Day out at Fiasco

Went to Fiasco at Leeds today with Russ and Mark from next door.  Money is a bit tight at the moment so I didn't want to go on a big spending spree - just to have a look at what was available and maybe pick up a bargain or two.  Mark has done his back in so I had to drive there and back - the best part of 3 hours - but the guys kindly helped out with petrol and parking money.

The show was held at a different venue this year - just across from the Armoury. I didn't think it was as good as the previous venue (with its various side rooms making it more of a magical mystery tour!) and it certainly seemed quieter - maybe the recession is biting more than we thought.

As my main requirement at the moment is 10mm ancients, this made life pretty easy - a trip to the Pendraken stand (as Magister Militum weren't there) and checking out the various paint options (mainly 'horsey' colours for my Parthians and Gallic cavalry / chariots).  There were some good games going on as well - especially Hasslefree Miniatures sci-fi epic with zombies, mutants, aliens, heroes and guards going toe-to-toe in some impressive scenery (complete with flashing lights!).

Russ picked up a starter pack for his Indian ancients army from Pendraken - good value at £19 - and has ordered another wodge of Indian figures to field a Field of Glory Classical Indian army.  They appear to be rock hard (elephants, archers who double as swordsmen, heavy chariots, javelinmen who also double as swordsmen etc.) so I'm not looking forward to taking them on.

Then I came across the East Riding Miniatures stand.  Best known for the Platoon 20 range, they don't really tick my box (20th century troops) BUT he was also selling off various collections - including a hefty Greek 10mm army amongst others.  I'm looking to build a Classical Greek army - and so is Russ - so we thought we could build one each and have a bash at Persian / Peloponnesian / Classical Greek battles. 

The bag of Greeks came in at £20 (the same price as a starter pack of Pendraken figures) but seemed to be stuffed with hoplites so we decided to buy it (or rather I did as Russ had run out of cash) and split the troops / cost.  When I got it home I found that I had most of the periphary BG's (cavalry, skirmishers, etc.) already - as well as a big block of hoplites in a couple of poses (standing and crouching).   In all there were 358 figures in the pack (which retail would have cost in the region of £60!). 

This broke down as :-
24 archers
24 javelinmen
24 command figures
18 Light Horse
18 Heavy Cavalry
30 Standing Hoplites
220 Crouching Hoplites

So using this big bag of Greeks and my existing Greek troops I developed a balanced army for both of us.  This involved putting some of my 'standing' hoplites into Russ' army (in return for a similar number of 'crouching') to ensure Russ had 48 standing troops (i.e. enough to create 12 bases - or 2BG) to differentiate them from his 'crouchers'.  So he could now use the standers to represent 2BG of Spartan Citizen Hoplites (for example) and use the crouchers to represent Spartan perioikoi hoplites (thereby making differentiation easier).

As I already have enough Greek light and heavy cavalry, peltasts and archers this meant that Russ could have all these figures in the pack, together with the 18 standers I'd added to the 30 in the pack.  Therefore I just needed to divide up the remaining  'crouchers' to ensure we both had enough.

I took 88 of the crouchers - so accounting for the 18 I put into Russ' pack I ended up taking the equivalent of 70 figures out of the big bag of Greeks - with Russ taking the remainder.  This gives him (and me) enough troops to field the following

8 BG of hoplites (assuming 6 bases to a BG)
2 BG of Light Horse
1 BG of Heavy Cavalry
1 BG of Javelinmen (or up to 12 bases)
1 BG of Cretan / Athenian archers (or up to 12 bases)
5 Command bases (foot)

Russ may need to invest in a pack of javelinmen and / or archers but he's now got enough to field a Greek / Spartan army.  As he got c.85% of the pack, this equates to £16.50 for a full Classical Greek army!  Not a bad result.

I also bought a Marian Roman army starter pack for £12 (usual price £19).  The figures I'm more likely to use as Imitation Legionaires for other armies of the period but also gives me the option to develop a Marian army in the future.

I got a small pack of Middle Eastern houses from the Baggage Train (£2.50) to provide us with a village option for the Carthaginians. 

I also bought some horse paints (Roan, Chestnut, Light Bay and Palameno) to make horsey painting for the bazillion Parthian and Gallic horse units a bit easier - I already have greys and a couple of darker browns so they should look tasty when finally completed.

And that was about it.  I had a brief look at the FOG renaissance rules and Foundry's Napoleon rules.  The former because they will form the basis (eventually) of FOG's Napoleonic rules and the latter to see if they could be used in a scaled down version (6mm). 

I managed to avoid buying some MDF bases (as I need to work out how many I actually need), scenery (although there was some good stuff on show) and dice (as I already have about 300 d6). 

We had a good chat on the way back and overall found it a very enjoyable day.

Until the realisation that I have another 500+ more figures to paint.  Oh, Lordy!

How to Find a Masculine Halloween Costume for Your Effeminate Son

So, Halloween is here, and you're probably excited about the chance to use your children as a great excuse to go trick-or-treating again. But this year you're kind of concerned that your son's effeminate mannerisms and his fervent desire to dress up like a ballerina are going to get people talking and give you weird looks...

Fear not, dear friend: The Onion's Today Now Show has brought in an expert to help you figure out how to overcome your son's giddiness.

And if you dare, check out Marilyn Manson's version of the Halloween Song.
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Happy Halloween!

Battle Report - umpteenth Punic Wars clash

Russ and I had another FOG Punic Wars clash last night.

No photos (sorry!) and this will be a generally short report as a consequence.

