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Spotlight Articles

Outstanding articles that are not necessarily linked to one particular game, but may have broad appeal to gamers.

Alumwell Wargame Show 2024

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"...I actually enjoyed this show more than any other that I have been to in the past couple of years." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, regales us with sights and surprises from this show, along with some great pictures! And check out the source of an insight that led Norm to conclude "It made me realise that considering these things went into the air in their thousands, the financial investment in longbow archers must have been huge."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/22/2024


Fields of Corn & Rye

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"...I was pretty sure that I had found something that might do the job." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, discusses a way he's found to address an old itch, namely adding texture and/or crop fields to tabletop settings. Check out what he finds to be a reasonable, cost-effective approach, considering that "...sometimes I think we have made ourselves a picture perfect world and lost something along the way."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/11/2024


On wargames campaigns (after Polemarch)

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"If one is to do this, it is quite useful to read Caesar to see the kinds of things he considered important when choosing if or when to give battle." Prufrock muses about the value of running campaigns for the ancients gaming he prefers. See why "It turned out I'd rather refight Zama for the tenth time than try to sustain interest in endless minor encounters between similarly equipped neighbours over local concerns."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 2/28/2024


Lord Stanley arrives at Piggy Longton 1472

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"...Piggy Longton is under the certain threat of Yorkist attack." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, sets the stage for our next Piggy Longton encounter. Why must Lord Darcy cautiously accept help from one who is "...gaining a reputation of duplicity based upon political expedience."?

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 1/29/2024


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Gaming Conventions

Gaming Conventions

Another new feature for Grognard.com, the Gaming Convention calendar will make it a snap to keep up with all the latest gaming conventions in your area. But we need your gaming convention information, so please contribute.



Grognard News

Grognard Challenge - Expanded Room for Comments! (6/25/2023)

The Comments entry area has been resized to 512 characters.

Grognard Opponents Wanted (9/14/2022)

New Opponents Wanted function. You can now set your ad expiration date, up to one year. Requires site registration.

Gaming Conventions

New Gaming Conventions calendar. You can see all upcoming gaming conventions worldwide.

If you are sponsoring a board gaming convention of some type, or know of one that is not listed on Grognard.com, then please contact us and let us know!

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If you belong to a gaming club, or know of one, please drop us a line and let us know so we can get it listed on Grognard.com!

New Search Features

Now you can search for specific games (or games by publisher) using the new Game Search feature, located at the top right corner of the this page. In addition you can now harness the power of Google to search the entire Grognard.com site for any specific information you'd like. Just enter a search word or phrase into the Google box labeled "Search All of Grognard.com" and click magnifying glass button. Search features will continue to be improved and enhanced going forward so check back often to see the latest stuff.

Grognard Originals

In addition to our links to great content all around the internet, expect to see more Grognard.com "originals" in the future.

Fast, simple, not expensive, little errata, but only reasonably fun. (War game Review)

In his review on BoardGameGeek, Brendan Whyte first turns a critical eye towards the components and rules and lists their shortcomings. Game play fares better: “…the game is fast and quite fun”. Whyte then goes into comprehensive details covering game mechanics and spares no criticism for the game opponent (AI). His discussion concerning solitaire board games vs solitaire computer games is very interesting.

PE TANG 1900 Q&A with Marco Campari

Some Q & A between myself and Marco Campari, designer of Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Strategy Tips

This is the strategy I developed after playing Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Optional Line of Sight Table

Here is an optional table to make it a little more difficult to eliminate the Boxer artillery.

More Grognard Originals...


Grognard Challenge

Latest Challenge

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Grognards Lost

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A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z '-9

Game: Chalons 451 AD



(c10084)
 
 




Publisher: Turning Point Simulations
Game Type: Board
Designer(s): Richard H. Berg
Search for this and related games with Noble Knight


Description:


Born half-Roman, but all business, this battle saw “the last great Roman general”, Aetius, at his finest! And “finest” would mean both political maneuvering with shifting alliances as well as tactical finesse. The build-up to the Battle of Châlons (also called the “Battle of the Cataulnian Plains”) is incredibly complex, and no one is certain which parts are actually true. Certainly much of the “invasion” of the Late Roman Empire were fierce peoples—Vandals, Goths, Alans, etc—who were fleeing from the even-fiercer Huns. But Hunnish leaders like Attila, were far more than merely brutal, playing alliances, taking advantage of the deaths of neighboring leaders, and playing both Eastern and Western Romans as clients and victims. The Roman leader, Aetius, had Hunnish warriors fighting FOR him in earlier battles, and spent time with both the Huns and Goths as a honored hostage (learning much about both peoples while there.) In fact, his father was a Roman general of “Scythian” origin, one of the original groups of powerful mounted nomads, so you could say he was closer to his allies and adversaries than most Roman commanders of the day, which is one reason he was one of the most influential men in the Western empire for over 20 years. Attila had spent time “visiting” various parts of both East and West, but taken home more loot from the East and decided there must be riper pickings in the West. Adding much of Gaul to his empire and plundering the rest looks to have been his aim, but his movements suggest as much opportunism as strategy. The “two” armies involved at Châlons were a varied hodge-podge of peoples, with the “Hun” side including various Goths, Alans, Burgundians, Rugians, Franks, Thuringians, and many more. The “Allied” side was primarily Visigoth and “Roman” (which would be a broad mix of peoples in the same uniforms) but also included various Celtic and German tribes, Romano-Britons and their own allies of Franks, Alans, and Burgundians. Now, you can apply those multi-faceted armies against each other in a way that really shows off their diversity. The Battle of Châlons game uses full-sized cards for each unit (rather like our Battle of Arbela game by the same designer). Each card has all the information you need for movement, activation, combat, and morale. Players set up their best available deployments to execute their strategies and win the game (if the gods of fortune smile!). Your leaders allow activations and assist in combat. Some troops may make choices other than what the commanders might have wished (and that can work out well or otherwise). It’s all part of presenting this chaotic game in a timely and playable fashion. A full battle will last 60 to 120 minutes. And then you can swap sides and try it again! Châlons comes with full-sized, coated playing cards, a sheet of information counters, playing field diagram, dice, and all the rules you need. Part of the TPS "Decisive Battles" series. That means straightforward rules, key insights into the history behind the game, and designs aimed at one-session conclusions and high replay value.


Articles


Article ID
Pub Date
Article Description
1
Date: 7/21/2020
Poster: Harvey M.
Chalons 451 AD Board Game Review.

Chalons 451 AD was designed by the late Richard H. Berg and is a part of Turning Point Simulations’ Decisive Battles of the World series. The Armchair General reviews this game and concludes, "I really enjoyed this game and if wanting to play it over and over again is any indication, this game is a winner. Richard H. Berg may be gone but he has left us with a wonderful legacy of gaming and Chalons is no exception."