Merry Christmass & Happy New Year

I thought about writing a message to wish as the title suggests a Merry Christmass and a Happy New Year and to talk about gaming stuff in general.
2009 has seen a fantastic increase of members and gaming going on, I think we all enjoyed miniature wargames, boardgames and chatting, so the "augur" for 2010 is to do more gaming, more painting and more chatting, and most of all recruiting new members for the club. I will be off to Italy for 2 weeks, which means that I will be collecting a couple of orders for a new army of Austrians 1683 for the famous Ottoman siege!! and I will be resting for a while and sitting from a table to another and eating loads of home made food!

The dates for january 2010 have to be decided but unfortunately I will not be able to do it before I come back, but be assured that as soon as we arrive I will eb thinking about a possible date. It might also be that we meet at the beginning of February. We will probably play a Blitzkrieg Commander game sponsored by Robert who's busy painting Germans and Russians with loads of tanks. It will look very nice!

Recentely I also got back on my interest for BoardWargames and re read the rules for Bitter Victory a game about the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, I will be testing it with my brother back home and see if I will have to get into boardwargames or just leave it. we will see.

In the mean time, please enjoy the new year breake, and paint as much as you can! I am looking forwrd to see you all in 2010 and enjoy gaming togeather.

WOW! We had another great game last Saturday.

As we where planning we decided to go for DBA and we teamed up for a Big Battle DBA.

Macedonians,Romans and Assiryans against, Egyptians,Sumerians and Nubians. IT has been a very interesting game, which made me realize how deep is that system. No mattershow many times you read the rules, there is always something to learn.

Me and Brian lost the game, since we had to face the roman legions that proved their superiority, although re reading the rules we made a mistake. Groups cannot go back togeather with one PIP! we will remmember that next game.

Dai wa kind enough to write a very nice and explainatory article in Japanese about the game with two pictures, so hopefully we can appeal to local players too.

I will soon be planning the dates for January so get tuned.

