Naval Gazing

One thing about having someone like Andy as a friend is that he is very willing to loan me books, and usually these are war gaming related. Now sometimes my good lady despairs of this as she thinks I have too many of the damn things (note, I don’t, as this post will show later on), but at least with Andy’s loans, these are short term only and are returned quite quickly.

So, the pair of books he loaned me recently were concerned with naval war gaming and date from what you could call the First Golden Years of war gaming, the late 1970’s. First up is Naval War Games by Barry J Carter. This focuses on the World Wars One and Two and comes across as very much an introduction to the period as well as the hobby in general. The tone is straight forward and ever so slightly po-faced without over doing it. Grandfatherly might be a suitable description. There is, however, a lightness at times that not only dates the book but also the author as well.

The book has some good comparisons between scratch built ships and shop bought kit and there is, like many other similar titles of the period, an emphasis on making do with what you can get your hands on or what you can make yourself, especially considering the state of the commercial market at the time. The photographs are few and far between, but that is also in line with the period, as is their quality. The writing, however, is well worth the cost of this book and as an introduction to gaming the naval conflicts of the two periods, there is a lot to take in. Of course, some of this is now quite dated and the shop bought kit noted here would today reach a tidy sum on e-bay!

The author provides some sample rules to try out and although they are quite interesting, they use a grid based system for distances which, given today’s simpler direct measuring, feel very… gamey. Still, they would be worth trying, even if just for curiosity’s sake. Of note is the author’s recommendation of play testing the rules and making changes where ever you see fit. What a refreshing idea!

Written at the time when war gaming was arguably more niche than today but still not as niche as it had been in the 1960’s (and it is still a pretty niche hobby despite the protestations of those who would lump it into table top gaming which, for me, is far too broad a church), this tome is a useful insight as to where the hobby has been and how far it has developed.

Next up is Sea Battles in Miniature – A Guide to Naval Wargaming by Paul Hague. Published just five years later, this is a far more broad introduction to naval warfare in general. The hobby seems to have become more established by then as there are a few more manufacturers and the author is very much on a mission to educate people on the topic of naval war gaming, which he notes seems to be treat as the poor cousin of land based war gaming. The tone here is very light and the sense of enjoyment the author takes in his hobby is tangible, taking it for what it is, rather than what it might be. I do, however, think he takes the challenge for realistic representation a little too far with the insistence on scale meaning that floor level is preferred to the table top in order for it to “look right”, and I am not entirely sure he is joking when he suggests taking over the local Mecca for a proper looking playing area! There is also a detailed section on how to scratch build balsa ships and the attraction of using flats, something I have honestly never seen in the naval arena before.

There are some general war gaming comments here as well, such as those who practice gamesmanship are not welcome to the hobby (amen, Brother!) and that rules are there to be played with, home-written amendments and all. Such a far cry from the modern commercial industry (or at least some of the game designers). The last section of the book covers various periods of naval warfare and the presentation takes the form of game reports featuring Mr Hague and friend. Tongues are placed firmly in cheek (the names of the admirals alone should raise a few chuckles) and they demonstrate the included rules very well. They also provide food for thought for future rule amendments.

In a way, it is funny to compare these titles, for the first follows the Featherstonian introduction type whilst the second is more a “Here! Play this! You’ll like it!” kind of book. It aims to be a torch bearer for naval war gaming in general and opines that whilst naval war gaming might be seen as more technical compared to its land-based cousin, that only means you need to learn more and that gaining of knowledge is part of the fun of the hobby. It has always been my opinion that a greater knowledge of the period always, and I mean always, makes playing that particular period more enjoyable. If only that approach were more common today… Incidentally, Mr Hague adds a decent bibliography (that include Mr Carter’s tome) and adds to what is a lovely little package.

Overall, these are two very useful book and highly recommended to anyone who plays, or has an interest in playing, with ships on a table (or dance hall floor, if you have one close to hand!). True, the included rules are a tad basic but you are literally ordered to improve and add as you see fit. I, for one, am very grateful for the loan of these from Andy and I think anyone who reads these will take something positive away for their gaming.

