Back of Beyond: a brief explanation please?

[benglish]

Hey guys.

I'm new to the hobby and I've been checking out some of the amazing games and figures on this forum. 

Back of Beyond looks really cool ... I just have one question: what it is, exactly.  I get the central Asia in the 20s and 30s part.  It seems like it's a more historically based pulp adventure sort of set-up.  But what throws me is all the Russian Civil War stuff -- how's that come into it?  That just seems not to match with everything else.

I've also seen people discussing which rules set to use with Back of Beyond -- it it just a sourcebook and army list? 

Sorry for such a noob question.  Just looking for some guidance.

thanks

[Hammers]

Its because the RCW was one of the major reasons for the unrest in the back of beyond, which in this context means Central Asia. The Warlord wars of China is another such conflict which is, especially here on LAF, taking shelter under the BoB umbrella.

You should know that "back of beyond" has historically mostly been used about the Australian outback but is really a generic term for  a terms coined by Sir Walter Scott

You... whirled them to the back of beyont to look at the auld Roman camp.

So, the general application of BoB here on LAF,  and perhaps among most wargamers, is for any untidy war going on in the early 20th century in, to a Westerner, more or less remote corner of the world.

Conflicts I have seen discussed under the BoB banner beside those already mentioned are: the Chaco war, the Central American Banana Wars, Trappers, Mounties and Smugglers in Canada, the Russio-Polish War of 1920. There are other which probably would fit, but the some esteem moderators on  this board, especially those of Colonial, Interwar and Pulp are standing guard with cudgels over what they consider their turf. Anything happening in Africa and specifically Ethiopia is out of bounds.

[Poliorketes]

Chris Peers wrote a supplement for his Ruleset contemtible little armies which he called back of beyond. Included are background and army lists for central asia in the later stage of the russian civil war and afterwards. Copplestone Castings has the miniatures for most of those lists under the same label. As most of the armies (and miniatures) involved in the BoB setting can be used for one or more conflicts of the interwar-period the label got stuck to those, too. I guess that if Foundry had published their highly recommended book risings and rebellions 1918-1939 some yeas earlier this might have become the label.

The main antagonists for BoB in the CLA-supplement are red and white russians, warlord chinese and several central asian natives. It would have been stupid for anyone building a red/white/warlord army not to use it for 'real' russian or chinese civil war, so a different board for those wouldn't make any sense. And if you say russian civil war, you have to add interventionists, russian-polish war and so on.

[Agis]

A simialr book is my Back of Beyond supplement:
http://www.adpublishing.de/html/back_of_beyond.html


Just check the link to see a lot of preview pics and an in depth description.
You can get it via the Wargame Vault as an ebook.
http://www.wargamevault.com/product_info.php?products_id=82254&src=FrontPage

[benglish]

Chris Peers wrote a supplement for his Ruleset contemtible little armies which he called back of beyond. Included are background and army lists for central asia in the later stage of the russian civil war and afterwards.

Great info, guys.  Looks like a blast.  I'm in.

Where's the best place to find Peers' BoB supplement?

[Poliorketes]

Depends on country you're living.

[benglish]

There are other which probably would fit, but the some esteem moderators on  this board, especially those of Colonial, Interwar and Pulp are standing guard with cudgels over what they consider their turf. Anything happening in Africa and specifically Ethiopia is out of bounds.

Hilarious, by the way ...

[Jim French]

Can we extend BoB to SE Asia?  A Chinese/French border war in Indochine perhaps?  I like being warm.