La Ultima Cruzada: Paperback and eBook editions … are now available

Posted: June 19, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Spanish Civil War, Wargames publications | Leave a comment
As I intimated in a recent blog entry, over recent weeks I have been thinking about releasing both paperback and eBook editions of LA ULTIMA CRUZADA.

The work required to do this took somewhat more time and effort than I had expected, but that task is now over and both editions are now available. They can currently be purchased from Lulu.com for £14.99 (paperback) and £4.99 (eBook), but should be available from Amazon etc., within the next fortnight or so.

My latest book sales figures

Posted: June 11, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Wargames publications | 4 Comments
Lulu.com have just sent me my latest book sales figures, and they look like this:

It is interesting to see that most of my books continue to sell reasonably well, with both THE PORTABLE WARGAME and DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME being far and away the best sellers. The eBook edition of the former outsells the paperback edition, whereas the opposite is true of the latter, and sales of the hardback editions of both have stagnated. As I expected, LA ULTIMA CRUZADA is selling better in its hardback edition than the eBook and paperback editions because it is aimed at readers who will want a reference book they can use for the foreseeable future, and the latest addition to my catalogue – THE MADASAHATTA CAMPAIGN – has attracted a small number of purchasers even though the book is only available as a hardback.

Kicking in the door: An Operation Barbarossa Campaign System by Andrew Rolph

Posted: June 9, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Book Review, Campaigns, Wargames publications | 6 Comments
A few days ago Andrew Rolph – a wargamer who has written numerous very interesting articles that have been published in MINIATURE WARGAMES – sent me a link so that I could download a PDF copy of his latest book, BARBAROSSA: KICKING IN THE DOOR … .

The book explains how to fight a wargames campaign that covers Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion of the Soviet Union) from June until September 1941. It is designed to work with rules in which a stand represents a platoon, but it seems to me that the basic system will work with most rules that cover World War II, including my own PORTABLE WARGAME rules.

The campaign map uses point-to-point movement, with each node on the map generating a potential battle between the Axis forces and the Russians.

The book contains:

  • A short history of the campaign (this has also been published in Andrew Rolph’s earlier book GREY STEEL, RED STORM – REGIMENTAL SCENARIOS IN THE SOVIET UNION 1941-1943);
  • Background information (including time scale, ground scale, and suggestions for additional/optional rules) that will help wargamers adapt the system so that it will work with a particular set of rules;
  • A system for generating tabletop terrain for individual battles;
  • Numerous Appendices that cover:
    • Platoon and Company-level Tables of Organisation and Equipment for the divisions and regiments involved in the campaign;
    • Forty-two coloured terrain squares that can be used with the tabletop terrain generation system;
    • An example of how the tabletop terrain generation system works;
    • A Campaign Quick Reference Sheet;
    • An example of a Campaign Turn;
    • A set of suitable quick-play rules for use with the campaign system;
    • A full colour A4-sized Campaign Map.

Andrew sent the link to me because he knows that I have had plans to re-fight Operation Barbarossa for a very long time, and having read it, I can see the potential his campaign system has in helping me achieve my ambition.

BARBAROSSA: KICKING IN THE DOOR … is written and published by Andrew Rolph. It is available from the Wargames Vault as a watermarked PDF ($4.95) or as a softback book with coloured illustrations ($9.95) or as a combined purchase of PDF and book (usually $14.90 but currently on sale at the discounted price $9.95).

Miniature Wargames Issue 423

Posted: June 8, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Wargames publications | Leave a comment
The latest issue of Miniature Wargames arrived in the post on Wednesday, and I have managed to read it during breaks during my downsizing project.

The articles included in this issue are:

  • Welcome (i.e. the editorial) by John Treadaway
  • Forward observer
  • Send three and fourpence: The Right Tool For The Job (or how I learned to stop worrying and love Sharp Practice) by Conrad Kinch
  • Tales of the Towpath: How to make a canal of wharf by Dave Tuck and Malc Johnston, with photographs by Malc Johnston
  • Spotsylvania County: Virginia, May 1st 1863 by Jon Sutherland, with photographs by Diane Sutherland
  • Show Preview: The Joy of Six by Peter Berry and John Treadaway
  • Hooray for Hollywood: Cinematic scenario design by Nick Hughes, with photographs by John Treadaway
  • Darker Horizons
    • Fantasy Facts
    • Under the brush: The very best of the SALUTE 2018 painting competition photographs by Roger Dixon
    • Scouting Parties: A preview of Vanguard by Manic Games by James Dyson, with photographs by Manic Games
    • Preaching to the Unconverted: How to convert North Star‘s plastic Dwarven infantry by Graham Green
  • Light Division: Tactical Napoleonics for Players with a Small Board by Robert Piepenbrink, with photographs by Michael Hamon
  • It’s On The Cards: Card-driven activation for army-level Portable Wargames by Arthur Harman
  • Recce
  • Grow your own terrain: The continuing tales of a wargames widow by Diane Sutherland
  • Show Report: Hammerhead 2018s: A moveable feast by John Treadaway
  • Club Directory

So what did I particularly enjoy in this issue?