Now, onto two other books. And I bought these so they’re staying in the collection and for good reason too…

The Deadly Trade by Iain Ballantyne is an all encompassing history of submarine warfare. From the earliest attempts to travel under the surface to the nuclear powered behemoths that cruise the depths today, Ballantyne has written a very readable and detailed account. The author knows his stuff and engages the reader, with knowing little asides and comments that raise a smile here and there. True, the majority of the book deals with the First and Second World Wars and by its very nature, there is not too much specific detail in places, but that is where the bibliography comes in and, my word, is it a good one! I always like it when I read through a bibliography and can state honestly that I have quite a few of the books listed in it.

As a history of the submarine, this is a worthy read and the perfect book to either break into the subject or as a starting point to find other sources of more detail. One of which, had it been published when Ballantyne’s book was written, is In Deepest Secrecy by Jaime Karremann – the story of the Royal Netherlands Navy Submarine Service during the mid to late Cold War period.

Yep, this is niche, a small force of six diesel powered subs and the limited, though vital, role they played. Part history, part explanation of how they operated, this was a book I saw upon publication but missed on its first run. Fortunately, I was able to pick up a copy and to be honest, it was worth the wait. You’re not going to get Tom Clancy levels of excitement, but neither are you going to get bored to death by nothing happening. No, this book is an excellent account of how one of the smaller Western navies performed its role in the most dangerous and difficult of circumstances. If you’re in any way intrigued by the subject, grab yourself a copy as soon as you can!

Now, with all this talk of Submarines, where did I put my DOS copy of 688 Attack Sub?

Low RISC Computing

Many, many moons ago (2017, which feels like a long, long time ago), I posted a couple of pieces about alternative operating systems, one of which was RISC OS. I noted then that I would keep an eye on the format and as time has passed, there have been several positive developments in the RISC OS world (unlike the Amiga OS world which, well, who knows what's happening there).

The major one was the announcement last year that RISC OS Developments would take on the intellectual property concerning RISC OS and that RISCOS Open Ltd would continue the development of the operating system which is also now open source. This meant that there would be stability on the OS side of things.

Other developments included new, more powerful Raspberry Pi Single Board Computers (though that does not include the recently released Pi 4 as RISC OS needs porting to it due to a change in the ARM cores from the Pi 3) as well as other SBC's that RISC OS can run on, plus the continued sale of complete systems by the likes of R-Comp, CJE Micros and RISCOSbits. Indeed, R-Comp are in the process of developing an ARMBook laptop that, when out of beta testing, might prove a good replacement for the seven year old Chromebook that languishes in the corner of a drawer somewhere.

With that in mind, and thinking that it was a good time to re-visit RISC OS, I began searching for a suitable machine. Now I have said before that it's simple enough to cobble one of these together yourself for not much money but I really wanted to see what a pre-built system would be like. As a starter machine, I didn't want to spend too much but also didn't want to skimp on the spec, so finally settled on the RISCOSbits piHARD. You may have noticed the naming convention for RISCOSbits products is a bit tongue in cheek but hey, look at the name of this blog!

Disclaimer here: This computer was bought with my own funds and RISCOSbits have had no input or overview of this post. The opinions given are my own and I have not received any compensation whatsoever.

Once settled on the machine, I spec'd it out with a Raspberry Pi 3B+ (1GB RAM, 1.4GHz CPU, usual selection of ports), a 120GB SSD for mass storage and a battery backed real time clock. For the case, I chose the Deuce case which, as you can see, is rather tidy (and definitely tells you where it came from!). Once I had submitted the request for a quote, Andy at RISCOSbits was very quick with a reply and, with my agreement to the quoted price, the order was submitted. A couple of days later came the invoice, and, after settling that via Paypal on a Thursday evening, I waited for my new computer. I didn't have to wait long as a small box containing the well packaged PiHARD arrived on the following Monday.

During the intervening period, Andy was kind enough to suggest a power supply for the PiHARD, seeing as it uses a 5v 3000mA micro USB supply. That was ordered on the Friday and delivered the following day (from a well known river-based online supplier) so I was all set when the machine itself arrived.

