The Canadian Wargamer Michael Peterson

Hello, is this thing on?  Does it still work?
Yes, in the spirit of all things Easter, this podcast has risen, or at least, roused itself from its slumber.  In this catch-up issue, James and Mike get together on air for the first time since last October.  No interesting guest, just us.    In a little over an hour, we talk about:
Hot Lead, which took place just before Easter and of which James is justifiably proud of his team.   You can find his wrap-up of this year’s show at his blog:  https://rabbitsinmybasement.blogspot.com/2024/03/hot-lead-2024-lots-of-pictures-and-video.html
Some further Hot Lead bits in this segment:
We talk about naval wargaming, and the new WW1 rules by local boy Andrew Dobbie:  https://www.dobbieshobbies.net/
Model Builders Supply was not at Hot Lead this year but they sell great terrain (I love their trees) and you could buy the business!  Check it out:  https://modelbuilderssupply.com/
Also thanks to Hot Lead we got morbid and talked about war-games estate sales, since you can’t take it with you:  http://madpadrewargames.blogspot.com/2024/03/an-estate-sale-rules-haul-and-bit-of.html
In the middle of the podcast, we talk about 18th century wargaming, starting off with Mike’s report on his first attempts with Henry Hyde’s horse and musket rules, Shot, Steel and Stone.  For more on Mike’s thoughts, see: http://madpadrewargames.blogspot.com/2024/03/first-thoughts-on-henry-hydes-shot.html
We also discussed other 18th century rules we want to play more of, including Keith Flint’s Honours of War which gets good reviews from everyone who’s played it:  https://www.ospreypublishing.com/ca/honours-of-war-9781472808097/
As well as Twilight of the Soldier Kings which I think is available for purchase on Amazon.   
If you have thoughts about these rules, let us know please.
We also talk about ancient Romans, books vs PDFs (James is a print guy), James’ charming obsession with the Quar and Mike’s eagerness to try General D’Armee 2 from Reisswitz Press.
Finally we look ahead to some upcoming war-games shows in Ontario:
Ragnarok is more RPG and SF focused than Hot Lead but it’s in nearby Kitchener and worth supporting, April 20 and 21.   See https://www.ragnarokxp.com/
Our friends in Hamilton are organizing a more war-games oriented event in Niagara Fallson Saturday May 4:  https://allevents.in/niagara falls/dice-days-at-the-niagara-military-museum/200026103613028#google_vignette
We leave you with a quiz:  
Who is the best movie Napoleon?   
Is it:
Ian Holm (Time Bandits)
Ian Holm (Time Bandits)
OR
Ian Holm (Time Bandits)
 
Cheers and thanks for listening.
Write to us:
Mike:  madpadre@gmail.com
James:  jamesmanto@gmail.com
 
Blogs:   
www.madpadrewargames.blogspot.com
www.rabbitsinmybasment.blogspot.com
 
On Bluesky:
madpadre.bsky.social
jamesmanto.bsky.social
 
 

I'm embarrassed to say that James and I recorded this chat on August 10, and then I totally forgot about uploading it in the business of my day job.  So here we are, two whole months later and I owe big apologies to James and to you dear listeners, all two of you.
I vaguely recall that we talked about James' Quar fixation, the forthcoming Napoleon movie, and God knows what else.  So I'll be as surprised listening to this as you will be.  Hopefully we all enjoy it.

Wendy de Wolfe is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, fine artist and freelance graphic designer, and wargamer with a particular interest in kriegspiels.   For the past year, she's ben running a large Napoleonic kriegspiel set in 1806 in which James and I were among the players, only to recently discover that James was the Prussian CinC.  It was terrific fun.    
In this Now It Can Be Told episode, James and I had a terrific time chatting with Wendy about this particular game, what we didn't know at the time, and how the game went.  Wendy talks about managing a game of this scale as the referee, and offers some thoughts on what how to run a KS for those interested in such a venture.   She also discusses her experience as a combat veteran and how her military service has influenced her gaming and game design.
Notes About Our Guest:
https://wendydewolfe.com
http://wendydewolfe.blogspot.com/
Wendy's report on her KS game:
https://youtu.be/jN388s17nD0
https://youtu.be/g23MaOtqMHg
James' report on Wendy's KS game: http://rabbitsinmybasement.blogspot.com/2023/06/rabbitman-lost-in-fog-of-war.html
Wendy's Contributions to the CWP Virtual Library:
Donald E Graves, Redcoats and Grey Jackets, The Battle of Chippawa (Dundurn Press, 1966)
Marc Milner, Stopping the Panzers (University Press of Kansas, 2017)
Other Things What We Mentioned:
Andrew Field, Grouchy's Waterloo: The Battles of Ligny and Wavre (Pen and Sword 2017)
Zombiesmith and Quar: https://zombiesmith.com/
All Things Quar: https://rhyfler.com/
Ottomans by The Assailt Group: https://theassaultgroup.co.uk/product-category/renaissance/ottoman/
Event Horizons hobby store, Midland, ON: https://www.eventhorizonhobbies.com/
Warlord Games, Black Powder: https://us.warlordgames.com/collections/rules-books/black-powder
Warlord Games, Hail Caesar: https://us.warlordgames.com/collections/rules-books/hail-caesar
Upcoming Gaming Events in Ontario:  https://mustcontainminis.com/ontario-miniature-gaming-conventions
Our Guest Wendy's Choice for PlayOut Music:   Light of Foot, Dismounted March of the Royal Canadian Dragoons: https://youtu.be/9f_HaWp_llk
 

Our blue ribboned panel of veteran HotLead game-masters and ne'er do wells, Keith Burnett, Dan Hutter, Don Perrin and Brian Hall join Mike and James in a shamelessly self-congratulatory chat about what we did, saw, and liked about HotLead, Ontario's premiere miniatures gaming event.
In the back third of the episode, the podcast morphs into a bit of a 2024 planning committee meeting, but Lord knows who's still listening by then!

