Category Archives: Table Top Talk

Arctic Wargame

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Literary Muster – Arctic Wargame

Arctic Wargame

Arctic Wargame is the first book in the Justin Hall series of Spy Thrillers. Justin Hall is an agent of the Canadian Intelligence Service…

 

Foreign icebreakers appear in Canadian Arctic waters, Justin along with his team are dispatched on a reconnaissance mission. Unaware of the spy who has infiltrated the Department of National Defense, the team discovers a foreign weapons cache deep in the Arctic…

 

As they untangle the plan against Canada they fall under attack from one of their own! Disarmed and stripped of survival gear, the team is stranded in a remote location (did I mention the sub zero tempuratures)…

It is a race against time; not only to save themselves, but their country.

This is a quick read. It is well written and fast paced. Not an edge of your seat thriller, but a page turner none-the-less. Sure, there are times the action is light, but the story, as unbelievable as it may be keeps you hooked.

For the war gamer; there is plenty of material for skirmish level actions. I can see using something like Ganesha Games – Flying Lead rules to play out scenarios similar to the book’s battle scenes.

Arctic Wargame – By Ethan Jones
$0.00 (yep, free! At least as of this writing)
eBook Publication January 2014
834 KB, approximately 330 pages

Also available in paperback @ $12.39

Old School ACW

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New feature today: ISR or Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. Not nearly as ominous as it sounds. More a look around the hobby, or a window into what you, our readers are up to on your game tables or with your figure collections.

Old School ACW

Today we share a few photos from one of our HistoriFigs friends. Timothy and his son Alisdair play some pretty fun looking old school games and recently Timothy send in a few photos from his first ACW battle with Ian Kay’s 42mm figures. The game was played last June and was, and in Timothy’s own words:

It was a heap of fun and so simple.

His terrain consisted of trees that were made for a “forest moon of Endor” Christmas present (some very basic redwoods), plus a little commercial fencing, a repurposed bird house, and a tin building from a Marx set he has owned for over 50 years…

Old School ACW

If you would like to share your war gaming adventures, please let us know. We will gladly post your pictures and game reports here on Table Top Talk.

Old School ACW

 

 

 

I think that I’ll be checking out these figures to see how well they will fit with my Scruby 40mm ACW armies…

Posted in ISR

The Battle of Hawley’s Toll Bridge

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THE BATTLE OF HAWLEY’S TOLL BRIDGE

Tactical Problem #10,
Table Top Talk, March 1967

hawleys-toll-bridge

In this Tactical Problem, no troops may move across the River except at the bridges or the Ford. Infantry only may move 1/2 speed in Jenning’s Woods, and no one may move in the Swamp.

RED FORCE Is positioned as follows:

(1) 2 Line Infantry units
(2) 1 Unit Line and 1 cannon
(3) 1 Unit Heavy Cavalry
(4) 1 Unit Light Infantry in the village
(5) 1 Unit Guard Infantry
(6) 2 Line Infantry units and 1 cannon
(7) 2 Line Infantry units, 1 cannon and 1 Heavy Cavalry unit
(8) 1 Unit Light Cavalry and 1 horse gun

Orders:
Seize and secure Hawley’s Toll Bridge and drive off Blue Force from the area..

BLUE FORCE Is positioned as follows:

(9) 1 Unit Light Infantry
(10) 3 Line Infantry units and 1 cannon
(11) 1 Unit Line Infantry, 1 cannon and 1 Heavy Cavalry unit
(12) 1 Unit of Line Infantry
(13) 2 Line Infantry units and 1 cannon
(14) 1 Unit Guard Infantry, 1 cannon and  2 Heavy Cavalry units

Orders:
Seize and hold Hawley’s Toll Bridge and drive Red force from the area.

Around the Web

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Today, I’d like to direct your attention to a post on Bob Cordery’s WARGAMING MISCELLANY site. On Sunday 16 February Bob posted a play test report: Attack on MacDonald’s Farm. The topic initially caught my attention for two reasons: 1) a gridded war game and 2) the rules were by Ross Macfarlane; his 20th Century Square Brigadier rules. A rules set that caught my eye just a little while back.

Wargame Miscellany

 

Bob’s blog is one that I read on a fairly regular basis. He often has many interesting ideas and stories to tell. If you have never visited his blog site, be sure to do so as I do believe that you too will find it to of interest.

 

While out visiting you should also be sure to visit Ross Macfarlane’s Battle Game of the Month blog site.

Battle Game of the Month

I always finds the site to be informative and entertaining. I find much war game inspiration in the photos and write-ups on this site, and I think many of you will too. And besides, how can one resist a blog with such a cool header image?

Be sure to pay Bob and Ross a visit, you won’t be sorry.

 

1913: The Eve of War

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Literary Muster – 1913: The Eve of War

1913: The Eve of War

Was European / Global war in 1914 inevitable? This is the question author/historian Paul Ham addressees in this provocative, perhaps even controversial short (~83 pages) essay.

1913: The Eve of War is a  look at the state of Europe immediately prior the commencement of war in 1914. Little time is wasted and the essay gets straight to the point and gives understandable and believable reasons for why global war broke out in 1914.

I found this re-examination of the causes of the First World War to be both a short introduction to a complex historical subject as well as a, thought-provoking, contribution to the ongoing debate over the origins of this massive global conflict.

If you are looking for an in-depth study, this essay will not be your answer. If, however, you are looking for a good, short and thought provoking read this essay will fit the bill nicely.

Writing history is hard. In my opinion, Paul Ham has done an excellent job of writing history. He tires to write and observe from the point of those who lived through the time period without adding the distortions of the benefits (such as they are) of our hindsight and view of the past.

1913: The Eve of War – by Paul Ham
publisheD: 5 November 2013, Endeavour Press Ltd.
A $2.99 Kindle Single – 1,100KB, approximately 83 pages