Shiny, shiny... and some subtle branding :-)

The case is nice, roughly 6 x 6 x 2.5 inches and shiny. It's very light and you might mistake that lightness for fragility but once it's set up, you're not likely to move it again and the case certainly feels good enough to handle day to day knocks. Be honest here. How often do you move your desktop PC? The worst thing I can say about it is that it attracts dust like nobody's business. Incidentally, one of the options (which I didn't take) was for a front mounted USB port, hence the cut out visible above to the right.

Plenty of ports: Micro USB, HMDI, audio out, 3 x USB 2 and Ethernet.

There were no instructions in the box but, to be honest, they aren't really needed. Plug in the micro USB power supply, a keyboard, a mouse (you'll need a three button model or a mouse with a clickable scroll wheel - RISC OS relies upon three buttons) and an Ethernet cable for internet access and you're all done. WiFi is possible with RISC OS but that does require additional hardware at present so cabled networking is the easiest way forward at the moment. Now, the moment of truth. After a start up screen, RISC OS 5.24 boots up in seconds and gives you this rather green desktop.

It's a bit cropped (my fault with the screenshot), but you get the idea.

As you can see, the PiHARD sits rather nicely under the monitor and outputs a rock steady 1920x1080 resolution with 16.7 million colours at 60Hz. For those wanting some help starting out, there are plenty of documents and stored web pages in the OS to get you going. These can also be found online.

As for downsides, well, it's pretty much the lack of expansion. The issue here is the use of Single Board Computers as a basis of RISC OS machines. By their very nature, they are not expandable in the traditional PC sense, so what you get is, well, what you get. However, this is not the handicap you may think it is, as RISC OS runs extremely well on a Pi 3B+ and if extra storage is required, then you have plenty of USB ports to hang stuff off. Certainly, this issue cannot be laid at the feet of any of the hardware vendors. If there were to be new, dedicated motherboards for RISC OS, then maybe the situation would be similar to the Amiga OS market where the only new dedicated hardware readily available is £1,800.00! One niggle about the USB ports. They are all in a row and quite close together, so if you attach a USB stick directly to the computer, chances are that unless it is a slim design, you'll interfere with access to the remaining ports. The solution here is to use a USB hub and they are cheap enough. This isn't an issue that RISCOSbits are in control of and in no way is it a deal breaker.

Cable management to be sorted out later...

I'm not going to delve into using RISC OS in this post. Nor, in future, will I be delving into how-to guides either as there are plenty of those about. No, what I will be doing is an occasional series on how I find using RISC OS on a regular basis, how it can fulfill most general computing needs and basically how much fun computing can be outside of the usual Windows/Mac/Linux arenas. This first post though, is purely about the hardware and I must say I am very impressed, not only with the price paid but also the build quality, the speed  of delivery and the communication from RISCOSbits. If you ever do feel like dipping into the world of RISC OS, I wholeheartedly recommend them. I am happy with my PiHARD and the initial steps into RISC OS after 25 years (and RISC OS 3). I'll keep you updated as to how things go but from initial impressions, that ARMBook is looking more and more tempting by the day...

Hewlett Packard HP 620LX

Technological improvement occurred rapidly during the late 1990's with regards to portable computing and the Hewlett Packard HP 620LX is a fine example of this (with some caveats). The 620LX was the follow up to the HP 300 series, one of which I reviewed here. Released in 1998, the 620 took the basic premise of the 360 and added new bells and whistles to make it the then go-to model. These included a new version of Windows CE (v2.11 compared to 2.00), a faster SH3 processor (75MHz instead of 60MHz), double the memory (16Mb), more ROM (10Mb) and most obvious of all, a colour screen. Now before anyone gets too excited, when I say colour, I mean 256 colour CSTN with the same 640x240 half VGA resolution as the 360, so nothing special even compared to the laptops of the time. However, colour was something new and it was a useful feature to add, certainly making the built-in Internet Explorer somewhat more user friendly. All this for a launch price of £699 ($899). In today's money, that's north of £1,200.00!!!

That's the extended battery right there. The case is nifty too.

