Let us welcome you again to our latest issue of Irregular Magazine, Issue 13 Volume 2 for Autumn 2020!

As we usually do, we begin with a review of the recent News in gaming, followed by a look again our editor’s ongoing saga of the battle against his grey hoard – and how lockdown and furlough has affected his views on his grey hoard, as well as making great progress!

With the new version of Blood Bowl being announced by Games Workshop, we have a look back at where Blood Bowl has come from.

We have a fantastic range of books reviews in this issue, starting, with a look at the Big Book of Battlemats (Vol 2) for the dungeonmaster looking for some visual impact and minimum effort. Also for RPG fans, we have a look at Does Love Forgive? a scenario for the Call of Cthulhu RPG, which is designed for just a single Player and to be run by their Keeper.

Staying with RPGs, we also have a review of The Klingon Empire release from Mophidius for the Star Trek Adventures game – a must for any Star Trek and RPG fan!

We also look at Operation Colossus, a detailed examination of the first airborne raid of WW2 and Tiger Battalion 507, which collects together accounts from the crewmen and workshop companies bringing a brutal and honest insight into the operations of a Tiger tank battallion, also in WW2.

In addition, we have a review of The French at Waterloo, the first of two volumes featuring the first-hand accounts of those who fought on the French side. This is complemented by a review of The Light Division in the Peninsula War, which looks at the actions of their predecessors from the perspective of modern riflemen.

We also have a review of On Operations with C Squadron SAS, which is a firsthand account of SAS teams’ operation in Africa in the 1980s, a period of chaotic upheveal and proxy wars on the continent. In addition, we also look at With the SAS Across the Rhine, which is an account of SAS operations in an earlier, but no less fascinating, time.

Looking at a much less well known period of history, our Editor first reviews Cousins of Anarchy, looking at the period of Stephen and Matilda’s civil work in the 12th century, followed by Rebellion Against Henry III, which looks at the battles with the rebel Barons and This Disinherited against Henry III in the late 13th century. This period doesn’t often get much attention, and these books could be very interesting if you want to know more about this pivotal but little-known period of English history!

Jason also has a look at some of the multi-volume Cold War Series, 1945-1991, from Pen and Sword Publishing. Picked out of this fascinating series, he particularly looks at volumes on the the Suez Crisis 1956, the Korean War Chinese Invasion and the Korean War Imjin River, although the whole series is much, much larger!

In a non-historical vein, we also have a review of The History of Toy Soldiers. Pretty much an essential read if you love your toy soldiers and especially if you have in interest in the collecting side of toy soldiers.

As usual, we also like to look at the future of gaming as it comes to us, and the rise of eSports cannot really be ignored any longer! We look at some of the reasons why it is on the rise as well as trends and changes in eSports that look at how it is changing today and looking at what the scene could look like in the future.

With the global pandemic situation being what it is, many of us are missing the opportunity to go to gaming conventions, meeting up with friends and playing games new and old. Our Editor has written up his experiences of the UKGE virtual weekend which was something of a replacement for these activities, based on what was possible.

But, our Editor has not been idle sitting at home! He also takes a look at tabletop wargaming in the Dark Ages and how you can go about getting started, examining what choices you have are in terms of miniatures, rules and terrain; as well as providing us with a fascinating description of Roman Derby, which is not only a fascinating general read, but may be of use if you like Roman skirmish games such as Gangs of Rome and want to set them in this area!

Staying in the areas of Derby, Jason has also looked at what it would take to develop a local ECW campaign in the area around north Derbyshire and south Yorkshire, which is complemented by an unboxing of A Call to Arms’ rather lovely 1/72 scale Parliament Infantry.

Finally, we conclude with a look at a press release from Kwalee gaming that says 1 in 10 gamers would rather their was was destroyed than their game save data, and what that means to gamers.

Time to get reading – go on, download your copy now!