<ウォーゲームを製作する歴史学の講義：フィリップ・セービンの革新的試み>
2009年12月06日著Dai Kurahara
　ロンドン・キングス・カレッジの戦略学教授フィリップ・セービン（Philip Sabin）は、大学・大学院の講義で学生たちにウォーゲームを製作させて歴史の動きを理解させるという授業の方法を始めています。　詳細は→ ( http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/ws/people/academic/professors/sabin/conflictsimulation.html )
************************************************************************【ウォーゲームの製作は立派な歴史研究です】
　フィリップ・セービンの教育理念は下記のサイトで説明されていますので、ここでは要点のみ簡単に紹介します。　Conflict Simulation :Philip Sabin :King's College London: ( http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/ws/people/academic/professors/sabin/conflictsimulation.html )
　セービンの授業の目的は、文献史学では解明しにくい歴史の動き、とくに「空中戦の戦術、第二次ポエニ戦争や第二次世界大戦の戦況の動向などを視覚化する」(to illustrate topics such as aerial dogfight tactics or the strategic dynamics of the Second Punic or Second World Wars)ことに力点を置いています(*1)。従って彼の講義では単にゲームを制作するというよりは、史学上の先行研究を踏まえた上でその要約としてのシミュレーションを作ります、というわけで講義を聴講する学生はそのセービンの方針にそってゲームを設計しています。なお授業で提出されたゲームが上記 webページで無料公開されているのも面白い所です。
　ここで面白いのは、セービンは「ハリウッド風のド派手な活劇を重んじて正確性を犠牲にする作品」（those where accuracy is sacrificed for Hollywood-style dramatics）を嫌い(*2)、コンピュータを用いない所謂アナログゲームを制作するよう学生を指導している事です。ですから愉しみのためのゲームというよりは、学術研究としての評価に堪えうる一種の論文、としてウォーゲームが制作されている事になります（事実、セービンのサイトで公開されている一連のゲームのルールブックには参考文献リストが付いていました）。
　どんな学生作ゲームがあるのか、上記ページから一部抜粋してみました。
　Alexander at Arbela (331 BC), by Panagiotis Bakalis　The Battle of the River Trebia, 218 BC, by Matthew Brown　Gladius et Sarissa (Cynoscephalae, 197 BC), by Michael Ng　Clash of Empires (Magnesia, 190 BC), by Simon Elliott　Whigs and Scalps (French & Indian War, 1754-60), by Kevin Forcet　Battle to the Gates of Hell (Bunker Hill, 1775), by Timothy Mason　Turning the Tide (Bemis Heights, 1777), by Jerry Schultz　Westminister Abbey or Glorious Victory (Cape St Vincent, 1797), by William Jobling　Death on the Nile (1798), by Paul Banner　Austerlitz 1805, by Konstantinos Tigkos　Bautzen: the Beginning of the End (1813), by Stephen Ho　1847: The Road to Mexico City, by Derek Liu　Mexico City Campaign (1847) by Francisco Franco　1st Manassas (1861), by Alexander Woodward　Grant vs Lee: The Overland Campaign (1864), by Nicholas Inns　La Bataille de la Bouteille, Champagne 1915, by Jonathan Krause　The Battle of Jutland (1916), by David Chisholm　The Battle of Brunete (1937), by Viktoria Spaiser　Suomussalmi (1939-40), by Jonathan Woollgar　Comet (Crete, 1941), by Andrew McGrenary　1941: Fall of the Fortress (Singapore), by Shiqin Ku　The Battle of Midway: Four Fatal Hours (1942), by Matt Jeffrey　The First Battle of Alamein (1942), by Jamie Walsh　Sensuikan (Solomons submarine warfare, 1942), by Alessio Patalano　When Hell Froze Over (Stalingrad, 1942), by David Hiley　Outward North Atlantic Slow Convoy Five (1943), by Nicolas Benton　The Citadel of Prokhorovka (Kursk, 1943), by Dimitris Terzis　Operation Husky (1943), by Silvia Ricchetti　Anzio – Drive to Rome (1944), by William Durrant　Trenches in the Tropics (Dien Bien Phu, 1954), by Pierre Bartouilh de Taillac　The Battle of Algiers (1957)by Antoine de Gunzbourg　Plei Me (1965), by Edward Farren　Thiet Giap, the struggle for An Loc (1972), by Arrigo Velicogna　Task Force 421 (Iran-Iraq naval war, 1980), by Farzin Nadimi　Afghanistan 1980, by Barnaby Cook　Day of the Rangers (Mogadishu 1993), by Daniel McGrath　Battle for Fallujah, April 2004, by John Anderson
　ちなみにセービン教授自らも、古代戦を再演するウォーゲームのルールブックLost Battles(2007)を刊行しています( http://mixi.jp/view_diary.pl?id=1297254189&owner_id=2281505 )。　なお、yahooの掲示板の中に、このLost Battlesに関する議論を扱っている場所があります( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lostbattles/ )。この掲示板のスゴイ所は、著者のP.Sabin自身が"Philp"の名前で書き込み対応をしている点です。もちろん議論は全部英語ですが、とはいえ原著者と直接丁々発止できるというのはなかなかない機会でしょう。
　それから「氷川 TRPG 研究室」( http://www.trpg-labo.com/ )でご紹介がありましたので、こちらにも転載ということで公開します。以下の記事は『日経サイエンス』（2006年1月号）に掲載された記事の概説です。
　バーチャル考古学　シミュレーションで迫る古代社会:　( http://www.nikkei-science.com/page/magazine/0601/archaeology.html )
　こちらの話も、基本的には文献史学では追跡できない古代の社会環境を、シミュレーション実験を通じて推測するという考古学界の動向を報告しています。「コンピューターが登場すると，考古学者たちは先史時代の人間を調べる手段としてシミュレーション実験を利用するようになった。考え方は単純だ。人口増加や資源利用などの変遷をまねるようコンピューターをプログラムして，その予測結果と考古学的な記録がどの程度一致するかを調べる」というわけで、シミュレーションの利活用は急速に広がっているようですね。
*** Attention!: please insert picture "DK-article01-a" into here. ***
************************************************************************【脚　注】(1)Philip Sabin. 2008. "Simulation Techniques in the Modelling of Past Conflicts." Conflict Simulation :Philip Sabin :King's College London. Retrieved Nov.16, 2009 ( http://www.kcl.ac.uk/content/1/c6/05/06/60/SIMULATIONTECHNIQUESINTHEMODELLINGOFPASTCONFLICTS.doc ), p.2.(2)ibid.. p.2.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――【関連記事】〔2009年12月02日加筆〕
○ ウォーゲームを製作する歴史学の講義 - Flying to Wake Island:( http://d.hatena.ne.jp/Thorn/20091125/p1 )・岡和田様の記事です。
○ 氷川 TRPG 研究室 - 研究日誌 : about 「ウォーゲームを製作する歴史学の講義」 by kilica:( http://www.trpg-labo.com/modules/wordpress/index.php?p=835 )・氷川様の記事です。
○ lostbattles : Lost Battles:( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lostbattles/ )・yahooの掲示板の中に、このLost Battlesに関する議論を扱っている場所があります。