After dicing for terrain, I noticed that the left corner on my side was sheltered by two enclosed fields - perfect flank protection for the infantry.  I tried to lure Russ to the middle by depolying my skirmishers and cavalry there - but he wasn't fooled.  Instead he piled his cavalry on my left (his right) and lined up his remaining troops (including 2 elephants) in a mass battle line.  I put the infantry in the sheltered corner regardless.

The opening moves were predictable.  My velites moved forward to combat his slingers (accompanied by the Italian allies) to counter the Numidian light horse who'd wandered in front of my cavalry).  A series of charges took place as I attempted to trap his light horse in front of his onrushing cavalry.

The Carthaginian line wheeled as one - which I thought would take ages to complete and keep his left-most troops out of the battle for a while.  I therefore started to move my heavy troops out of the corner - to support the velites / cavalry combo OR exploit any opportunities that arose.

During the charges and evades, Russ' battle line got close enough to my pursuing cavalry for an elephant to jump out and tangle with one of my cavalry BG's.  This became the key battle at the centre. 

The other Roman cavalry got lucky.  One or Russ' light horse got trapped and had to evade through his Gallic cavalry (which became Disrupted).  These then charged my velites and Roman cavalry (the former passing a CMT to stay put).  After a confused battle, the Gauls Fragmented then Broke - going through the Spanish cavalry behind them.  These in turn became Disrupted and faced the same velites / cavalry combo (the Velites having to waith for the Spanish to become Fragmented before jumping in.

The consequence was that both Gallic and Spanish cavalry were Broken and fled for the hills - with the cavalry in hot pursuit (the velites choosing to attack the Light Horse again - catching them in the flank).

Meanwhile the Cartho battle line slowliy wheeled.  The cavalry tried to kill the elephant but as it required 3+ hits to force a death roll - and Hannibal close by to ensure the cohesion tests were passed - the grey beasts stood firm - allowing the Gauls and the other Numidian Light Horse to surround them.  That was basically the end of the cavalry - they soon lost bases and Autobroke.

Up by the hills, the remaining Roman cavalry - bouyed by their success - also caught some slingers in a column, hitting their rear.  Somehow, the Romans contrived to lose the combat (an echo of when my velites were caught in the rear by Russ' veteran African spearmen - and won!).  That was the incident that put Russ off FOG for a considerable time - yet he enjoyed the same improbable outcome last night.  We agreed that as a result, the velites / spearman incident will never be referred to again.

The combat developed - the Romans failing to deliver either deaths or effective cohesion tests (Hannibal and his +2/12" combo!) on the crappy slingers - and hence to deliver a victory for the Romans.

Russ began moving troops over to his right hand side - including a BG of African Spears and some more skirmishers.  My foot continued to move in their enclosed position to create a coherent (and condensed) front meaning that Russ would struggle to get his troops together to be effective in the small 'hole' between the enclosed fields. 

We left it there.  Technically a draw (although the Carthos had lost more BG's).  We then argued about the likely outcome.  Russ' view was that the Cartho foot were unscathed and - with two chunky elephants - were likely to give a good account of themselves.

My view was that the Roman foot were similarly unscathed and were close to taking on the right hand side of the Cartho line with 3-4 BG's going toe-to-toe with one BG of the African spears - and with the Roman horse eventually bashing the skirmishers (those ++POA's had to come off at some point!) they would be free to wander around the Cartho rear and do some (unhindered) damage.

But as usual we ran out of time to fight to a finish.

It was a closer fight than most of the Punic Wars fights we've had.  We agreed that the Carthaginians are hard to fight effectively and we think that a full game (with me taking the Carthos for a change) would be educational for us both!

Christine O'Donnell - Ask Me Questions I Don't Like, and I'll Sue Your Ass

Don't you just love it when Tea-Partiers talk about gov't transparency? I know I do. I think that since politicians' jobs depend on the support of their constituency, they ought to be held accountable to said constituency. The principle makes perfect sense.

My problem is when the actual application of this principle is based on special pleading: 'we should hold politicians accountable for what they say and do, but if you ask me questions I don't like, I'll snap my fingers and get my lawyers/campaign managers to physically bully you and then threaten you with a big, fat lawsuit if you release the video.'

Funny thing... here is the video :)

Of course, suing the radio station would be a violation of the right to freedom of press and freedom of speech, so she subsequently had to apologize.

But it's not really her fault; after all, she herself admits her utter ignorance of the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights (not to mention her ignorance of evolution and science):

Lady, they weren't laughing with you, they were laughing at you :)

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Have We Lost Sight of the Real Meaning of Halloween?

There are those who complain about the 'war on Christmas,' and others who complain that we have lost sight of the real meaning of Valentine's day, or Thanksgiving, or Columbus day (thankfully), or the Fourth of July, and so on, but could it be the case that it's the sacred holiday of Halloween, the day when families are supposed to come together and offer animal sacrifices to scare off evil spirits, that has become overcommercialized?

Well, the pundits at The Onion certainly think so...

You're feeling guilty now, aren't you?
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President Obama Visits Jon Stewart

As you may already know, next weekend in Washington D.C., there will be a Rally to Restore Sanity to the political discourse in our country. Well, it seems that last night the rally featured its opening act: President Barack Obama paid a visit to the Daily Show and did something we haven't seen politicians do in a very long time: present a coherent and reasonable set of ideas understood in the context of realistic expectations.