In this episode, we detour from miniatures to chat to Marc Rodrigue, Montreal-based designer of the award-winning French and Indian Wars boardgame, Bayonets and Tomahawks, published by GMT Games.   We talk about Marc's abiding interest in the French and Indian War, and the design process that led to his game.   Marc's also a FIW reenactor, and has some interesting insights to the period from portraying a soldier of the Franche de la marine.   Marc's current projects include an interesting looking WW2 armour game, reflecting his love of tanks, and some other fascinating projects.
After we said au revoir to Marc, James and I chatted about the ups and downs (and legalities) of 3D printing, getting ready for Hot Lead in less than two week's time, playing Napoleon in a tactical game, James' initial thoughts on Osprey's new SF rules, Xenos Rampant, and an early look at Sam Mustafa's Nimitz, along with some opinions as to why destroyers are cool.
Links to things we discussed:
Marc
Bayonets and Tomahawks: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-978-bayonets-tomahawks-2nd-printing.aspx
B&T on BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/206509/bayonets-tomahawks
Academy Games:  1754 FIW game: https://www.academygames.com/pages/1754
FIW reenactors in Montreal: https://atmmontreal.com/en/who-are-we/
Other Stuff:
Nimitz by Sam Mustafa: https://sammustafa.com/nimitz
Xenos Rampant by Osprey Publishing: https://ospreypublishing.com/ca/xenos-rampant-9781472852366/
 
Marc's Book Contributions to the CWP Virtual Library:
Peter McLeod, Backs to the Wall: the Battle of Sainte-Foy and the Conquest of Canada, https://www.amazon.ca/Backs-Wall-Battle-Sainte-Foy-Conquest-ebook/dp/B01LX5EN7P/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PVU4K375ZT6A&keywords=backs+to+the+wall+the+siege+of+quebec&qid=1679105042&s=digital-text&sprefix=backs+to+the+wall+the+siege+of+quebec%2Cdigital-text%2C76&sr=1-1
Peter MacLeod:  Northern Armageddon:  the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Making of the American Revolution ,https://www.amazon.ca/Northern-Armageddon-Peter-MacLeod-author/dp/1101973501
Fred Anderson:  Crucible of War:  The Seven Years and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, https://www.amazon.ca/Crucible-War-British-America-1754-1766/dp/0375706364
David Preston:  Braddock's Defeat:  The Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution, https://www.amazon.ca/Braddocks-Defeat-Battle-Monongahela-Revolution/dp/0190658517
La petite guerre et la chute de la Nouvelle-France" by Laurent Nerich, a French military analyst.  It blows away the myth of the French “forest Rambos” and describes very well the capabilities and limitations of “Canadien" light troops.
 
"Montcalm, général américain” by Québécois historian Dave Noël. Like Preston’s book “Braddocks Defeat” book does for the British general, it gives a more proper portrayal of how that French general was adapted to the North American theater. 
 
Closing Music:  Aupres de ma blonde, sung  by Olivia Chaney, https://youtu.be/lY2izR3fN_U
Contact Us (We Love Hearing From You!):
Canadian Wargamer Podcast Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/canadianwargamerpodcast
Mike: madpadre@gmail.com
@MarshalLuigi
www.madpadrewargames.blogspot.com
James:
jamesmanto@gmail.com
@JamesManto4
www.rabbitsinmybasement.blogspot.com
 
 
 

Mike and James chat with Roger Chrysler, a wargamer whose family history led him to a deep dive in early Ontario history and the War of 1812.   Roger tells us about his family and their involvement in the war, and we do our own deep dive into the many gaming possibilities (figures, rules, scenarios, books) that this fascinating but poorly known war offers.  If you aren't itching to refight Queenston Heights or Lundy's Lane after listening to this, we don't know what's wrong with you.
Also, we chat with Kevin Jacobi, one of the partners behind Six Squared Studios in St. Catherines, ON.   Started as a labour of love, these guys cut their teeth cutting and selling MDF bases and slowly built a business that now includes a well thought out bricks and mortar store.  Did someone say road trip?  It's wine country, so the wife should approve ...
Six Squared Studios:
https://6-squared-studios.shoplightspeed.com
Board Game Maniacs interview with Six Squared:
https://youtu.be/Ycm-DbCqqQA
Stuff We Mentioned




Hamilton area gaming stores:








Hamilton Hobby Specialties, Kenilworth Ave. Tistaminis, Parkdale Avenue,
Black Knight Games Mohawk and Upper Ottawa, Dundas Valley Hobbies, King Street Dundas.
Roger's Books for the CWP Virtual Library:
Novel : The Bloody Boy, Doug Thomas, Keltoi Publishing, 2001. 49th Light Company soldier, Queenston, York, Stoney Creek, Beaver Dams, Crysler’s Farm.
Field of Glory, Donald E Graves, Robin Brass Studios, Chateauguay and Crysler’s Farm. 1999
The Civil War of 1812. American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies. Alan Taylor, Vintage Books. 2010
The Gun, Death to the French (Rifleman Dodd) C.S. Forrester
 
Contact Us (We Love Hearing From You!):
Canadian Wargamer Podcast Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/canadianwargamerpodcast
Mike: madpadre@gmail.com
@MarshalLuigi
www.madpadrewargames.blogspot.com
James:
jamesmanto@gmail.com
@JamesManto4
www.rabbitsinmybasement.blogspot.com