First up, that new tech meant a bigger device, and, as you can see from the picture below, it’s a fair bit larger than the 360LX and the much older Psion Series 3. The card is for scale. That extra space didn’t entirely go to waste as the keyboard, whilst keeping the calculator style of the 360LX, has slightly larger keys and they are more widely spaced. This does mean that it is easier to type on and I got up to a decent, accurate speed with it. It's still not in the same league as the follow up Jornada series or the Psion 5's (yet to be beaten) exemplary keyboard. There are also some application softkey shortcuts above the keyboard and four to the right of the screen.

Yes, I still buy books from a high street shop! What's your problem??? ;-)

It certainly looks the business.

As the device has a colour screen, the keyboard and symbols have a splash of colour themselves and the unit itself is a rather tasteful black rather than the dark grey of previous models. Think Psi-Corps compared to the dull Earthforce Security...

Also doubles as a make up mirror. So I am told...

A note on that screen. It is very readable but uses that popular tech of the time, the resistive touchscreen. This means that you really need the included stylus to get any real use out of it and it’s reflective as hell, as you may have noticed from the pictures. Being CSTN, it does appear rather washed out but you can change to contrast to help out with that.

That reflection is me taking the picture. Told you it was reflective...

That extra bulk (1.29 lbs vs 1.01 lbs of the 360LX) meant that the newer machine was no longer a jacket pocket “whip it out when required” (oohhh-errr, missus!) device. Nope, the 620LX was just too damn big and that was with the smaller battery. The picture with the carry case also shows the extended battery that adds a smidge more weight and sticks out of the back of the device. That said, the extended battery does mean you can make it through a full working day with extra to spare, not something that could be said of the standard power pack.

As per the 360LX, the software is the usual Windows CE mix of office applications and utilities, with just what seems minor enhancements. There is the expected compact flash card slot for additional memory and a PCMCIA Type 2 slot for network, modem and VGA adapters (amongst other things). A word of caution here though: any use of the PC card slot means a dive in battery life, and the extended battery isn’t much help here.

What makes it useful to this day, removable storage.

You can also get a very fragile docking cradle that acts as a syncing aid, but in reality, is neither use nor ornament and its true purpose was to take up desk space at home when you weren’t being an always connected on the road net-warrior (how '90's!).

Even with two rather suspect batteries, the 620LX is still very usable today and, if using a rucksack or other large bag, would be the go-to device if I couldn’t carry the Alphasmart. That would also include a mains adapter as twenty year old battery cells are unpredictable, as well as a spare back-up battery as those coin cells get chewed up pretty badly when the main battery goes. And that pretty much sums up the caveats with this device. It's a bit too large as a handheld and the move to a colour screen meant ditching the ubiquitous AA battery for a lithium-ion pack that also meant carrying the mains adapter around for when the pack inevitably died. 

620LX, 360LX and Series 3 - at least the screens got bigger.

Upon its release, the 620LX was described as a laptop killer. Bigger and of more use than a PDA, smaller and more portable than any laptop at the time, it seemed to be the perfect middle ground. Yet, as time was to prove, it wasn’t. Practical use was hampered by the form factor (the keyboard too small for real touch typing, the screen too small for more than one person to view at a time) and the abomination that was Windows CE/Handheld PC – an operating system that never truly knew what it was supposed to be. Tech also improved with laptops and when you’re paying seven hundred quid for something, you want it to work well. Ultimately, business users (for that was who HP were aiming for with the 620LX) didn’t jump ship to the product and by the time the Jornada 720 was released in 2000, the writing was on the wall for the device format.

Pretty similar but the bigger keys do it for me.

That is not to say that some silly fools continue to try to get some use out of these devices and as I said above, it’s a handy machine and a good back up.

This will be the last of the retro tech pieces I’ll be doing for a while, the main reason being that I have pretty much bought the machines I wanted to and these cover pretty much everything I need (and there is no way I am paying that much for an Apple eMate 300!). You could say I am a fool for using this old tech but to be honest, it works for me. I am not a fan of touchscreen keyboards, adding a keyboard to a tablet is akin to adding a chocolate handle to a frying pan and modern day small keyboard devices are rather expensive. So with that, if you’ve missed any of my previous pieces, the links below will take you to them and below that, a picture of the collection:

SonyPEG-UX50

AsusEEE-PC 904HD (Catchy name, that)

AmstradNC100

OregonScientific Osiris

HandspringVisor

PsionSeries 3

Alphasmart3000
HP 360LX
Zodiac Tapwave

Seven Days to the River Rhine - Preview

Seven Days to the River Rhine by Great Escape Games describes itself as a fast play set of rules covering the NATO/Warsaw Pact 1980’s. It claims it is suited especially for large multi-player games where each side has an overall commander who guides strategy and the other players control the actual units. In this preview, I’ll let you know what I think.

