Interview with Mark Herman (Concordia University)

Links to the interviews with the great and the good of wargames design contine (see below, Concordia University meets Mark Herman): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rl7BHmyblQ&list=PLKWSTkN5DHsjuHV2ZCUz6yQCeWR3G3z0a&index=4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Herman_(game_designer)

Footnote to the top screenshot: Interestingly the model of the WWII battleship (as yet still unidentified by myself [help appreciated]) has been obscured by the now prominent product placement of Avalon Hill's(?) Anzio - although I remember the cover to have a LCM with a ramp down). 

Interview with Frank Chadwick - YouTube (Concordia University)

Another headline Wargames designer .. Frank Chadwick: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNFRbHrmcjg&list=PLKWSTkN5DHsjuHV2ZCUz6yQCeWR3G3z0a

Frank Chadwick in 2022: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Chadwick

It goes without saying I am a huge fan of Frand Chadwick's miniature rules and board games leading up to the Command Decision series.

Interview with Jo Miranda - YouTube Link (Concordia University)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRkgGy12X3s

Jo Miranda in 2022: 

It is a very long talk but nevertheless interesting! Almost as interesting as reading the games, magazines and books in the background. What ship was that bottom right? I am guessing a US battleship although it reminds me of HMS Vanguard with the transom stern. My guess is that it must be a US one, despite a copy of Avalon Hill's "Jutland" boardgame lying on top of it! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Miranda_(game_designer)

Hard to get excited when Bots are reading your posts!

I must admit I have been put off posting any Blog stuff as I have been reading about Big Tech strip-mining all manner of free Internet content to "improve" their AI Models .. how that exactly that makes sense (as in "improving" anything given that there is no quality control), makes me ponder!

I feel as if I should put out a disclaimer like Penguin Random House puts in all their new materials. 

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems

Whether that actually makes a difference, who know?  

Footnote: 500,000 hits on the 1/10/2026 .. really? I hate to think what the AI "token" count is costing the planet here! 

I think I maybe have 40 real human readers - if that, on a "daily basis" if I post something new and they click to read!

Hinton on AI

Hinton on AI - already conscious?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7t1Q_p2gZs

RUSI Article - Measuring Lethality: Army Combat Power and Force Design (Not a Good Day for Lanchester)

A friend sent me a link to this interesting RUSI article, which ruminates around the topic of - "if you cannot be as big as the enemy can you be "bad ass badder than them instead". This is "bad ass as" in "more lethal" .. so are we talking Tiger tanks against Shermans again? Please read on to find out more and what it means for the UK against the Russian threat (see link below): 

https://static.rusi.org/measuring-lethality-rusi-apr-26.pdf

It also seemed to suggest policy making and reality are remarkably different, especially if you pretend everything boils down to an equation!

To quote from the paper (on page 27): 

The concept of the Lanchester Equation, modelling the relative accumulation of advantage of an aggregate force as attrition is suffered in engagements[39], is perhaps the perfect demonstration of a very sound theory when it is mathematically represented – with remarkably little utility in assessing any real-world military outcomes[40].

[39] Frederick William Lanchester, Aircraft in Warfare: The Dawn of the Fourth Arm (London: Constable and Co., 1916), pp. 39–66. 

[40] Michael J Artelli and Richard F Deckro, ‘Modeling the Lanchester Laws with System Dynamics’, Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation: Applications, Methodology, Technology (Vol. 5, No. 1, 2008), p. 7.

From 1916 to 2008 to 2026 the debate about Lanchester seems to go on and on. The problem seems to lie when people try and apply Lanchester as a general for all case, instead of when Lanchester conditions are met. The trouble is you only seem to know when these conditions are met, after the event. Then there is teh problem of retrofitting the data to suit your needs.

Note: People who "like Lanchester" don't seem to like wargaming as a participant but rather see it as a simulation "stand back" process where they are just dice chuckers. To me that if wrong, to wargame you have to take agency and responsibility. Anecdotally I keep seeing "Lanchestarians" losing their flanks and manoeuvring backwards on the table top. Harsh, but er, true!

