Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

Wargaming is a big hobby with many diverse factions and perspectives: striking a balance that pleases everyone can be truly challenging! We like to think what sets Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy apart from other historical wargaming magazines is its focus on having fun, no matter what kind of wargamer you are or what your background is. WS&S is a light-hearted publication, that pays particular attention to games themselves and how to play them: it doesn’t get bogged down in lengthy historical expositions or recycle content you can read yourself in any history book. While popular periods like WWII, the Napoleonic era, and the ancient world get frequent coverage, we also try to feature the unexpected, with articles on spies, monsters and gangsters to name but a few.

Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

Editorial

MINIATURE REVIEWS • A look at some of the newest miniatures, terrain pieces, and more from across the wargaming world.

THIS GAMING LIFE WHAT MAKES A SKIRMISH WARGAME? • Skirmish wargaming is all the rage at the moment, whether it's inter-war pulp, vampire hunting Regency-style, or something firmly rooted in reality. You only have to venture onto the internet to get some idea of the amazing choice of skirmish games available these days. As wargamers and prospective customers, all these new and exciting opportunities can be overwhelming: rules that are temptingly described as ‘innovative’ and models that fair groan with ‘exquisite detail’. Who can keep up with it all? Prob ably nobody, but we all have our favourites and our enthusiasms.

OLD ENEMIES MEET NEW FOES IN THE LATEST EXPANSION RAVENFEAST 1066 • Two years ago, Little Wars TV and WS&S magazine partnered to release Ravenfeast, a free Viking skirmish game simple enough to introduce new players into the historical miniature hobby. In the time since, over 20,000 copies have been downloaded by players around the world and volunteers continue to step forward to translate the rules into multiple languages.

MODELLING CROSSBOWS

USING LION RAMPANT 2

THE INVASION OF MONA-A CAMPAIGN FOR INFAMY, INFAMY! OF MISTLETOE AND OAK • I have always been fascinated with history and how it can be used as the basis for a campaign. The Roman invasion of the island of Mona (Anglesey) and the Boudiccan rebellion, as written by the Roman historian Tacitus is ripe with material for the wargamer.

THE CAMPAIGN WITH OTHER RULES AND SECOND EDITION LION RAMPANT

THE INNS OF COURT REGIMENT GETS A SECRET MISSION BINGFORCE: WE DRIVE AT DAWN • In the early hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944, a specialist British force disembarks on the Normandy coast and quickly races inland, reconnoitring in depth far behind German lines and destroying key bridges to thwart Axis reinforcements. Or at least, that was the plan.

CONVERTING SCENARIOS INTO SOMETHING NEW TAKE A SCALPEL TO YOUR SCENARIO! • I have to confess something to you. I don't have a lead mountain, instead, I have a scenario pile (and a heap of unpainted plastic, but let's not go into that). As an avid reader and rules collector, there seem to be way too many scenarios to ever play – and, with magazines, a stream of new ones arrive regularly. So do I need more?

EVOLUTION OF THE BRITISH INFANTRY: 1642-1720 RED WALL • The red coat is synonymous with the British soldier, though now only found worn by ceremonial guards from Household regiments. The common theory about its adoption tracks to Parliament's New Model infantry, but red is integral to the English flag and its choice may be as simple as that. The Irish were calling English invaders ‘redcoats’ during the reign of Elizabeth I, so its use predates the civil wars by more than 50 years.

DEFEATING A ROYALIST FORCE IN THE MIDLANDS CHARLES’ LAST ROLL OF THE DICE • After the New Model Army's pacification of the West Country in early 1646, the force...