bayfog IV results

“Bayfog was average this year” says Marco Baroni ! This was the Field of Glory ancients competition. Well many thanks to all of you chaps who made the journey to my small part of the world. It really is appreciated that all of you make the trip. I hope you think it is worthwhile. I think Bayfog IV was probably the best yet both in terms of numbers and atmosphere and it was great to see a well lit hall filled with gamers taking lots of exercise. With the tables laid out over the badminton court, I am sure wargaming is a sport really !! I would also like to thank the sponsors who gave generously in straightened times. Thanks to Donnington, Magister Militum, Opsrey and Perry Miniatures. Your support is much appreciated too. Well done to champion Neil Howard and commiserations but much appreciation to Malcolm Gordon. Malcolm won the £30 Perry voucher and Marco Baroni in the Mr Average 11th place won the £40 worth of Donnington figures ! The results of the 900 points Average Joe competition are below. I am open to suggestions for next year (on the basis people want to come again!) and will look at dates asap too. As a review I thought the average nature of the troops meant results were in the balance at all times and the absence of superior troops brought an unpredictable nature to the games which made a nice change. The close nature of the scoring reflects this too. 1. Neil Howard Tupi 69 2. Ian Mackay HYW Eng Cont 1420 66 3. Bob Amey Warring States Han 100bc 65 4. Gordon jamieson Warring states Han 200bc 63 5. Robert Taylor dailami Dynasties 950 62 6. paul Johnston Auxumite 570 61 7. Hugh Cameron Low countries 1478 57 8. Richard Case Komnenan Byzantine 1187 47 9. Dave Morrison Santa hermandad SNC 1483 46 10. Graeme carroll medieval Indonesian 1292 44 11. Marco baroni Free Company 43 12. George Dick Low countries 1477 43 13. matt poole WOR Yorkist pretender 42 14. John Muir medieval Danish 1490 41 15. Richard Butler HYW Eng Cont 1455 40 16. Dave Saunders mamluk Egyptian 1401 39 17. paul dawson HYW Eng Cont 1356 35 18. John Hogan HYW English Continental 1423 34 19. Roger Greenwood War of Roses tudor 1482 32 20. Robert Middlemist Numidian 47bc 19 21. Malcolm Gordon Classical Greek Thessalanian 470bc 11

blog technology

Sorry to those few people who visit here- i have exceeded my photo capacity and have no idea how to reduce it so new photos cant be uploaded at the moment- despite me deleting lots of pics from here.

Bayfog runners and riders

we still have room for one more or three or five... so anyone interested please get in touch paul@navigatorpr.com runners and riders- 1. Hugh Cameron Low countries 1478 2. George Dick Low countries 1477 3. John Muir medieval Danish 1490 4. John Hogan HYW English Continental 1423 5. Malcolm Gordon Classical Greek Thessalanian 470bc 6. Robert Middlemist Numidian 47bc 7. Graeme carroll medieval Indonesian 1292 8. paul dawson HYW Eng Cont 1356 9. Robert Taylor dailami Dynasties 950 10. Roger Greenwood War of Roses tudor 1482 11. neil Howard Tupi 1450 12. Gordon jamieson Warring states Han 200bc 13. Ian Mackay HYW Eng Cont 1420 14. Dave Saunders mamluk Egyptian 1401 15. Marco baroni Free Company 16. Richard Butler HYW yaaaawn Eng Cont 1455 17. Bob Amey Warring States Han 100bc 18. matt poole WOR Yorkist pretender 19. paul johnston Auxumite 570 20. Richard Case Komnenan Byzantine 1187 21. Dave Morrison Santa hermandad SNC 1483

Bayfog Prizes

22 entrants to Bayfog this year ! And we have some superb prizes again thanks to the very generous donations of Donnington Miniatures Magister Militum Osprey Perry Miniatures The prizes really are appreciated from these companies and everyone who turns up wont go away empty handed

Prizes for bayfog 2012

Donnington Miniatures have kindly offered to give all entrants 20% off their ranges. More details on arrival at Bayfog. Magister Militum is also supplying prizes