In the interview, President Obama argues that although we haven't seen the substantive change that many people thought would happen (magically perhaps?), it's the structural changes that have been put in place, despite strong political resistance, that will become the condition that allows such substantive changes to take place over time.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Part two:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 2
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

Part three:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 3
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

I wonder what 10% (of what might not sound so peachy) pundits are going to focus on and sensationalize... any bets?

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Army Ant Frenzy

Whatever ants may lack in size, they more than make up for in terms of numbers and determination, and when you add to the mix hunger or the instinct to feed their young, you might want to get as far away from these voracious little machines as possible.

Look at it this way: if you are afraid of wasps, and wasps are afraid of these ants, the logical rule of transitivity says you should also fear them; trust the logic, or not... and then let me know how it went :)

I don't know how much, if any, was CGI, but that last shot was fucking awesome!

Now, there are ways of fighting them, but you're going to need a hell of a lot of little pie canons:

Hungry for more ant awesomeness?

We have lots: here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
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Light Fantastic - Light, the Universe and Everything

Welcome to the final episode of Simon Schaffer's fascinating documentary series, Light Fantastic. Thanks to the incredible work of Einstein, we know today that although light travels in straight lines through space, space-time itself isn't always all that straight. This fascinating conjecture received its first empirical confirmation in 1919, when Sir Arthur Eddington led an expedition to observe and record a solar eclipse, and then measured the apparent position shift of a few stars behind the sun (the picture to the right demonstrates the basic idea). Einstein became an overnight celebrity.

Before Einstein, however, all investigations concerning light worked under the simple assumption that all light does is reveal the world to us. What we didn't realize until the 18th century, however, through the work of people like Joseph Priestley, was that light has a causal influence on the world, especially the world of living organisms. In a very strange but real sense, the medium that allowed us to see the world was also producing that world...

But the story gets even more interesting. The attempt to investigate the ultimate nature of light would also illuminate (get it?) how the human mind itself works. John Dalton would be the first to discover color blindness (partly through his own unfortunate experience); Benjamin Thompson (or Count Rumford, if you like) would demonstrate the ultimate subjective nature of color through a series of fascinating and bewildering experiments (opening the door for a revolution in the world of art); and Thomas Young would be responsible for a paradigm shift that cast light as a wave, to be understood through principles analogous to those used to describe sound. In the process, he would finally be able to explain the mystery of color as the visual equivalent of musical notes.

But that's just part of the story, and as we explore further, we'll see that understanding the nature of light can actually become a matter of life and death...

If you can see the 74 in the picture above, your vision is probably okay. If you don't see it, you've just been diagnosed with color blindness by Doctor Philosophy Monkey :)
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D'oh!

Painting some Parthian / Eastern foot soldiers and archers last night (to make a change from the Gauls) and I managed to knock over a pot of red paint without noticing.  By the time I realised, it looked like a murder had been committed on the desktop! 

I managed to mop it all up but the paint has all gone.

Rats!

How Memphis Got The Blues

Yes, this is a picture of a very young B.B. King. He is now 76 years old and still going strong. He 'got the blues' - musically speaking - from the many blues artists that preceded him. Where, however, did the blues get the blues?
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The blues is more than a musical art form. It is about periods of powerlessness, regret, poverty, racial exclusion, pain and hope inside catastrophic circumstances. There is one more factor, one of which is often overlooked, the fragility of life in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the face of raging epidemic disease.
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Two contagions in particular, yellow fever and cholera, had the capacity to end thousands of lives without little warning. In 1793, yellow fever took the lives of approximately 5,000 residents in Philadelphia or 10% of the population. In 1798, the disease hit New York and claimed between 1,600 and 2,000 people.
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A century later (1878), yellow fever devastated the South. A incomprehensible total of more than 9,000 succumbed in New Orleans (4,046) and Memphis (over 5,000). Due to a resistance extant from their African roots, the number of black deaths was minimal. When it came to cholera, known as 'the poor man's plague' however, African-Americans, the poorest of the poor in the South, were its most vulnerable victims. In 1873, an outbreak of cholera ravaged the Mississippi valley and claimed 3,000 lives while yellow fever hit New Orleans and Memphis in a prelude of the horrific tolls taken by the same disease in these cities five years later.
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Considering that blacks were being subjected to Jim Crow, excluded from jobs with living wages and frequently subject to the appalling effects of epidemic disease, it is no wonder that the blues originated in the South.
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African-Americans did not give up. They endured and eventually won their rightful place in American society as equals after a long, hard and bitter struggle. While racism still exists, the disease of prejudice is melting away with the passing of each and every year. Indeed, the thrill of living is not gone.
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(Photo: B.B. King)
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Listen to B.B King's classic 'The Thrill is Gone' by clicking the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrFChQUQihE
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J Roquen

Stephen Fry on Language

There is a long debate in the philosophy of language about the relationship between thought and language. Can the former exist without the latter? Whatever the answer, it is undeniable that at least a huge part of our thought is intricately bound up with language. As such, it is extremely useful for communication (if not downright necessary), but its utility shouldn't be taken to mean that language can't also have great aesthetic value. Words, and the sounds associated with them, can and should intensify emotion, tickle us with anticipation, delight the imagination, enrage us with passion and befuddle us with bewilderment.

Of course, its 'improper' use can also drive sticklers up the wall (and I'll count myself among them, to some extent, not out of pedantry and fastidiousness but out of love for the idea that any art is best which overcomes constraints and limitations instead of simply ignoring or being unaware of them).

In any case, the following kinetic typograhy video accompanies an excerpt from a fabulous essay, written and read by Stephen Fry, exalting language while simultaneously admonishing pedants and grammar nazis.

