BRU aia 1) TTS ET THE MAGAZINE FOR ALL WARGAMERS rT a PN: RT ieee Rete R INOS Noa PTE UH) NN (See AN eo J = BS. ae asset) set STUN RsAU eae ay TUN TRC WeeAvailable from PS are ie ENLIGHTENED POC § BST ee As oe he th LY FRONTLINE SQUADRONS 6 WARCRADLE > STUDIOSWELCOME IN THE GRAVEYARD NOW. ast month’s pondering of my lock down gaming got me thinking. [have often said that many ‘hard-core’ board-gamers often seem to have minimal interaction with ble top figure games, although the reverse is rarely tue. Figure gamers often play board games for fairly obvious reasons: “te hacen’ ime to doa figure game” and "there’sa lot of scenery and stuf to get out ad then put away", or even the classic “Thaven't {finished painting my Mameluke yet..” (fel free to substitute your own lead pile shame). ‘But board games often have advantages beyond time constraints and laziness: while ‘wondering what the readership's favourite board games were I began thinking back to my own past and what board games Ihave loved and lost In the 80s I played the very antithesis ofthe cooperative game now enjoy: Junta by CWW (and then West End Games). ‘was a huge fan: utterly ruthless politicking featured heavily butt was so disruptive of real world friendships that sy group had to actually give up playing it. Politi, eh? Nevertheless I think Imay get copy and play again while singing along to Pokey LaFarge: "I remember last election, Jim Jones got election: He said he's voting for the man that ‘pays the biggest price. The next day afr oll, he voted ‘with heart and soul. But instend of voting once he ‘te tvice.. He’ in the jahouse now”. Make ofthat what you will T Get in touch @ eictopseming coat WD mioioturowe John Treadaway f iia lames Editor nr rpones megane Ea EDITORIAL unveTNsoen.TNE [08d0hn Treadaway ‘uke Hider MinaheeWieyaresevamearancouk TPS REDES ua renarersrocauk eb OF DESI AND REDUCTION Lynn Weight ar eater PUBLISHER Care gram ccorebgrenensrersaupcauk ‘eR Cars Pur Wor Roan Stn sory. \Warars eau Pubcon PLC The Mae: Wet Set Bours 0 07 38100 ADVERTISING 0 AERTS PLAS CAL Acco ER Murdo MacLeod 07 9129 rurdonockodoussersyuncnik Ayes No PROQUCTON AUNADER Meta Loek (077820 | realecmwareregruncake Aso RADUCTON ASIAN Charlotte Bamford (77399608 |ctrteberdewareesraupcauk ‘MARKETING wer ue Katherine Brown (77858502 etroaraneresy oO IN THIS ISSUE 04 FORWARD OBSERVER With he ates news tm 07 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE oathr Tale of Love and Warn Weiagtons ey A second soanaro for Starp Practice 12 ZERO DARK (nthe Horan: an iraducton othe ‘Tor Dark Horton Wes rues 22 DEFENCE IN DEPTH ihe atest gure and rules reviews. 26 COMMAND DECISION Kuban reheat Easter front ‘an Sten and his man break aut! 31 THE BATTLE OF PIRATE ISLAND | Scenra for playing The Shootout ars cles: 2h une 889 Pasay 40 A BILLION FEATURE BST) TS Three exclusive space scanaros forma ‘campalg fortis ne rue set by Osprey. 46 UNCLE DUKE A warganas legend rom the US: part wo. 48 SAXON VIOLENCE Bul Burgh etter, SO QUARTERMASTER Hato rods forthe wargamer. 52 RECCE “Ten boos for he ascerig wargame 57 SCRATCH BUILD Anepic ull ofan AC chureh ino.smaler scale. 62 THE LAST WORD wih ave Tack o°1 2071 Minature WargamesThave a pre-release PDF of the second edition of In Her Majesty's Name (HMN), written by Craig Cartmell and Charles Murton of the Ministry of Gentlemanly Warfare. This isa set of d10 based skirmish rules for two or more players fielding between five and twenty a figures per side, (though there is no minimum or maximum). The aim is simplicity and quick-start play. The game is set in classic 'VSF-meets- modern-Steampunk’ and is inspired by the works of H.G Wells, Jules Verne, Bram Stoker and more. Layout is splendid with lots of pretty pictures and it's available for £30 from North Star Terrain paint and kits: Army Painter have a selection of ‘new crafting materials coming out about now. Gamemaster Terrain Sprays are five water-based primers, plus a sealer, with a matt finish they are designed to give great coverage, are non-toxic and won't eat XPS foam or polystyrene (and are colour matched to their regular primer sprays). ‘To add to that, they are also releasing, some Game Master Scenery Packs to help create terrain (ike the Dungeons & Caverns set) with everything you need in one box (hot wire cuter, foam, paint, sprays, brushes and even tufts and gravel). There's also booster packs (more foam) and hot wire cutters sold separately. Go to thearnypaintercom: for more details amused. (although cheaper digital versions will be available). This isa new version of the rules Osprey originally commissioned them in 2013 and two supplements followed, however, these rules already havea supplement ~ IHMN Gothie~ ‘hich explores Victorian Horror. This supplement was originally written for the orginal IHMN and — for fans of the origina rule set- there's a detailed pamphlet available on the website which shows how to convert your Gothic game to the second edition ofthe rules, if you so ‘wish. Go to theministryftentiemantyanire wordpress com ea ay Peron Meier. Over the Sa os et erent re Parone that some sculpts ate four id, the rae fran nee er News, previews and community submissions from the wargaming world Sead ee ee et sionally historial) oa Se eee eee ee Seer eer} See one Cte figures are consi sana medie or) Seer Sey ae ny Senet a Senet ee aor ra Pee et Miniature Wargames 2TIGER TROUBLE! No negative waves Moriarty. Vietrix have just started shipping their new 1/144th (12mm) scale Tiger I models. £22 buys you six ofthe beasts plus a sheet of waterslide decals and judging by the photographs - you get a tank commander figure to stick inthe cupola, should you so desire. The injection moulded plastics by Vietrix are very neatly done ~ Ihave one of their Panthers in the same scale sitting infront of me as I type ~so these will be a ‘welcome addition to the range. Go to vitrislinited.com, Ha Ta es eo R01 S02 3 2a A SEASONED VETERAN We havea figure entry from the Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings range painted by Paul Cooke. "I thought you might like to see my Seasoned Veteran mini for Conquest TLAOK. After priming, I airbrushed the whole figure with a layer ‘of Vallejo Stee! fom theit Metal Color range. This was then shaded with a thinned 1:1 mix of Citadel Nun Oil Gloss and Naggaroth Night Shade washes and 1ghlighted with Mithril Sifver The gold details were picked out with Citadel Retrtutor Armour, shaded with purple ‘wash then highlighted with Liberator Armour and edged with Mithril Silver. “then blocked in all the red areas ‘with Khome Red and added the diamond pattem to the shield. To get the basic layout I used a stencil from Fallout Hobbies (originally bought to help me with the Eldar Harlequins I've been ‘working on). I coated the metal rim of the shield with Vallejo Liquid Mask, then cut a slitina sheet of paper and positioned. itdirectly behind the shield, covering the slit with masking tape. This completely guarded the rest ofthe figure from any overspray. I then placed the stencil over the shield (is seFadhesive and reusable) and airbrushed Zandri Dust forthe lighter diamonds before gently peeling the stencil away: Ithen worked into it to add the highlights and battle damage. “The red areas were shaded with purple and highlighted with Mephiston Red and Firadeagon Bright, All the leatherwork ‘was basecoated with Rhino Hide, shaded purple and highlighted with Dryad Bark and Rakarth Flesh, For the face, it was a basecoat of 1:1 Bugman's Glew and Kisleo les, shaded with Rekland Flesshade and highlighted with Kisleo flsh, adding in a bitof white