Christmass session 5th of December

Hi ALL

Thank you for participating in the last event, it was good fun and with the new entry of Yannis we got new energy for our events. As mentioned earlier I think there was a general ineterst to go back to miniatures. So to keep things easy I thought we should play either DBA or DBR condensed scale. At home I think I can sport 2-3 playing areas varying on the scale of the miniatures. Since I am quinte willing to push DBR and Brian should have 100 points of Samurai, it would be nice to play DBR, I can organize about 2-3 small armies and with what Gareth has we can play without troubles.

As for DBA (ancient wargaming) I have enugh armies for everyone.

This time I would rather start at 14.00 because last time we almost took the table cloth from the table when people where coming up the stairs!!

See you all soon

Maharaja report

So yesterday the 21st of Nov. we met and had a game of Maharaja. Where I think Yannis was the overall winner with the most victory points.
THe game was fairly simple but a bit too shceduled. I enjoyt it quite a lot, but I found difficult to follow up things an game turns is kind of complex. I also have to admit that I was distracted by Daugter, th internet and so on so at times they had to call me to the table! (Sorry about that!)
Here is a picture where Yannis is considering one of his final winning moves with Brian's Mandarines in the foreground.

Close up of the board, I was playing several nations but most of the time they where sent off the board by invasions, combat and whatsoever!

Panoramic of the game. Next time we will probably go back to miniatures since we have been playing boardgames twice. Next event the 5th of December. See you all soon

Date change! Next Meeting NOVEMBER 21ST

HI All,

Due to a small mis-calculation in my schedule we will have to change teh date for the next Session.

The new date is the 21st of November and we will still play Maharaja. Perhaps there might be more participants than I thought (which is absolutely great!) so I will also be running a participation game of DBA for the people who might not fit in the maximum number of players of Maharaja.

Looking forward to see you all

Giovanni

Session 29th November

We will be meeting again for teh 29th again fro a board game.

This time will be the turn of Maharaja an historical game of the conquest of India.

Looking forward to enjoy the game!

Session of the 24th Great Day!

Wow, we had a great time today!

It is the first war boardgame we played at the West Tokyo Wargamers and we really had a great time. Shogun is fairly easy, but without the help from Gareth that checked the rules time to time, and the effort of all of the other members it would not have been as fun as it has been.

We loosely started at about 14.00 and finished about 19.30. Unfortunately we did not manage to finish the game completely, and we did count the number of provinces and guess.... I ended up winning. It hardly happens so I am more satified than I thought.

Next gaming session will be the 29th of November and we will play the rather exciting game of Maharaja from Avalon Hill.

It is a very interesting game of the conquest of India during the centuries from Alexander the Great to the British colonization of the country.

Thank you to all the participant, and as usual we are looking forward to meet new members

Contact us!

Next session 24th October SHOGUN

Next session of gaming will be held on the 24th of October and we will be fighting for the domination of Medieval Japan. We will be playing a classic Milton Bradley game called Shogun.

I am sure it will be a lot of fune and I am looking forward seeing all of the player strategies in this simple but detailed game.

If anyone is interested in joining us even in the future send us an e mail at the address you will find on the side of this page, we will be happy to have new players joining us.

