I have a lot of things in my backlog, so I concentrate my efforts to show you the main wargame conventions of November. But even in December there were interesting things, like this couple of fairs: Più Libri Più Liberi (small book editors fair) and Arti & Mestieri (handcrafted foods and objects). I spent a lot of money in books and foods, obviously. Moreover as Ganesha Games we met a couple of times to play with games and to playtest some secret future Osprey releases, eating pizza, Greek street food and drinking mjed. As Ferrum et Gloria author I playtested in another two occasions some new things for Ferrum et Gloria part 2. In the last days I refurbished this blog with new colours and contents.
In the meantime we even had Christmas and New Year events, with a lot of correlated lunches and dinners. January and February are empty as conventions or tournaments so I will be more free to work on FeG, even if at the end of January there is the Nettunia landing anniversay. Next posts still with Lucca 2013 report: it was an huge fair.

I’m not capable to play with something other than Ganesha Games’ new projects because I haven’t the time to do more. Andrea is very happy about our dedication to the cause to better rules for better wargames. The Roman playtest team (me, Diego and Diego the other) did a lot of trips to Terni but this time Andrea came to Rome in the ARSM club. Sometimes I can’t speak about what I played because they are games that have to be secret. It is not a matter of secret service: publication dates are so far that it is better to not speak about them or contracts are signed to maintain the silence. So here no details and no specific photos. The 1st of September we played 3 matches with this new game. It was fun and credible, and we pinpointed some weak elements to improve the set. You could play with it in 2015?

This morning I’m leaving for a full week holiday to Lisbon, the first one not related to miniature games since time. A full report when I return, but a DBA tournament in Rome will take my attention the 21th of this month. Where is my luggage? I have to go!

Narnia is not only a matter of chronicles. It is the old name of a city exactly in Italy geographical centre. It is a beautiful little town on a hill and inside walls, with a distinct medieval appearance, and now it is called Narni. Fun fact: the coat of arms of the town is not a lion but a red griffon!

This is the 8th edition of Narni Fumetto, a nice convention about comics. And this one is the access to the town council inside a ancient stone building raised on the more ancient Roman forum of the town. In the atrium there was the games section of the convention.

I stayed two days with Andrea to playtest some new rules, to assist
him with free game session, to visit the town and the convention. In the background a well and along the wall some volumetric food measures carved in stone.

We tested some new ideas for BattleSworn future supplements. I think that it is better to work on the rules that Andrea have to complete, but in the meantime more games are in our minds.
In the background our friends of “La locanda dei giullari”, a live roleplay group. Very gorgeous girls inside!

On the table, to assist our creative efforts, another weird soft drink that resemble a more famous one: the Ben Cola!

Archery is another passion for Andrea. He diverted attention from games to assist people using his long bow.

The main comics area was inside a deconsacrated church now a cultural centre. You could find vendors, authors and some presentation.

A weird view. An altar transformed in a comic vendor stand. And some iconic images from cinema and comics are superimposed on saints on the walls.

The church is huge. Frescos remains on columns and cellars.

Accidentally blasphemy! The central figure is watching a comic on the upper shelf on the left. A Totem comic magazine with a sex scene just on the cover.

More accidentally blasphemy! A Crucifixion scene and on the left a soft sex scene on a comic named “the wait”.

There was another vendors space for comics and some games in another pavilion along the road. Wonderful food at bargain prices was sold at the convention and in shops in the town centre.

Cosplay is a vital component of comic conventions of the last 15 years. But I was amazed of the large wings of this chap. Not very handy to have a walk along the narrow streets of this town.

Sparkling colours add a tone to the white stone walls of the town.

Photo sessions around the town for cosplayers. Here they can use an unique location for their costumes.

A cosplay contest was held inside a theatre built in 1856 among medieval buildings. A real gem! Pity, I didn’t take a photo of the inside.

Gundam is always a classic. There is a young man inside. An heavy costume, movement is very demanding with it.

Well, two relaxing days while living a little but international comic convention. And more holidays will follow in the next days…

Another Ganesha Games’ playtest time in Terni. Andrea hosted us in his home for a day. The last part of Summer is full of meeting opportunities to play with the latest games by Andrea and Sergio. And to drink uncommon soft drinks. And a bottle of traditional Italian lemon syrup “Tassoni”. Add to them cheap snacks and a dinner in a Chinese restaurant and you can obtain an idea about our cholesterol levels.

This time we playtested the last scenario of the boardgame, the fight of the survivors against the final monster. As a videogame. After a lot of efforts and scenarios our heroes found the last obstacle to their liberty. A challenge that they resolved shrewdly. Some tweaks are necessary to this game to resolve some aspects, but the core mechanics are validated.

More time available, so some BattleSworn games were played. The game is published so it was not a real playtest, only a way to run in the rules with more people. Now is available the printed version on Amazon (CreateSpace) here: https://www.createspace.com/4413049

Narciso reached us later for more fun. Other playtest meetings are scheduled in the near future. Photos and reports will follow…

Another day in Terni for playtesting. This time alone, because Diego had a bad time with family. Sad.
However I played a match with Andrea, playtesting for the second time a new game by Sergio, a game system where you use a dice pool to act. Andrea writes games very better than he plays them, so I could easily obtain a great victory: at the start he put too many forces behind the front line and there was a gap in the middle of the deployment. Then I fell asleep… Sergio in the aftermath insulted me for this. He reminded my past victories in tournaments, whereas during this game I had fear to move every single piece. Sorry chaps, I’m tired because I sleep only 6 hours a day and moreover with this heat my pressure is fatally low. However it is all my fault… The game is good, it is a fast and easy game system, always revolutionary as all Sergio’s games. But if you are a moron… However I suggested some crucial marketing ideas about the publishing of the game.