for the final highlight. The base detal is mainly birch seeds bought from Fentis Games, and tufts from Rival Craft and Gamers Grass, SHOW & TELL EVENTS BEING PLANNED! ‘News on wargaming shows contnves ooutd HAMMERHEAD 2021, Saturday 3tst July Cetric Ford Paviion, Newark Showground NO2ADNY hhammerheadshow.co.uk ‘TABLETOP GAMING LIVE 2021 25th - 26th September ‘Nexandra Palace, London RZ27AY tabletopgaming.co.uk ‘SALUTE Saturday 13th November bc London E161. salute.co.uk WARFARE 27th ~ 28th November ‘scat Racecourse (NEW VENUE) Ascot, SLB 7K wargamesreading.co.uk BROADSIDE Saturday 4th December Medway Park Sports Hal INEW VENUE] Mi Rood, Gitingham, ont, METH ‘miltonbundred.com THIS MONTH IN HISTORY VIMY RIDGE 970 12 APRIL 1917 ‘The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras in WWI with the Canadian Corps in the First Army fighting three divisions of the German 6th Army. The final objective, a fortified knoll located outside the village of Givenchy- en-Gohelle fell to the Canadians (on 12 April. Historians attribute the success to technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support and extensive training, along with failures in the German defensive doctrine. The battle was the first ‘occasion when the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together and it was made a symbol of Canadian national achievement and sacrifice. ‘or1702\ Miniature WargamesANOTHER TALE OF LOVE AND WAR IN WELLINGTON’S ARMY Part Two: A second scenario for Sharp Practice Words end pictures by Conrad Kinch ast month, in Send Three & Fourpence, Lreviewed An Unconventional Officer by Lynn Bryant. This is the first novel in her series set in the Peninsula war following the career of the Lieutenant, now Captain Paul Van Daan and the 110th Foot. The novel begins with our hero joining the regiment in Leicestershire and follows his career through India, Ireland and eventually to Spain, In brief, the novel isa rattling, adventure story with more than a dash of romance. Bryant's female characters are well written and the regiment, it's officers and ‘men and their families, is very much a character in her story. You can buy Amt Unconventional Officer on Kindle for less than the price of a pint via Amazon, while you can get the entire six book series on kindle for less than twenty quid. The series has just been released in paperback. 1 recommend them, INDIA & ASSAYE (Our frst scenario was a dust up (on the plains of India, but now we find ourselves on the field of Assaye. In the days before the battle, the light company of the 110th were advancing ‘only to discover that the whole Maratha army was much closer than Wellesley believed. They ‘were then ambushed by Maratha cavalry and cut up, with a ‘number of men and Captain Mason killed. Van Daan and the boys killed the remaining, cavalrymen and brought the news of the unexpected appearance of the Maratha to Wellesley. Van Daan was temporarily promoted Captain and given command of the ‘company, but the 110th were kept inthe rear the following day when the battle opened. As the engagement developed, the 74th Highlanders advanced fon the right and were badly cut up by Maratha cavalry and guns. Van Daan blackmailed Colonel Maxwell into bringing the 110th forward by running off with the Light Company with some Bengal Native Infantry in tow, torelieve the 74th. In reality this was a role fulilled by the cavalry, but literary heroes must make do with other men’s glory. The main body of the 110th and the 74th are off the British table edge tangling with Maratha cavalry, but Van Daan and his men have moved foward under the cover of the gunsmoke. They plan to nove Berg Nate naniry faca off aga a French traned Paton ofthe Togon Suns erat Inari et 2071 Miniature WargamesSEND THREE AND FOURPENCE Pea ay ata Ts) eon Coyiiresy incapicate a gun crew down by rifle fire before taking the rest at the point of the bayonet, Will you be able ABOVE RIOKT torecreate this feat Walerariechicaly | of derting do? inthis scenario, there J testes tees | SCENARIO: ASSAYE St ssaye Tse Fares fromisoninaraes | Before we start, please note that waren at this scenario has been playtested tsvice and due to the current Level 5 restrictions currently in place inthe south of Ireland, that Playtest had to be done solo, OBJECTIVE ‘To win the Marathas must force the British player to withdraw by whittling away his Force Morale. ‘To win the British player must force the Maratha player to withdraw by whittling away his Force Morale, but must also take at least two guns while doing so. DEPLOYMENT POINTS ‘The Maratha player must deploy his three guns and crews on the three points marked on the table. He may, ifhe wishes, deploy two infantry groups between the gun line and his own table ‘edge, so long as each group is placed within six inches of a gun. He then rolls a D3 to determine which entry point he is using, He may then place his Primary Deployment Point within six inches of that entry point. After the Maratha player has determined all ofthis, the Brit player dices to see which entry point he uses. He may place his Primary Deployment Point within six inches ofthe relevant entry point. He may, if he wishes, place a Secondary Deployment Point within six inches of the ‘ther entry point, but this, Deployment Point may only be used by Paul Van Daan, Sgt Reilly and the Rifles. FORCES Captain Paul Van Daan, (described in full last months column) ‘The hero of the piece. Assuming, you did well in last month's Scenario, he is promoted to Captain and commands the Light Company of the 110th Foot. In Sharp Practice terms, Paul Van Dann is a Status IIT leader, new money with extravagant wealth, He is not considered a gentleman and is treated as such only due tohis rank. He is certainly a Cad, butis also a Flashing Blade. He is a Strapping Fellow, a Good Looking Chap and is Charming. Lt Carl Swanson (described in full last months column) ‘Van Daan’s trusty sidekick and usually the voice of reason. In Sharp Practice terms, Carl Swanson is a Status IT Leader. He is considered to be of good family, but is of straitened circumstances. He is an Honourable Gentlemen, but possesses no special skills. He is of average stamp, Fair of Face and is Affable, Sgt Micheal O'Reilly (described in full last months column) Lt Van Daan’s state-mandated. emotional support Irish sergeant, as issued to every Napoleonic literary hero that ever wore a red coat. O'Reilly isa Status 1 Leader, He is a Strapping Fellow, Plain and Unremarkable and is a Pleasant Fellow. LtJohnny Wheeler A well built fellow of medium height, dark hair and greyish eyes, Johnny Wheeler wears his hair long and tied back in Mioiature Wargames ot 2021the old style, His father was a younger son who made his way in the law. Wheeler's uncle had ‘a small estate in Derbyshire and financed his nephew's first two commissions, Sadly both Johnay Wheelers parents are dead and father’s law practice ‘was modest, so Wheeler must live on his pay and is not likely tobe able to afford further promotion. In Sharp Practice terms, he isa Status II Leader. He is an Honourable Gentlemen, but possesses no special skills He is a Strapping Fellow, a Good Looking Chap and is Affable. (I Ihave to say they all sound ik a fine ‘bunch of chaps! Ea.) 110th Foot » Captain Paul Van Daan, Lender m » Lt Johnny Wheeler, Lender II » Le Carl Swanson, Leader If Three groups of 8 Regulars, Muskets (p99 Sharp Practice) » Two groups of Loyal Native Infantry, Muskets (p113 Sharp Practice) » Sgt O'Reilly, Leader I > One Group of 6 Rifles (p99 Sharp Practice) ‘Note: If you are wondering why there are Rifles