Cold War Space Race: CCCP goes Lunar with Soyuz and US NASA Saturn 1B - CoW Game Prep 2026 (WD)

This is a blast from the past and down Airfix memory lane I go. The lunar lander (The Eagle) which was part of the Saturn 1B (IIRC) was hidden in an unassembled, primed and "brown washed" state for such a long time. All it took was for possible inclusion in my Conference of Wargamers (CoW) game 2026, "The Earth Prepared" to jolt it towards the painting tray (see below, not sure about the hole in the roof, but I think that is where it attached to the orbiter Columbia - I quite like how it has come out): 

The big boys rockets - the diminutive Soyuz in comparison to one of the 'smaller' American rockets, the Saturn 1B (see below, a stretch goal for the game is to get the Saturn V, currently hiding in the loft, assembled and painted too): 

Note the little Yuri on the launch pad, a tiny dot towards the front of the CCCP (LHS) launch pad.

FREE GAME: WWII Pacific Logistics - Fleet Train (Louis Coatney)

Just when I thought there was not much to LinkedIn somebody goes and posted an interesting game link! Click bait it is not, thank you Lou Coatney (see link to his website - not LinkedIn, below):   

https://www.coatneyhistory.com/FleetTrain.htm

Remember the quote: "Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics."

AI Again - It Is All In The Mathematics Not The Marketing Hype

It is quite humbling to try and follow a great mathematician explaining complex subject matter and bringing an analogy to AI, outlining the consequences to what we think know about our use of AI (see link below):  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukpCHo5v-Gc

If you thought you know what AI us and you knew what you were dealing with and how to work with it, then my friend the chances are you are sadly mistaken!

Not killer robots but killer stupidity awaits.

Supercharge Me - Again, But Wait Have I Not Told Everyone About This Game Yet?

This is a game that just keeps giving and I am dying to get my hands on my own personal copy. To my shame I may have posted on other social media but not yet blogged about it (which is very, very strange as I thought, with almost complete certainty, that I already had raved about it here).

Board Game Geek: 

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/312630/supercharged

Dietz Foundation (Shop):

https://dietzfoundation-org.square.site/product/supercharged-/13?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false

To put it in context, I am no petrol head but this is a racing game I actually enjoy playing. Set in the 1920's to 1930's where motorsports seemed to be the preserve of the richly insane, it has a certain crazy international charm (Siamese Princes for example) and warmth that allows it to be a good family/mates game (despite the natural urge for your team to be winning). It is also a spectator sport if/when you get knocked or rather spun out. It lacks the cruel cheesiness of rules from other racing games and here purely finishing a race is in itself is something of an achievement. Historically one race was called a draw because nobody finished! Two circuits of the track constitutes the race which sounds achievable, but isn't for most cars (see below, a self assembly track, playing deck and card stock period motor cars playing pieces):

The Race: 

A very busy start (see below, the compressed field on the first two corners means that "spin-offs" are inevitable): 

The advantage of pole position is that you can get clear of the field and end up in an individual one-on-one speed battle (see below, a local bespoke addition to the standard counter is adding orange trim to the car counters side. This indicates the car has moved for this turn, more obvious than the subtle flip-flop position of the driver and helps game play. As the game is played, it is phased, with white trim car to move first one turn and then the orange trim cars to move the next turn. This avoids a needless car flipping reset at the start of each phase - which we first started to do, then wondered why we were doing it! Motto: Keep it simple!):  

You have a huge problem if you get stuck behind cars still yet to move, if you cannot make your minimum move or three spaces (IIRC) you spin (see below, if the orange trim cars have to go next .. they will have a big problem):

The corners of the track can be carnage (see below, note the colours represent national teams, in two tiers, first rate nations [which have slightly better cars and can .. potentially .. go faster] and the second tier enthusiasts .. which are mainly "bot run". This makes them less aggressive, speed bumps following the racing line, that need to be passed): 

By the time we come to the second lap the car drop-out is over 50% (see below, the field is certainly now getting spaced):   

What I love about the mechanics is the very clever event deck (no scrambling around for dice lost underneath the table) that drives a very fast paced game (see below, the crowds cheered and went wild as the "sixth car" out a starting field of twenty actually managed to finish):

