Mecha, Starships and Calamities!

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Managed to sneak in a couple games of MEKA TAC – GIANT STOMPY ROBOTS EDITION using the Mapless Mayhem and Gladiator rules over the past few weeks. Really needed it. The photo is from the game with Doctor Merkury, Iron Ivan Keith and Comrade R. It was a two-on-two fight ending in a points tie, but my mecha was the last one standing. Doctor Merkury did most of the work, though.

Here are the bots:

VS.

The cards are for Mapless Mayhem, so all the ranges and Move Points are in inches. The empty brackets next to the weapons allow for the players to select the type of ammunition: High Explosive (HE), Armor Piercing (AP) or Artificial Intelligence (AI).

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There was a medium-sized crisis at the hov which could have been much, much worse. Nothing insurmountable, but it was really annoying; requiring time, effort and money that would have been better spent elsewhere. That’s why the SUNDER THE STARS rules have yet to hit RIVETSANDSTEAM.COM. It’ll be announced here. The plan is for next week. And there’s no faster way to make the gods laugh then to tell them your plans.

Historical Miniature Wargaming is...

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The prevailing bias has been in no way concealed, and anything useful gleaned from the following would be implemented at your own risk. There may also be dabbling in hyperbole and sarcasm. You have been warned.

Is it me, or is it every week some Historical Miniature Wargaming enthusiast declares that it is the end of the hobby? Sometimes they offer a rationalization - often the advent of some new game or pastime that would cause the other enthusiasts to forsake the holy path for a less worthy pursuit - or it's just some metaphysical "feeling" they get, like after eating radishes.

For your convenience, the most notable portents cited in these declarations are listed, chronology, below:

1954 Charles S. Roberts publishes “Tactics” board wargame - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1958 William Higinbotham creates the first video game: "Tennis for Two" - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1972 Magnavox's Odyssey (first home video game system) is released - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1974 Dungeons & Dragons is published by TSR - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1977 Ogre microgame is published by Metagaming Concepts - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1977 Traveller Science Fiction RPG is published by Game Designers' Workshop - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1983 Warhammer Fantasy Battle miniature tabletop wargame is published by Games Workshop - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1987 Warhammer 40,000 miniature tabletop wargame is also published by Games Workshop - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1989 Commercial traffic allowed upon the Internet - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

1993 Wizards of the Coast releases Magic the Gathering collectable card game - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

2000 WizKids releases “Mage Knight”, a collectable, already painted miniature game - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.

2002 Battlefront Miniatures Ltd. publishes “Flames of War” - heralding the End of Historical Miniature Wargaming.¹

2011 Still getting table-love.

Local and regional survival is a case-by-case issue – as it is for any hobby - but, overall, Historical Miniature Wargaming seems to be doing well. In point of fact: there are more miniature manufacturers and more publishers of more rules for more periods than ever before. There will always be the instant gratification and the “it’s always MY turn” appeal of videogames, but, for now, figures are getting painted, games are getting played and the smallest of details are getting argued over. All in the name of this thing called "fun".

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Vikings to paint.



¹Yes, Flames of War IS a miniature wargame set in a historical period (which some may have heard of) called "World War Two", rumored to have occurred some time before CE2000. But many Historical Miniature Wargamers do not consider it a "proper" Historical Miniature Wargame. This may be due to the fact that it's too popular. Nothing says "Look out! This is a bad game!" like popularity. Everyone knows that obscurity, incomprehensibility and inaccessibility (with a mountain of indecipherable charts thrown in for good measure) are the hallmarks of a "good" game.