present in India, please see the note below: Marathas » Saurav Das, Leader Il, Mounted > Utpal Dutt, Leader » Gautum Banerjee, Leader 1 » Taku Bedi, Leader I > Six Groups of Maratha Infantry (treat as Well Ordered Sepoys 116 Sharp Practice) » Two groups of Maratha Cavalry (treat as Mutineer Cavalry pI16 Sharp Practice) Note: The Maratha Cavalry may not be deployed until all Infantry groups are deployed. Three groups of Maratha Artillery (treat as Mutincer Arillery p116 Sharp Practice) Note: These are counted as Light Guns (treating them as heavy led to very short first playtest!) and start deployed, but they cannot be moved, hough they may be turned. ‘They stat the game unloaded. Special Rule: An’e's generally shammin when ‘e's dead, ‘Several times during the batle in the book, Maratha soldiers play ‘Bove Captain Caan dng the chrve sticking Norah gun Fras AA sires roy Nora infantry fom Hagen Beow Johar Whose an te Ughtnfrtry ofthe om charge Maratha infarry ‘ho ore strung 0 rok aos gunSEND THREE AND FOURPENCE aa ea eee Pree Sea Sens reece Deen ee aa nove ra Nath nfety from Voge 20 More than ha of Welese/s patna rope 10 Miniature Wargames dead only to spring up and attack after being over-run. If you wish ~and only by mutual agreement prior to the game you may use the following special rule, Where a Maratha group has been thrown, back in fisticuffs, the Maratha player may choose to sacrifice one of his surviving men. He may then make a single one die attack on the victorious unit, inflicting a kill/shock as normal. Roll to see if Leader is hit as normal. KEY geo” © The sacrificed man is then immediately killed in return TERRAIN & MINOR CHARACTERS The terrain should be broken upa little bit with some scrub brush, one or two trees and a few scattered rocks, but its otherwise quite open. There are no minor characters. NOTES ve had some questions about the Mahratta cavalry used in last month's game. They are HAT Cossacks, se! 8006, who had their tall cossack hats cut down. I then made a “snake” out of greenstutf and wrapped it around the remainder of the hat, rather like you'd make a coiled pot in school. ‘This makes a very serviceable sgreenstuf turban: a conversion so simple that even I was capable oft. The figures themselves have very clean lines and litle paint transports them from the steppes of Russia to the plains of India in very little time. As for this game, i’s actualy abit ofa race against ime. The Maratha player has three quite devastating pieces in the shape ofthis artillery, but they begin the game unloaded. The British player will have to look at his deployment carefully because he has numbers against him. My initial game went spectacularly badly when the leftmost Maratha gun managed to reload quickly and devastate my Riflemen before they could do enough damage to Brith pot Marat potent! the crew. A canny British player will try to concentrate his forces before the Maratha’s and take at least one gun before they can get themselves organised. As for the Maratha player, deciding whether to fire controlled or uncontrolled is worth the extra risk for his guns: itis tricky. Also deciding where to place his inital two infantry groups to shield them is a poser. A gambler might risk leaving. them off and then deploying his infantry en masse. Uhad more luck as the Maratha player sacrificing one gun to build a stronger defence around the other two, but your mileage may vary. The cavalry did not live up to their ferocious performance in the last month's game, having half their saddles emptied by a Sepoy volley and their leader killed, and then suffering the indignity of being charged and driven off by infantry. A shameful display indeed. Thope that you've enjoyed this little escape to the world of Paul ‘Van Daan and the 110th courtesy of Lynn Bryant, who has been a good sport leting me play toy soldiers with her imaginary heroes, Even if did get afew of them killed, but ofthat the less said the better. remain your obedient servant and conrad Kinch gmail.com or DOWNLOAD cans @aquestingcole fon Twitter will find me.SUBSCRIPTION OFFER when subscribing to Miniature Wargames SOULS ON Billed £47.99 annually Scenarios for popular rule sets Bred corte Gems a os tend Reetoeat cease un etre tl Reotng Or ear RNC Enea IOUT Re ls iCohRO mT oela ce) Preeti mntoa tt nt ito on Peron teee tern eeec eel figures Oe CENCE orteT information from leaders in the hobby Onsen RC EMS nC\T sia) =i aml | Bie AKON Te EAN Part One: an introduction to Horizon Wars are oer Coe orizon Wars: Zero Dark is a sci-fi skirmish ee ee etry ee nets ee ees ees ess rr ess een ee oy ate it's been written to use the same core rules to play Pee eens ere eee Ty Moret nee en nis “ contend with an unpredictable third party~ the Red ss Pen eesee etree tee es and co-op plae You donthave to play PVP with a Red = Force, of coursé, but it makes the whole thing far more Coe vat ne eee Bent iogten soe e ay ‘solo or co-op battle. This month, we've got the basic rules for play if you just want to get to grips with the eet ee ea er eg ee Sree er eee ee Se ease “= ) Ce aeWHAT YOU'LL NEED TO PLAY To play, you'll need: 6+ twelve-sided dice (d12s);a normal, 54-card deck of playing cards including two Jokers; Miniatures or counters to represent your heroes. and the bogeys of the Red Force; some counters or chits to indicate certain states in which heroes or bogeys ‘may find themselves; and ~ finally ~a roughly square space of up to 4x4’ on which to play, with whatever terrain inspires you HOW TO PLAY MEASURING RANGE & DISTANCE The default unit of measurement is the inch (“) if you plan with 28-32mm miniatures, but if you want to play with 15-18mm miniature, treat references to inches as centimetres. A part of a unit is considered to be a whole unit, so ifa target is 74” away, it counts as being 8” away. Distance is how far a model moves and is measured from the centre of a model's cylinder, Range is how far a model shoots and is measured from the exige of the base closest to the target. FLIPPING Many events will require you to flip a card from the Control Deck ~a normal, 5-card deck of playing cards, including two Jokers. When a card is flipped, simply take the face-down card atthe top of the deck, tum it over and placeit on the top ofthe face-up cards in the discard pile. RE-ROLLS ‘A few rules in Zero Dark allow players to “re-roll” one ‘or more di2s. Ths is exactly what it sounds like: you pick up a d12 and rollit again, But itis important that any one d12 can be re-rolled only once, regardless of how many rules apply that would offer a e-rll ACTIVATION The basic component of a battle in Zero Dark is the activation. In one activation, a character will perform an action, including any bonus actions, then there will be a Control Deck flip. tert Askrmish ensues. the actonin Tera Dark is Intnl A character can perform any of the following actions when active: » Move » Shoot > Interact Close Quarter Battle (CQB) » Medic » Recover Note that there is nothing to stop you from activating the same character multiple times in a row. AUTOMATIC ACTIONS Some actions are described as “automatic”. This ‘means that they simply happen ~ no testis required or permitted and no bonus actions can be generated, STATS All characters have a set of statistics or "stats" that dlefine their basic capabilites, The stats are Mobility (M), Fight (P), Acuity (A) ane Discipline (D) and are described in more detail later. They all have a value between 2 and 6. STAT TESTS ‘Some actions require the character to pass atest. Tests are always made using a nominated stat and the method of the test isto roll a number of d12s equal to the stat (or a modified version of the stat ifthe testis particularly challenging) NORMAL TESTS Most tests are normal tests. For these, the object of the dice rol is to make groups of di2s that equal or exceed a target number determined by the test. Some tests have a fixed target number. Others, the most common being shooting, have a target number determined from the circumstances of the test. Each group of dice that equals or exceeds the target is one success. Ifthe modified stat value for the testis 0 or less, the test fails automatically ‘Tests are described in generic terms based on their stat, the stat modifier (if any) and the target number, So 1 D(13) test is a Discipline test in which the player rolls ‘a number of dice equal to the character's Discipline stat with a target number of 13. An M-2(10) test would be one in which the player rolls a number of dice equal to the character's M stat, minus 2, with a target number of 10. In this case, ifthe character's M was currently. 