Bayfog entries

Free parking is available behind the village hall not in front. Entrants so far are 1. Hugh Cameron- Scotland 2. George Dick - Scotland 3. John Muir - Scotland 4. John Hogan Durham 5. Malcolm Gordon Durham 6. Graeme Carroll Durham 7. Bob Middlemist durham 8. paul dawson - york 9. Robert Taylor - halifax 10. Roger Greenwood -halifax 11. neil Howard - york 12. Gordon jamieson - london 13. Ian Mackay -london 14. Dave Saunders - london 15. Marco baroni- york 16. Richard Butler - nottingham 17. Bob Amey - nottingham 18. matt poole - manchester 19. paul johnston - RHB/York Hopefully Jon Smith can make it too plus maybe a few more

bayfog field of glory ancients 20/21 Oct

There is still room for anyone wanting to enter this fun, friendly and relaxed weekend competition. It's over two days, with 2 games a day, starting at 10am in Fylingdales Village Hall in Robin Hoods Bay, near Whitby in North Yorkshire. It's a 15mm ancient competition using Field of Glory rules. Armies must use either average or poor troops so those with compulsory superior troops are not allowed. Inspired generals are not allowed too. 900 Points is the total used. Cost is £20 and includes unlimted tea and coffee and full buffet lunch on both days at a local pub. It is an extremely relaxed event and is ideal for beginners or people wanting to rekindle their ancient wargaming skills ! Players already booked in from London, Scotland, Cheltenham and from across the North of England. email me for more info paul@navigatorpr.com

Marston Moor photos all loaded

See the right hand links for the full pics of the Wartorn Marston Moor refight

Cheriton 1644

Photos and battle report on the page on index on  right hand side

1644 campaign gets faint praise

Word just in from a participant in the 1644 campaign... I can't be making too much of a hash of it so far then! 

"I think every wargamer should play a campaign like this – you rapidly begin to appreciate the issues the generals faced."

Cromwell dies at Marston Moor

Cromwell was shot in the neck by his own troops.... Result to follow in a week or so with full picture report

Wartorn show looming

Scarborough's wartorn show in the Spa on 30 June and 1 July is fast approaching.

Besides lots of display games and trade shows there will be tournaments  in Impetus (sat) and Warhammer 40k (sunday). We are still on the look out for more fog-r players (sat)

If anyone would like to play in the Marston Moor display game on either day we have plenty of room- using Field of Glory rules.  Contact me on paul@navigatorpr.com

There will be a bring and buy stall too

The venue is open on Friday 29 June for set up and for anyone wanting to play games

See www.wartornuk for more details

1644 may need a couple more players

There maybe some roles available if anyone would like to play a part in the 1644 campaign. Email me for more details on paul@navigatorpr.com

1644 campaign gets dedicated blog

For all the mechanics of the game, player comment and up to date reports please go to

http://1644campaign.blogspot.co.uk/

1644 campaign full

A brill response from the worldwide interweb has meant that all 14 places have been filled within 24 hours. More positions may become available so feel free to email me if you want to be considered.

paul@navigatorpr.com

1644 campaign recruiting

Well I can't promise it will work but I am embarking on a new project to while away the hours... A campaign to recreate the challenges of 1644 for both King and Parliament.

1644 will be a play by email game which may well transfer the major battles onto my table top!

Recruitment of players is now open and there are currently spaces for 14 players with other positions likely to be created as the campaign develops.

All communication will be through the umpire so hopefully we can recreate a proper sense of fog of war....

See the page of the right hand side for more details and email me direct at paul@navigatorpr.com if you'd like to be involved.

Marston Moor terrain complete

All terrain is now finished and three quarters of the troops done too. See the right hand Marston Moor page for all the pics, in random order and everything else relating to MM. See www.wartornuk.com for the event details in June

More Marston Moor pics

Newcastle's brigades, Rupert's Blewcoats, Bryon, Tyldesley et al now on the bits n bobs page on right hand side. See  www.wartornuk.com for their appearance in Scarborough on 30 June/1 July.

