Archive for the ‘ ferrum et gloria ’ Category

Ludica Roma 2012: ganesha

Thanks to Luciano and Valentina we had got a huge space for our Ganesha Games stand. Andrea was running a demonstration table for beginners with the new edition of Song of Blade and Heroes. So some people and children discovered the world of wargame. At the same place were possible to taste the water of the upcoming Of Gods And Mortals. We sold half of the book rules that we brought. And my Zen Garden game gone sold out quickly. Now I want to realise a little more luxury new version of it. Ready for Play Modena next year, I think. Only 15 copies and nevermore.

As you remember my arena was stolen in Lucca convention. Now I have built a better and larger arena by a Playmobil set. It is still needy of a paintwork to give a less toyish feel and some structure improvements. In the works, but good even now. A lot of children was attracted by it. Hey, it is not a toy for children, it is a toy for adults! ; )

Andrea stayed in Rome for 5 days. We playtested Song of Spear and Shields the day before, the first (desert) day of the fair and the day after. Andrea was not so happy about some aspects of the game so he wanted to stop it and to throw it away. But I insisted to save the core rules, leaving the group rules to a future game with more miniatures. I want this game a lot, I am almost a co-author of it. Now I’m waiting the feedback from the drafting of the version for external playtesters to have something more delineated to work.

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Lucca C&G 2012: more miniatures

More miniatures in Lucca Games pavilion.

Here my mate Narciso that is dazed watching some greens by a miniatures sculptors stand. He wish to produce some miniatures too. If you remember, Narciso is the man that last year sculpted my pagodas for Zen Garden.

Same stand, part of the display case. I fell in love with that sort of cyber-spider. Only a green for now.

An absolute preview! The first pieces of a new range by Cosimo Auricchio. They are dwarf gladiators for Blood Bowl. I have instantly reserved a set for me… On the background the new legionaries range.

In the Miniature Island there was a painting competition called Grog. Really stunning pieces, but I’m more a wargamer than a modeller so I utilise less detailed miniatures to play. Their painting is excessive. Yes, envy is a bad thing…

More little things not painted with flat colours and detailed with “wonder wash” technique like mine…

A waste of sci-fi tanks at unreal little distance each other: a huge WH40k scenario.

The Calcio Storico Fiorentino (Florence historical football) is an ancestor of modern football and rugby, and it is still played nowadays. It is a very strong violent kind of football. Some years ago the authorities prohibited the annual match because it was the opportunity to settle a score among criminals and hotheads. Just like the Slapshot flick, the players forget the ball and start a brawl! People from Firenze are very proud of their traditions. This is the miniature game by Castle Arts.

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Lucca C&G 2012: ganesha stand

This year the Ganesha Games team was composed by me and Andrea. We were in the Miniatures Island managing a demonstration table.

Every day Andrea chose a different game to show to the public. This one is Song of Blades and Heroes II. He was showing to people that you can play with just a bunch of miniatures and it isn’t necessary to buy tons of minis from a multinational game company.

My duty in the fair was to show the Ganesha Games concepts and rules to promote wargames with miniatures. I had my games side by side with Andrea’s games. Other tables were running their demonstrations at only few cm from us. But I was so busy that I barely glance at them!

Another game showed was a preview of the upcoming Samurai Robots Battle Royale. Tomorrow I will meet Andrea at my home for another playtest.

Some people had the opportunity to give a try to Of Gods And Mortals, that will be published by Osprey the next year. Sorry, I didn’t take a photo of it. You can only see a leaflet with its cover. Instead here again Go Nagai’s creations.

I sold all the Zen Garden copies that I brought with me to the fair. Girls are genetically attracted by my little beautiful garden. I demonstrated or explained this game to enthusiastic and curious people. The best selling was to an operator for autistic boys and girls. He told me that autistics have a lack of interest in larger and complex things but they pay special attention to details. My game, with its small and delimited elements, can be useful to create a play moment to communicate with these kind of people.
Now I have got only three copies for Ludica convention. They are the lasts of the 30 made. I’m thinking about a Zen Garden II for the 2013, but only in 15 copies. I prepared a demo version of Ferrum et Gloria too.