Not as gung-ho as Team Yankee

I had heard of this game last year but it wasn’t until the First Partizan of 2019 that I saw a demo game taking place. Intrigued, I searched for a copy of the rules and found a set for around a tenner. The rules themselves are a nicely produced 44-paged softback accompanied with a set of special cards. More on them later.

The overall layout is clear and concise, with quite large text and numerous photographs. Unlike Team Yankee, these picture detail miniatures from several manufacturers and credit is given to them with each picture.

The process of play is based on command tokens and initiative. One player has the initiative, uses their command tokens, then there are reaction rolls and this continues until all of the command tokens have been used or the other player steals the initiative via a 6 on a reaction dice roll. On the whole, this is probably the part of the game that I am dubious about the most. It just seems so finicky and I can’t help but think that the process as described might hinder fast play more than help. Having said that, most games I have played are simultaneous movement and effect so this initiative malarkey is a bit of a stranger to me. When we do get round to playing these rules, we’ll see how this goes. There is the usual morale and stats sections and the rules don’t get too bogged down in minutia unlike some sets I could care to mention.

The biggest game changing aspect of the rules would be the Tactical Advantage Cards. These are mostly generic but there is a card specific to each side and whilst I can see how they can add to the game, I am not entirely sure they help the game play to the period, and that is a thing for me and my approach to historical gaming, hence the amendments I made to the core Team Yankee rule set last year. A play through will sort out that question. 

Another interesting part of the game is range, or lack of it. Except for infantry fire, there are no defined ranges for weapons, the inference being that given the scale of miniatures used, assigning ranges to say tank cannon fire in relation to an assault rifle would make the scale of the game look a bit funny. Again, I can see how this would help the game but would add a caveat in that if you game on quite a large table as we often do (say 16x5 feet), you’ll need to consider terrain and buildings in you scenarios or you’re just going to have a shoot ‘em up on your hands. Then again, maybe that was what they were going for with the fast paced point of the game.

Sgt Bradford and a QR code? Tsk!

There is one bugbear that I must comment upon, and it’s nothing to do with the mechanics or the style of play. No, it’s a layout choice and one that peeved me slightly with my recent look at Cruel Seas. It’s the ‘advice’ boxes, from either Sgt Bradford for the British or Lieutenant Vasilov for the Soviets. These seek to impart tactical or strategic advice for those in it for the game and whilst I can understand why the designers put these sections in, they do come across as a little condescending for anyone with only a little knowledge of the tactics of the period. It’s a small thing, and you may very well disagree, but I would prefer it if games designers did not think every reader is a bored child with the attention span of an MP in a re-election campaign. Oh, and in case you don’t understand what the rules are trying to tell you, there are QR codes that will lead you to videos explaining the relevant section of the rules. Helpful, maybe, appearing to cater for the Fisher Price ‘My First Wargame’ market, almost certainly. I know I am being waspish here but if you can’t explain a simple process in two paragraphs, are you really trying at all?

It could be considered easy, and lazy, to think of Seven Days to the River Rhine as a kind of Team Yankee lite without the model catalogue level of miniature pictures. And yes, it would be. The designers have clearly thought long and hard about what they wanted to put on the table and, my reticence aside for initiative table tennis, it feels like they have succeeded in their self declared goal. For the price, I don’t feel set upon by the rules and there isn't the relentless commercialism of Team Yankee and its ilk. As with my recent Cruel Seas preview, I have certain doubts but am more than willing to give these rules a full airing, probably in late 1990’s H’irraq at 15mm or West Germany in 20mm if the kit is available. Command Decision is our usual modern rule set (albeit at a different unit scale to Seven Days or Team Yankee), but the latter has become our alternate go to set with suitable amendments. You never know, maybe Seven Days could replace TY in that role. We shall have a play and find out.

