Wargames Illustrated n°424 (avril 2023)

OBSERVATION POST
TV and film classics, angry animals, Operation Barbarossa, and more in this month’s look at new wargame releases.

RELEASE RADAR
What new hobby gems will Dom train his radar on this month?

QUICK FIRE
The place to go to find out what your hobby peers have been up to over recent weeks.

FRAME FOCUS:
PIKE AND SHOTTE EPIC BATTLES
A look at this month’s freebie frame. Taking in some painting and modelling tips along the way.

THEME:
GAMECHANGERS WITH FOUR WISE MEN
We sit down for a few pints, some grub, and some Gamechangers chatter with a quadrant of wargaming wise men for this month’s theme introduction.

FUN IN THE SUN
A look through the exciting new Outremer expansion book for Footsore’s Barons’ War, discussing the new armies, rules, and figures available, and some suggestions for Crusader States historical battles you can play at a skirmish level.

THEME:
PIKE & SHOTTE EPIC BATTLES – WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
We caught up with Warlord Games’ Steve Morgan, author of the Pike & Shotte rules, and asked him about all things Pikey and Shotte.

MUSKETS & TOMAHAWKS TO FALLEN TIMBERS
We showcase the paint jobs Matt Parkes applied to North Star’s new Native American warriors for Muskets & Tomahawks and suggest some tabletop battles to use them in.

THEME:
“STEEL CHARIOTS IN THE DESERT”
Robert Giglio presents armoured cars and light patrol cars as a World War One Gamechanger in the desert.

BEHIND GERMAN LINES
Paul Leach provides a ‘toolkit’ for collecting figures, planning forces, and getting gaming with Soviet partisans and their German foe during WWII.

THEME:
MULTI-PLAYER BILLHOOKING
About this time last year, Giles Shapley, aka Eric the Shed, shared with us his journey through several multi-player tabletop refights of the battles of the Wars of the Roses. For this Gamechangers article, Giles tells us how he tweaked the Never Mind the Billhooks rules to allow for more players, more figures, and ultimately bigger battles in those games.

SCENARIOS FOR VALOUR & FORTITUDE
Following last month’s rules for using the Strategy & Guile campaign system with Valour & Fortitude, the game’s designer Jervis Johnson presents an S&G campaign scenario followed by a V&F battle scenario.

THEME:
HELL ON HOOVES
Bill Gray delves into the history and tactics of the Polish Winged Hussars and discovers that we might need to (Game)change to better represent them in tabletop battles.