Monthly Archives: February 2026

Not Again

Miniatures, Napoleonics

Just can’t do it.

Strange preoccupations die hard, but my System 7 fixation is over.

All that research and calculating…..started playing but no enthusiasm.  Here’s photo of a portion of the battlefield, with the French menacing the Spanish in mixed order.  I really dislike overhead lights.

I can understand why the game never caught on.  Movement of the cardboard bits is annoying.  You can at least grab miniature bases.  So many charts.  Petty, but I’d rather play Kriegspiel.

I’ve always wondered how much of this hobby is the preparation, and how much is the actual playing?  In this case, about 99.9 percent of the former.

Time wasted?  No.  I revisited what I did (kinda) know about Napoleonic tactics, and learned some more.  And, was exposed to  new information.  I enjoyed that.

All of it is put away.  When tax season ends, and if I summon up the wherewithal, the whole lot will go on the market.  It fits in a compact box, easy to ship.

Still, I’m wistful.

Way Way Back Machine

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II

Winter has finally arrived.  Gone are sunny skies and temperatures in the sixties.  Disorientation replaced by discomfort.

Home Alone, so wargames spread out all over the place.  As always, the problem is to avoid the avoidable distractions and just sit down.

One project is a solo Vassal game of the venerable Panzergruppe Guderian.  To make things fun/different, and to learn a little more about how to play, I dredged up an old copy of Moves Magazine #29.

None other than Redmond Simonsen walks the reader through what to do.  So, I’m following his guidance.

Here’s the game board (or most of it) after Turn 1, along with a shot of the first page of the article.

Again?

Miniatures, Napoleonics

Couldn’t resist the rogue synapse that compels me to pull out my System 7 Napoleonics components.

I had a partial jolt back in 2023, with my  last full synaptic jolt several years ago.

It was as though time had stood still.  Still thrashing on scale and unit rosters.

Here’s how I operate.  Not pretty.

Finally figured it out, with the help of Balagan and Griffith.  Scale using Squad Leader maps is approximately  2:1, so movement and firing ranges are doubled from rules as written.

I worked out a cut and paste template for each/most unit sizes and morale ratings.

Now I can assemble a roster based on force composition.  Haven’t tried it, but it might work.

As usual, the real problems are a) getting it all to the table and b) playing.

Kids!

Boardgames, Post World War II, Sessions, Solitaire

Now  playing this great solitaire game.  I had forgotten just how good it is.

Went over to its Boardgamegeek page and downloaded this mini-mat.  Saves so much space!  Now I can comfortably play it at my desk, with the Soldier Player cards and loadout on a small side table.

The usual re-entry fits-and-starts with the rules.  This narrative discussion really helped.  So, with this, the 2nd Edition rulebook, downloaded key terms and universal rules, I had all the resources required to play.

Here’s a quick snap of the first mission of my campaign game.

Notice the Refugee Card?  That ruined everything.  Damn Kids!!!  No auto bursts or explosives.  My M-203 – which I’m counting on to kill the mission’s VIP target and to kill multiple bad guys, is useless.  So, I became bogged down in a gunfight characterized by my die rolls that suppressed, but did not kill.  After one Player-Soldier was wounded twice and  my Mission Timer clicking down, I went into abort mode.

Granted, it is a tough mission with low (41) resource points. But, I’m sure an experienced player would have figured things out.  I’ll use this as a negative score, and do my usual reset.

Lots of fun, though.

Groza – Barbarossa Unleashed Rules

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II,

Tim and I both like the draft of this ruleset.

We didn’t use any of the optional or experimental rules, just the new Combat Results and Supply Effects  alternate rules.  We also found two changes to the basic rules that had an immediate impact on play.

The alternate combat results seem less bloody, and, according to Tim, simplify the replacement process. Units that are out of supply no longer roll for elimination (4th Turn), but continue to exist albeit in a very weakened state.

The  changes in airfield capacity and stacking had the most significant impact on play.

Full and Partial Hex Cities now have a maximum capacity of 3 air units.  With Minor Cities having a capacity of one air unit.  In the older rule sets,  the former had a capacity of six air units, with Dot Cities at three units and Reference Cities at one unit.  Apparently there will some changes in the categorization of cities when new maps are published.  We simply used a capacity of one for both Dot and Reference cities.

The total number of Regimental Equivalents remains at twelve, but in the new rules all twelve factors can be divisions.  The allowance for artillery remains the same.  This change allows for some very robust combinations.

I’ve sent my initial dispositions to Tim.  More on that later……