Marston Moor forces almost done

With Marston Moor fast approaching in Scarborough on 30 June/1 July the armies are beginning to take shape. See the Marston Moor page for a short selection of shots of finished units. Flags of War has provided all the unit standards which really finish everything off well. Generals still welcome to come and take part- with around 30 foot units and 16 cavalry units a side !.

Gaznavids go to Glasgow......

It’s March so it must be time for Schiltron, George Dick’s traditional Scottish 15mm Fog ancients wargames competition.

This year the defending champion took along top gamer Ian Stewart from down south and aspiring general Robert Taylor from Bradford.

Getting to Glasgow was easy for us traditionalists who use a road map but then panic set in with Ian and Robert when it was discovered that Ian’s sat nav couldn’t get a signal. Relying on old fashioned technology (talking to taxi drivers) we were able to locate our hotel and settle in. McLay’s hotel is ideally situated in the city centre, next to a night club, which means anyone wishing to sleep during the night might wish to avoid this hotel until after 4.30am !

Competitions shouldn’t be too serious so as twice champion I took along a fun army- Gaznavid.  When I last checked the gates of Gazni were in the Taj Mahal !

This 11 century Afghan army is a bit of a pick n mix army, with lots of fun options. Its bursting with elephants which are ideal for taking on mounted opponents or even for just lurking at the back looking threatening. There’s some impact foot who enjoy charging straight ahead- ideally at other foot troops. Add in bow armed light horse and cavalry along with some lancer light horse and cav and you have a force which may not be the perfect competition army but at least can hold its own against most things.

The downside of course is that it’s not a shoot n scoot army nor is it a close your eyes n charge type either. The elephants have to be used cautiously otherwise they tend to trumpet and collapse in front of your eyes at the vital moment. The impact foot are a risk too but either win well or collapse also.

With this army the key to victory is to ensure that if the elephants and foot get into combat then they all arrive at the same time in a nice straight battle line. Unsupported attacks dont tend to succeed. The lancer cav also have to be husbanded carefully to stop then charging off into the distance at exactly the wrong moment!

See the Schiltron pages on rhs for battle reports

Marston Moor order of battle

Order of battle for all 5 armies ( 2 royalist, 2 Parliament and the Scots) are now on the Marston Moor page. Comments welcome. All terrain for the 24x6 table is complete; including 60 linear feet of hedges !!. March will see all the Parliament chaps based and flagged. Flags of War (flagsofwar.com) are providing all flags and I will get photos up of the completed units in the next few weeks. Figure painter now beavering away on the Royalists. Participants in the game this June/July in Scarborough are still very welcome.  see http://www.wartornuk.com/

Marston Moor west side

west end of the table- parliamentary left wing and centre

Marston Moor terrain takes shape

Well the 24x6 ft battlefield is all but complete. I can only fit 12x4 on my table so the pics up here just show the parliamentary right flank and centre. Looks better in real life than pics tho!! More pics on the Marston Moor page.

First time up the Kyber

A first ever foray into Colonial using Sword and the Flame rules with figures painted five years ago but never used before !!. All good fun and the rules seemed straightforward. We just need to learn them. British took a good dusting. Spot the bored Afghan commander yawning before the start of the action. Also note the heroic Punjabi trumpeter who almost won the VC. He was the last man standing, fighting off six afghans including their leader.

Varna  1444

photos are on the Varna page

A 12 foot long table had wooded hills on the Hungarian right and a lake with marshes on the left. The armies were generally based on the ones in reality. Each army had two players a side. Field of Glory 15mm rules were used.

The Ottomans had 37 units including Anatolian allies, lots of various light horse and lots of cavalry together with guns and Janissaries. 5 TCs and an ally TC general.

The Hungarians had 29 units including Wallatian and Polish allys so had 4 TCs and 2 ally generals. They had lots of various light horse and 9 units of various knights !

The fun facet of the game was the sheer size of the enterprise and trying to control events. The lack of generals meant troops could not be controlled or influenced as each side needed. As each army pushed forward gaps in the line appeared as evades and charges took place and units were pulled out of the line as they became demoralised and needed to recover.

