scenarios. Highly recommended.
I’ve got some photos up from our Plains War batttle last night. The Cavalry was charged with relieving a homestead from a group of attacking Indians. The figures in the photos are all from Wargames Foundry.
We used the Warhammer Historicals Legends of the Old West rules for the game. It was our first time playing them, and I thought that they were a lot of fun. Very simple to learn, and they had the right feel.
The Soldiers of the Queen site is a great resource for anyone who games with Victorian Era miniature soldiers. The site is stuffed full of photographs from the era. A must see.
B.C. O’Leary has a site with plenty of inspiration for Victorian Science Fiction gamers. His ongoing Ponape! campaign looks like a marvelous blend of history and scientific romance. He writes:
Born as much of Hollywood as history, this was inspired by the spirit of movies such as NATE AND HAYES and THE WIND AND THE LION. The basic game wondered in my mind for 15 years before the advent of Foundry’s Darkest Africa and Old Glory’s Colonial ranges made it a possibility. The game blends historical aspects and military miniatures with elements of role playing and diplomacy and revolves around a variety of objectives set before the various factions on the island.
The setting is a Spanish held island in the Pacific, loosely in the 1890’s, full of native headhunters, rivaling military factions, pirates, black birders, unscrupulous opportunists, and those adventuresome settlers (somebody has to be the targets).
The game continually evolves with new terrain, factions, and contrivances, the latest being the German airship.
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.
