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Recreational Wargaming...Solo Wargaming

Featherstone Battle Notes cover Donald Featherstone's Battle Notes for Wargamers Solo Wargaming Edition   27 March 2011
by Donald Featherstone
Edited by John Curry
Donald Featherstone has revised his classic book on various battles. The book describes 15 key battles with the solo wargamer in mind. Including the enemy forces, terrain, enemy orders and other factors leading to surprise.

Chapters include: 1. The Battle of Pharsalus 2. The Battle of Poitiers 3. The Battle of Barnet 4. The Battle of Cheriton 5. The Battle of Wynendael 6. The Battle of Prestonpans 7. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse 8. The Battle of Maida 9. The Battle of Aliwal 10. The Battle of Wilson's Creek 11. The Battle of the Little Big Horn 12. The Battle of Modder River 13. The ANZAC Landing at Gallipoli 14. The Raid on St Nazaire 15. The Attack on Pork Chop Hill.

The book is available from Amazon and other online book stores.

Product details:     
     Paperback:
171 pages
     Publisher:
History of Wargaming    Project
     ISBN:
9781446731833   
     Dimensions (cm):
15.6 wide x 23.39 tall  



  Review of Battle Notes for Wargamers

As I owned the original, I was a little curious about the new version. Well, what can I say. The material for each battle has been reordered to help the solo player. So I had a go.

I choose the battle of Pharsalus and I assembled my army. This was Airfix Romans, which shows my age. I laid out the terrain and the armies. I gave my orders and then read the orders for the other side and the rule suggestions for that particular battle. The battle was entertaining and strangely enough, I was victorious as Caesar. I then laid out my victorious column for my triumphant march into Roman (thus finding a use for the Airfix four horse chariot included in each box).

The game was interesting and it was made more fun having ‘someone else’ give the other side some initial orders. But the book is not a complete solo guide to wargaming. So after the start, you need to use your usual solo command system to give orders to the ‘other side’. Perhaps it should have been called the scenario book for solo wargamers.

The book is worth getting, and it is cheap.

David Smith, UK. January 2011

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