Thursday, January 2, 2020

Slingshot 328 is with the printers ...


... and should be posted out to you all in the next few days!  Here is the cover picture, together with a list of the contents and a short summary of each article.

On the cover, the original 8 hoof drive, all terrain Roman crusher with optional rotary drier!
On the cover, the original 8 hoof drive, all terrain Roman crusher with optional rotary drier!
























Committee Report - by Roy Boss

A Wargaming Rant - by Simon Watson

Simon Watson writes a Grumpy Guide to Wargaming. Like many other historical wargamers, he has issues with some rulesets in that the marriage between historicity and playability seems ever to be an unhappy one. And all those dice throws. Rules writers, take note!

From the Ground Up - by Chris Hahn

Following on the ‘When the Going Gets Tough’ article in Slingshot 327, Chris Hahn gives an overview of terrain from the perspective of the importance wargamers attach to it, how it is treated in the major rulesets, and what the ancient writers actually had to say about it.

The Field of Cynoscephalae: Battlefield Archaeology using Google Maps - by Richard Taylor

Thanks to Google Maps and Google Earth, it is becoming easier for wargamers to form a fairly accurate idea of what the terrain actually looked like at battlefield sites. Richard Taylor runs through the use these tools with Cynoscephalae as an example.

Chances Are - by Nick Harbud

In this article, based upon a presentation given at the Society of Ancients Conference in November 2019, Nick Harbud outlines the science behind the Cosmic Cube of wargaming.

Early Mediaeval Picts - by Hugh Coleman

Many wargaming army lists have Picts suddenly change into Caledonians with substantial alterations to their clothing and weaponry. Huge Coleman makes the case that in military terms Picts and  Caledonians were pretty much the same.

Wargaming My Way - by Gordon Lawrence

Like many wargamers Gordon Lawrence plays solo, but unlike many (the Editor for example), he has a fully equipped wargaming HQ shed and over 20,000 figures. Read and envy...

Slingshot Book & Game Reviews

Covering: 'Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece', 'Armies of Celtic Europe, 700 BC-AD 106', 'The Pope’s Army. The Papacy in Diplomacy and War', 'The reign of Emperor Gallienus. The Apogee of Roman Cavalry', 'Lost Legion Rediscovered. The mystery of the Theban Legion', 'The Battle of Edgcote 1469'.