Phew! What a great day!
Saturday 28th November saw a gathering of like-minded souls who had come from near and far to the doors of Maelstrom Games’ superb new gaming facility in Mansfield. They were there to celebrate the launch of Warlord Games’ highly acclaimed new Black Powder rules.
Garry, from Maelstrom played host to Rick Priestley, Jervis Johnson, the Perry twins, the horde of Warlord redshirts and a few dozen 60 keen gamers eager to test their skills in this exciting, and sometimes baffling, pastime of pushing model soldiers around a table whilst having a damn fine time!
The Eye of the Storm venue itself is amazing. Easily one of the best any of us at Warlord have experienced on our various travels across the world. Great tables, nice terrain, good lighting, friendly staff and a superb range of products. And a bar! Set on the perimeter on Mansfield it’s easy to find and they have loads of free parking.
Packed in there were lads of a certain age who took part in 3 large games run by the Warlord crew. There was a huge, and we mean, huge Napoleonic game stuffed with beautifully painted Perry Miniatures – so many that there was almost no room for terrain! The twins, aided and abetted by Jervis and Rick ran a great game all day, which saw the British narrowly manage to snatch victory at the very end of the day.
As the authors of the book, Rick and Jervis weren’t just involved in the game – they were on hand to take questions about the rules. Luckily the bar kept them suitably refreshed…
Clustered around a 10′ by 6′ table, Paul and John from Warlord fought out two Zulu war battles over the day, refighting the savage battle chronicled in the rulebook – Action at Ntombi.
The first game saw the British fend off the Zulu horde thanks to some shockingly bad dice-rolling by Mike Blake. Other highlights were the Gatling gun getting eleven shots off in one turn before finally overheating and jamming, and Steve Jones’ masterly use of the Lancers to sweep aside two Impis with ease.
The second refight was a far closer affair. The Zulus looked nailed on for revenge but the British maintained their winning ways as they fell back, loosing volley after volley as they did so. The Zulus Impis couldn’t stand up to such firepower and the redcoats held the field.
On the third table, Steve, Gareth and Dave from Warlord played out a large English Civil War game as they playtested the rules for the forthcoming Pike & Shotte supplement for Black Powder. We’ll be bringing you more about the supplement (amongst others) in 2010!
As ever though it was the enthusiastic and friendly gamers who had traveled from around her Majesty’s green and pleasant land who made the day the success it undoubtedly was. With Good grace, cheeriness and a sense of abject fatalism everyone seemed to have a good day. With new friendships formed and a lot of laughs had (the bar was once again responsible).
Thanks again to all who made a journey on a filthy day to experience Black Powder. Keep a weather eye out for more Black Powder events in the new year….
Dan Hewitson
Tom Mecredy
