Wargames To Go 26.1 - First Contact Wargames (Introduction)
Wargames To Go
Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server Once multiple games about conquistadors in the new world had landed in my collection, I had a dilemma. On the one hand, the 15th-16th century contact between the two halves of our world was one of its most pivotal events. That cannot be denied. On the other hand, the depiction of those events--in history, in entertainment, in culture--has been one-sided and morally suspect (or worse) for the longest time. Could wargaming be any better on this topic? How could that be possible? Be sure to check out the of...
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Wargames To Go 25.4 Wars of Scotland (Conclusion, part 2 plus GMT Weekend at the Warehouse)
Wargames To Go
Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server [If you aren’t particularly interested in the Wars of Scotland, you may be interested in the wargame open house/convention event known as GMT’s Weekend at the Warehouse. I went last month and spend the first part of the podcast talking about that time & games played. THEN it’s on to my specific historical topic.] Ok, now I’m really finished with Scotland. Like everything I explore for my wargame podcast, these deep dives take over my gaming...
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Wargames To Go 25.3 Wars of Scotland (Conclusion, part 1)
Wargames To Go
Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server As always happens, a subject that attracts me for wargaming and this podcast proves to be deeper and richer than expected. Once I knew I would get a chance to visit Scotland on vacation last summer/fall, it was my opportunity to dive into "wars of Scotland" in a general sense. What did I think that was? From Braveheart and Hammer the Scots I knew about the first War of Scottish Independence, at least a bit. I'd heard of the Jacobite Rebellion and The '45. And I figured there was some Roman history somehow, what with...
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Wargames To Go 25.2 - SDHistCon 2023
Wargames To Go
Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server One week ago I was at my first SDHistCon. I had a good time, would like to share that experience via this audio convention report...and still there manages to be a slender but worthwhile connection to my Wars of Scotland subject. For anyone who only found me for the convention report, I start with a brief overview of me & my podcast(s). Then I get into the convention itself, some of the great people I chatted with, and the remainder of the episode is a rundown of all the games I played. I'm covering...
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Wargames To Go 25.1 - Wars of Scotland (Intro)
Wargames To Go
Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server Guess what? This little podcast is now ten years old. I'd been doing my other one about euro boardgames even longer, and in 2013 I decided to branch off this other show about wargaming. I'd started in this hobby as a kid wargamer in 1979. I never completely left it, but my hobby in the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s shifted more to roleplaying, Magic: the Gathering, and then euro boardgaming. It wasn't until around 2010 or so that I finally realized what countless wargamers before me did--that I could enjoy...
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Wargames To Go 24 - Operation Market Garden
Wargames To Go
Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server Times are approximate Introduction (0:30) Operation Market Garden overview (12:00) Nils Johansson transcribed/read interview (16:30) David Thompson & Michael Tiller interview (37:00) Mark's travels, movies, books, games about Market Garden (1:29:00) I'd been saving the famous battles of Operation Market Garden for when I expected to live nearby in the Netherlands. When those plans fell through, I was disappointed for some time, but eventually put that behind me and looked at the stack of Market Garden games...
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Wargames To Go 23.2 - Spanish-American War (part 2, with Jason Perez)
Wargames To Go
Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server For a couple reasons, this episode has been my white whale, almost taking me down. I would certainly understand if any of my listeners gave up on me along the way, thinking the podcast had faded away entirely, or that I wasn't interested in wargaming any more. Not true! Listeners of my other podcast--the longstanding about family strategy boardgames--know that I've still been active. I've even kept the flame of wargaming alive, playing a title here & there, reading history, watching films, and dabbling in online...
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Wargames To Go 23.1 - Spanish American War (part 1, with Joe Schmidt)
Wargames To Go
Joe Schmidt () Now I've gone back to my usual format where I explore a single topic in games, books, films, and whatever else I can find. The Spanish-American War is similar to a lot of topics I've dived into--it's something I felt like I knew something about, but not too much. Also matching the pattern, it's been a subject I thought would be rather small and self-contained...only to find out it has larger implications and resonances to today's world. I swear, that just keeps on happening. Probably like a lot of people, when I think of the SAW I think of Teddy Roosevelt...
