A Ride in the Car

 This morning was the first Saturday in over 14 years that I’ve awoken without a dog.

Previously, most weekend mornings followed a pattern. I would get up, not really late but certainly later than I do on work days, and do the usual morning routines. But then the fun would begin.

As I was tying my shoe strings I would sing out in a low but slowly rising tone of voice, “Niiii—iiiick. Norrrrr-ah!”

At the first “nnn” sound, two furry little heads would pop up from sleep. By the time I finished calling Nora’s name, she would be on her feet and alert, with Nick following.

“Who wants…to go…for a ride? In the CAR? TO THE PARK?!?!?”

Joyful dog yips and whines and barks would rise to a crescendo and then Nora would all but run over Nick in her dash to the doggie ramp that leads off the bed. Nick, maybe still a little sleepy and definitely more careful since he has been blind all his life, would follow his sister down the ramp.

Collars applied and a bridge leash attached, the two frisky mixed spaniels would be led to the door and out to the car. Nora is blind, too, but that never slowed her down and in her excitement to get to the car there would usually be a couple collisions with walls, doors, or my legs.

Over time and a move across the country, we have had several “favorite” parks. In San Antonio we usually took our weekend walks at Eisenhower Park or Hardberger Park. Nice big parks with paved paths wandering through typical Hill Country trees and scrub. Leading two blind dogs is much easier on a paved trail than one which isn’t.

When we moved to Maryland we found Veirs Mill Park not far from our new home. Not large, but winding through much taller trees than Texas, and ones with spectacular fall colors. But as the pups grew older Nick, especially, wasn’t able (or willing) to go the the multi-mile weekend walks. We found St. Paul Park around the corner, with a circular, eighth of a mile path just inside a border of trees and outside the center lawn. 

Even with the much shorter path, the pace gradually reduced until it was a slow spaniel mosey. But until just a few weeks ago, Nick always would do his lap.

Nora passed a year ago Thursday. She was 18. We lost Nick this past Monday, aged 17.

This morning when my eyes opened, I knew I wanted one more time to go for a ride. In the car.

To the park.

A look back at 2023

I have a kept a miniatures wargame journal since 1998. I have recorded games, figures, conventions, acquisitions, and whatever schemes were on my mind. I call it a “journal” instead of a “diary” as it is nowhere near a daily record. During the 2020 Covid-19 shutdown I rediscovered an old N scale Christmas model train in the basement. I began model railroading in earnest, and while I do not intend to cover that topic in this blog it has certainly been an enjoyable new hobby and the journal shows I spent more time with trains lately than toy soldiers.

Looking at the journal what did I accomplish in wargaming in 2023? 

A perusal of the written journal shows I only played in two games and did not attend any game shows. Usually I attend the Lone Star Historical Miniatures convention in Austin:  Millennium Con. My best friend Ray and I met in San Antonio years ago through the LSHM club. Ray lives in Georgia now and I’m in Maryland, but we try to get back to MCon every year.

In 2023 it didn’t happen. First, I had a family wedding which was going to prevent my going to Texas. Then the hotel which has hosted MCon for years basically kicked the gamers out and did so too late for them to find a new venue in time. Hopefully Ray and I will be able to attend the 2024 convention at the new location in Temple, TX at the end of October.

The games I played were between Ray and I when he visited in October. The last time Ray visited we played several skirmish games of A Fistful of Lead: Horse and Musket and a number of adventures using The Fantasy Trip. This time we wanted to play a bigger battle Napoleonic game. 

We chose the 2nd edition of the free rules from Jervis Johnson, Valour & Fortitude. The rules were first released in 2022 in Wargames Illustrated, and supported by updates and army lists on the Perry Miniatures site. The new edition was released just before Ray arrived.

I assembled two small forces from my collection. Each side had two line infantry brigades (3 battalions each for the French, 2 battalions and a company of rifles for the British), a cavalry brigade with 2 regiments, and one battery of artillery. We didn’t set up a particular scenario or even any terrain. 

The games were fast, furious, and a lot of fun! We did a few things that may not have been tactically sound (light cavalry charging fresh infantry in square!) but did so to learn the rules. They are quick to learn, quick to play, but full of Napoleonic flavor. We will definitely be using them again in the future, perhaps even putting on a game at MCon.

Ray is now designing and printing an Austrian army for V&F. Because his space is limited, he is building his infantry units with 18 figures and cavalry with 9. The figures are from Piano Wargames’ 1809 Danube Kickstarter campaign.

I bought a few new miniatures rules in 2023 as part of the never-ending quest for the “right” game. In no particular order I bought:

A Gentleman’s War

The Second Portable Wargame Compendium

Throwing Thunderbolts

Shot, Steel and Stone

Age of Hannibal

One Hour Skirmish Wargames

Actually, Ray gifted me OHSW. It has an interesting mechanic of using playing card draws instead of dice for all random number generation. 

Age of Hannibal interested me because it is a descendant (derivative?) of the rules that I have used more than any other set:  Le Petit Empereur from Chipco Games. AoH is from LittleWars TV and states “the rules are inspired by Chipco’s Fantasy Rules!” LPE, FR!, and AoH all use the Chipco mechanic of the “Morale Clock.”

Simply put, the Morale Clock determines how many units you can move each turn. As each turn is completed, the side taking the most casualties has their Morale Clock reduced. Various bad things happen when the Clock reaches certain values, and the army routs from the field and the game ends if the Clock reaches zero. As a general you slowly lose the ability to control your entire army and have to focus your effort more and more as the game unfolds.

Our club, LSHM mentioned above, played huge amounts of LPE back in the previous century. I have put on LPE games at least six times at conventions and had a lot of fun each time. And now Chipco is making noises about a new edition. If it comes out I will definitely buy it!

I mentioned Ray and his Piano Wargames printed figures. These STLs are designed for 28mm printing but can obviously be scaled up or down as desired. Lucas from Piano is very interested in the 1809 Danube campaign. So far he has released the entire Württemberg army, the Hesse-Darmstadt and Würzburg forces, the Bavarian, Austrian and Tyrolian forces for the Tyrol Revolt, and most recently began releasing French and Austrians for the main armies. He has plans to complete the French and Austrians and to add the Badeners, Saxons, and Westphalians. His figures are absolutely lovely.

Ray and I have both bought all the STLs and I currently have far too many figures that need to be painted!