Once Upon A Time In History Competition with Ben & Gerry
May 17, 2019 by crew
Big Ben from 4Ground and Gerry are back in the studio to discuss...something? Anything? Perhaps everything!
The pair pose an interesting question: if you could design a game or set of games around a snapshot of history to be played within one day, what historical campaign would you choose? It's a subject that, in between the myriad tangents, sparks a fascinating conversation about times in history where multiple coincidences or flairs of destiny have affected thousands of people. For example, Gerry talks about Rorke's Drift and how the Battle of Isandlwana took place not 10 miles away from that confrontation.
So, it's competition time! In the comments below let us know what campaign you would choose to represent across several games. There are some restrictions:
- It must be from the same military campaign. However, you are not limited to just historical campaigns. (The Fall of Gondolin anyone?)
- There must be a minimum of two games. Imagine you are setting up a two or three-course meal for you and your wargaming friends.
- Each game must be on a different scale.
Check out their last video on terrain design here
There will be a prize, as determined by 4Ground. Good luck to all. We can't wait to hear what you come up with!
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I didn’t realise Bloodnok was at The Battle of Isandlwana
http://nylon.net/goons/bloodnok/pams-insurance-gas-stove.mp3
If you search 6mm The Battle of Isandlwana you’ll found some lovely games . Ruleswise Bloody Big Battles might work well
I was thinking of Gettysburg as well for moment in history but would also choose Battle of Ain Jalut 1260 or the Battle of Tours in 732
Tours would be very cool.
The two armies faced off for a few days so plenty of skirmish potential there
To my mind Tours and Ain Jalut are probably the 2 battles fought in the dark ages/mediveal that changed history
Tours is my Number 2 Most Important Battle of All time only behind Milvian Bridge (Constantine becoming a Christian and the battle that made him Emperor).
I think I would choose Ain Jalut where the Mamaluks stopped the Mongols sweeping through the Levant and then onto Europe
For me the first course has to be the 16th June 1815, two battles on the same day, not that far from each, the Battle of Ligny and the Battle of Quatre Bras. I would even try and play these in real time beside each other, with different generals on different sides. Something like 28mm Black Powder for these games, though I’m not sure I’d really want to paint that many Prussians. Then for the main course, Waterloo!!!! 18th June 1815, 2mm and just have a massive game, trying to include everything. It would also be nice to model the… Read more »
There is actually someone out there with Waterloo done at 1:1 (or something else insane like it) in 20mm isn’t there? Maybe if we smashed him over the head err convinced him to loan us his minis we could rent an airport runway and have a game?
42!
I assume this is the amount of tangents that they went on? You have done the lord’s work!
We were, as always, laser focused. In. Talk topic. Out.
No faffing around, others should take note of the professionalism we demonstrate
Professionalism, with fully trained camera operating personnel behind the camera.
actually for some reason no one wanted to hold the camera for the quick 5 min chat we were having so they put them on stands and left.
A film based on the Kenneth More film North West Frontier could be fun
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I really want to know what 4Ground are changing with the Base Render!!! Ben started talking about PVA and never said what they are changing. It is one of my favourite products.
Also in Gerry’s idea for the Great Escape, it could easily be changed into Escape to Victory with a game of Subbuteo at the end 🙂
Please @warzan @lloyd make a mini series with @avernos and Big Ben and let them ramble of Ye Old Games Workshop games. And other “tales from the crypt”. And call it “B&G I Scream”. Please! I need it!
Battle Ideas: – Mad Max (the orignal one). At first you play as good cops agains a group of gangers (28mm skirmish. Judge Dredd rules) After that you have car chases using Gaslands rules. Toy cars ftw! – Star Wars – The Empire strikes back. Beginning with Star Wars Pockemodels für the hoth ground assault. After that a chase through asteroids with X-Wing rules. Finally escape from Cloud City using Imperial Assault or Legion. – Highlander The battle before MacLeod get’s immortality in 15mm, after that his time in WW2 in 28mm skirmish and the final fight against the Kurgan… Read more »
I would love to do a campaign based around Alesia. The thought of the all of the assaults going on with 100,000+ troops fighting across multiple fortified positions is too good to pass up. Start out with a skirmish game (my group uses homebrew rules for pre-gunpowder skirmishes). This takes place during the building of the walls facing Alesia. The Gauls under Vercingetorix launched cavalry raids against the Romans wood cutting parties and construction parties. Caesar put legions in front of the construction sites to defend them. Gallic cavalry attempting to raid, kill, and destroy while being opposed to legionnaires… Read more »
As a Thousand Sons fanboy I’d love to do the Burning of Prospero. Would need to go reread the Forge World HH book on it to refresh my memory about all the various parts of the campaign, but I think I’d perhaps do the bulk of it with Epic/Titanicus, then zoom in to 28mm and use either the 30k rules, or nick Cam’s idea and adapt 8th ed 40k, to do various key parts of the Battle of Tizca, and finish it off by maybe using the Sterling Bridge in 54mm idea you guys had to do the duel between… Read more »
Timers. Give each table 20mins per turn.
And a whip to crack any players getting distracted and idly nattering instead of playing? ?
Talk of Black Hawk down reminded me of a Flintlock game a friend ran called Black Orc Down. It was a Black Orc trying to escape after crashing his hot air balloon.