Taken from the Board Game Geek website (see photograph below), it shows a little of the back story of Supercharged's development. It started off life as a UK wargames convention participation game, touring the country with its inventors/designers Mike Clifford and Mike Siggins (of Wargamers Notebook fame in the old school Wargames Illustrated and Miniature Wargames magazines). The 1/72 kit looked absolutely epic (see below, now that looks like trouble ahead at the first bend. Also note teh beer refreshment on the side - always sign of a good game set-up): 

The game comes down to head-to-head contests of tailgating cars trying to survive the tangle of the bends (classic pile up territory) but tensely waiting for the chance on the straights to push on with a devastating turn of speed (see the picture below, is that not the pure atmospheric bliss of the period coming through and touching your inner child! Try not making car noises!):  

I consider the above game set=up as a "stretch goal" but one well worthy of pursuing!

PS: I think the design is great ub capturing the gentlemanly feel of the period, as there was a lot of respect between the racing enthusiasts (they helped each other out a lot in contrast to teh commercialised competition of today's Formula One racing). The designers skillfully avoided the danger of teh game becoming a Mad Max Rally - which of course is Car Wars/Gaslands!

Undercoating some vehicles: [28mm. 1/56] M3 Lee, Tiger I and King Tiger

Making full use of the spray can to its last spluttering gasp I managed to cover three of my 28mm AFVs (see below, the US M3 Lee Warlord Games sprue sale bargain at £12, well worth waiting for): 

The mighty King Tiger (see below, I know it is totally overkill for Chain of Command but for £12 in the Warlord sprue sale I could not say no to my inner teenage school boys' "yearnings". It still is a beast!): 

Side by side you can see the "huge" difference in size, but remember their combat introduction/debut was but two years apart (see below, 1942 for the Lee, and 1944 for the Tiger II):  

Finally the spray-can's splutter finished in a timely fashion over the Tiger I (see below, again another steal from the Warlord games sprue salem guess what £12):  

I am please to say that the vivid green dries to a dull, dark, camouflaged dark green. 

Note to Self: Game: Urban Operations - YouTube Walk Through

This is a game I have and so want to "get into". I have it from the first edition, already a second edition is out. I so want to transfer it to tabletop with miniatures (see below, the pedigree of the designer is incredible): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtlKZ6haJsQ

The above YouTube video will be a good starting point.

Interestingly a new game (noy yet attained by myself) but from the same stable of French School of Infantry Combat (three graduates rather than the teacher [Sebastien de Peyret]) called CO-OPS (see below, image and link below):

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/6939071/co-ops

One to put on the "For the Future" bucket list! 

Note To Self: Late War German WWII Infantry - Victrix (Painting Guide)

Victrix Late War Miniatures Painting Guides: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xvqv96qQ1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ooQ15k9Ihg

Looking forward to painting these!

4,000,000+ Hits - But what does it mean?

Shrug ...

Absolutely nothing .. as my guess is that it is mostly Bots. Gawd help the future of AI if it is mining my posts for accurate knowledge. I have a disclaimer at the bottom of my page. I think that mining wargaming blogs for knowledge is the last thing the Tech Giants should be doing! You could be solving real problems like world hunger for teh cost of the compute you meaninglessly burn - no seriously you could!

Meanwhile: To all the humans still out there "Hi, I hope you are well!"

Note to Self: Painting 28mm French Napoleonic Infantry - Painting Guides Material

I will need these painting guides at some point in the (near) future to paint these French Napoleonics for Sharpe Practice  (see below, my assembly of some of my plastic legions): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZSjGYOFepM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbPsNCvNg-0

Also of interest - Ranking/Rating 28mm French Napoleonic Plastic Box Sets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8NMKlBvKT0

Note to Self: WWII Question to the Germans - "What was it like fighting the British?"

If you want to know the answer watch the video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDOWXeWFNJg

Spoiler alert: We can be beaten and pushed back, but somehow "we don't break like the others". We are annoyingly back the next day as if nothing happened! Importantly we don't know when we are beaten so - we tended to spoil the German's day and with it their Germanic plans for world domination!

Happy ending or am I believing an jingoistic urban myth (but from the mouths of Germans)?