2 or less, the test would automatically be failed. An Fn(v) test would be a more complex test in which there might be positive or negative modifiers to the stat, with a target number that will vary depending on conditions, You will need to refer to the rules to know how to modify the statin a particular circumstance and What the value of » will be. Miniature Wargames gr 202 a“ | ZERO DARK O§ THE HORIZON Lucky 12s —Normal Tests: Every 12 rolled in a ‘normal test, in addition to contributing to groups as normal, confers an additional success, ‘COUNTER-TESTS CCounter-tests are typically made to oppose the results of another test, although they may also be made to ‘oppose some other status. Making a counter-test is like making a normal test in that you roll a number of dice ‘equal to the relevant stat. However, with a counter- test you are looking for results on the dice that exactly ‘match the value or values the counter-test is opposing, ‘Counter-tests are described with a “c” indicator. The target of a counter-test will depend upon the circumstances ofthe test, but will either be “v", where the target isa single value, or “r” where the target is tomatch results on another dice roll. This means that eD(o) isa Discipline counter-test against a single value, ‘whilst cAV() is an Armour Value countertest against the results of a dice roll Lucky 12s ~ Counter-tests: A natural 12 on a counter-test will always counter one whole success ‘or count as a successful match if the target isa single value. MOVEMENT All movement is measured based on the centre point of the model's ‘cylinder’. BASIC MOVEMENT ACTIONS ‘There are three basic movement actions in Zero Dark: Enemy forces can clude the uli Defence Mech. Minitures from Paulson Games, White Dragon Mlrtures, ‘Industry and Racknam Games, oh Grunts look weak but you under estimate ‘what they can oat yeur peril Reaper Mintures » Cautious Movement : Cautious movement is up to a distance equal to the character's M, rounding up. Cautious movement may not move up or down in height. Cautious movement is subject to a D(o) test ‘where vis twice the total distance moved, +1 for ceach bogey within 12”, The first success nullifies the primary action of the next Control Deck flip unless the fip would cause a complication. Additional successes may be spent on bonus actions. » Normal Movement: The conventional tactical ‘manoeuvre is upright and alert. Normal movement is up to a distance equal to twice the character's M. ‘Normal movement is measured horizontally and ‘may move up or down in height up to an amount ‘equal to half the character's cylinder height. For distances greater than half their cylinder height, Mioiature Wargames ot 2021characters must jump or climb instead (see below). ‘This vertical movement doesn't count towards the total distance moved, > Urgent movement: When caution is thrown to the wind, sometimes there's no other option. Urgent movement is up toa distance equal to three times the character's Mand must bein a straight line. Urgent movement may move up or down in height up to an amount equal to haf the character's cylinder height. Fordistances greater than half their cylinder height, characters must jamp instead (see below). This vertical movement doesn’t count towards the total distance moved. A character who performs a movement action ‘may gain the prone state at the end of any movement. asa bonus action (see States). At the end of an action ‘or bonus action in which a character makes an urgent move, the character becomes stunned(+1). A character may end movement facing in any direction, Bogeys must end movement facing in the direction they moved. ‘ADVANCED MOVEMENT Whilst most movement in a game will usually be conventional, normal movement, characters may want to climb walls, leap gaps or drag allies to safety, or - if, theyre unlucky —have to tumble from a height > Jump - Jumping may be up, down or across. » Jump up/down — Characters may attempt to jump ‘up or down a distance up to the character's cylinder height by performing a jump M-AV(10) test. A failed test stops the character atthe obstacle without going up or down it. Ione success is rolled, the character stops at the top of or clears the obstacle. Ifjumping over an obstacle, the width of which is ‘equal to or greater than the character's cylinder width, the character stops on top of the obstacle. If the width of the obstacle is less than the character's cylinder width, the character stops on the far side of the obstacle. Additional successes may be spent on bonus actions. A character may also attempt to jump up or down a distance up to twice the character's cylinder height by performing an M-AV(13) test. » Jump across — A character may jump horizontally up to 1” for every success in a M-AV(o) test, where ‘vis twice the distance across the gap. Ifa character passes the test with only enough success to cover the gap, place the character on the far side of the ‘gap, with their base touching the edge. Often, when jumping across, there will be a distance for the character to jump down as well, which is dealt with as deseribed above. Characters jumping across may not also jump up. > Climb ~ Climbing may be up, down or across and may be up to a distance equal to characters’ M value, minus their AV. Climbing up a ladder allows characters to move up to 2M, minus their AV. Ifthe total is 0 or less, the characteris too heavy to climb. A character only needs to spend part ofa climb action actually moving vertically, soa character with M3 may, for example, declare a climb action, move 2” horizontally to the foot of aladder and then 3” up the ladder to the top of the ladder and 1” horizontally from the top. Falling ~ This is a bonus action. A climbing character, who becomes zwounded(+1) will fall. Characters who jump down a distance greater than twice their cylinder are falling. A character who fails a jump across test will fall. falling character immediately moves vertically downwards and suffers two hits for every full 1” they fell. A cAV(o) test may be made against these, with v being the number of hits taken. (Characters who are climbing cannot do anything, else including entering the prone state. If climbing. characters suffer a wound, they fall SHOOTING The character shoots ata target. Most shooting is ofthe straightforward kind that involves pointing a weapon at visible enemies and releasing a shot in a more-or-less straight line that either hits them or doesn’t. BASIC SHOOTING To make a basic shooting action, a player makes an Fin(v) test where v is the range to the target, modified by any