And if you want to listen to the entire essay, and I very much would recommend it (it's even better than the excerpt above), here it is for your listening pleasure:

That was delightful, not only in terms of the stimulating ideas (some of which I disagree with quite strongly) but in the language itself, so even though I didn't miss it, I won't get into the huge LOGICAL contradiction underlying the entire essay... sorry Mr. Fry :)
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Eye Candy - the Huns

The Huns - a great bunch of lads!  Off for a rampage somewhere.

Excellent painting (not mine, of course!) and basing.

De Bellis Antiquitatis Rules arrived today

It always good to get a package through the post.  My copy of DBA arrived today, courtesy of Keep Wargaming (http://www.keepwargaming.co.uk/).  Just £6 plus p&p - and it was beautifully wrapped and packaged (cardboard, bubble wrap and the rules were sealed in their own plastic wrapper).  They also turned it around in a couple of days - so a big thumbs up for Keep Wargaming.

Now to check out the army lists - starting with the Gauls.

Looking at the Gauls (II/11 - 400BC to 50BC) it looks like I need 1 x 4 WB (4 figures) OR 1 x Light Chariot for the General, as well as 2 x Light Chariots OR 3 Cavalry (9 figures) and a whopping 8 x 3 WB's (24 figures) and 1 x 2P's (just 2 figures from slingers or javelins).

I already have sufficient numbers for the WB's and P's - just need to finish off 9 cavalry (of which 6 are nearly done already) and 3 chariots and the first Gallic army is ready!  That's what makes DBA so good.

As for the enemies, it looks like the Gauls are allowed to take on Early Northern Barbarians, the Illyrians, Thracians, Early Roman Latins and Umbrians, the Etruscan League, Camillan Romans, other Gauls, Samnites, Later Carthaginians, Polybian Romans, Ancient Spanish, most Early Germans, Marian Romans and Dacians (so no end of enemies to take on!).  In terms of allies, they can count on Iberian Spanish or some Germans. 

Should be fun!

Field of Glory Tactics : the Roman checkerboard formation

Field of Glory rules state that it is often best to use your troops in the same way that they fought historically - its often the best way to get the best from your troops.

For this reason, when playing Mid-Republican Romans, I often use the checkerboard formation (see below) which can be devastating in the right situations. 

The Roman hastati (Armoured, Superior, Impact Foot,  Skilled Swordsmen) are in front of two supporting BG's of triarii (hence the checkerboard) who are NOT in base to base contact with the hastati themselves.   They face a rampaging warband of Gaesati (Heavy Foot, Protected, Impact Foot, Swordsmen) of 8 bases who rush into the attack.

Surely the hastati will be swept away by such a rampage?

Well, no.  Because impact bonuses only apply at impact, the Gallic charge only impacts on the two front bases of the hastati.  The Gaesati on each flank cannot step forward to contact the Triarii as they will no longer be in base contact with the middle group of Gaestati.

Therefore (as both are Impact Foot) and superior armour only counts in melee they nullify each others' bonuses and its a straight roll (4 vs 4) with no net POA's.

The Romans get in with 2 hits - as do the Gauls.  As its a drawn melee so the death roll is at +2 (hence not worth rolling) and neither side takes a cohesion test. 

The key is for the Romans to survive the impact and first melee.  This is the hard part.  They are overlapped on both sides (so the Gauls get 8 dice to the Roman 4) but the Romans enjoy two POA's - Skilled Swordsmen and better armour - so the Romans fight at ++ and the Gauls at --.  The Gauls still have the advantage of numbers though...

They only get in 2 hits - which the Romans respond with four 3's!  So the Romans win with 4 hits to 2.  Luck is with them.  They do not need to make a death roll and the Gauls must make a cohesion test at -2 (took more than 1HP3B and received 2 more hits than inflicted).  So they need a 9 and get a 9 - they stay at Steady.  They need 5 on the Death Roll and get 4.  They lose a base.

This is where the checkerboard now pays off.  The Roman general now moves the Triarii forward to join the melee in an overlap position (so no Impact bonuses for the Gauls here).  The Gauls now face elite units (re-roll 1's and 2's) on both sides AND a superior enemy in the middle.  The Triarii are Offensive Spearmen in 2 ranks and so get a +POA (and nullify the Gaul's Swordsman +POA as they are Steady).  In addition, the Triarii are better armoured.

So all down the line the Gauls are fighting at --POA to the Romans ++ POA.  But in addition, the Gauls hits will now be split between three opposing BG's - while all the Roman hits will be inflicted on just one BG.

Starting from the left...

Triarii (1.3) Gauls (6,4).  The Triarii re-roll the 1 and get a 4 - 2 hits to 1.

Hastati (5,4,2,1), Gauls (4,4,1).  The Romans re-roll the 1 for a 2 - 2 hits to 0.

Triarii (2,1), Gauls (6,4).  The Triarii re-roll both dice for 5,6!  2 hits to 1.

All down the line the Romans have won the combats.  The Gauls got two hits in - but against separate BG's (so in effect, had no effect at all).  By contrast the Romans got in 6 hits so the Gauls automatically lose a base and face another cohesion test (again at -2).  This time they roll 11!  They retain cohesion but are now down to 6 bases.

The next round of melee begins.

Triarii (4,2), Gauls (1,2) - the 2 is re-rolled for a 5 - 2 hits to 0

Hastati (6,5,4,3), Gauls (5,4).  4 hits to 1

Triarii (5,3), Gauls (4,1).  2 hits to 0.

