Wargaming blues?

I played my second comp game last Monday (batrep to follow as soon as possible). Though it was a good game and I had enjoyed it, I felt something was wrong. No it's not about the rules nor Richard ( the guy I was playing with). When I came back home, I had time to read my emails, and Richard had already commented about our battle. And then I knew what was wrong. What he had written, though not that important, had been in fact more interesting to my eyes than the game in itself!

J'ai joue ma seconde partie du tournoi interne de FOG-R lundi dernier. Je me suis bien amuse, et mon adversaire egalement. Cependant, je sentais que quelque chose n'allait pas. Rien a voir avec les regles ou mon adversaire, mais lorsque je suis rentre a la maison, j'ai eu le temps de regarder mes mails et Richard avait deja poste 2-3 phrases de resume. Et la, revelation! Ce qu'il avait ecrit m'apparaissait bien plus interessant que la bataille en elle-meme.

Because you need a teaser ;)

Indeed, I think I'm beginning to be a bit fed-up of pick-up games, with pitched battles using only points from a ruleset. I know it's the most convenient way of actually playing a game, because you'll always find people who do the same. And let's be honest, after a full week of hard-work, you just want sometimes to sit at a table, drink a beer and play with your mates. So if you can find someone to play with easily, using a points-designed army, ok then.

Je crois tout simplement que je commence a me lasser des batailles arrangees a coup de listes d'armees. Je reconnais leur aspect pratique, surtout apres une semaine de boulot, quand on a envie de s'amuser avec des potes, quoi de plus facile. Et oui, ca fait du bien de jouer.
 
But I feel it's not that interesting. In fact, when I was in Paris, I had started a 1944 Normandy campaign for the club: they were choosing the places of the attacks, with the troops leading it, and I designed the scenarios, which were always unbalanced! And we had a lot of fun, especially when the outnumbered camp was actually winning. Oh, yes, that was good. But I has to stop it because my daughter was born and I then didn't have time to spare. Shame.

Mais je ne toruve plus cela aussi interessant. En fait, quand j'etais encore a Paris, j'avais commence une campagne Normandie 1944 pour le club: les joueurs decidaient des axes d'attaques et des troupes en pointe, et je creais les scenarios, qui etaient bien evidemment desiquilibres. Et franchement c'etait souvent la grosse poilade, surtout quand le camp en inferiorite etait en train de gagner. Il est regrettable pour moi de l'avoir stoppee, mais la naissance de ma fille dut y mettre un terme car je n'avais plus le temps de m'en occuper.

Then we started a Punic Wars campaign around the Mediterranean Sea, using the Art de la guerre rules, and we had a blast for a couple of turns: we had random events, some political decisions to make, and of course unbalanced battles! The game umpite had also designed a way of "micro-managing" our armies. We had a pool of different units, based on the army lists, and after each battle, if they had routed, they were definitely lost. We then needed to attack regions, hoping to subdue them to get some more auxiliaries for example. I remember seeing the Macedonian player beginning to feel very nervous because he had lost almost all his medium troups, and needed to get some more, and so invaded Thracia... Yes, those campaigns were good. And we also had a way of promoting the generals, and my good, as a Carthaginian player, I was lucky, with lots of promoted generals.

Puis nous avions commence une campagne guerre punique en Mediterranee avec la regle Art de la guerre. ET franchement, la encore, grosse poilade: evenements aleatoires, decisions politiques et surtout batailles inegales! Le maitre de jeu avait egalement creer un systeme de gestion des troupes, base sur les listes, et apres chaque bataille, les unites ayant deroute etaient perdues. Il nous fallait alors attaquer des regions pour esperer recuperer des auxiliaires. Je me souviens du joueur macedonien qui avait perdu pratiquement toutes ses troupes moyennes, et qui, pour se recompleter, avait du s'attaquer a la Thrace. Nous avions egalement un systeme de promotion des generaux, et en tant que joueur carthaginois, j'avais eu un bol phenomenal, tous me generaux etant devenus au minimum competents!

So to sum it up, I'm not against points based battles, because it's always nice to find someone to play with, but I think it's time for me to start thinking about scenarios and/or campaigns to keep me motivated. Maybe another project...

Bref, si je dois resumer, je ne suis pas contre jouer de temps en temps une partie a budget egal, surtout pour passer du bon temps, mais je pense qu'il est temps pour moi de commencer a penser a des scenarios/ campagnes pour me motiver. Peut-etre de nouveaux projets.