I think/hope a film would be epic with army’s of balrogs, cold ones, an various other beasts attack Gondolin’s walls
Great siege 1575, Guns and drums for the initial attacks on the 3 cities, something akin to black powder for the final assault on St. Elmo’s Sharp Practice may also work, a manipulation of Reich Busters for Lascariss defection to the knights, back to Guns and Drums for the final assault. something 28-32mm for the Spanish mercenary’s and knights last charge sweeping the ottomans from the beach. Alternatively “Death of a legion” either teutoberg forest or the destruction of the 9th Legion north of the wall, start small 9/10mm initial engagements as the Romans take casualties slowly increase scale between… Read more »
For me it’s got to be the Highlights of the Anglo-Mahdist War (Specifically 1884-1885). Start with the attempted escape of Colonel Stewart from Khartoum. He went via steamboat up the Nile and was killed. In reality he ran aground and was killed by Mahdists but it wouldn’t be too hard to make some kind of game up where one player tries to avoid the cannons and rifles of the other and escape. The Mahdists mostly just used captured Egyptian Gun Crews shackled to the guns so the British player could have a handful of Sabotage cards to mess with the… Read more »
You could play the Anglo Zanzibar war in real time
Possibly this is “too soon” or would be offensive or not appropriate for some in my part of the world and I have debated over whether to type this or not… but I think it would it be interesting to spend a day wargaming the Williamnite War in Ireland, specifically, wargaming a song called “The Sash”. It is a rather famous/infamous song and would be offensive on one side and glorified on the other. Just for reference, while I was brought up on one side, I sit right bang on the fence, like most things in life, I’m rather agnostic.… Read more »
I would be tempted using Pendrakens League of Ausberg range
Another idea inspired by you mentioning the League of Ausberg would be a day of battles in the same war but not necessarily between the same opponents, or even on the same continent. Take the Nine Year’s War, for example, you could have a big battle in Ireland or mainland Europe, and a skirmish or two in North America and do some naval battles as well. Again, probably don’t know enough about this period to really give a more definite idea.
“Welcome to OnTableTop…”
“Can I go Down on that”
“I wouldn’t”
Ah this will be good.
The guys who ran away with the Flag were Lieutenant’s Coghill and Melvill. They were both killed taking the 24th’s Colours across the Buffalo River and the Colours were lost. Then a few days later a British Patrol found them washed up downstream.
Check out Arch Warhammer’s videos on the “Siege of Vraks” on Youtube, that would make an epic Campaign but it would probably take months to play.
I had an idea a year or two ago of doing a “What If” Campaign about Napoleon’s 1805 Invasion of Britain.
Opening with Airborne Balloonists (The French had a Balloon Corps a few years earlier and the British were afraid of an airborne assault for some reason) dropping in England, a Few Pitched Battles and some Naval actions, I should dig it out and work on it some more.
if I remember correctly Napoleonic also attempted the construction of the first channel tunnel to that end also
He did.Well he thought about it a bit. Trafalgar finished off any ideas of invasion plans
Yes and no. The invasion was already called off before Trafalgar. Trafalgar did stop any future invasion plans.
All I can imagine, with all the Dark Age historical discussion, is having an episode with Ben&Gerry plopped in robes in something like a scriptorum just having a banter in period with preferred beverages of the time for levity. I don’t know if a feature length 3 hour film will be the best idea but it worked for Avengers Endgame. On second thought there was a small boat tour that set out for something like that and lasted for a few seasons (Who’d be the Skipper?). Hell, that might be an interesting sidebar game for a WWII Pacific campaign of… Read more »
Looks like my friends @brucelea and @damon and I will be recreating a portion of either Gold or Sword Beach (Overlord Landings / D-Day) in Panzer Leader over the weekend of June 8-9. @amphibiousmonster and I did all of Juno Beach in Panzer Leader with the Canadians a few years ago. Sadly, we can’t make it to the D-Day Boot Camp, but we can’t let the 75th Anniversary go by without some kind of commemorative game.
Not sure if it fits the criteria of the competition, but thought it was worth a mention. 😀
Battle for Ortona and battles to get there. Any scale (flames of war)
Isandlwana is a difficult battle to recreate because it’s so spaced out. I’d split it up with the main battle line and then Durnfords side of things.Then have Coghil and Melvill running for fugitives drift.Market garden is another good operation with lots of thing happening at the same time. I still have Dark future sitting on the shelf complete with 30 year old paint jobs uurgh
Way back in the late 90s, my friends and I loved to do full scale Battletech weekend. Since FASA had Aerotech, Battletech and Battleforce, it was easy to represent the tactical and operational levels. Finding the time and rules sets nowadays (not to mention players) is a difficult challenge. But it suddenly occurred to me that with a community like this one, the games wouldn’t have to be located in the same geographic area. You could could have overall commanders that see the operational level and local groups could represent the tactical teams the commanders send out. Oriskany has probably… Read more »
Another campaign of interest would be Spartacus. First battle would be the escape from the ludus. I would use the Sons of Mars rules to fight a small skirmish prison break scenario. The second battle would be the Roman siege of Vesuvius by Glaber. Bands of gladiators repelling down the mountain to flank the Romans and drive them off. I would use homemade large scale skirmish rules. The third battle would be a large Kings of War Historical game. It would cover the slave army’s last battle at Silarius River. The slaves trying to break Roman lines and kill Crassus… Read more »