So the Gauls get just 1 hit in - and get 8 back in return.  Another base is lost and a death roll requires 3+ - they get 3 and just lose the 1 base.  Cohesion test gets a 5 and they drop to Disrupted (lose 1 dice in 3).

But the writing is on the wall and the next melee becomes pretty academic.  The Gauls have lost 25% of their bases (-1 on cohesion test) and are likely to autobreak as they will probably lose another base this turn.

Triarii (4,1), Gauls 5.  Re-roll gives a 2.  1 hit each.
Hastati (6,5,4,1), Gauls (2).  1 re-rolled to a 2.  3 hits to 0.
Triarii (6,3), Gauls (4,4).  2 hits to 0.

The Gauls take another 6 hits and lose a base.  They Autobreak irrespective of any cohestion test.

Of course the Romans were lucky in that the Hastati won the initial melee but even if they'd lost and gone Disrupted, the Triarii stepping up (and therefore soaking up the Gallic hits amongst 3 BG's while inflicting all hits against 1BG) meant that the Gauls were likely to lose heavily in any respect - especially as the Romans managed to nullify the impact and then brought POA's to bear in the melee.

As a consequence the Gauls have lost one of theit best BG's - and inflicted no damage at all in return.

The Romans next movement phase can see them stepping the Triarii back again into the checkerboard.  And there is another reason for this

The checkerboard formation also protects the flanks of the Roman line.  If a charge impacts on the Triarii - as it hits a very narrow front it is reduced in effect.  If the oppostion wish to charge the Hastati they have to go through the Triarii's ZOI - and therefore face an interception charge in their own flank.

This tactic is not restricted to the Romans - any army could use this formation to take on the opposition.  But its best used against opponents with good Impact but poor melee POA's - such as the Gauls.

Throwing dice

Nearly all wagames involve dice throwing in order to determine outcomes.  They can certainly provide a frustrating or fulfilling aspect to battles (depending on how well your dice throwing goes).  In a recent DBA game I seemed to throw a sucession of 1's for pips in answer to Russ' 5's and 6's - therefore seeing his Persians zip across the battlefield as my Macedonians plodded along at a snail's pace.  Luckily the opposite seemed to be the case for combat where he lost on 1's to my 6's.

Many gamers will - with justification - claim a loss purely on bad dice throwing in critical phases of the battle (such as when my velites disappeared in moments after throwing 1,1 on the first cohesion test and then got battered in the subsequent melee). 

And as dice have such a key position in determining wins or losses, it is not suprising that many arguments stem from how the dice themselves are thrown.  Seeing your opponent knock off 6 after 6 with what looks like a 1" drop onto the table is bound to lead to accusations of jiggery-pokery and demands that a certain height be employed and that the opponent gives the impression of 'shaking' before release.

Similarly rolling across the battlefield often sees the dice roll up to the side of a piece of scenery or block of troops - leading to counter claims that the dice has landed on a scoring 6 or a wayward 2.

For this reason dice towers (such as the one I made a way back) or other constructed receptacle for dice to be tossed into can take some of the rancour out of the dicing element - but only if both parties agree to use the item in question.

An alternative option can be considered though.  Providing both parties use different dice colours a fair solution would be for one of the parties involved to throw ALL dice in a combat.  So assuming that we're playing FOG and there are 8 dice to be thrown for Impact, then all 8 are placed in a cup (or the hands of one player) and rolled by that player (who can then hardly be accused of influencing his own dice to the detriment of his opponent).   The next combat sees ALL dice passed to the opposing player to throw.

Of course, it can be hard to see a key combat take place over which you have no influence (as your opponent rolls the bones of fate) but it could make for a happier gaming table.

Flexible BUA's (towns and villages to you)

Built up areas (BUA's) are not as much a feature of ancients wargaming than they are for other genres (such as Napoleonics, WWII etc.).  Villages seem to simply add a bit of local colour to an otherwise rural setting dominated by hills, forests, fields and the like.

But if you do use a village, the problem then becomes how you place your troops inside it?  I have seen a regiment of British infantry perched on top of a row of houses and a farmhouse before now.  So when planning my town and village scenery, I decided to build some flexibility into them.

Timescale buildings on my own customised bases

The bases are square cut Foamex (like an MDF version of foamboard) which is easy to cut but is also robust.  I aim to give all bases the same colour, use the same talus and drybrush the same - the reason being that they can then be put together to form larger BUA's (town, city) which have a consistent look and feel.

Need a town?  Just push two villages (or 3 or 4) together!  Having the same base materials helps them blend in

Before starting I mark out where the buildings are to go and draw around them with a pencil.  Then the base is talused and flocked but the areas where the buildings are to go are left plain.  Once complete, I add a couple of trees, walls, rocks etc.

The buildings are not glued to the base though.  They rest upon their designated spot until troops contact the base of the BUA (thereby taking posession).  The buildings are then moved - allowing the troops to sit on the base itself.  Once they move out, the building is replaced.

As troops move in, the buildings are moved off - but its still clear which area they have taken posession of.

This flexibility does help in making battles go smoother - esepecially in Napoleonic rules (where occupying BUA's provides big bonuses for the defender).

Some bases allow for troops to move in without needing to remove the building.

The great thing about 6mm and 10mm wargaming.  Enough scenery for 12 villages in a standard A4 box file!