levels of obscured (see States, next page) the target might have and the mission's visibility level Variables (n) for the test are as follows: ust Eno forces can inode synthetic, lectranic systems can be dominated ‘and put use by the heroes, Miniatures fram Conws Bol ana Strato Miniatures. Miniature Wargames gr 202 1s| ZERO DARK O§ THE HORIZON > Support +1 for each support token the shooter has. > Medic~The character attempts to patch up a target > Targeted +1 ifthe target is targeted, ‘that has been wounded or hurt. The character must be engaged with a wounded target to medic it. Characters ‘The target of shooting may make a cAV() test ‘may only perform medic actions on themselves if they against the shooting test. are in the wounded(1) or (2) states. Medicis an A(I3) test. A success in a medic test reduces the targets SHOOTING & BONUS ACTIONS ‘wounded state by ~1, but only one suocess can be used If a target is put into the out of action (OO) state to reduce the wounded state. Other successes can be ot (for bogeys) into the dead state by shooting, any ‘used for bonus actions as normal. character who is surplus successes in the Fan(o) test may be spent on stunned and wounded, and who has the wounded Bonus Actions (below) state reduced, automatically has the stunned state reduced by -1 also. VISIBILITY LEVEL All missions have a visibility level between 0 and » Recover A stressed character may perform recover 6, with 0 being daylight and 6 being deep darkness, actions. To recover, the character takes a D(10) test. ‘which acts as a modifier on ranges as described above. _Each success reduces the stressed level by = until ‘ona recover test may be used to perform bonus 1 | the characteris no longer stressed, Surplus successes actions. BONUS ACTIONS ‘When characters take tests to perform an action, if they achieve more than the minimum number of successes, they will often generate one or more bonus actions that may be performed by any hero (not ally) in the same team, So if an ally performs an action that generates bonus actions, these may only be used by heroes in a OTHER ACTIONS \ Se? Ck Ose Be COB) rater | ‘thecbiectiv@ | martial arts prowess than itis an exercise in focused meretton | Sggresion, Unlike most other actions targets get | | ‘on gun play to fight back. Asa result, in a CQB action, everyone! eae involved makes a D(o) test with the target number framCorws | depending upon the type of target. The target nur Bel, Rackham for bogeys are given in the Red Force section. Against Plan ‘enemy characters, the target number is characters’ | _ a /F+D, minus their current wounded level. Each we success is one hit. No cAV testis made against a CQB | aa ba tala apap es heel ge mot | Towtiacka tet witha COB cna character or the fea and not by alies— not even by the ally whoee fetid | jogey must be engaged withthe tage, Charactersor action generated the bonus actions, These must be one SET | ety att teach | | bates fare numedately perform COB as bons acon OE renal SO SIRE D Interac = This i very broad tem for actions not Jump. otherwise covered by these rules. An interact is Shoot. colent st thers’ manfirtrtatderdimrs| fed nf poate othervise. atest iscalled for and unless tated» Puta down or wounded) arget in contact with he sree ee eevee rare eee ae done aren ce be twed to perform bonus actions Gain #1 support token, 18 Miniature Wargames fo 2071Each option may be performed only once per action. Any bonus actions not used are lost. Bonus actions generated as part ofthe player's action ae resolved. after the action in hand, but may be resolved in any order. Bonus actions generated as part of the opponent's or Red Force's action must be resolved immediately, interrupting the resolution of any other action. Bonus actions are part ofthe action that generated them, so anything that comes into effect at the end of an action does so only afterall bonus actions are resolved. Bonus actions must all be declared at once, but are resolved in the order in which they are performed. So, for example, a support token may be gained with one bonus action and then used to shoot a target with the next bonus action. Bonus actions can even interrupt the actions of bogeys or enemy characters for example, if generated by a stress test following being shot at Important: Bonus actions can generate more bonus actions but each option may be performed only once per action. So ifa jump action generates more bons actions, these may not be used to perform another jump action unless ‘an upgrade specifically permits this. STATES Characters can adopt or acquire a variety of states in the course of the game as a result of weapons, tabletop effects, complications or special actions. When a character acquires a new state, loses a state or has a nove Atypical Red Foca: Mirvatures from Defiance Bames, Reckham (ames and An inaustry, ee.ow Heroes with lout trones and oer special tions, Conus Bl, White Dragon tran Dak Mant, Sato Minis, ourasan and Bad Squiddo, state change in value, this is called “changing state”. States are applied to the character or bogey at the end of the action, bonus action or Control Deck flip in which it was caused. The various states are as follows: > Alert —Only bogeys can be alert. Alert bogeys have a 360° field of view. > Dead ~The character is beyond help. They may not actually be deceased, but only the very rapid services of a surgeon and full trauma team are going tohelp him or her. A dead character remains on the battlefield but is prone. It may be dragged but ‘cannot be activated or change state. A dead bogey is removed from the battlefield > Down - Only bogeys can be down. A bogey in the down state remains on the tabletop but otherwise has no effect on the battle. A down bogey doesn’t block LOS, regardless of its size or shape, or count ‘asa bogey for any purpose that doesn’t specifically affect down bogeys. A down bogey will not move, attack or do anything at all as long as itis down, » Engaged — A character or bogey is engaged when its cylinder isin contact with the cylinder of another character, an objective or a bogey. A bogey engaged. witha character will always perform a CQB action when activated, regardless ofthe suit ofthe control card. A character engaged with a friendly character, an objective, a bogey in the down state ora hostile character in the OOA state may act normally. A character engaged with a bogey or hostile character that isnot in the down or OOA states must perform a CQB action. > Entirely Obscured —Ifno part ofthe target's cylinder isin the active character or bogey’s LOS, the target is entirely obscured. Characters cannot shoot at an entirely obscured target except with an indirect Miniature Wargames gr 202. | ZERO DARK ON THE HORIZON ‘weapon. An EWOp may attempt to hack or buff (see age 27) an entirely obscured target within their awareness radius, In this case, the entirely obscured. state imposes an additional +4 on the range. > Obscured ~ Characters and bogeys can be obscured. (Obscured bogeys are offering the characters a less- than-perfect target, making it harder to get a decisive shot. Obscured characters, meanwhile, are making an effective use of cover: Bogeys, therefore, count as obscured if any part oftheir cylinder is out of a shooting character's LOS. But characters must be in contact with whatever terrain is obscuring them in order to countas obscured. > Obscuredi(1) - Some, but less than half of the target's cylinder, is out ofthe shooting character/ bogey’s LOS, Characters shooting at an obscured(1) target add +1 to the effective range. Obscured(1) characters add +1 to their