BLAM Wars of the Roses battle report - pseudo-Wakefield (ish). Loosely.

[Dr. Zombie]

Not really. It did however get a bit messy in the huge melee on the right flank. But Captain Blood and silent Invaders minis are on different sized bases so it was manageable.

[Driscoles]

This is such a cracking stuff. Horsemen and  Knights, footsoldiers in iron, archers, cannons, men in colorful garment and flags.
Eyecandy for the wargamer and everything laid out on a table that makles you drool. I wanna.....wanna....

My basement is full with this shit and me suffering from the wargamers disease which is....too many projects and not enough arms to paint....

I hope I can make it next year to Blamarambam and I hope you guys will offer this ten of a game holy piece of wargaming art once again....Hallelujah !

Björn

[Father Primus]

It looks great!!!    Liked the "dirty water" effect on the stream!

Was distracted by those beautifully painted miniatures, so the battle descriptions appears a bit confusing to me - certainly need to re-read it 

[Silent Invader]

Given that all the minis were individually based, did you ever find yourself losing track of which were whose to the extent of affecting the game?

A few times there was a bit of confusion...IIRC, a player attacking himself. Fortunately Captain Blood's minis are based differently to mine (bigger with a different texture/finish) so any confusion could be quickly resolved.  

EDIT:

Yorkists to the left (mine); Lancastrians to the right (Captain Blood):

[Arlequín]

Fantastic-looking game as always gents! I'll also repeat a comment I've made previously, that your games look far more like I imagine a WotR battle to look than those games with their nicely ordered units, neat ranks and formation dancing archer-bill combos.

 

[Mason]

Bloody gorgeous, chaps.
 


Wish I could have seen it....

[Captain Blood]

I hope I can make it next year to Blamarambam and I hope you guys will offer this ten of a game holy piece of wargaming art once again....Hallelujah !

Thanks Bjorn. We sincerely hope you will be able to join us next year, and if you do, we'll definitely lay on a game like this for you 

I'll also repeat a comment I've made previously, that your games look far more like I imagine a WotR battle to look than those games with their nicely ordered units, neat ranks and formation dancing archer-bill combos.

Thanks Jim.
I think it's just down to our use of individually based figures. I know many wargamers regard the idea of moving figures individually an abhorrent waste of their precious time which they just can't be bothered with.
The upside, however, is that it looks more like men in a battle, rather than regimented oblongs moving around the table in neat blocks like chess pieces.
You pays your money and takes your choice. For me, I'd rather take the minor inconvenience of having to move figures individually (or on movement trays, at least to begin with) and enjoy an evocative-looking game 

[Arlequín]

Just calling it how I see it. 

You might consider the irregularly-formed 'skirmisher' movement trays offered by some companies though (as used in Dux Brit etc.), it might make life a little easier and still give the 'rabble-effect'.

I can't imagine any true wargamer ever seeing moving figures around as a waste of time; what a strange notion. 

[Captain Blood]

I can't imagine any true wargamer ever seeing moving figures around as a waste of time; what a strange notion. 

You'd be surprised. I see a lot of comments to that effect. But I'm probably oversensitive to it since I have a collection of some 1,000 or so figures - all individually based

Yes, I do usually use movement trays for the first few moves before 'decanting' the figures once they get into action. The size and topography of Steve's table on this occasion didn't make that viable though.

To be fair, with three players on each side each controlling a 'battle', even a game like this with 250+ figures only entails each player moving around 40 figures, so it's not exactly an intolerable chore

[tomrommel1]

just stunning figures terrain and game

[Furt]

You pays your money and takes your choice. For me, I'd rather take the minor inconvenience of having to move figures individually (or on movement trays, at least to begin with) and enjoy an evocative-looking game 

Couldn't agree more. I find movement trays abhorrent - even the well made ones, and find that they detract too much from the look. I find it hard to believe that people spend so many hours painstakingly painting their minis and then can't spend a few extra minutes moving them individually in an actual game.

[Axebreaker]

Beautiful looking game!

Christopher

[Von Trinkenessen]

Capt I'm with you on that (Single bases) with the majority 99.9% of my 28 mmm Historical, Fantasy and Scifi and 80% of my 15mm scifi  on them.
At the moment I'm experimenting in the 28mm with multiple bases for some troop types-hordes and peasants like I use in the 15mm scifi - the thin line of professionals verses the mass of rabble. From experience can look great on the battle- "We need more cannon", "they ain't stopping for ----!!"
In one of our classic fantasy a multiple based unit of goblins looked unstoppable until blown away by the volley fire from the landsknecht gun line of the "Bad Konig Regt". (Rules = Slim Mumford Medieval Rules Pub 1968) see soc of ancients.

[sukhe_bator]

I agree an epic looking battle, serious eye candy and the individual basing seems the key to an authentic looking game. If I can achieve 1/1000th of the effect you guys have achieved with my own GOT figures, I'll die a happy man!

[Silent Invader]

Thanks for the comments on the game. As well as the individual basing both Captain Blood's  force and mine are pretty much all Perry minis (I also have a few Steel Fist in there, not sure about their enemy) and you'd be hard pushed to find two identical minis on the table, which of course adds to the somewhat manic spectacle of the melee.