Gualtiero Grassucci was in Lucca with his “À la guerre” rules. And he was there even to take a prize for his activity as “wargame promoter” at school. Yes, he is really a promoter: while I was around in the fair, he explained my game to a father and son. He mastered a game without my help!

This is the last photo took to my gladiator arena. In the night between Saturday and Sunday someone stolen it! I leave it on the table after the fair closure of Saturday. They could steal miniatures or other more precious things, but only my arena was missing. I presume that a cleaner saw a box (the arena!) and threw it away… It is sad to be criticized in this way…

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Alt si gioca 2012: the report

More on the beautiful Alt si gioca convention. This time some photos and comments. There are some previews about Ganesha Games new games too. But if you want to see more photos go to the two Dropbox photo archives:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/upm85fpqbni2m3y/jmdS3HOhyL
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3hezsv8m5sm74as/-rvZ1WN1bT

Former city of Bologna fair manager, now author of SDS game series and other games, Sergio Laliscia at the convention organisers desk.

The huge Ganesha Games stand with the Origins prize among Napoleonic rules. A show of some of the rules produced by Andrea Sfiligoi. Some are still in the works. On the wall some funny posters about dance folk music performed when the hall is populated by local elder people.

A demonstration game and playtest of the upcoming Of Gods And Mortals, out the next year for Osprey publishing. A classic: Greeks versus Vikings. Another time we have to test it with Egyptians…

Monsters Island with Mighty Monsters rules. This is only a display indeed. An usual fight is with 3/4 monsters per squad.

Samurai Robot Battle Royale is in an advanced development. We are thinking about a Gundam style match at my home soon. We have the book cover and some posters will be ready for Lucca Games in Halloween time. The rules are almost ready for an open playtest.

A display with Apocalypticum miniatures. Andrea postponed the development of these rules because he wanted to dedicate himself to other books. But now he wish to fix the rules utilising the notes that he collected with playtests. To start a new and definitive playtest phase.

A game with Drums & Shakos Large Battle. I think that these rules don’t have the right attention that they deserve from the potential players. It is a really valid Napoleonic system. Well, it is a bestseller in Ganesha Games sales but I don’t read about it often on the web. Please, give it a try, it is revolutionary, historically determined, fast and fun.

My children: Zen Garden and Ferrum et Gloria. I sold two boxes of the former at the convention. The gladiator game instead was practically proposed in a display mode here, but at Lucca Games convention I will present a scenario to show it easily to people.

Sherlock Holmes display. A gracious scenario full of Victorian little scenes: lamps, cobblestone ground, coaches, tramps, dogs and cats and other life scenes. I fell in love with it! I like the houses very much too. I saw them in Salute a year and half ago but here they are painted better. I want them for my Flyton city.

The huge 15mm Napoleonic display. Almost 11000 pieces. Sergio spent 5 hours to place them on the tables! Maybe next year he will have got more miniatures…

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Alt si gioca 2012: the videos

Alt si gioca was a wargame convention in Terni who took place the 7th of October. When I was free from my demonstrations I realised with my mobile a movie to report the event.

Some main topics:
0:12 – Blood Bowl tournament
0:51 – Flame of War scenario
1:00 – Battle on Ice in 10mm from Aster
1:20 – Heroquest
1:38 – Bring & Buy
1:53 – A La Guerre
2:30 – Gino Pilotino
2:48 – Subbuteo
3:01 – Operation World War II
3:17 – Wings of Glory
3:54 – Drums & Shakos Large Battle
4:20 – Zen Garden
4:28 – Ferrum et Gloria
4:34 – Samurai Robot Battle Royale
5:05 – Mighty Monsters
5:43 – Of Gods And Mortals
5:51 – Zulu on rampage
6:08 – Weird War II scenario
6:23 – Sherlock Holmes scenario
6:44 – 6mm
7.07 – 11000 Napoleonics in 15mm by Sergio Laliscia

To view a better show of the Napoleonics array, here another video.