In the afternoon, after the dinner, more sleep for me… And a playtest about our boardgame campaign. I skipped a couple or more of matches so I refound my playing characters with more experience and weapons. This time it was a run towards the final goal. I had a better performance and fought hard. Only an error at the last killed a character of mine. Pity! The next stage is the final battle with a magic monster, only a matter of naked violence.
Next time the 24th of August, with more people and more games. And a big cup of coffee…

I’m decisively busy these days. My two jobs and other things keep me outside the blog and the miniatures. However the 3th of July was even my birthday time! 44 and more on arrival…

Among various celebrations (at home with my family, at main job with colleagues, at home with friends) I went to Terni to have a “miniature” party with Andrea and Sergio, together with Diego that celebrates his birthday the day before mine. An entire day with some playtests for Ganesha Games’ next releases. And pizza at bargain prices that only in Terni you can find. For dinner we eat more pizza along the main road, bought from a really gorgeous girl!

Samurai Robot Battle Royale is not dead. A year after we thought it is finally almost ready. You have only to wait after the Summer.

More games with the game of the moment. I know what it is but I cannot say what it is because it is a secret.

Almost a week after, today, it is my parents’ golden wedding. A marriage for 50 years and still on. Tonight we are going to have a party with relatives. Here my mum and dad during a holiday in Venice, 46 years after the honeymoon.

The 16th of June a new wargame convention was held in Rome. It is called Roma Gioca (Play Rome). It is even relatively near to my home, but in a new built zone, among camps. A chess club with a wargame appendix is located inside a technical school. In a dungeon inside this huge structures amalgam, in the middle of nowhere, these chaps roll their dices.

Almost only a grognard convention because of the location, but full of tables. Every wargame club in Rome was here. We had a lot of space, three full rooms was used. My photos cannot give a real idea of the event because I was too much involved with my play. However from the first photo to the third one, you can see the room development of the convention, room by room.

During the day even an Operation Overlord tournament was played. Boardgames were there thanks to Tana del Goblin staff.

As Ganesha Games we were there in a full formation. Sergio played a Drums and Shakos Large Battle game, organised by Diego.

Here a participation game (before the participation) with an exciting helicopters charge of Apocalypse Now style.

A snapshot of what Andrea was playing, as you can see on the first photo. A dungeon, some green monsters, dices with 12 faces. And nothing more, it is a secret. And a playtest, indeed.

Always on the first photo of this post you can see the full table of the new naval game by Sergio. Here something more near to our eyes. It is called “Aye aye sir!”: Drums and Shakos goes naval…

After the overall review of Dadi.Com, now we are going to see the Ganesha Games presence. We were at full force, with me, Andrea, Sergio and Diego. Among other things, we spent a lot of money in the Bring & Buy, but we offered some demonstration games too. Andrea was in the convention with an OGAM preview. In the meantime he organised a brainstorm for the boardgame that he is writing in these days, as you can see in the photo. Instead Sergio took a pause from his new games and were inspired by Bizio’s work for an entirely new game.

The new edition of Zen garden is ready! It is the white one, after the black and the red. The final edition indeed. Better than before, with reorganised rules, more pagodas, white sand glued on the board and more sand available to add a real zen garden feel at the scenery. Gualtiero Grassucci is a fan and a promoter of the game: he play it to show wargame mechanics to children! Thank you!

This was the opportunity to show the last developments of Ferrum et Gloria to grognard public. I run some demonstration games trying new tweaks. A game with 4 people divided in 2 squads (retiarii versus secutor and scissor) was held. The fight became very hard and participant. It was a real challenge! A lot of blood was spread on the sand. During these days I tried a sagittarii fight and in another game I put 3 equites versus 3 equites. To adapt the core rules to these two gladiatorial categories I had to study something to reflect their specific methods of fight, because they use bows or mount horses.

Now my arena is better too. I put some spectators on the bleaches and some improvement was done. I have got rules for referee too…

Herat was a game about Italian development in Afghanistan based on Flyin’ Lead rules by Ganesha Games. It was a valid scenario with a lot of models, houses and a bazaar. It won a prize. I wish a modern Italian army too, but these miniatures are out of commerce.

Another club chose OGAM for a demonstration game. The scenery was better than those made by Andrea. He is always focused on mechanics and the scenery is pretty scarce. These chaps instead have found a game that can substitute other fantasy games. So they have cured the aesthetic aspect too. OGAM will be out towards October, so you have to wait some months to read the rules. Here a game with Vikings versus Greeks. On the book you will find Egyptians and Celt too. If I would find some free time, I have to develop Sumerian and Shardana lists for future official expansions.

So, this was Dadi.Com, the wargame convention of South Europe… I don’t know if the next year I will present here my finished gladiatorial rules or if I will be in San Marino again. In the meantime this year we will have two big convention in Italy, Lucca Comics and Games in November and Ludica in December. And for the 16th of June a new wargame convention will be held in Rome. On these pages the future reports.