Measuring sticks revisited

I've tried to find the ideal measuring stick for wargaming - even spending £18 on a brass and aluminium screw-together version (which sounds good but is fiddly, time-consuming and has a tendency to roll across the battlefield and onto the floor.  They are now discarded in the bottom of a tin somewhere - and I am both older and wiser (and £18 out of pocket).

We graduated to using flat wooden strips with 1" markings on them which seem to do the job but the best ones are (I'm now convinced) the ones we use for Napoleonics - namely hard wood square lengths.  These you can get from B&Q for about 75p a metre.  Slap on the preferred colour (or alternate colours in the preferred measurement) and there you are!

These we use for the Polemos Napoleonic rules - where movement is denoted by base width.  I use red for troop movement and blue for artillery ranges.  The red ones are in 1, 2, 2.5, 3, and 4 MU sizes and the blue reflect the calibre of the gun involved (from teeny 4 pounders to the mighty 12 pounder).

Red measuring sticks - 1 MU for line, 2MU for column.  Simples!

Artillery measuring sticks - blue.  Those Prussians are out of range of the 9lb gun

What's good about them is that they are easy to find and once placed don't move around, are very clear to see and give less room for creative measurement using the tape measure (you know what I mean).  As seen above, the stick is placed in front of the unit which is then moved the length of the stick.  Much less margin for error.

The same idea can be used for ancients - with (as in FOG) either a variety of sticks to denote 1", 2" etc. or one stick with multiple units (up to 14").  We find the former method better - especially when the armies get within shouting distance of each other.  Again, a different colour could be used to denote ranges for archers, bolt shooters etc. - especially when you get into later medieval where any number of missile options (trebuchet anyone?) are available.

The line is safe - but the column is definitely in the danger zone!

They cost virtually nothing and can make your battles much more interesting.  And you can customise to the army of your choice (such as Imperial Purple for the legions of Rome or a Woad Blue shade for your ancient Brits!).

Gauls!

The next army I'm looking to complete is a Gaul army (which - in the beauty of 10mm - can be easily adapted to become Ligurian, British, German etc. - indeed any group of barbarian type in the ancient world which eschewed the benefits of armour and warm weather clothing in favour of mobility and colourful appearance).

As we're now playing DBA this gives me the chance to knock out a limited number of bases (average warband, nobles, javelins, archers, slingers, cavalry and chariots).  All in all about 20 bases which can be mixed and matched BUT also for the core for an FOG army.

There's soemthing about the Gauls that appeals - probably because they are the antithesis of my normal tactics - as used to great effect by playing Republican Romans and Macedonians.  These essentially consist of finding a nice place on the battlefield with secure flanks (preferably plantations and vineyards) thereby forcing the opponent to come head on onto my pointy welcoming committee.  Mobility is not required.

The Gauls however are the ancient version of a Scud missile.  Aim in the general direction of the enemy and let them go - hoping they'll do some damage.  But when you have several groups of these lunatics at your command - with the ability to extend beyond the width of the enemy line and with impact bonuses and multiple numbers - then they become an attractive proposition.

We've never used Gaukls in numbers in a FOG game (just as a small group of Hannibals' League of Nations) so it will be interesting to see how they fare. 

But we'll get an idea in DBA first - hopefully they're as tough as they look!

Alternative ancients wargaming rules

Although we've focused mainly on FOG as the main system for ancients wargaming, it doesn't mean that we exclusively tie ourselves down to just one rule set.

Russ has expressed his frustration with the (occasional) freak results that can arise in FOG - such as my Roman velites being caught in the rear by Carthaginian African Spears (ouch!) with -- vs ++ POA's and still managing to win the fight.  But any system with dice involved will always through up such results.

Therefore we've tried both Impetus and DBA.  On paper, Impetus (using only the free download rules rather than buying a full copy) looked impressive.  Clear, concise rules and army lists with plenty of scope for tailoring an army.  But in playing it, the rules started to grate very quickly.  One example was in the use of skirmishers - who have to get very close to be able to get their missiles in and yet can be caught by virtually any opposing troop type.  This led to skirmishers being massacred without being able to get away - a very unsatisfactory situation.

The troop values also seemed ridiculous - Gauls were almost as tough as the Romans they faced yet losing a Gallic group meant just 1 point from the Army total compared to 4 for a Roman infantry group!  Very quickly we both became very disillusioned with Impetus and vowed 'never again'.

So we then turned to DBA.  My neighbour Mark is a big DBA fan (as well as for the offshoot 'Hordes of the Things' - a fun variant with magic, gods, dragons etc.).  He took us through a couple of battles to get the hang of the rules.  At first I thought Russ was dead against them - especially as his Carthaginians took a bttering - but as we got into them we saw the clear benefits of DBA.

* Number of troops.  Unlike other systems you only need a handful of bases for basic DBA (12 or so).  This makes painting and fielding an army much easier to accomplish.

* Speed of play.  A game of FOG for us takes a number of hours.  However, we got in 3 games of DBA in an evening.  And good battles they were too.

* Focus on tactics.  The beauty of DBA is its simplicity.  Movement and combat are generally easy to accomplish so you find yourself focusing more on the tactics themselves rather than games mechanics.  Its more a game of chess than anything else.

* Cost.  We've both now bought a set of DBA rules for £6 off E-Bay.  Compared to the £10 or so each army list book costs in FOG its certainly a cheaper alternative.  Combined with the small numbers of troops required to make an army in DBA it is definitely an attractive proposition.

We won't be abandoning FOG - but we feel that DBA does give us a good alternative - especially for campaign play (such as the Carthaginians fighting through the Spanish and Gauls to get to grips with the Romans). 