AV. > Obscured(2) - Some, but less than half of the target's cylinder, isin the shooting character/ bogey’s LOS. Units shooting at an obscured(2) target add +2 to the effective range. Obscured(2) characters add +2 to their AV. > Obscured(3)— Only characters can be obscured(3). ‘This level is only possible ifa prone character in the obscured(2) state becomes dug in. Units shooting at an obscured(3) target add +3 to the effective range. Obscured(3) characters add +3 to their AV. » See also Entirely Obscured. » Out of Action (OA) ~ Any character who is in the ‘wounded(3), wvounded(4) or dead states is also out of action (OA), Bove You may need toload up wth the la guns tobe sure of king aut an enemy mech » Prone —A character may become prone at the end of any basie movement action and may cease tobe prone at the start of any basic movement action. Becoming prone is also a ‘common bonus action. A prone character has a cylinder 10mm high (5mm for 15mm games) and increases their obscured state by +1 up to a maximum of obscured(2). ‘Theonly move action characters can make whilst prone {is cautious movement. Stressed — Something has alarmed the character. They need to shake it off before they can get back in the game. When the stressed state is imposed, it is Stressed). ach subsequent time it is imposed, it increases by +1 up toa maximum of 4, Stressed characters may only perform recover actions. A successful recover action reduces the stressed state by -1 for each success, I the stressed state reaches 0, the characteris no longer stressed. Synthetic characters and all bogeys are immune to effects that cause the stressed state. » Stunned - The characteris suffering from an effect that temporarily prevents them from properly thinking or focussing. IFstunned multiple times, the results will stack, So a Stunned(1) character who is stunned again becomes Stunned) up toa maximum, of Stunned(4). Additional levels have no additional effect, but make the effect harder to shake off > Stunned Characters: all stats are reduced by “1, and the character cannot perform urgent ‘movement or benefit from the Stealthy trait, All targets increase their obscured state by + for this character, and obscured(3) characters count as Mioiature Wargames ot 2021entirely obscured. A stunned character may use | BELOW ‘an action to reduce the level of stunned by -1. This | Zero Dark is an automatic action. Ifa stunned character is | (sa flexble the target of a medic action (even ifthe action is system unsuccessful) it reduces the level of stunned by -1. | snd gves » Stunned Bogeys: lose all support tokens. In players addition, when the next Control card is flipped, if | chance o use the active bogey is stunned, the primary action is miniatures cancelled. Once the Control card has been resolved | they may all bogeys become stunned(-), have aways wanted an Targeted - The figure has been identified asa excuge to significant threat. Characters and bogeys shooting at a own, Miniature targeted target add +1 dice to their F In addition, the | from Reaper number of hits on a targeted character from an attack is) Mistures. always increased by +1 (60 shooting ata targeted tanget will always achieve at least one hit). Targeted has no cffectin COB. The targeted state is removed after the first shooting attack on the targeted target is resolved, regardless of the result, Characters can remove their targeted state by spending an action out of LOS of any bogey or enemy character and passing a D(13) test. Wounded ~The character has taken physical or ‘mental damage as a result ofthe combat, The wounded state passes through four levels: > Wounded(1) - The wound is not serious and won't significantly impede the character during the battle, but will hurt like hell in the morning, Wounded(2) ~ The wound is serious and will impede the character's performance. All stats are reduced by -1 and the character cannot perform ‘urgent movement, Wounded(3) ~The character isin urgent | need of medical attention, All stats are reduced by -2 and the character cannot > Wounded(4) ~The character hovers between life and death, The character can do nothing, > Unwounded - The character is ‘unwounded. This is the normal default starting state of all characters, although ‘complications may alter this. | DAMAGE | Aare Damage isbased on the number of hi a charac or bogey suf, its don’ iteraly cinbehtheckabebe thal Mae it could eer meen mil ipa oc Spy marae bt rom asin] impact Onehiteaises one wound. For inthe character's wounded steofi. | For bogeys, the effect is different, and thisis | explained in the Red Force section. Characte have five wounded states and a dead state. For each unsaved hit, a character's wounded state goes up by 1. ‘The default starting state of a character is unwounded, ‘but complications may affect the starting wounded state ofa character. INDICATING WOUNDED STATES ‘Unwounded characters are indicated by the absence of anything to indicate their wounded state! Dead. bogeys may usually be removed from the table; however, dead characters must be left on the table. A black counter can indicate the dead state. Meanwhile, wounded characters can be indicated with a red ‘counter marked from 1 to 5, or with any other clear marking system. Amour is acquired by characters as part of the upgrading process, butall characters begin with light armour (AV 1) as standard. For more options for armour, see the full rule set! Armour has two direct effects: > ‘Itincreases the target number needed to shoot a target by an amount equal to the AV. This is in addition to any increases caused by the obscured state. > Italso provides targets that are hit with the ‘opportunity to make an armour test to avoid or reduce damage. Armour provides a cAV() test. COVER & OBSCURED STATE For details of how cover and the obscured state affects shooting, see the entry for “obscured” in the States section earlier. STRESS When a character who is not OOA is the target of a shooting action, even if the action fails to hit, then Aftet the action is resolved, the character must take A stiles [D(J0)] test. IF the testis failed, the character ssed(+1) I the test is passed, each Isuccess reduces the existing level of stressed by -1 toa minimum of 0. For zach additional success remaining is not stressed, the character may become olfscured. Ifthe characteris not obscured auth enf! ofthe bonus cautious move, or the character didn't move (for example, because of alrealy being obscured), the character Ibecomek prone. Ifa character fails a stress test when alfeady stressed, the results will stack. Sea charheter whois Stessed(1) and suffers a Miniature Wargames gr 202 °| ZERO DARK O§ THE HORIZON further fright becomes Stressed(2) up toa maximum Of Stressed). A stressed character may only perform recover actions, as described above. OTHER RULES Annumber of events in the course of a game of Zero Dark allow characters and /or bogeys to obtain Support Tokens. For bogeys, support tokens are acquired by AI deck events. For characters, the ‘most common way to get a support token is from an EWOp. Support tokens are an abstract way of illustrating all those interesting things that can happen during an intense mission that arise from chance or design: the discovery of a perfect firing, pposition or the presence of just the right sort of shadow; the comforting words of a comrade or a burst of particularly useful data from the Battlenet; the niggling sense of danger, or the hyper-awareness that builds off an adrenaline rush. Allof these are rolled up, simply, into the presence of ‘one or more support tokens, cht Aero team. ‘SUPPORT