The stand-out article for me this month was Arthur Harman’s It’s On The Cards … and not just because it contains a card-driven activation system for army-level battles using my PORTABLE WARGAME rules. Arthur has taken my simple system and developed it into something that is far more sophisticated but not a great deal more complex. Furthermore, it can be used with other rules, which makes it even more flexible.

Of the rest … I found Robert Piepenbrink’s Light Division interesting because it is aimed at wargamers who – like me – do not have a lot of space, and Conrad Kinch’s Send three and fourpence was – as usual – good value.

All-in-all, this was another good issue that was in my opinion well worth its cover price.

Nugget 309

Posted: June 6, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: The Nugget, Wargame Developments, Wargames publications | 4 Comments
I collected the latest edition of THE NUGGET (N309) from the printer yesterday, and I will be posting it out to members of Wargame Developments later today.

I have already uploaded the PDF version of THE NUGGET to the Wargame Developments website so that it can be read online or downloaded and printed.

IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the ninth and last issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2017-2018 subscription year.

Details regarding re-subscriptions to Wargame Developments and THE NUGGET will be sent by post in due course.

Nugget 309

Posted: June 1, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: The Nugget, Wargame Developments, Wargames publications | Leave a comment
The editor of THE NUGGET sent the latest issue to me on Wednesday, and I hope to take it to the printer tomorrow. It should, therefore, be ready for me to collect by the middle of next week so that I can post it out before the following weekend.

IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the ninth and last issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2017-2018 subscription year.

Details regarding re-subscriptions to Wargame Developments and THE NUGGET will be sent by post in due course.

The Madasahatta Campaign book … has been published!

Posted: May 30, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Eric Knowles, Madasahatta Campaign, Wargames publications | 9 Comments
THE MADASAHATTA CAMPAIGN has been published and is now available for purchase from Lulu.com.

The book should be on sale from other online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble within a matter of weeks.

THE MADASAHATTA CAMPAIGN was originally devised and written by Eric Knowles and has been edited (with additions) by Bob Cordery. It is published in hardback by Eglinton Books and costs £14.99 (ISBN 978 0 244 38509 5).

Updated Publications page

Posted: May 26, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Madasahatta Campaign, MIscellaneous musings, The Portable Wargame, Wargames publications | 2 Comments
As I have another two books in the last stages of publication (THE MADASAHATTA CAMPAIGN and GRIDDED NAVAL WARGAMES) I decided to update the Publications page on my blog.

The list of books is now split under several headings:

  • Wargaming Books
  • Military History Books
  • Masonic History Books
  • Fiction

Below an image of each book’s cover are the prices at which the various editions (hardback, paperback, or eBook) are currently on sale via Lulu.

And now my work is almost done …

Posted: May 18, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: MIscellaneous musings, Wargames publications | 2 Comments
Wednesday was a rather busy day for me. I was trying to get more work done on my book about gridded naval wargames as well prepare for an important Masonic meeting. (We were installing a new Worshipful Master into the Chair of my Mother Lodge, and as one of the older and more experienced Brethren, I was expected to perform certain parts of the ritual … including singing the Master’s Song!) As a result, the last chapter of the book – which is an explanatory battle report – remained incomplete until yesterday.

The chapter is now finished, and although I won’t spoil matters by telling my regular blog readers the result, I can say the Mimi and Toutou did go forth with a degree of success.

SMS Kingani under attack by HMS Mimi. By attacking from astern, HMS Mimi is outside the limited arc-of-fire of SMS Kingani’s 6-pounder gun.

All I have to do now is to finish adding books to the bibliography before doing a grammar and spelling check. I’ll then do a final read-through myself before sending copies of the text to my trusty team of proof readers. With luck they will get back to me within a fortnight, and then I can proceed to make any necessary corrections before I have the proof copies printed. Once that is done and final checks are made, the book will be published … and then I can move onto my next project!

Today I am mostly … trying to finish writing the chapter about coastal operations

Posted: May 14, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: MIscellaneous musings, The Portable Naval Wargame, The Portable Wargame, Wargames publications | 6 Comments
It was my intention to end my book about gridded naval wargames with a chapter that covered coastal operations, particularly how my PORTABLE NAVAL WARGAME rules work in conjunction with my PORTABLE WARGAME rules.

What started out as a couple of pages has grown into a full-blown battle report that covers how the rules work together. For inspiration I went to Donald Featherstone’s NAVAL WAR GAMES and have adapted his THE RAID ON THE KRIEGSTAATZ BATTERIES scenario from the imaginary Anglo-German War of 1885. In my case the battle is entitled THE ATTACK ON THE KRIEGSTAATZ FORTRESS, and the tabletop looks like this:

I am several turns into the wargame, and it is developing into quite an interesting battle. I have no idea how it is going to end, but hope to find out later today. Once it is concluded, I will be able to finish this chapter, which will leave only one other to write before the book’s text can be sent off for proof reading and correction.

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