Archive for the ‘ rules ’ Category

Hellana 2011

Agliana was known as Hellana in Roman times. Since 11 years ago there is in this town a wargames convention. It is the most important in central Italy and now without Dadi.com in Crema maybe it is the biggest convention in Italy. I’m here every year since 2004…

This convention is inside a school gymnasium for children. The sad thing is that you cannot see outside and the day passes from dawn to sunset without seeing the sun. But there are a lot of other things to watch.

There are tables with participation or demonstrative games but they are mostly for long games and so you can pass all the day with only a game. The best looking games have got even a price given by Hellana’s organizers.
There are Italian vendors and something remain always attached to your hands during the day and magically some money disappear from your bucket. This time I bought some special decorative grasses for Flyton and a team of chaps in hunting party to add them at my vbcw troops. There was a great bring and buy this year but I resisted waiting that the best things were sold so I could save money for Salute.

Fabio is here with his Anticamente in demonstrative form. For the tourments there will be another time. Modena and Agliana were two big appointments to show his game and a lot of people seemed interested in it. But he is so busy that he didn’t sell it at conventions. I asked for a luxury copy but he has no time to print it. But his wife found time to cook this chocolate cake to offer to players. Delicious thought.

In the afternoon there was the Wings to War tournament. And like every year there is a DBA tournament. This year was the first time of Gasbarri’s child to enter in the competition while Pippo take with him his child like dice thrower. Younger generations are coming!

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Play Modena 2011: the day after

The fair is ended. Like all finished parties, the mood is a little bad. The other days the hotel was full of people and friends (and late night games were setted in the hall), this morning we are alone in the breakfast room. I see the desk and only 7 keys aren’t in position on 114 rooms. Mondays are always empty of holidays mood.

We want some souvenir of Modena’s food so we find a local supermarket and spent 150 euros in aceto, gnocchi fritti and other cholesterol sources.

On the road to home there is Bologna and the Museo Memoriale della Libertà (Memoir of Liberty Museum). It is a place with a private collection of vehicles like this Sherman (it is still in order) that you maybe watched in “La vita è bella” flick.
There is even a place with sequential rooms where was in action animated scenes about WWII in Bologna. Very suggestive and with real deactivated weapons.
The museum was closed but it opened for us. The guardian is a picturesque ex soldier of fortune of Algeria and Indochina wars. We woke him after a night shift…
More here

Near the museum there is Fabio and his headquarters.

I took some pictures in his office. Instead of the real work about software and pharmacology you can see little soldiers everywhere. And some previews about his TB Line. They are real photos, the office is invaded by these little things.

And here there is my viaduct, blocked. Too many things to do in these days. I told it goodbye, I will see you in the following months.

After this visit, Fabio offered us a heavy dinner on the hills around Bologna. I ate crescentine until my stomach permitted it. Thanks Fabio!

Five hours after I was at home, a little tired… next stop is for Agliana, next Sunday!

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Play Modena 2011: second day

More reviews and report of this second day.

The Great Fire of London 1666

If you love London you will love this game! Graphically you have wood houses and cones of fire, on a board with a detailed map of London in 1666. You have to arson houses owned by your opponents and stop the fire in the areas near your houses. But the fire is so unstoppable and you don’t know which houses others own! A great game for a bastard play. He he he! We bought it!
More here

Le Havre

Do you want a more complicated Agricola? Do you want resources that running down and anxiety? Put all those things in a new game and you will have a German naval docks game. Too heavy for me!
More here

Jerusalem

The theme is out of the context, but the game is great. An original form of positioning you pieces in areas. Very strategical but simple, fun and with possibility to gamble against your opponents. Maybe we will buy it.
More here

More from the fair!

In the meantime there were a bunch of 3d wargames tournaments, among them the DBA.

Here you can see Di Bartolo’s Napoleonic demonstrative game.

Saturday there was a SDS tournament. During the fair there were demonstrative tables with Ganesha Games’s rules, and Sergio and Andrea.

Among other tables there were a lot about WH40k with huge scenarios and tons of miniatures.