The Simpsons Intro to End All Simpsons Intros

Ok, full disclosure first: I am totally stealing this from The Mep Report, so a simultaneous sorry and hat tip to Russ.

We've all seen multiple Simpsons introductions, like the one showing the evolution of Homer, but this next one takes the cake by providing a poignant critique of our consumerist culture in a very dramatic way:

To learn more about our consumerist culture, check out The Story of Stuff.
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Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Education Paradigms

After delivering two of the most popular TEDTalk presentations to date (here and here), the always-engaging Sir Ken Robinson is back to provide a fascinating analysis of the roots of the current educational crisis.

The educational system of the 21st century, he argues, is based on an 18th century model based on the intellectual culture of the Enlightenment and the economic circumstances of the industrial revolution. As such, schools are based on a factory line model that fosters uniformity and shuns creativity and originality (I would personally blame that on the industrialist model, not on the Enlightenment, but you get the point).

Could this drive toward standardization and social conformity help to partially explain the growing incidence of children being medicated against attention deficit disorder? Are the children really the problem, or is the problem perhaps to be found in the historical and sociological filters through which we develop our expectations of them?

And as usual, I'm also including the complete talk, along with the subsequent Q&A for those of you who may be interested:

Check out more of these awesome RSA Animate presentations.
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Prints

Prints for the long overdue etsy shop which is coming very soon!

Amazing Close-Up Macro Photographs of Bugs

I've been noticing this week that the internet seems to have become the victim of an insect photography awesomeness epidemic. Don't quite know if that's just a coincidence, or some entomological trend of which I am not aware, but who cares?

Let's add to the madness with a bunch of amazing shots:

And in case you're not sure what constitutes an insect, here is an amusing definition I found in Robert Krulwich's recent story, Linnaeus, Shlinnaeus!:

Oh, I can hear you junior-high-school science teachers out there now… shouting "Wait a minute! Spiders aren't insects! Spiders are arachnids!" That's exactly what's wrong with our junior high schools today…Of course spiders are insects. The very word "insect" is a combination of two ancient Greek words: "in," meaning "a," and "sect," meaning "repulsive little creature." Thus not only are spiders insects but so are crabs, jellyfish, the late Truman Capote, bats, clams, olives and those unfortunate little dogs, "pugs" ….

(Excerpted from "Electro-Maggots," Dave Barry's Greatest Hits)

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Jack Black - Professional Mis-Informant

You already know what happened to Donald Duck for listening to the incoherent rantings of political pundits like Glenn Beck. Imagine what would happen if innocent children, unaware of ideological corruption and psychological manipulation, were suddenly exposed to and indoctrinated by propaganda produced by the public relations machine serving corporate and extremist political interests at the expense of the interests of the people.

Well, you don't have to imagine because Jack Black is here to show you exactly what could happen...

And here is the little seedling turning into the inevitable monster:

Watch Jon Stewart also channel the spirit of Glenn Beck not once but twice!
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Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse Meet Glenn Beck in Right Wing Radio

With his life in shambles as a consequence of the economic crisis, Donald Duck (like many Americans) finds himself unemployed and falling behind on his house payments. As everything starts to spiral out of control, he finds solace in the seemingly friendly and sympathetic voice coming out of the radio: Glenn Beck.

This is the worrying story of how easily hard-working people who lack critical thinking skills (and find themselves frustrated, desperate and disenfranchised by life's vicissitudes) can be manipulated by paranoid, hateful, xenophobic and cognitive dissonant rhetoric, even when it's internally self-contradictory and completely inflammatory.

Of course, Glenn Beck found out about this cartoon, so he had to respond:

Protect yourself from persuasive speakers by learning how to spot some basic logical fallacies.
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Good Night...I Love You

