What's occurring in swashbuckling land?

[Captain Blood]

Stepping up to my new mod responsibility for the Swashbuckling board, thought I'd take a quick look through recent threads here - and it makes for quite interesting reading.

What I notice is that in a quick (very unscientific) analysis of posts over recent weeks and months, the overwhelming majority of swashbuckling posts (viz - nearly all of them) concern...

The French & Indian Wars

And the ones that aren't F&IW related, seem to concern various things Zorro (can't think why  )

I can't really complain, since I'm in the process of building a ruddy great F&IW layout (and rebasing 100+ F&IW figures by the way  ) and Zorro is also a very appealing theme. So, nothing wrong at all with those as swashbuckling topics...

On the other hand, I'm wondering what on earth happened to everything else?

I did go through a period of trying to persuade people that ECW and border reivers were really swashbuckling core themes - but I don't think anyone bought it. 

More particularly, I'm wondering at the sudden dramatic absence of anything much to do with pirates, cutthroats, buccaneers and the Three Musketeers (the occasional thread excepted)...

Clearly pirates were hugely in vogue a few years ago when Foundry launched their range, and underwent a brief resurgence a year or two ago with Legends of The High Seas, and Black Scorpion doing their excellent stuff.
But in the last few months they seem to have sunk pretty much without trace...

Which is odd.
Has everyone given up on pirates for good?
Are we all pirated out?
Or is it a fad whose time is well and truly done (or been supplanted by F&IW?)

LAF has always had a place in its heart for swashbuckling, although it's a bit of a minority interest around here these days...

Is anything likely to revive the fortunes of the swashbuckling genre, me hearties - or has its moment passed for good, like a galleon slipping into the mist off the shores of Tortuga, har harr...

Are there any up-and-coming swashbuckling ranges, periods, game systems or rulesets which are going to take the wargaming world by storm, in a flurry of blood, swordplay and lacy bits?

Anyway... Thoughts? Views? ideas? Suggestions? Tell me to shut up?

Just a topic for discussion really 

[Westfalia Chris]

I boarded the Pirate gaming thing back in 06, which faded quickly after I had painted my first crew since my then-gaming group didn´t get their act together and couldn´t get their Pirates painted up. Since then, they´ve been lingering in some figure chest, whereas my ship sailed off to another port to fight under the Prof´s flag.

Concluding, since we missed TLAPD: arrrh, matey.

[Black Cat Bases]

Our range (which was also featured in "Legends of the High Seas" by the way!) is still going very well and one of our biggest sellers so no lack of interest as far as we are concerned!

Jo:)

[Cory]

Fads come and go.

Pirates will be back late next year, probably with even more supernatural overtones, as the hype for the 4th Disney Pirate movie pick up.

[cianty]

The Black Scorpion range is also selling alright I think and there will be pack of Hired Sword (designed with LotHS in mind) released very soon.

I have just taken pictures of my recently finished Old Glory Brigantine today, plus completed an extensive review of the model so that one's coming very soon.

In my group interest for LotHS is slowly dying it seems and I can't think of another good pirates rules set right now... I think it's bad that Warhammer Historical doesn't support the game like they did with Legends of the Old West. I guess this is due to sales, but it would be so easy to release some additional articles via the website just to show that the game is alive and supported. I know the author would want to do more stuff... Speaking of him, I recently read on his blog that he will probably do some LotHS articles for Wargames Illustrated. I look forward to them.

I guess I need to find more rules sets for pirates to put my minis to more use...

[Lowtardog]

I still have hordes of pirates to do and my Highwayman figures remain untouched as yet plus 4 ships too one day...promise

[Captain Blood]

Ah yes - highwaymen! Now that's proper swashbuckling...
Didn't a couple of other people have plans for highwaymen games / boards / collections?
And / or smugglers?
Now that really does appeal to me... Possibly using those lovely 40mm Trident Designs C18th figures from the Miniature Service Center...   

[Trix2K]

I've been trickling away at my Pirate project since I purchased LotHS a year ago.

28 mini's (Foundry) based and primed, waiting to be painted.

Ships are alot of work... I have an incomplete large vessel and the basic shape of a medium vessel.

If there were more players locally, who played other, non-GW games then maybe there would be more impetus for me to complete mini's and scenery for other games.

[Alcide Nikopol]

That is the story alright. It is so hard to keep the games going strong without a decent pool of particpants.

[Poiter50]

Here in Perth, Oz, we have the occasional game of LOTHS but rarely do we have a camera there.

I have just received a Redoubt Longboat with crew and no Marines that I want to use alongside 2 Britannia boats that have crew and Marines. There was a scenario in WI recently that had Asian natives up against a shipwrecked RN group. Now I just need to build the island for the 3 separate scenarios that were in the article.

[HerbyF]

I just got done painting up about 150 pirates this summer, plus a couple small ships. The guys I game with are interested in doing a Legends of the High Seas campaign.

[marko.oja]

Teddy bear pirates using Song of Blades and Heroes coming with pictures right after I receive my shipment of buildings from PMC. Just need to finish a bit of terrain before the actual game (the weekend after next should be free for gaming).

I also have set of Black Hat three musketeers in the to-do pile - having terrain to go with these might mean that I'll actually start painting them up too!

Marko

[Malamute]

Ah yes - highwaymen! Now that's proper swashbuckling...
Didn't a couple of other people have plans for highwaymen games / boards / collections?
And / or smugglers?
Now that really does appeal to me... Possibly using those lovely 40mm Trident Designs C18th figures from the Miniature Service Center...   

Guilty as charged, twas me

I have a box full of unpainted figures that I fully intended to use for Dr Synn style games smuggling down in Romney Marsh. I even purchased lots of PMC buildings and looked at using LOTHS so I could cross over into some pirate fun. Unfortunately the project is still on the to do list, overtaken by something else
One day I will get it off the ground...

[Lowtardog]

Guilty as charged, twas me

I have a box full of unpainted figures that I fully intended to use for Dr Synn style games smuggling down in Romney Marsh. I even purchased lots of PMC buildings and looked at using LOTHS so I could cross over into some pirate fun. Unfortunately the project is still on the to do list, overtaken by something else
One day I will get it off the ground...

Yep I think we both started looking at it around the same time. I still pick up the odd figure now and again for it, the Blue Moon Duelists pack were the last ones, very nice they are too. My PMC Buildings are now officially a town but have been seeing service in BCW lately...which thank the lord the whole project some 180 figures is done the first time for many an age where I have actually painted something to conclusion

[Galman]

Still working on my Pirates here.  Though I have been lacking with the photos as of late.    Maybe one day very soon i will get my arse in gear..promise.