The State of the Blog (and what a state it is too...)

Since we are now into the second half of 2019, I thought it appropriate to provide an update on what's going on with this blog as well as other projects I am involved with.

At the beginning of the year, I set myself a target of three to four posts per month, obviously depending upon having something to write about. Whilst the cadence of posts hasn't been entirely predictable, I've hit that three per month target in every month except May, so I'm pretty happy with that. There have, however, been a couple of other things that have taken up time which has, to a degree, slowed down my posting here.

First up is Then There Were Two, a podcast featuring myself and Eddie Carter of Attention Please, Across the Pond (search Facebook for AttentionPlease1976 for both of those shows), All The Time I Was Listening To My Own Wall Of Sound (link here) and Bearded Gentlemen Music (link here) infamy. You can hear the first two episodes here and more will be incoming. We're also on iTunes if you're so inclined (search in podcasts to Then There Were Two. It's the one with the two dodgy fellers on it...) and there is a Facebook page to be found by searching for TTW2NE. The format for these is pretty simple. Around an hour in length, opinion based and containing ramblings of two middle aged bearded gents, Then There Were Two will basically be a talking shop on various topics, one topic per episode. Four have already been recorded and they will be released on a monthly basis. Another recording session is due next week and as each one is released, there'll be an update on the Facebook page.

Spot the podcast - it's the one with the parental advisory.

In addition to TTWT, there is also Retrovideogamer.co.uk. I was asked to provide some retro game reviews a couple of months back and have so far posted four, with more in the works. It's a fun thing to do and not only does it allow me to replay games from yesteryear but it also allows me to develop my reviewing skills as well. My reviews are posted under the name Oystoa77 and if you have any requests for old videogames, have a look at the platforms supported and let me know via this blog or my Twitter handle @andrew_oyston and I'll see what I can do.

Of course, with the podcast and RVG, that has eaten into my spare time a lot but with a bit of careful planning, this shouldn't affect the TIT much and, as I noted above, as long as I have something to write about then I'll be putting it on here. This will include expanding into the other hobbies and interests I have as well as some more in-depth pieces that I can't cover elsewhere but also the occasional op-ed as well. Let's see what the rest of 2019 brings, shall we?

Toy, Train and Sci-Fi Mega Fair - Newcastle

I have been going to war games shows for over twenty years but on each of those occasions, I have never attended as a simple punter. When I saw a Facebook advert for the Toy, Train and Sci-Fi Mega Fair being held at the Newcastle Eagles Arena on Saturday 6th July, it piqued my interest.

I'll admit it now and say that I am not one for trains or toy collections. Trains never really grabbed me, not like aircraft or military ships do, and toy collections are only something that I might look at from a wargaming point of view. I do like sci-fi though and show me a die-cast aircraft carrier and I'm yours, so to speak. Ahem, anyway, I thought there might be enough to interest me and I'd never been to a show like it before. Since it was local and there was nothing else planned for the day, my good lady and I ventured to deepest, darkest Scotswood Road to find out what the show could offer.

We arrived shortly after ten, missing the queue to get in but finding the room rather busy. The show itself occupied two-thirds of the room, the other third being used for basketball practice. It sounded like it anyway as there was a barrier dividing the two. Lighting wasn't too bad. In fact, it was rather decent and nothing like the horrid orange sodium glare you get at some sports venues (Gateshead, I am looking at you!).

The show is pretty much traders only with a couple including some display tables as well - the Meccano set up was good and the railway table was really good - ok, trains aren't my thing but I can appreciate when a lot of work has gone into something and that work is on show.

Quite a decent venue.

Walking anti-clockwise round the room, the traders here were very much train-heavy on kit. One trader pretty much occupied the right hand wall of the show and if that's your thing, you'd have been in seventh heaven.

A lot of stock of rolling stock...

Choo-Choo's, Sir! Fa'sands of 'em! (A slight exaggeration!)

