Saturday, February 25, 2023

Battleground

Though I am fairly certain I'd seen this before – indeed I had to check the archive of this blog to be sure I'd not posted on it long ago – a close friend of mine recently pointed me toward this series of videos that present episodes from the 1978 UK television program, Battleground. Each episode focuses on a different battle, such as the Battle of Edgehill from the English Civil War, the Battle of Waterloo from the Napoleonic Wars, or the Battle of Gettysburg from the US Civil War, and then shows a tabletop miniatures version of that battle as played out by two opponents.

The episodes are weirdly engrossing, particularly to someone such as myself, whose direct experience of miniatures wargaming is very limited. They all include a historical overview of the battle in question by the show's presenter, Ed Woodward, followed by the wargame proper. Though the quality of the posted videos is not high, you can nevertheless appreciate how much work went into the terrain and the miniatures used in them. Frankly, watching videos like this makes me wish I had the time, space, and money to devote myself to the hobby, because it looks like a lot of fun.

Anyway, take a look at Woodward's introduction to the series. It's short, very charming, and gives a good sense of the general tenor of the entire series. If you like it, you can then watch whole episodes, using the link above.

17 comments:

  1. There was an amazing British program I watched in the 1970's called World at War. Best WWII documentary.

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    1. World at War still stands up today...and excellent overview made especially memorable because of the archive footage and eye-witness interviews.

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  2. There was a recent revival of the concept, also on the BBC, called Time Commanders, this time using the Total War series of computer games instead of miniatures.

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    1. Oh, Battleground wasn't BBC, but a rival channel. That would explain why the recent version had a different name. I was wondering why.

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  3. Edward Woodward was an avid wargamer in real life, as was his character Callan in the excellent TV series of the same name.

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  4. In fact, IIRC, Callan's victories as a wargamer were a reason he was promoted at one point.

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  5. James, every time that you post something miniatures-related, you always seem fascinated and regretful that you didn't get into miniatures "back in the day" Well, life is short! There are many of skirmish-level miniature games out there! pick up a set, get some supplies and get cracking! I have thousands of miniatures for games that I rarely have time to play, but I still get immense joy out of painting! It's a pretty relaxing hobby.

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    1. You're right, of course. Do you have any recommendations? Ideally, I'd like to find a game that isn't particularly expensive to start, since I don't want to pour money into a game I might discover I don't like all that much.

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    2. I would recommend something like Frostgrave or Stargrave, simple skirmish wargames that use only a handful of miniatures and don't need much space, so can be played on a kitchen table.

      Both use any appropriate miniatures you have lying around, so don't require a lot of initial outlay.

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    3. Other possible options are Five Parsecs from Home and Five Leagues from the Borderlands, both from Modiphius. Each is a solitaire skirmish miniatures wargame with random missions and programmed opponent behavior, one sci-fi and the other fantasy. They're actually quite interesting and designed to present a solitaire linked campaign series with an unfolding randomized story. The Me, Myself, and Die! YouTube channel has been doing a playthrough of Five Parsecs, if you're interested in seeing how it goes.

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  6. Well something like Warhammer Quest: Blackstone fortress fits the bill for both miniatures and Science Fiction, but it's like $144 bucks. But you get a ton of miniatures with it! Now if it's straight up historical gaming, man there are a lot of choices out there! You can get almost any era really cheap, and there are simple skirmish rules, such as https://www.amazon.com/Men-Who-Would-Kings-Wargaming/dp/1472815009/ref=sr_1_21?crid=3OY9XBN5WJDB2&keywords=osprey+games&qid=1677522754&sprefix=osprey+games%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-21

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  7. The best approach for someone staring out into miniatures is figuring out what sounds interesting to play. Historical? Fantasy? Sci Fi? Once you figure out that, then it's time to narrow down your focus a bit. I mean, I still play Warhammer 40k (sometimes, anyway) but that can get real expensive real fast! But the miniatures are fun to paint! The main point is, you don't necessarily need a ton of space or to spend a ton of money, especially when you're starting out.

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  8. In fact, here is my miniatures blog, that I've just resurrected:
    https://talesofthelostgamer.com/

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  9. I'm going to recommend something cheaper and simpler that all of the above. "The Portable Wargame" was designed to work on an ordinary chess set (or equally small) area. So only a minimal investment in miniatures is needed. There are versions for every era and they are all cross-portable (ie, universal). https://www.wargamevault.com/product/395026/The-Portable-Wargame-Compendium

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