MIT predicts 12 Plausible Endings to the AI Story (Spoiler Alert: Not a fairy story ending)

It does make me wonder. Don't the happy people at MIT have something better to be doing instead of re-running variants of "The Matrix" in their academic papers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLcrvMfHUJM

Other AI YouTube Memes: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9werF1SR3Ag

Roll of Honour for "dead" blogs: "Tidying up Blogs I Like to Read" [1]

I was checking the bottom of my "Blogs I Like to Read" list and there seems to be deadwood.

Blogs that are no longer with us (sniff). 

Lest they not be forgotten, they served to amuse me, I shall miss their passing.

I honour their digital memory!

Hrothgars Folly

https://hrothgarsfolly.blogspot.com/

Lasted Updated 2010

Unfollowed

https://projectmeszaros.blogspot.com/

No posts remain or were ever posted

https://funnylittlemen.blogspot.com/

No posts remain or were ever posted

3rd Phase

Dead Blog-Removed

Mad About Gaming

https://madaboutgaming.blogspot.com/

Dead Blog-Removed

Sideway Shuffle - Takeo Ichikawa

https://takeo-ichikawa.blogspot.com/

No posts remain or were ever posted

Little Soldier Company

http://littlesoldiercompany.co.uk/

Broken Link

Touching History

https://touchinghistory.blogspot.com/

No posts remain or were ever posted

Ferrets Attention Span

https://ferretmodels.blogspot.com/

No posts remain or were ever posted

The Savage AfterWorld

http://www.savageafterworld.com/

Broken Link

It all started when I wanted to follow a new Blog but I had filled up the blogs I could follow quota!

Bydand

 https://1808534.blogspot.com/

More 28mm WWII Undercoating - US Infantry, US Paras, 1940 BEF Brits and French, Japanese

Just to complete the full story (or is it?) of the "Spray Can Day" event!

Wargames Atlantic British 1940 BEF and a few (6) Imperial Japanese Infantry from Warlord Games: 

Wargames Atlantic French 1940 Infantry:

German Late War Infantry - Warlord Games: 

US Paras - Warlord Games: 

US Infantry - Perry Miniatures and Warlord Games: 

Left with empty spray cans! Job well done!

Next Projects - Wargame Atlantic/Victrix 28mm Figures: Three Boxes

I blame them (Wargames Atlantic), yes them, for making such nice figures you "have to" buy them and then, er, find a use for them? So I have three (new)projects: 

Project One: Wargames Atlantic German Sentries - Coming in useful from being used as nasty Colditz sentries, to combatting partisan operations, commando raids, deadly SAS missions, Para airborne drops on radar installations and even denizens of "Weird WWII"  dark laboratories (see below, all sorts of uses beckon - all being behind enemy lines): 

There is even a healthy proportion of Alsatian dogs to German sentries (10 dogs to 30 soldiers). The poses come straight from the movies and are definitely "behind the front lines" Security Police support troops. The officer literally looks straight from the lead in "The Man in the High Castle" (see below, this is a highly recommended set - no other excuse needed to buy it):    

Second Project Victrix Napoleonic Old Guard Infantry - Next we move on to a "man (or rather a wargamer) of a certain age" issue. One who to his embarrassment wakes up one day and realises that he does not have a unit of French Napoleonic Old Guard in 28mm to show off to his friends (see below,  thank you Vixtrix for coming to my rescue, in fact they do the Middle Guard as well in plastic [but as time of writing I have only seen the Young Guard in very expensive metal]):  

Third Project Wargames Atlantic Pulp Adventure Operators -  Then there was the "buy it" because you saw it and you knew you already had a use for it. Specifically skirmish level gaming with 28mm Modern Special Forces - Terrorists - Hostage Release SWAT - Jungle LRRP/Mercenaries. Twenty Figures in total but four sprues, so a sprue for each of these categories will do (see below, the options on each sprue is fantastic):  

I know one game these are destined to play is Hostage Cluedo, even borrowing a dog from the German Sentries box for a K-9 handler, now that is synergy (see below, a "niche" but also a nice buy):  

I certainly seem to be in a "28mm assembly and paint mode of operations", also fuelled by the range of nice painting tutorials readily accessible on the Internet. Im short I am just having fun!