Moving on brought out the die-cast traders and my only criticism of the trade here. Most traders arranged their stock in neat rows or on top of container lids or in a loose fashion about the table top. All well and good. There were a small number who just had plastic and wooden boxes with stock dumped in them, leaving you to search for anything you might like. It's one way of doing it but it doesn't do the toys any favours and cost one trader a sale. A die-cast aircraft carrier in its box. Nice, I thought, but on closer inspection, it had been kept in with a jumble of other die-cast kit and the box was shredded, the model loose inside and some damage had been taken to the flight deck. No sale there then. Some traders did have some nicely painted toy soldiers that looked the part but for the prices they wanted, would stay put.

Don't ask how much.

Sci-Fi traders took up the rest of the show and it was mostly a mix of Dr Who and Star Wars toys. All I'll say to that is why did my parents let me play with this stuff as a kid? The prices being charged for toys I played with 35 years ago are in many ways silly, but charged they are and I saw some people pay them too.

There was a cake stall for refreshments and a book trader as well. Sadly for me, he dealt in railway books only so that was a dud. The final stand that caught my eye was the one in the picture below:

What in the actual f...? A doll's head in a lamp???

I initially thought it to be steampunk which I have a sneaky liking of, but no. The wares available here were weird and off-putting. I get the idea, but I don't like the look.

Two points remain to be made about this show and they both relate to the attendees (and for those who attend war games shows, you'll know exactly where I am coming from):

• Back packs were a thing here and more than once I received a glancing blow from someone turning around without looking to see if there was anybody near them. I know why people use them but for the love of all that is holy (non-denominational or Cthulhu, it's your call), carry them by hand when in an enclosed space.  
• The unwashed. By that, I mean some of those who attended had not seen a shower or a bath in days. I know it's been rather warm recently so you would expect a bit more attention to personal hygiene but a couple of blokes in there were so bad, I gagged as they passed by. This wasn't fresh, same day sweat. This was sour and cloying, built up over days. I know you can't expect organisers to deal with that issue but it still surprises me that people leave the house in that state. 

So that was the show and a well organised one it was too. I picked up a couple of thoughts for future war games and I'll be turning up next year when they will have the whole hall and up to 30 additional traders. It's something a bit different and I might find something I like next time.

Cruel Seas - a preview

I have posted what others have considered some unkind thoughts on Cruel Seas back when it was released and, for a good while, I had no intention of approaching the game in any form. However, as time passed, I gave it a bit more thought and considered giving the game a go because the period had some attraction. I picked up a few books on the subject and that decided it. Let me be clear though: the interest in the period dictated the renewed interest in the game. History first, gaming second as far as I go.

That decision was followed by some umming and ahhing about buying the rule set and the kit to go with it. Seeing as I only wanted to give it a go, I didn't want to spend a great deal on what might only be a single outing. Fortunately, Warlord Games' marketing department (un)knowingly provided a solution. With a couple of issues of Wargames Illustrated sporting Sellotaped sprues, one magazine purchase by myself and a couple of donations (thanks, Andy and Shaun!), meant I had the kernel of a game. First Partizan this year saw me taking the plunge and buying the rule set (the only money I have actually paid directly to support the game, by the way. Maybe the marketing trick of free sprues worked???). Incidentally, at that show, the WI stand were offering a free sprue with every purchase. Hmmm...

Miniature Wargames then got in on the act, offering another sprue, so another magazine purchase added two more boats, followed by some more donations (thanks again to Andy and Shaun). As you can see below, I now have a dozen boats and some torpedo markers to play with for the cost of £20. The magazines would have been purchased regardless of their cover gifts.

I paid for one item here...

Now, I haven't played the game yet, having just perused the rules, but before passing comment on those, I must note the method in which I have acquired the kit. Maybe the marketing of the game was designed to nudge you in the direction of buying the rules, then you'd get more plastic after giving it a go. Maybe the game didn't launch as well as expected and that led to the deluge of plastic on magazine covers. Maybe something in between. I don't know, but in past employment, when I saw so much given away so early in a product's life cycle, that raised concerns about the success of that product. As I say, I could be totally wrong, (and I am also a cynic at heart), but it just feels a little off. Anyhoo, to the rule set themselves.

Pretty, yes. useful, no.