TOKENS ON BOGEYS Bogeys can have a number of support tokens, usually limited by the bogey’s type. Grunts may have up to ‘one. Elites may have up to two, Bosses may have up to three. Some events can exceed those limits, though. ‘Where this is the case, the rules will say so explicitly. Note that a bogey must always use its support tokens. at the next available opportunity and must always use all the support tokens it has available. Support tokens ‘on bogeys have two effects: > Ablative armour ~ A support token increases the number of hits required to make a bogey down ‘or dead. Each hit on a bogey with support tokens reduces the number of support tokens by one, cancelling the hit. So a grunt with one support token requires two hits to make the grunt down and three to make the grunt dead. However, fa character hits the grunt with a single ht, it will remove the support token, so the next time the ‘grunt is hit, one hit will make the grunt down and two will make the grunt dead, > Improved shooting ~ A support token increases the number of dice the bogey rolls when attacking, shooting or CQB. A bogey rolls one additional dice for each support token. However, this uses up the support tokens, ‘SUPPORT TOKENS ON CHARACTERS ‘Characters can only ever have one support token at a time, Unlike bogeys, characters do not have to use support tokens and players may decide whether they want to use one. Support tokens on characters have two effects: > Ablative armour ~ A support token may be used to reduce the number of hits inflicted by enemy shooting by one. The decision whether or not to spend the support token must be made as soon as the player knows how many hits have been inflicted, » Improved normal tests — A support token may be used to add +1 dice to any normal test. The decision toadd a dice must be taken before any dice are rolled. The support token is removed regardless of the results ofthe test THE TEAM Each hero is typically represented by a single ‘model that should show a fair representation of the character's size and equipment. Heroes have “stats” — core qualities that describe their broad competence in basic skills such as moving and fighting, represented in the game by a number between 2 (the minimum value) and 6 (the maximum value). As mentioned earlier, the four basic stats of a character are: > M (Mobility): How fast and athletica characteris, including how well they jump, climb and perform other feats of speed and agility. F (Fight): Characters are assumed to have the minimum equipment and training for the battlefield environment. Their Fight stat represents their skillat-arms and determination to kill the enemy as well as the lethality of the weapons at their disposal » A (Acuity): character will need more than just strength of arms to win victory. Acuity represents his or her intellect, education and ability to improvise undler pressure, Mioiature Wargames ot 2021> D (Discipline) A character’s most valuable resource is their willingness to keep fighting. Discipline will help a character to stay in the fight when things get tough. It’s also discipline that decides how well a character fights up close and personal. Inaddition tothe four basic stats, characters have secondary stats, the details of which are generated differently. The secondary stat relevant to Training Run is: AV (Armour Value): A character also possesses an Armour Value that represents the quality and amount of armour they are wearing ‘Awareness Radius: All characters have an awareness radius, This is a circle, centred on the character and measuring up to the radius distance from the edge ‘ofthe base. The awareness radius is equal to their Discipline. A character is aware of anything atleast partially within the circle of its awareness radius, Cylinder: Each character and bogey also has a cylinder. This isan abstraction that roughly describes the space they are occupying and its dimensions vary depending on the nature ofthe character and his or her equipment. The cylinder is a vertical shape witha circular horizontal cross section. The default cylinder is 25mm in diameter and 30mm tall. Note that the pose ofthe particular miniature makes no difference to the size or shape of its cylinder. Our ‘miniatures can’t leap around, gesticulate or hug cover the way real soldiers can, so don’t assume you can. see a target just because you can see a rifle barrel or radio antenna. Similarly, don’t assume you can’t see ‘one, just because the miniature is concealed by terrain. Some miniatures will have larger or smaller cylinders depending upon the nature ofthe character, bogey or nove ueFT Operation Nemesis is ‘he rst major supplement for Horizon Wars: Zero Dari witha 1e-mission narrative solo or coop campaign and sx new Versus Art by David Sondered nove hse protection (CP) dogs wa fight against enemies who try fohurt ‘hal partner. Miniatures from Corvus Bel Bad Suid and Defiance Bames, device in question. Iftwo cylinders are touching at any point, then they are said to be engaged. MEASURING CYLINDERS AND OBSTACLES For the purposes of a battle played in the 28mm scale, a cylinder is 30mm tal, so an obstacle that is also 30mm, tall will entirely obscure a cylinder from another 30mm cylinder on the same level. However, in the heat of battle, a millimetre can be a tricky measurement to easily establish. Arguing about whether an obstacle is 30mm or 29mm high, oF whether a fractional change in, ‘elevation, such asa pavement or the base of some trees, should make an obscured character visible is very much not part of what Zero Dark is supposed to be about. Ifyou find yourself inthis position, the assumption should be for generosity towards the target who is, after all, usually making a concerted effort to not get shot FIELD OF VIEW & LINE OF SIGHT ‘Characters can only react to things of which they are aware, Characters are assumed to be aware of anything in their field of view to which they can draw a line of sight (LOS) and of anything within their awareness radius. By dlefault, the field of view is a 180° arc tothe character’ front that should be marked on their base. Ifa straight line can be drawn connecting the active character's cylinder to another eylinder or to an object, and the line falls entirely within the character's field of view, then the active character has LOS to that target. Note that a character wha is moving has a 360° field of view. Bogeys and some equipment will also have a field of view, which may change depending on events during a mission ‘So you've get the basic rules if you liked the sound of what you've read here, you can get the full rules, including rules to build heroes from scratch and campaign rules, from Wargame Vault or via precinctomega.co:uk, Next month i's a scenario: The Gauntlet! @ Miniature Wargames gr 202cspreypublshingcom £25 Released in April is Stargrave by Osprey. Written —as the name might suggest - by Joe McCullough (author of Rangers of Shadowdeep, Ghost Archipelago and rather more tellingly ~ Frostgrave) the rules have a fine pedigree. What you get for twenty five quid isan’ Osprey sized’, hard back in fll colour with 176 pages and a full -if occasionally familiar feling rule set plus extras, ‘The rules feature a system for ‘generating a small erew (captain, ist ‘mate and soldiers) to exploit the remains of a war ravaged galaxy, carving a living, amidst smugglers, freedom fighters and ‘mercenaries as they roam the stars. Your players form teams of these independent ‘operators, choosing from a range of backgrounds each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and associated powers. The