Chestnut Lodge Wargames Group
I enjoyed Jon Casey’s game about the Battle of Elouges in 1914, not least because I was able to visit the battlefield in March 2019. It took place the day after the Battle of Mons, one of those rearguard actions that would punctuate the retreat leading occasionally to the loss of almost a complete Battalion […]
Peter Merritt asked what wargaming we’re doing. Mine could probably be best described as a return to my roots of toy soldier games albeit in a campaign / mini-campaign context and mostly 19th century. I think I’ve tired of what I’d describe as the common format of ‘stab-each other in the back’ games, thus my […]
Just wondered what everyone was working on? For myself, with all my books and kit (still) in a container somewhere in Kent (20 months and counting), I’ve only been working in my mind and a notepad on: Toy soldier games/rules/ideas (various; 6mm ancients, 1496 Italy, steampunk; 15mm ACW grand ops (have some wonderful maps; always […]
Onside Report by Andy Grainger We can thank Covid not only for the inspiration behind this idea but also for Dave Boundy and other techno members of CLWG for creating a virtual club meeting. Apart from the traditional St Reatham members this has enabled people like me in Nottingham, Terry in Sweden and Jerry in […]
This long overdue post records the final resolution of the plans for the French invasion of the British Isles in 1759. See earlier posts for the details of the French and British planning games. Essentially the French were seeking to sail up the Thames with the support of their new Dutch allies, land a vast […]
It’s not a stretch to say that the 1940 campaign is what got me interested in military history – I think possibly the first history book I read was a Dutch translation of “Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years” by Jack Le Vien and John Lord – an utterly forgettable work of historiography, but it did […]
Game Overview I wanted to run a committee game about the decisions taken by the Yorkist faction after they had won the Battle of Towton, 1461. This battle is regarded as one of the most decisive victories – and a bit of a surprise – of the Wars of the Roses. It is also regarded […]
This in two parts, first the introduction I wrote for the game, then the onside report. This was the first rough and ready attempt at a game about running the British Empire. I’ve long been interested in 19th century colonialism and the varied interactions between the colonising powers and the rest of the world. Given […]
The Nine Years War isn’t a particular interest of mine but I read about it as background to my Ancien Regime megagame. Yes, most government expenditure is war related. During the period roughly 1688 to 1783 Britain’s expenditure on the military was roughly 65 – 75%. As a comparison, during the Great Northern War Russia’s […]
Onside Review by Nick Luft Recently I attended a “Boardgame Designers Masterclass” hosted by James Wallis. He said at the end of the session that if he wanted us to take away one lesson it was this: if and when you are inspired to design a game, make it immediately. Don’t fret about pretty counters […]