In reading the three brief lives in the following paragraphs, I will leave it to you, the reader, to make the necessary connections...and ask the pertinent questions.
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New York City: 10:48PM
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Julia has been home for only ten minutes. Her day began when the alarm clock went off at 4:50AM. At nearly 11:00PM, morning seems like it was days ago. By her worn complexion and slightly stooped gait, one would guess her to be between 45-50 years old, but Julia is in fact only 33. Since her husband ran off to Las Vegas with a younger woman four years ago, she has been working three jobs to try to support her twin girls - Sara and Elsa - who will turn seven years old next week. Being from a working class family, a college education was never in the cards. No one in her family has ever attended more than a year of college, but some of her relatives did acquire some vocational training. Going to a university was a 'middle class' privilege, and she was not middle class. In the very same year her husband abandoned the family, she lost her full-time job, which offered a reasonable salary, three weeks paid vacation and 66% paid health insurance premium benefits. After her company was sold to large conglomerate, many positions were outsourced. Julia's job went to the Philippines. Now, she works as a teacher's assistant in the morning at a local junior high school (no certification required), cuts hair at a beauty salon owned by her best friend Lorna and minds the register at a gas station on 124th Street in the evenings. Last week, she was robbed at gunpoint. Fortunately, the armed intruder took the money and quietly exited the station. Checking in on Sara and Elsa, they are asleep. This is how she sees her children from Monday to Friday - asleep. They rarely wake up long enough to see or remember her. Exhausted, she knows the alarm clock will be ringing again in less than five hours. Although tired, she will have insomnia again. She will spend much of the night ruminating about her and her children's survival. As she cannot see her children much outside of weekends, she blames herself for being a 'bad mother'. And what if she cannot save enough money to start Sara and Elsa at a community college after high school? The idea of them working at unskilled, menial jobs - in a life of drudgery and low expectations has made Julia cry on more than one occasion. Caressing her daughters hair, they wake for just a moment and say together in twin, sleepy voices - 'I love you, Mommy.' Turning to leave the room, Julia bids farewell with the words, 'Good night...I love you.'
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Sao Paulo, Brazil: 11:48PM
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The apartment was dark when Emila came in twenty-five minutes ago. Although tired, she is still keyed up from having one of the longest days of her life as a business professional. Four years ago, she completed her MBA at the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the job market for people of her caliber was not particularly good that year, she had heard about a company that had just moved one of its divisions out of New York to a suburb of Sao Paulo. Things progressed very quickly. As soon as the newly arrived company from the US received her CV, she was called in for an interview, and then another and then a final interview. After three interviews in a mere ten days, she was hired for an entry-level job. In her first days as a young, working woman of the world, Emila made a point to get to know her fellow employees - which were mostly not fellows at all - but women in her age bracket. Surprisingly, some of them were Americans who had transferred from New York. Of these always loquacious Yanks, she liked Lindsey the best. At 22, three years younger than Emila, Lindsey had no qualms about moving away from her family in Long Island for a job that paid one-third as much as job in the US. To her, it was an adventure and something to put on her resume. Hopefully, she thought, her working experience in Sao Paulo would 'get her noticed' by companies back home in a tight job market in a couple of years. For now, she was content. This, however, was four years ago. As of today, Lindsey is still working at the same desk, and she has not received any positive responses after three summers home and a countless number of resumes sent out to companies in the New York metropolitan area. As she might be in Brazil awhile longer, she is starting to consider studying Portuguese. By contrast, Emila has been promoted twice, married once (two and a half years ago) and had her first child last year. Of the three, it is her husband that has been the disappointment. After being laid off from his construction job a few months ago, he has all but given up looking for work. Rather than spending time with his new baby boy, he usually runs through the hours of the day at a bar or a movie theater. When he and Emila got into a verbal sparring match a few weeks ago, he yelled, 'Work? You don't need me to work! We have a man in the house, and it's YOU! Whatever I do is never 'the right thing' anyway. So, I'm leaving our lives in your capable hands.' Emila was hurt and confused, and she still does not know how to rectify the situation. Now, it is nearly midnight. Her beautiful son, Ravel, is sleeping. The time to see him today has long past. As a tear falls from her left eye, she can only look at Ravel and say, 'Good night...I love you.'
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Las Vegas: 7:48PM
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Robert Maxwell became a millionaire for the fifty-first time this afternoon. Not that he's counting. That stopped after his assets hit more than thirty million dollars. Upon coming to Vegas a few years ago with a 23 year-old blonde draped around his neck, everything seemed to fall right into place. After years of of playing the stocks on Wall Street, a small investment in his ex-wife's former company paid off handsomely when the CEO decided to outsource the largest division to Brazil. As its labor costs were reduced by more than 70%, the company's stock price went through the roof. Robert, who had 'gotten in at the perfect time', cashed out his stock to a tune of $14.5 million. Since then, he has become richer with every investment made. He is right to live in Las Vegas. Whenever he rolls the dice, he always comes up a winner. To be perfectly correct, however, he used to always come up a winner. Although his fortune is still growing, his blonde bombshell girlfriend left him last week for a younger Latino man - who coincidentally made the same approximate amount of money by speculating in the New York real estate market. The Lower East Side made him rich. Robert, now 38, is alone now, and he is no longer the same cocksure man he was when he arrived. All this time on his hands has allowed him time to reflect upon his life. This is a kind of 'time' he never wanted. Looking out at 'The Strip' from his penthouse suite at the Cosmos Hotel, Robert is experiencing a new emotion - and it is nearly killing him. Regret. In a photo his left hand, he looks at his ex-wife holding his daughters. The picture is a year and a half old now. When he had the gaming tables, the blonde girlfriend and the novelty of millions, he completely dismissed his former family from his mind. As he sips from his fourth scotch of the night, he is now wondering if he should try to contact them again. What would his ex-wife say? Would she agree to meet him, or even allow him to see his kids? Robert Maxwell will not cry - not even in private. His father, who raised Robert as the son of a US Marine, made sure of that. Instead, Robert lets out a long sigh, looks at the picture again and whispers to his former family aloud, 'Good night...I love you.'
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J Roquen

Fractals - The Colors of Infinity (by Arthur C. Clarke)

Still saddened by the recent passing of Benoit Mandelbrot, I did some digging this weekend and found a treasure: a fantastic documentary about the Mandelbrot Set, and fractals in general, narrated by none other than the great Arthur C. Clarke. Can scientific/mathematical geekiness get any cooler?

I hope you enjoyed the recent mind trip through the Mandelbrot set, but you may have wondered whether the different colors of the set are representative of something, or whether they are purely artistic depictions purposely made for aesthetic purposes. The answer, as you'll find out, is that although the colors are arbitrary, they are not meaningless. I'll leave Arthur C. Clarke to explain that fascinating concept.

You may have also wondered whether fractals have any practical applications, or whether they ought to be contemplated merely for their intellectual and visual beauty. I think there's nothing wrong with the purely contemplative appreciation, but for those of you more practically minded, fractals have immense practical, intellectual and industrial applications, and that's just scratching the surface.

Prepare yourself for some amazing intellectual and visual stimulation, accompanied to the sound of some sweet electric guitar :)

Learn more about the relationship between fractals and evolution in The Secret Life of Chaos, with Jim Al-Khalili.
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