ISSUE 12 IS HERE!

Our cover this time sports a photo I took at Cavalier in Tonbridge this February. Surely, there are few things to stir the heart of a Napoleonic enthusiast more than the sight of massed artillery blasting away at the enemy! These fellows were part of a game staged by Loughton Strike Force, amongst whose number they count distinguished rulesmith David Brown, of whom more below. So, with this issue released at Salute! and selling like hot cakes, what's in store?

• The Don at 90. An homage to the man who has contributed perhaps more than any other to our wonderful hobby: Donald Featherstone, who turned 90 in March. His friend Chris Scott sent in a piece which I have added to, accompanied by a lovely photo from talented photographer Richard Ellis.
• Now, here's something you might not have expected to see in Battlegames: Pulpaganza!, by well-know American gamer Buck Surdu, is a wonderfully-written account of the pulp gaming extravaganza staged at Historicon last year. It sounds like tremendous fun was had by all, and the article describes some wonderful ideas that I know our readers will enjoy.
• Dillon Browne concludes his two-parter How to Write Wargames Rules with his own set of 'rules for rule-writing' AND demonstrates the principles with a terrific WWI 'tank-busting' game that should go a long way to changing people's minds about 'grim' Great War gaming.
• General de Brigade: an author inspired is Dave Brown's story of how this popular ruleset came into being, and the lengths he went to in order to ensure that it was both playable and historically accurate. He also delivers an exciting scenario to test your tabletop generalship: Salamanca — the French Rearguard.
• Mike Siggins' Forward Observer column deals with the artistic challenges of paints and pigments, has something to say about some 'pulp' rules, and of course takes a look at the sudden surge of 28mm plastic figures for historical gaming.
• Stuart Asquith's Battle for Wargamers this time is Trautenau, 1866. This fascinating and bloody encounter in the short Austro-Prussian war, which led to Prussia's supremacy over the Hapsburg Empire, deserves to be better known, and we hope that this piece does the trick.
• It's true: for the time being, this will be the last of my Wars of the Faltenian Succession articles, so I thought I'd better go out with a bang! So, what you get is a full set of simple rules for fighting a siege in the horse & musket era, with trench digging, sorties, escalades, the lot. Once the magazine is on sale next week, you'll be able to download some extra goodies for the game.
• In our fantasy & sci-fi section To Boldly Go, Roger Smith takes the opportunity to reveal a new ruleset under development down here in Sussex: Guy Hancock's Krigen™. This brilliant system has lots of potential, and in this issue we're treated to a full playtest game and the insights derived from it.
• C S Grant's Table Top Teaser is "Fighting Rearguard", which will have you trying to buy time for your retreating army. Who said wargaming wasn't challenging enough?
• The Recce section is somehwat shorter than normal this issue, because of having so much else to fit in the magazine, but there's still plenty here to help your buying decisions!
• John Preece's short War and Preece column remembers the contribution of American wargamer Joe Morschauser, a man before his time.
• Finally, a reminder that as of this issue (12), the cover price of the magazine is rising to £3.95, and the cost of an annual subscription £23.70 POST FREE for the UK, £27.50 incl. p&p. to other EU countries and £36.00 for the Rest of the World. EU and Rest of the World postage is still heavily subsidised – even more so because, since I made these price change announcements, the Post Office has put up their prices again! However, for the time being, I'll swallow the extra expense for as long as possible.

ISSUES 1, 2 & 3 PDF VERSIONS ON SALE
We sold out of paper copies of issue 1 a few months ago, but until such time as I can be sure of a demand of roughly 500 or more, the economics of reprinting are simply not viable. Small batches of digital prints are likely to prove more expensive than the original so, for those who prefer an electronic version, or if you just missed the early issues and want to see how it all started, the digital version is now available in our shop. Issues 2 and 3 also available NOW (we have just a handful of hard copies left).

Issue 9 saw the first award of a Battlegames Green Star to War Torn Worlds, who have started making scenery out of recycled car tyres. This superb initiative was brought to my attention, and inspired me to start this award. I'll give a FREE quarter-page ad to any company that Battlegames readers think deserve to have their environmentally-friendly efforts recognised. Nominations can be emailed to me at the usual address, and then will be voted for on this website.
    Many thanks for your support.

Roll 'em high!

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