And to know more about this convention go to altsigioca.6sided.net

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My arena

Exactly two years ago I started this blog. Now I have published 237 posts, that is one post every 3 days! A heavy duty!!! When I began this thing I didn’t know precisely what to write and if I can run it for so long. Well, now I think that I have still a lot of things to say. My only regret is that my English language isn’t perfect… but I have to live with it!

Well, this is my arena. Made by my friend Pippo and painted by my father. Pippo gave me the arena during the Agliana convention. It is made by cardboard and railway modelling bricked strip, glue, scotch-tape. All is designed to be placed inside a box for laptops to be transportable. After only (!) 5 months I found the time to finish off it. You can see on this post its initial colours. I painted the engraved stones with my magic wash black mix (polish plus black acrylic ink) on the grey surface and the result is great. For the ground I used a sand paint and my magic wash chestnut mix thinned with water, but the final impression was ugly, as a flat yellow surface covered with litres of dried blood! To give a more delicate appearance I painted several layers of thinned sand paint. Better than before but I think that could resemble more a pizza with dried mozzarella over tomato sauce than a reddish brown ground mixed to sand. Next time I have to give a better look to the ground. Yes, there will be a next time, another arena…

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Rufina 2012: my games

More on Rufina convention. This time some photos and words on the game that I played.

Because it was the 8th of September, the day that remind us the escape of king and government during the war, leaving the State and the Army without orders, we played a game with Operation Squad WW2 rules. The setting was pretty basic and a little scratch. We wanted to reproduce a fight of Italians versus Germans. The firsts were desperately trying to save themselves and the Country while Italy was collapsed as nation, the latter were invading the territory while were only a few in a foreign place where their former comrades switched sides for the Allies but without knowing it!

We made some mistakes because it was the fist time we play with these rules. My friend Pippo of Pippo’s Blog fame, fought with a fallschrimjager squad even if he wore a t-shirt with a commie red star on the national flag and the writing “always partisans”! I had got standard Italian troops instead.

After a lot of promises, I organised a demo of my Ferrum et Gloria for Pippo. He wanted to try these rules and in the future he will run a full playtest for me, based on the written text, to understand if all is clear. I hope he will play an entire campaign to tweak the system points and the added rules. Bad lucky dices for me this time, so the test was not so valid to state the full potential of the rules. But Pippo liked it.

Here you can see my new arena, made by Pippo and painted by my father under my direction. Small, portable, elliptical.

Sunday an Anticamente tournament was held in Rufina. The first time with my 10mm Roman legion. And I wore my tourist t-shirt with a big “SPQR”, a real statement of Roman creed! Last time I played with these rules it was almost a year ago. So I had only a lot of good dice result to survive to enemy armies. However I know something about this game: I reached the forth place on eight participants. I had to leave early due to distance, and a fake photo was taken while I receive the cup for the third place because maybe I could reach that place in case a player would lost more pieces. Now I haven’t got the cup but only a photo. Yes, but together with my friend Fabio.

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This is not a souvenir

During a walk in the city centre I saw this thing in a souvenir shop around Piazza Navona. There is a new wave of this kind of shops, sometime they obliterate ancient and more rustic places, or real shops not created for hordes of tourist zombies. A lot of Chinese or South Asians are among vendors, and this is a new trend. Traditional souvenir vendors were Hebrew, because this was considered as an indecorous job, so it was reserved to pariah of society.

Back to the arena. Think about a game setted inside this arena. If you want a Colosseum here you have got a real one. Well, a real one at the actual form, because now it is so ruined, in ancient times it had another form. But who care, so it is more peculiar.

I didn’t ask the price. It could be outrageous, I suppose. It is a souvenir, isn’t it? For very rich people. But if you think about some prices for resin buildings for wargames, or worse to train modelling, we are rich people who spent a lot of money on silly things.

To stop this thought, I believe that I haven’t the space for this thing in my house. So I can’t afford it. I wonder on who will buy it.

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