A conversation with my wargaming colleague 'A' about my Old School projects set me thinking - 'what is Old School' ? . It is a question that has been asked before and discussed in the wargaming media and numerous blogs, so all I can do is give my ideas what it means to me personally. The first thing is the figures - plainer, older types such as Spencer Smith or maybe Minifigs . Painted in a 'Toy Soldier' way , brightly and given a high gloss varnish . Singularly mounted on non-scenic bases and lots of them ! , units of 24-36 figures for infantry , 12-18 cavalry. The scenery- plain and not elaborate , contoured hills and those cute old fashioned Merit trees and hedges . The rules have to be simple ! , I tend to play OS solo and I want to remember them in my head, Grant's 'The Wargame' or Young's 'Charge' sum OS up !.
A modern version of OS is 'Funny Little Wars' a homage to Wells's 'Little Wars' with its matchstick firing cannon . I am aware that OS may not be to everyones taste , it may be my 'mid-life' wargaming crisis, but the older I get the more I am drawn to it .
Having the rules in your head as you say is in my opinion the best way to play. I cannot stand stopping every five minutes to look up something. I still rely on the same rules my mates and I came up with when were 13 years old and wargaming was the greatest thing in the world to us. Our layouts were simple, but our games were glorious. I still yearn for that "old school" feeling that made every game so wonderful for us.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as we grow older, our lives become more complicated and so too does our gaming. There is something pure about gaming it "old school".
Here's hoping your games are always filled with that "old school" magic and joy!
Think you are right about the complecation of rules - always striving for 'authenticity' . They do not make the 'gaming experience' any better
DeleteLovely figures and a thought provoking post.I shall muse upon this today...
ReplyDeleteIndeed it makes you think. I perhaps didn't play those sort of wargames. But fondly remember 40k Second edition being played out on my garden lawn with massive allied forces aside.
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