Land raids

[martin goddard]

About to start work on land raids. Don't worry Stewart, there are plenty of sea fights yet to be had!

The land raid table is to be 6 squares by 4 squares.
The grid size will be either 4 inch, 5 inch or 6 inch.

4 inch gives a nicely compact table. Difficult to fit in a building and foot bases though. Still not impossible.
5 inch is still compact but so close to 6"to be awkward??
6 inch is bigger at 3 feet by 2 feet. Plenty of space but less likely to encourage diorama type layouts??

It  would be nice to make the table as a one piece item, thus allowing some modelling and enhancements.

Any opinions?

[Colonel Kilgore]

6-inch squares have two major advantages:

a) those of us with 6"-gridded mats for larger tables can readily use them rather than buying new ones with a different grid size
b) scenery to fit existing 6" grids will also work

Many of us may have storage limitations - I wouldn't manage a "fixed" one, but even 6" squares wouldn't preclude a 3' x 2' table being made up for shows / those keen on modelling with the space to store it.

[Duncan]

Yes, as keen as I am on modelling and would love the challenge I would then have no where to put it once done. I would be eager to do a club board, but someone else would have to find Spence to store it I am afraid. (Not afraid exactly, I mean it is not scary, but I just don't have room. Maybe afraid of the misses when she seen me trying to sneak it behind the sideboard!)

But, on a serious note, if you do want one made Martin, let me know. When I am back from my days that are holy I will get on with it for the club. Just say the word.

[Leslie BT]

Having played the old game recently, their is a lot to go into a square.
If you want a diorama style board the smaller the size of squares will need to have the buildings and scenic stuff loose so that when the troops move into the square the scenic will need to be removed.
I can also see the need for the larger squares, then the scenic models from other PP games can still be used.

What will the new proposed unit size be in the new version of Pirates be? What are we going to have to fit into the square?

[martin goddard]

Good points all.
Duncan, i wil be messing about with various configurations , so no need to get working on one as things are going to be "all over the place".
Les. I will get the land raid book out tomorrow to play testers and you can see what you think. It will give detail of bases, buildings and other stuff.
The general principle will be of officers leading ad hoc groups of bases.  This is why i have dug out the building  sheet.

Being early days, the whole thing might pop and leave ideas scattered all over the place?
Looks like the 6" argument is doing well at the moment.

[Duncan]

I really dislike n 
the moving of scenery. I find it hard to come to terms with fitting more people in an area than an area will fit. If you want to imagine they are in the buildings fine, take the roof off and put then in, or if it is solid like Martin's just make a note of it and take the figures off. Somehow it just seems that it is very hard to get a good scenic feeling if you are going to be moving a house or pub etc to accommodate figures. I would rather a rule that said the  extra ones that dont fit on a base have to go on an adjacent square, for the scenic view point of course..😊

[martin goddard]

How do you cope with woods Duncan  if you cannot move the trees?  How do your figures move in single file if they are on multiple figure bases? What do your crews do when the weapon (gun, MMG, mortar) moves?
To me the bases in a game are markers and not literal  little people.
Considering which window/door and taking buildings literally etc. is probably for skirmish games? I don't play skirmish games though.

In PBI for example, each  inch is 10 metres. This would mean that a building model of 4 inch length is actually 40m long.  A big house. The door being 5m wide!

Buildings in the games i play are just indicators of what type of scenery is present. I don't "dolls house" my models.  It does not represent a single house, but a built up area. If you take the building literally, then there must be a consideration of which door you are entering  or leaving. What if there is no door or window on the face you want to shoot/enter from? What if the window you want to shoot from is very small so there is no field of fire? What if the door you want to enter is locked. An endless list of messing about with pointless detail?

[Sean Clark]

I would vote to keep things consistent with 6" squares. A 3'x2' table is still compact enough to do a nice modelling job on. I thought that Les' game at the Weymouth weekend a couple of years ago was excellent and looked just right. Not too small, not too big, and allowed room for figures, buildings and the odd bit of scenery.

Although the scenery is representative and not to take literally, I do like a table that looks nice. Which all RFCM games do with how we lay out the tables. We do have to remember there is a certain amount of abstraction though to allow a game to run smoothly and without too much fuss.

I played PBI with a fellow from my club who really struggled with the idea that he coudn't put a sniper in the tower of the church.

[Duncan]

Perhaps it is just me as a modeller as opposed to being a gamer. I am a person who loves making good looking models and scenery and as a side likes to play an occasional game, opposed to a person who loves to game and as a side wants models that approximate what they are supposed to be,

I see no issue with the who skirmish concept if that is what people want, but it isn't what we do, I know that. I am notvsuggestion worrying about windows or doors and all that, I just want the model to look realistic. Like I say if you can't fit thirty men somewhere, then you can't.  In life that means some have to be a little bit further away, that is all.

It should be possible to make scenery to fit a given number of bases on it, be that buildings, trees, hills whatever, it just takes a bit of thought about where you place things.

I just don't like the game to distract from the model, but I do want the model to allow the game to be played. It is just putting some thought into it. Like I said though for me the model is the important thing, the game is, whilst fun and enjoyable, something that should fit the model.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what people co me up with for this as it sounds like it is going to be building rich which is quite unusual in many respects. I guess we will have to see how it evolves, but in an sure we will have fun both making the models and playing the game.

[Stewart 46A]

I have made up a 4" square board on an old 2x2 foam board, have two forces based and ready to go.

[martin goddard]

Sounds good Stewart.
When do you want to play?

[Sean Clark]

That's the spirit of the old sea dog, Stewart. Up and at it!

Duncan, your modelling is amazing - I have several pieces of yours from the Ardennes game. I think you have proved before that the two concepts of gaming and modelling aren't mutually exclusive. There is a balance that needs to struck between the aesthetic and the practical. I am sure what ever you make will be glorious and worthy of a few pictures - maybe a YouTube video showing the models off?

[Stewart 46A]

Sean, I have no received my fleet from Lluis at minairons and they are brilliant, I am almost to scared to play with them

[Leslie BT]

Have enough stuff to get playing with Ralph, probably Thursday morning.

[Lluis of Minairons]

Sean, I have no received my fleet from Lluis at minairons and they are brilliant, I am almost to scared to play with them

Hi Stewart, writing here from my iPad because my PC broke down last week after a heavy storm. Don't be scared at handling your ships, for they've been thoroughly varnished for heavy battle duties 

My gaming mates and I use similarly painted and based model ships with no incidences so far; we usually take care to handle the ships by their base --but they would allow to be handled by the mainmast course sail sides with no risk, for instance. So feel free to expose them to danger 

Lluís