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Wargames To Go 22.2 - Summer 2021 Magazine Games (C3i and Panzerschreck)
Wargames To Go
Isn't it tiresome when a podcaster starts by apologizing it's been so long since their last episode? So I won't do that. Here's the next one. My plans to spend the summer (now months past!) playing contemporary magazine wargames sort of worked, just more slowly and less completely than I'd originally planned. Whatever--I'm doing this for fun! The truth is, after vaccinations we were able to see some family and do some traveling that had been unavailable during the first year of the pandemic. Wargaming took a bit of a back seat, though I still got some done. Including ON a...
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Wargames To Go 22.1 - Summer 2021 Magazine Games (1914 Eastern Front)
Wargames To Go
As mentioned in my last episode, I've decided to do something different this summer. Breaking from my usual pattern of tackling a single subject with multiple games, movies, books, etc., now I'm giving myself a break. I'm just going to have fun playing some of the recent backlog of magazine wargames. I'm sure I'll read Wikipedia articles and such to give myself some historic education about the subjects, but I'm not going to get so deep. Where there are easy info sources such as podcasts and youtube videos, I'll probably take those in, too. As long as it's all fun and...
info_outlineIn the final quarter of 2017 I'm concentrating on the French & Indian War. This first episode is an introduction, giving me a chance to take my listeners along for this ride in history. Perhaps you'll jump onboard and experience some of these games or movies with me.
Hand-drawn map by George Washington, accompanying a printing of the journal he kept of his 1753 expedition into the Ohio Country.
I realize that what I'm calling the French & Indian War is really the North American theater of the Seven Years War (sometimes nicknamed World War Zero), when France and England battled for global dominance throughout the newly expanding colonial world. There were conflicts in mainland Europe, too. I'm not exploring those--I'm just looking at the conflicts of Quebec, Fort William Henry, the forks of the Ohio, the siege of Louisbourg, and so on. However, my reading about the French & Indian WAR (singular) has quickly reminded me that this conflict from 1754-1763 was preceded by a few other wars between roughly the same sides: English colonies versus the French & Indian-allied forces. I have a suspicion I'll be looking into those, too.
One thing that jumped out at me when I created this subject's geeklist is how many good light/short/hybrid wargames there are on it. From Quebec 1759 (Columbia's first block wargame in 1972!) to A Few Acres of Snow or 1754 Conquest (published in 2011 & 2017, respectively), there are a bunch of great choices for wargamers like me that prefer the lighter end of our hobby. I'm still curious about larger hexmap wargames, and the famous CDG on this topic, too.
Map of Louisbourg and its artillery batteries in 1751.
In the podcast I get to talk about the games I saw & played at the recent GMT Weekend at the Warehouse event, too. This is practically in my back yard (a 3-hour drive), so I hope to continue to go to this event once or twice per year. Next month I'll also be going to BGGcon in Dallas, where I'll be playing both wargames and euros. Hope to see you there! Say hi and ask for a podcast button to display proudly!
-Mark
This 1797 engraving is based on a sketch made by Hervey Smyth, General Wolfe's aide-de-camp during the siege of Quebec. A view of the taking of Quebec, 13th September 1759.
Movies
• Last of the Mohicans (1992)
• Last of the Mohicans (1920) silent
• Northwest Passage more about Robert's Rangers than the passage
• Fort Ti I think this is on YouTube
• Barry Lyndon I know this is European Seven Year War, but it's also Kubrick
Remember to follow along & chime in on my geeklist/discussion) for all of my French & Indian War explorations. If you're a wargamer on social media, follow me on Twitter (@WargamesToGo). Feedback is always welcome.