I don’t understand what you can play in this scale with big cannons that fire infighting! Throw a bunch of dices to calculate wounds to big toys? This is a game for 2mm and not for 28mm… Stupid and a waste of money on overpriced models.

Lego is a serious thing and it is not only for children…

Laser sword learning course.

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DBA Terni 2011

I’m falling asleep… And almost without voice, too much loud chatting with friends. I’m just returned from Terni for the latest DBA tournament. Terni is very near to Rome, only 1 hour or something more, but there was traffic along the way.
The result was not so great but usual: two won, two lost. A draft. Here you can view the fight for the first position.

New location, always outside the centre. A place for the meeting of elder people, very large, and with the worst bar around (it is equipped with only 1 snack and 3 crisps packets, you can starve at death). A little sad, but this time there were around people with little lead people. The weather was frosty too. But there were a lot of friends, so we had a happy party. Under there is the social dinner.

And here there is the Ganesha Games counter with our friend Andrea back from Ukraina. You can see his iphone and ipad, while he is working on new rules during the tournament. I picked up a couple of new rule sets that I cannot have before.

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TB Line headquarter

How to disrupt a serious business? Starting a new one about miniatures. The famous man from Bologna, the master of hexagons, the artist of polystyrene, portrayed his office warehouse. Here you can see shelves with the TB Line 10mm production, all divided for type. All the TB Line’s little men coming from this place. An army ready to fight.

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Dadi & Piombo 44

The new issue is out! I was waiting this one in particular because there are interviews to Italian wargame champions about the past year, so there is an interview to me too, like the Anticamente championship winner. These are standard questions and each one answer about a championship. Here we go:

Have long have you been wargaming and what other games do you play, or have you played, in tournaments?
I played with toy soldiers as a child, and still do as a grown-up, albeit in a different way. My first three-dimensional wargaming was with WH40k, but I didn’t like the rules or the tournament circuit and almost stopped playing. Then I discovered another wargamer, DBA and historical wargaming. I also play boardgames.

How many tournaments did you play in 2010?
I have played too many: DBA, SDS and Anticamente. The problem is the preparation and travelling, and three rules-sets become difficult to do. And you have so little time to play anything else.

Which army gave you most this year?
Teutonic Knights, also from an aesthetic point of view. They are very heavy and force you to play an aggressive game. I also used them to win the decisive game in the Championship against my opponent who used the Mongols.

What advice would you give to people who are thinking about plaling in tournaments, especially those who play “your” rules?
Anticamente is a recent set of rules and all of its tactical possibilities haven’t been found yet, especially with the use of light troops, so it’ll be fun to explore it more. And the organisers make it even easier by lending you armies that you can try before you buy.

So, until here there is my intervention, and on the magazine you can find other 6 people who speak about their championship. But you can find articles and photos on this bilingual Italian magazine about wargames. There is a scenario for Song of Drums and Shakos too. Look here to know more. Buy it now at only 8 euros, p&p incl. On the next issue there will be another thing wrote by me…

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TB Line blog

Do you remember Anticamente? Well, I infected with blog-mania the famous man from Bologna who is behind the “viaduct project” too. So you can have more news and things from Anticamente surfing at https://www.tridentebologna.it/blog-english

This is only an image. If you can’t read well the small characters, is best to read the blog in full format… 😉

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Cups

I was thinking in these days about the cups I have got on the upper shelf of one bookcases of mine. I have got other prizes for my miniature battles but the cups are 5. And 4 of these are from Bologna. A very strange thing! The best cup of my life was this one from 3/4 years ago, my first cup. I cannot forget that moment.

I found I’m the seventh on the standing of the 2010 Italian wargamers league! It is a league organized by FIW (Italian Wargame Federation). You can find more here about this thing, even if every circuit works alone and it isn’t organized by this federation. And on the next issue of Dadi & Piombo magazine there will be a mini interview about me like wargamer.

Well, I’m number 7 of all tournament men of Italy, and this one was my worst year… The events of life sometime are very strange…

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