Damn Battleships Again

Just in additon of what Robert wrote,

you can find the downloadable version of DBA (Damn Battleships Again) on Phil Barker's official website.

www.phil-barker.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

You can also find the very interesting Horse Foot and Guns that covers the period 1700-1914 for wargaming.

Enjoy

DBR (and possible DBA Naval?)

We had a pretty decisive DBR game last night, the Ottoman Turks vs. the Knights of St. John.  More on that later once I finish the battle report.  In the meantime, a teaser.  It was a good-looking game with some very nicely painted miniatures on both sides.

 Armour-plated "masters of the battlefield" (ahem...).

Gareth mentioned some interest in doing a WW1 naval game set in the Adriatic using a DBA rule variant.  Something I'm interested in doing, having played a few Russo-Japanese naval wargames using a set that appeared in an old issue of Miniature Wargames.  The rules worked well, and it would be fun to dust my WW1 ships off and give them an outing again.

I dug out what I have here in Japan of my WW1 models.  The balance of the collection- basically the really heavy stuff like dreadnoughts- are still tucked away in a box back in Vancouver somewhere.

Here are the Franco-Italian ships, including the French squadron consisting of the pre-dreadnought Voltaire, cruiser Dupleix and the destroyer Bory at the bottom right. The Italians have the fast battleship Regina Elena and a squadron of beefy armoured cruisers.

And these are my Austrians.

The only Austrian pre-dreadnought I have (at centre-right) is the Radetzky, but honestly I have always had lots of fun just gaming with armoured cruisers and lighter vessels, as well as with their larger brethren.  The Austrians have four modern light cruisers of the Admiral Spaun class that can play havoc with older, smaller ships.

I originally envisioned  a quick campaign, where the Austrians would usually have the advantage of initiative and would sail out under orders to commit GBH to some Italian naval base or other, so the idea is that they would sail pretty much as a unified fleet.  The Italians would be separated into squadrons at various places around the Adriatic, with some French back-up.

Models are 1/2400 Panzerschiffes, along with a few Italian Destroyers from C-in-C.  I also have the Panzershiffe rules, which are okay for smaller engagements,

The Panzerschiffe models are cast from resin and are fairly basic, but they are good, robust models for wargaming purposes.  I have a large fleets of Russo-Japanese War models for both sides as well, which are also from Panzerschiffes.

Battle Report- Dogfight over Peephinghtohm

Giovanni and I enjoyed a game of Wings of War this past Sunday- in fact, it was my first non-solo wargame that I've played for many a year!  And it was well worth the wait. A fun, simple game that is not so simple to master!

The game ended in victory for yours truly- but not through any great tactical skill or acumen on  my part, I assure you.

    "Gallant Heroes of the Air"

Both Giovanni and myself pranged a kite each through neglecting to start and end an Immelman loop manoeuvre card with a move in a straight line.  That sucked, but at least fate was even-handed.  I also soon realized that while the Tripe and Camel are as agile as hell, particularly when making a right turn, they are not all that swift- especially the Fokker. 

So as the mission required that I just had to get off the table edge opposite, I put the pedal to the metal, and just made a bee-line to the horizon.  Neither pretty nor glorious, but it worked!

Here is an old newsreel found deep in the vaults of the British Pathe collection, celebrating the exploit.  While a victory- of sorts- for the RFC, it did cost Capt. Fetlock-Withers a promotion, on account of damaging His Majesty's property through his own recklessness.

(You might want to give some time for the video to load if you have the patience; 

I couldn't compress the file as much as I wanted to, as the clarity was already a little iffy).

As the game was really just a training exercise, we dispensed with altitude and other advanced rules.  But already I love Wings of War, and I'm sure I'll be coming back to it.  The use of the cards is cleverly conceived, you have to think ahead fast, and the production design is first-rate.

Ever since I was a kid I've had a long-held interest in WW1, both air, land and sea. Accordingly I've played a number of WW1 air board games over the years; Richthofen's War, Sopwith, and Ace of Aces to name a few.  This one was, along with Sopwith, my favourite so far.  It plays fast, which I think is the essence of an airwar game even if it is at the expense of detail.

And unlike Ancients and Napoleonics, it requires little in the way of painting or preparation.

I've already been mulling over ideas for a campaign- and I've always hankered for a flight of SE-5a's.