Archive for the ‘ dba ’ Category

Lo Papa Vero: incoming

Every year we organise, as Legio Palatina wargame club, a DBA event here in Rome. This is true since 2004, when we started this with “De Bello Italico”, a scenario on ancient Italy in the first Roman age. We are members of the Italian DBA community called DBA-Italia, and we collectively run the DBA Italian championship dedicated to Dionigi Ioghà. We are very happy to create these play opportunities for our friends and for DBA lovers. We always want to set in Rome something special with a strong theme for our tournaments. And we give away special prizes and gadgets as peanuts for tournaments based on Asian lists with a lot of Elephants, or head bands with a red sun in the middle for a tournament on samurai lists. And before the tournaments we test the lists, changing aggressiveness and composition, to have a better balanced list of armies to choice.

We don’t want the same old soup, so every year is different. Now, after 8 years here in Rome we were searching something new to do, so we thought to Narciso, our mate in Canino, whom lives in that small town in the north of actual Lazio region (Latium in latin). Near there is ancient Vulci, an Etruscan city. And one member of Bonaparte family (a Napoleone’s brother) lived here, as prince of a artificial princedom. So, the usual Rome event will be held in the unusual place of Canino.

This year theme is the clash in Italy between Empire and Church, in the XI and XII centuries, a moment when there were more than a pope at once. We focused on Gregorio and Clemente popes and all the struggle for power in those years.

There are two great films here in Italy called “L’armata Brancaleone” and “Brancaleone alle crociate”, the humorous story of a knight and his fellows in those years, in a violent and decadent world full of beggars, mad priests and hungry people, in a false and absurd, but more true than real, portrait of the period. And some scenes were filmed in Canino! We take inspiration from this story, with the fight between Gregorio and Clemente, to set our theme.

We use another method to compose the armies, adding allies to the lists, substituting up to 3 of your original pieces. But these forces can be used only referring to which kind of enemy you fight against. For example, if you are against Empire you cannot use pro Empire allies, if you have Empire allies your opponent cannot use that nation of Empire allies. This was used with success in the Bologna 2006 tournament and was thought by Filippo (see his blog, linked on the right menu!)

We have this appointment for the 4th of September in Canino. If you can, come and play! To know more, visit the website I made for the event:
https://www.legiopalatina.it/lopapavero/index.htm

Share

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!

Share

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.

Share

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.

Share

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…

Share

DBA in Labaro

Today we were in Labaro, Rome. But I don’t believe in this “Rome” fact because it is an area outside the urban context, a nowhere land built on a hill outside the GRA, the psychological border of Rome. And the weather was frightening, on the return way we guided only with memory blinded by a wall of water that fell from the sky. Besides this we had a good day inside Le Grenadier club, with a splendid reception by Di Bartolo and his wife (the lunch prepared by her was huge and all meat based).

dba in labaro

A DBA tournament was set, only for eight people from Rome, in the club, a special event with the lists of the Milan tournament disputed two weeks before: a post Alexander set. If you cannot go to Milan, Milan go to you!

dba in labaro

dba in labaro

dba in labaro

This time I had a better result than last months: 2 won 2 lost. Paolo, for his return to DBA after 2 years, win the day.

dba in labaro

Share

DBA Arezzo 2010

Another appointment for DBA Italian Championship! And today is 10-10-10…

dba arezzo 2010

This is the last tournament for this year to me. There will be another in Milano, but I am too tired to trip around Italy for DBA. In the past I play in almost all the events, I was one of the most frequent players in the championship.

dba arezzo 2010

A beautiful day, a lot of friends come to a comic shop in Arezzo. Not only an occasion to play but the periodic moment to speak of miniatures and rules (and common life) with the chaps of DBA, a community together since 2003. And the usual dinner. The restaurant was the same of the last time (some months ago we play in Arezzo a SDS tournament) but there wasn’t the Sardinian cooking (with his bombastic black waiter), instead we found a Tuscan cooking at his start. Huge helpings!

The games are done. The 2010 Italian champion is Gasbarri with a tournament in advance.

Usually I take all the pictures of the tournaments. This time I lend my camera to a friend but something didn’t work. Only a few pics were taken. You can see them on DBA Italia website.

dba arezzo 2010

This time I have bad luck and I show lack of skill. No preparation bring to no success. I have never top results, but I could always say something to my opponents: at the European Championship in Rome last year I achieved the 5° position.

Share