What we have here is a very glossy, picture heavy tome. A couple of spelling and grammar issues (I know, stones and glasshouses here!) do not spoil the overall quality and the game itself seems very straight forward. The mechanisms seem well thought out and not too finicky, though I am not a fan of either the activation process or the dice heavy torpedo rules. The amount of actual historical content is surprisingly high (with a but to be included below) and is backed up by a good bibliography with some excellent sources included. An observation though: the bibliography starts by referencing the Osprey titles about the period (indeed, most of the hand drawn illustrations are from those Ospreys), before noting the non-Osprey sources. Would I be too cynical to suggest that the publisher is guiding readers to their own products first, with the high probability that the "other recommended" sources were also used in the production of those Ospreys in the first place? Possibly, but then there is the full page Osprey advert a page later...

From what I have read, I am looking forward to putting on a game with the group when I get the kit painted (stop sniggering at the back!) and see how we take to Cruel Seas. I do, however, have a few points to make just from the read through...

• The rule set is a giant catalogue. Let's not kid ourselves here. I have seen more than one interview with games designers who has stated that the whole point of rule sets is to sell toys and it is no different here. True, the photographs of the boats are lovely and certainly give a sense of action and drama, but since these are diorama style set ups, no game will ever look that good without some serious (and OTT) effort. Also of note, nearly every page has at least  illustration/image, others are single or double page spreads of photographs, and others are a mixture of both illustrations and photographs. Out of a count of 108 pages, only 12 do not have an image of some kind - and I am not counting the token counters as images. I know the game designers needs to earn a crust, but this is very much style over substance.

The layout. I'm not sure...

• Dice - they will sell me dice for each of the fleets in their own little bag. For £24 a pack. 16 dice (plus bag) for £24. Yes, I know these are unique dice for the game, but seriously, a quick internet search for dice can get me 20 of the buggers for £4! Slightly bigger dice, plus a bag will cost £4 for 10. I can work round the usage issues from there with a teensy bit of thought. And Warlord want £24 for one(!) fleets' worth. Get tae f...!
• As a mechanism, the activation process isn't something I like. I know, it's a personal thing, and it may work well with the game so we'll see. Most games I have played have been simultaneous movement so I will withhold judgement until we play a game.
• Torpedo hits - they require 16 dice (where could I get that many dice... Oh!). It also means, on average scores, you are unlikely to destroy any of the bigger ships, meaning the other player won't go into a huff early on if you sink their big shiny model. Regardless, it's finicky.
• Points - This is a personal thing again, and take into account I have never been a competition gamer, but the designers have put a fair bit of thought into this game and have nodded to historical accuracy. Why then, instead of actual dispositions and force strengths, go for a points based allocation system? Then I remembered, you build your force to the points level you are playing with, which means you buy the kit to fit that points total. Historical accuracy be damned! A lot of my ire towards points systems stems from its inability to be historically accurate unless a ton of thought has gone into it. I recall a rule set in the 90's where you couldn't field what 2 Para had at Goose Green because you didn't have enough points. But that's me, and as I have said before, I am a history buff first and foremost, a historical war gamer second and a gamer third. In any case, I will decide the scenario based on the kit I have and the points allocation will not be taken into account when we do our play through. 
• Historical accuracy. Well, it's there. It's a bit hit and miss, and as noted above, the use of points to define forces means you can do pretty much whatever you want in the game. But the biggest issue I have is that the designers have started off well and then gamed the accuracy out of the window. Would an order of battle been too much to ask for specific theatres? What about actual battles or contacts? Why not try and teach a little bit of history to players in the guise of a game? 
• Condescension. There are little dialogue boxes with hints and advice, each fronted by a nation specific character. Why? I do not need to imagine a chap giving me advice. Place this information in the body of the text and let me read it there. I can cope with this. Finally, there is the whole "have fun, enjoy yourself, treat your fellow player/players with respect" and all that jazz. If you are the type of person who has to be told by the rule set how to be civil or friendly (considering who you are likely to be playing this game with), then something went seriously wrong long before you picked up Cruel Seas.

It may seem that I am being a little harsh but, on the whole, I am cautiously optimistic about playing it. It is plain to see that a lot of effort has gone into the game and my view is tempered by my cynicism to corporate,  marketing and gaming innit bull poo. However, play the game we shall and I will place a report, alongside observations from myself and the rest of the group, on here afterwards. As for when, probably later on in the year.