 

The phoenix, reborn

I suppose it was time for a break in my TYW army. Though I'm painting the last minis to finish this army, I felt I had to paint something else. Back in November, Chris, to whom I had sold my lucky Chinese army, had asked me if I could paint a couple of things more to complete his new army: a general and a battlegroup of heavy chariots. Fortunately, I had everything at hand, and I started priming them... Until I stared helplessly at them, not knowing how to paint them. So I put them back in the painting plan, still primed but otherwise untouched. I knew I had time, especially because I couldn't go to the club, my wife coming home very late, and I consequently had to take care of our little daughter. But then, she managed to complete her missions earlier than expected, and now I'm able to go back to my favourite place ;), meaning I have to paint faster to give them to Chris. So, even though I haven't finished the general (though now started), I've just finished the heavy chariots.

 Il me fallait faire une petite pause dans la peinture de mon armee francaise. Meme si je suis en train de peindre les derniers restes, je sentais qu'il fallait que je fasse autre chose. En Novembre dernier, Chris, a qui j'ai vendu mon armee chinoise, voulait ajouter 2-3 trucs a son armee, a savoir un general et une unite de chariots lourds. Heuresuement, j'avais tout sous la main. Cependant, apres les avoir sous-couches, je tombai en panne d'inspiration. Apres tout, j'avais du temps, car je me croyais "bloque" a la maison pour quelque temps encore. Il n'en fut rien, et je peux desormais retourner au club. Il me faut donc accelerer la peinture, pour pouvoir les donner a Chris. Ni une, ni deux, hop voici les chariots.

 

I've named them the bright phoenixes. I already had painted a unit of chariots called the phoenixes. But the latter ones were the "male" poenixes, whereas this new unit are the "female". Just have a look at the characters and you'll see the difference. The Chinese had then three ways of writing "phoenix": male, female, or a combination of the two. I chose to paint them as "female" for a simple reason: Chinese harmony. And, if I recall, when things are harmonious, they are lucky.

So, what you have here are four 4-horses chariots from Museum, with three crewmen in each. I added the the flagpoles and handpainted the flags. 

 J'ai appele ces derniers les phenix flamboyants. Ma precedente unite de chariots s'appelait deja les phenix, mais ces derniers etaient les "males". ceux-ci sont les "femelles", les caracteres sont differents. En effet, les Chinois avaient trois manieres d'ecrire le mot: "male", "femelle", ou une combinaison des deux. J'ai chois la version "femelle" pour une question d'harmonie. Et qui dit harmonie, dit chance, Esperons qu'ils seront chanceux sur un champ de bataille.
 

Avec panache: Bussy-Rabutin

Almost there, almost there. Indeed I've finished painting my last unit! Hooray! Now, I only need to paint the generals and some bits for the camp, and then my army will be truly finished. Right. This infantry regiment is under the command of the count Roger de Rabutin, born in 1618. As many young nobles from this period, he fought his forst battle at 16 in Lorraine. Then, he fought under Conde at Rocroi, and Turenne in Germany. He also spent some time in prison for some dubious reasons (I think they were political, but sodomy is a better motive, don't you think?). Finally, he entered the prestigious Academie francaise in 1665.

The minis are from? From? Old Glory of course, and the flags from Flags of war.

J'y suis presque, j'y suis presque. Je viens de terminer la derniere unite de mon armee francaise! Il ne me reste plus qu'a peindre les generaux, ainsi que 2-3 trucs pour le camp, et hop, projet termine, bonsoir tout le monde, on passe a autre chose ;)

Ce regiment etait sous les ordres du comte Roger de Rabutin, ne en  1618. Comme beaucoup de jeunes gens de sa condition, il participa a sa premiere bataille a 16 ans, en Lorraine.Par la suite, il combattit sous les ordres de COnde a Rocroi et de Turenne en Allemagne. Bref, un bon CV militaire. Cela ne l'a pas empeche de faire un tour en prison pour sodomie. Mouais, ca pue les raisons politiques, c'est un peu trop facile. Il termina sa carriere en etant elu a la prestigieuse Academie francaise en 1665. Beau parcours moi je dis.

Comme d'habitude, les figs sont des Old Glory, et les drapeaux viennent de chez Flags of war.