Tactical Mistake

LOOKING for something to read on a foreign trip, I popped into the Orcs (sic) Nest in central London and bought Strategy & Tactics Quarterly's Alexander The Great.

Alexander The Great - originally published last autumn

It cost about £14, which seemed reasonable for what I realised would be little more than a rehash of what I already knew, but that would include a game that might be fun to play.

I was sadly disappointed as all I got was the magazine - apparently editions with a game cost considerably more, which I guess I should have known.

Still, the magazine was an interesting read, although it could have done with a decent editing job, especially in resolving differences between what the text says and what some of the maps say.

Doggone It!

THE impressive-looking crown below is above the main entrance to Dresden's Zwinger palace.

The crown gate of the Zwinger palace

Zwinger translates into English as kennel, and seems a strange choice of name for such a grand building.

It comes from a medieval German term for the part of a fortification's defensive works lying between outer and inner walls.

The name was given to the palace even though by the time building began, in 1709, the area no longer had such walls.

Ruling The Tabletop

MOST wargamers seem to operate on the principle that it is impossible to have too many sets of rules.

That was certainly part of my thinking when I bought the October issue of Wargames Illustrated, which comes with "everything you need to play intriguingly simple Napoleonic big battles."

Wargames Illustrated and the accompanying Valour & Fortitude rules

I have not tried the rules, but they make an interesting read and are certainly less ridiculously daunting than the likes of Black Powder.

It is a long time since I bought a wargaming magazine, apart from my subscription to Slingshot, and I was pleasantly surprised by the contents, although too much coverage - for my taste - of fantasy and skirmish wargames will make me hesitant to purchase future issues.