FOGH on the road – Warlord Games Open Day – Saturday 2nd September 2023

Posted byFriends Of General HaigPosted inUncategorized

Some of the Friends made the trip up to Nottingham to put on Culloden, 1746, at Warlord Games’ annual Open Day.

The Friends arrived bright and early and were soon getting the game set up with some stalwart help from the Warlord team. The weather was great which was much appreciated seeing as we were in a large marquee / tent set in the front car park of the Warlord site.

The clouds thin and blue sky appears as the crowds gather at the start of the day.

The game used Pete’s ‘45 collection of 28mm miniatures that he has built up over many years , and was run as a participation game for visitors to the open day.

Peter and Jerry setting out the Jacobites across the moor from the government troops.
Lots of care was taken too get each battalion and clan in its correct historical position .
Pete adding finishing touches and flourishes.
It seems a long way to go for the Jacobites.
Two two armies lined up, Jacobites to the left and Government to the right.
The team take a refreshing tea break before welcoming the first players for game 1.
The Government right flank.
Jacobite highlanders at full tilt.
The Bonnie Prince himself.
A small clan has broken through the front of the line but the Government dragoons sweep in from the flank to save the day.
The MacDonalds disordered by the Government troops’ disciplined platoon firing.
The Young Pretender leads forward his bodyguard.
Government dragoons and Campbell infantry advance of the Government left flank.
The highlanders make it in to combat!
More highlanders manage to break the Government line.
The Royal North British Fusilier holding their part of the line.

We managed to play through the game four times over the day and had two victories for the Duke of Cumberland and his Government force, and two victories for the Bonnie Prince and his Jacobite force. The historical battle is very difficult for the Jacobites to win out-right, so the victory conditions were set so that the Jacobites had to break through the Government front line and engage the second line to achieve a victory. This meant that they had achieved more than they managed in the actual battle.

All of the participants played with good humour and generosity of spirit. The Friends thoroughly enjoyed their times as coaches, and very much hope that everyone who played got a taste for Black Powder, and the thrill of the ‘big game’.

Pete and Andy chat with the Restless Kaiser from MFA.

We got to meet lots of pals from the hobby community while we were there, including the team from Modelling For Advantage. You can see Pete and Andy being interviewed by the Restless Kaiser above.

Honourable mentions to Stuart from Miniature Realms, Leon from Leon T66, and James from Shakos and Sprues, who we also got to chart with briefly over the course of the day.

As we were running the game through the day we had very limited time to check out the rest of the open day. We did grab a few minutes to look at the other games on show and we were all particularly impressed with Duncan Wasdell’s Band of Brothers-inspired modular Bolt Action game based on the action at Brecourt Manor.

Here is a link to Duncan’s Just Giving page for his very worthwhile charity: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/duncan-wasdell

Many thanks to the whole Warlord team for hosting such a splendid event, and an extra special thank-you to John Stallard for the biscuits! We are all looking forward to our next visit to Nottingham.

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