Key points in the game were the Hungarian left flank collapsing as their superior light horse were outdone by the Turk’s lights thanks to some Ottoman  light foot emerging from the marshes. In the centre left Hungarian knights pushed forward against continually evading cavalry. The main centre saw the Turk elite cavalry evading from knights only to be caught in the rear by Wallatian cavalry. At the point of victory the Wallatian general was cut from his horse leading to general demoralisation of all the Wallatian troops except the cavalry. As light faded the Ottoman centre was close to collapse especially as their Janissaries were being surrounded by the two Knight units of the Hungarian Royal bodyguard.

On the right the 3 units of Polish knights all faltered becoming demoralised and fragmented following the first release of Ottoman arrows. The beleaguered Polish King spent the entire battle chasing after each unit in order to return them to good health. This was hampered by their continual preference to impetuously charge the Turks despite his requests not to. Miraculously all three units survived a continuous hail of arrows and finished the battle pushing their more numerous Turkish cavalry opponents off the field. The Hungarian far right flank saw a running skirmish over the foothills between numerous light horse and some Turk cavalry with neither side able to create an advantage.   

By the end of the game the Turk centre was beginning to be chased from the field but the Hungarian left flank was in danger of being overrun.

The game was great fun and commanding over 1000 points apiece with a limited number of generals was a real challenge. Disrupted units could not be rallied at will as often the necessary general was otherwise engaged.     

We could have done with another couple of hours to fight to a conclusion so next time will fight such a big game over a day and not squeeze in a smaller game first.

But we found that FoG worked extremely well for playing the game. The only real adjustments next time would probably

·          to specify which specific troops are commanded by which specific general as this would enhance the command and control issue and stop floating generals.

·         To divide each army into 3 or 4 commands; left, centre and right. This would enable each player to have clearly defined troops allocated to him pre battle and facilitate sensible deployment.    

Lots of photos on the varna page

Anyone wanting to join in next time do contact me. The games are held in Robin Hoods Bay near Whitby though !! But new participants always welcome.

paul@navigatorpr.com  

Varna 1444

In a break from the norm, four hardened 15mm FoG competition gamers  (Paul Dawson, Neil Howard and Robert Taylor) took a day out to play a couple of games based around a historical event! Varna 1444 between the Hungarians/Poles and the Ottomans.

The morning featured two singles games based on a pick n mix formula to generate around 900 points a side. The afternoon saw a 2100 points a side refight of Varna 1444 on a 12 foot long table. Lots of photos are on the blog   http://pauljohnstonrhb.blogspot.com/

The pick n mix game saw each army list divided into 16 of slips of paper, each featuring a unit or two totalling around 100 points, and placed in a tub. To create their army each player drew 8 slips from his army’s tub. This resulted in unplanned armies and gave each general a challenge against hard to assess opposition.

Each singles game played on identical pre set terrain- based on second Kosovo 1448. Basically, hills in the Hungarian centre and right flank overlooking a plain.

Game one saw Neil’s Hungarian army of superior light horse and lots of knights face a Turkish army packed full of elite cavalry, cavalry, heavy guns, fortifications, janissaries and light horse. The knights beat the elites but elsewhere ended up in front of the heavy guns and got blown away. The Hungarian flanks caved in too ! Victory to the Turks.

Game two saw my Hungarians with war wagons, armoured foot, lancer light horse, the kings knights and some light horse face down Roberts Turks with mob, Anatolian allies, janissaries, light horse and standard cavalry.

Despite Robert getting the shakes through not being able to choose a competition optimised army, being depleted of Serb allies and his inability to choose terrain placement, he made a decent fist of the game. His Anatolian ally flank march came on early and shot away the Hungarian right wing war wagon flanks, opening up the Hungarian camp. The Hungarian left flank light horse and central knights cut through the Turks leaving the Kings guard and infantry to shore up the right flank. A strategic draw but Robert wants to claim a 11-9 victory !

photo shows one game at top of picture and half of the second at bottom