d20 based system is aimed at 28mm games but you could use it for 15mm games without problems and the rule book is very well laid out: After the base rules there's a 25 page section dealing with campaigns ofthe sort that made Frostgrave such a winner, pis ten scenarios. Finally there's a bestiary section with everything from Flying Drones, Mind Grippers (think Star Trek’s Operation Anita) to Pirates For those who enjoyed Frostgrave but ‘were primarily interested in SF games, this offers a very viable alternative, I think it's not too complicated but gives enough detail that one could play games either {in open terrain planetside with lots of buildings and so forth but can easily play corridor games on a space ship (indeed ‘one of the scenarios featured is The Derelict Warship. Its well illustrated and presented and I ook forward toa swathe of supplements! wargamesbuldingscouk 298 ‘This seems to be the issue for're-skinning! systems into alternate periods... Feudal Patrol, written by Buck Sudu isin mary ways, a companion to Combat Patrol, the author's WWII skirmish rules but Sally 4th’s latest set covers any pre-flntlock period where melee —rather than firepower is the determining factor ina battle. With appropriate miniatures you can game any ancient, medieval or fantasy period from the stone age through to the seventeenth century using individual ‘mounted figures, in any scale, with typically 12 - 60 miniatures per side and a game lasting 2-3 hours. This can all bedone on a3 foot square play area (or larger)-The rules are in an AA, soft-back, full colour format and are over 120 pages Jong. They are well illustrated and laid out and ~as any players of Combat Patrol will know - they utilise a card-based combat resolution which eliminates the need for ‘most charts and tables so this means youl need some specialised card decks and these are supplied in the Rules Combo pack: for £36 you get everything you need to play (with over 100 cards) except miniatures. Sur's niles makes for an intriguing system with the tur of a card generating many results without book work and ~ for those that come out in a ash when Isay fantasy rules’— those don‘ start until page 85 but cover magic, creatures and flying, Mind you they also cover throwing bombs and grenades so even die-hatd historical {gamers may want to cross ther fingers and give that section a quick read through. Feudal Patrol covers creating scenarios and solo play: I recommend these as ‘a genuinely innovative approach. Feudal Patrol”wargamesatinticcom 225 Wargames Atlantic have been pushing releases in many areas both historical and rnon-historical but this month sees the release of two SF sets from very diferent aesthetics: Eisenkern Stormtroopers and Les Grognards Command and Heavy Support Starting with the frst set, the box has 20 figures over four identical sprues which ‘come in many pieces: separate legs, torsos, arms and heads plus weapons to fitin open hands. Infact ~and in very many ways ~they remind me (assembly and quality wise) of 135th scale Tamiya Germans crossed with Star Wars Storm Troopers. They have fots of head choices (not all scuttle helmets and gas masks..) plus packs and belt kit and they'e a lot of work to assemble but they make up into super, dltailed moctls that willbe very hard to top. Weapons are also pretty proportionate and believable’: comedy space marines these are most definitely not Which brings me neatly on to the other box. Ihave reviewed Les Grognards infantry before and this box of Death Fields figures extends the’Imperial French in space’ theme with some support! The set inchides enough parts to build six weapons with 12 figures that can act as both crew and command. Options Include: tei-barrel cannon; quad ball turret; heavy plasma weapon; and a mortar. Specialist troops like snipers, ‘medics, communication specialists, standard bearers and field officers can also be built, Along with al the previous head “options and headgear (Adrian helmet, shako, bearskin, or kep) this box set includes four new female head types. ‘These are well sculpted models — less ‘complex than the Eisenkern ~ and have large, impressive weaponry (both hand- held and on the wheeled carriages and other mounts). "Vive la France!” theplastcsoldercompany couk £450 - £2595 PSC have been releasing more of the Adler range of 20mm WWII figures in their Ultracast. They have support packs available with a four figure Waffen-SS Grenadier Panzerschrecks pack (prone and kneeling with loaders £4.50).There's Waffen-SS Grenadier Simm Mortars (four figures, two mortars) for £6.50 or the Waffen-SS Grenadier HMGs (€5.50) with tsvo identical sets of an MGA2 on a tripod and four crew (loading firing and pointing, ‘ete) but one has a separate head to allow for some positional change. After that come two boxed sets that ~ nostalgiclly ~ remind me of old Airfix releases, British Eighth Army Platoon and Afrika Korps Platoon (both at £25.95, each) come in handsome boxes: 47 Brits ‘46 Germans. The Brits have: four HQ: three NCOs; 18 riflemen; three walking and three prone LMG teams (each with three miniatures per team); plus a similar deal ‘with Mortars one walking and one prone team, each witha 2 inch mortar (and each team with two miniatures) Switching to Rommel’ finest, we have five HO figures; three NCOs; 18 riflemen and six teams of LMGs (MG3i5): three each ‘of walking and prone and each team has the figures (and those 34s get separate ipods). Thats lot of figures witha great deal of variation —many ofthe figures are individually posed though there is little repetition ([mean, how many poses can you take-up to successfully fire an MGA2 while prone..2) but thes ‘good price. e are excellent models at a Stylistically, the Germans are in desert kit with mostly helmets and the odd iconic field cap with the Tommys in helmet, desert shorts and sporting the odd Thompson to supplement their SMLEs. Recommended, THE-WAY-IT-WAS_ calverbookscam 1895 Vietnam is a rich environment for gaming: there's plenty of classic, asymmetrical ‘warfare opportunities. Wayne Bollands! ‘The ‘Nami has taken a set of rules by Mike ‘Bradford and adapted them to use in this environment. They are aimed at giving the ‘gamer the opportunity to play scenarios ranging from militay’advisors'in ‘6; t0 ‘Marines in the jungle of 65 to Aie Mobile at Drang or Special Forces defending the Embassy during Tet. Ambitious stuff but there's mor, Published by Caliver Books, the sity page, Ad colour soft-back also attempts to “embrace all combatants”, soVC guerrillas, Aussies and South Koreans feature, and it does al this by using faily simple to ‘understand mechanics lke playing cards and” dice shifting” with multiple dice types (to d12). Its aimed at 28mm-sized figures Dut will work equally well with 15mm or 20mm without needing real changes tothe rules or measuring. The game is focussed ‘upon platoon level ations although it should be possible to scale up or down as required (company to rifle squad) Production is excellent with well laid ‘out, easy to ead rules. thas five scenarios, troop rosta and OR sheets, plus los of army lists with basic vehicle rules. Optional rales include things like Leadership Special Ablitties where a dice role gives bonuses, though some of them ~like‘Rotten Shot” = arent good! There’ also hiding, sniping, night and fog, tunnel fighting, choppers, air support, napalm and friendly fire. ‘The presentation ofthe ruleset is greatly enhanced by some superb photography and ‘model painting by Empress Miniatures. This looks like a fun set of rules that fd certainly recommend, et 2071 Miniature Wargames