Last updated 2 January 2024
Russell King
2 hours any
NATIONAL SOCIALIST DRAGON’S
DEN
A game called which will
explore the network - in the popular semi game-show format - of business
investment in Nazi Germany aimed at funding Aryan supremacy
John Curry
My
Aunt’s War
1 hour any
A short game about my aunt’s
war on the home front. It is a black game.
John Curry
A
medieval Staff College problem
1 hour any
Demonstration how to turn the
standard staff college problem into an exercise in medieval warfare.
John Bassett & Bob
Cordery
Amritsar
to Kargil: Wargaming South Asian Conflicts 1919 to 1999
60-90 minutes any
From the Third Afghan War to
the struggle for Indian independence, the last British campaigns on the NW
Frontier, the Burma campaign in WW2, Partition, Burmese independence, Operation
VIJAY, the 1962 China-India war, the 1965 and 1971 India-Pakistan wars, the
Golden Triangle in the 1970s, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Tamil
Tigers, mercenaries in the Maldives, India-Pakistan
nuclear rivalry, the rise of the Taliban and the 1999 Kargil War there are a
wide variety of South Asian conflicts that Western wargamers all too often
don't understand.
Bob and John will lead a
discussion on this neglected period, looking at what makes this region so
interesting, what they and others have done to game some of these conflicts and
what remains to be done.
Jim Roche
Paddy's
NAZI Ideological Fervour Quiz
1 hour any
The war is temporarily passing
through a phase of difficulties. This is
because the army has betrayed the Fuhrer, some 'officers' have even attempted
to kill him, others are still actively working for the forces of international
Zionism and Plutocratic Bolshevism.
In order to root them out, the
Reichsfuhrer SS has now empowered the state security services to submit this
specially designed questionnaire to every officer holding a responsible
position in the battle line.
You must attempt to answer
every question
Martin Rapier
POLAND 1939 WITH ONE HOUR
WW2
2 hours up to 6
The latest version of the One
Hour WW2 rules, covering grand tactical actions in the second world war, with
battalion (or equivalent) sized elements on a small hex grid. This session will
highlight the latest revisions to the rules, and is both an opportunity for
players to try the system who missed out at COW last year, and for experienced
players to try it again. The scenario will feature asymmetrical forces in a
historical engagement during the Bzura counteroffensive, which will emphasise
particular features of the rules.
David Burden
Cityfight
2024,
2 hrs 2-4
Cityfight 2024 is an updated
version of the classic Cityfight game of small-scale urban combat. The game
will be played double-blind with each side having its own map and relying on
umpire reports to identify locations of the enemy forces. The game has been
modified for playing on a square grid. The game will probably be played on a
mix of Zoom, Jitsi and Google Slides and a technical rehearsal will be held
before the VCOW weekend.
Nick Riggs
Qu-AI
Sera Sera
2 hours 3-6
A matrix-ish game. The players represent World Powers, each of
whom has only just become aware of a nascent Artificial Intelligence. The AI is
growing in intelligence and power at an exponential rate, and the players have
very little time in which to determine how they will individually or
collectively respond.
Pete Sizer
Black
Gold, Blue Flames and Fibreoptic Cables: A North Sea Matrix game.
2 hours 6
A matrix game for six players
to explore present day hybrid warfare and grey zone activities in the North
Sea.
Ian Robinson
People's
War in Voronoi
90 minutes 4
People's War in Voronoi' is a
new COIN game with simple rules and combat system. It is based in the mythical
country of Voronoi and looks at a Red insurgency vs a Blue defending force. The
Red insurgency can spread and overwhelm Blue, or likewise Blue can stop the
insurgency and reverse it. The map is based on a Voronoi diagram, and it's an
alternative to standard hex or square boards. Each area represents a space that
can be crossed in a move. The rural areas (green/brown) are larger, and the
urban areas are smaller with more regular shape. The size differences arise
since distance = speed x time (time being constant), and you'll move more
slowly in an urban area compared to a rural area. The game will run using Google Drive - Meet
and links to be send out later.
John Armatys
ON RANKS IN THE BRITISH ARMY
90 minutes any
A talk about ranks in the
British Army, including some pretty obscure ones (my favourites are the
Sub-Brigadier and the Marshal). The wargaming applications are limited, it
might be of use to those contemplating career games or role playing games, but
I hope that the session will provide an interesting diversion into some obscure
bits of military history.
Toby Ewin
THE LAST WORD ON OFFICIAL
PRE-1914 WARGAMES…FOR NOW…
1 hour any
Including the various German
games (several of which have been detailed in printed sources), the origins of
the German naval games (drawing on an as-yet-unpublished article by Prof
Wintjes), plus a little about French and Italian and (the lack of)
Austro-Hungarian games, as these have generally not been so well covered, at
least in English. Also a mention of US
games and what we now know of Russian tactical games.
Michael D’Alessandro
Death
in Paradise - The Battle of Nu'uanu 1795 - A Virtual Battlefield Tour of the
Final Battle for Hawaiian Unification
1 hour any
We will begin with the unique
civilization and culture of 18th century Hawaii and how its first contact with
the West led to a desire to unify the Hawaiian Islands to help balance them
against the West. Landing with Kamehameha I on Oahu at Waikiki Beach and
Diamond Head Crater, we will march up country with his army, battling at the
Punch Bowl and ultimately at the Pail Cliffs. The campaign features naval, land
and aerial combat while external agents the British and the Russians engage in
a form of a Pacific Great Game. Spears vs. cannons - what can go wrong? We will
conclude by considering the effect a unified Hawaiian kingdom had on 19th
Century history and how that effect continued to resonate in the 20th and 21st
centuries.
Gary Sheffield, Graham Evans
and John Bassett
HISTORY, HISTORICAL FICTION,
BOGUS HISTORY AND WARGAMING
90 minutes any
A discussion on the links
between history, historical fiction, historical drama and wargaming, and how
bogus history can undermine them all.