Broadside Show - A Little Battle and Show Report

The Rejects all trotted down to Gillingham to what is our local show, Broadside, hosted by the Milton Hundred Wargames Club.  It was an excellent show, which seemed to get a good turn out of games, traders and visitors.  A large chunk of the day was happily spent talking to people as they visited the game.

Our demonstration game was conceived, designed and produced by Lee, who by the way has already put out a show report - find it here.

The game was an excellent French Foreign Legion affair with a Laurel and Hardy twist based on the film Beau Hunks.  Have a look on YouTube, it's 30 minutes well invested.

I'm not even going to cover the whole show.  Ray and Lee took enormous quantities of photos of everything and have or will publish their reports.  So, I'm just going to give a brief run down of our demo game and then a couple of pictures of my favourite other game at the show.

Lee and the Rejects put the finishing touches to setting up the table.  You can make out the Foreign Legion patrol marching on from the near corner on their way back to the fort.

Ray eats his breakfast as he contemplates the combat... or how much he is going to spend at the show, and how to sneak the goods in without his wife seeing it!

Lee produced a superb and informative display about the game, the period and the idea of reality versus Hollywood.  He made some nice quiz cards as well.

The three wise monkeys! Ray, Dave and Postie.

They're not laughing now that Surjit, Steve and I have moved our Berber forces onto the table in turn one.

However, the Berbers were the first to suffer from some Laurel and Hardy antics!

Lee had created two games in one.  The first was a straight Foreign Legion versus Berbers game, where the Berbers have to cut off the patrol and stop a rescue from the fort.  The winner is determined by points - mostly won from destroying enemy units.

The other game inside a game was card driven.  At the end of each turn two cards were drawn from the deck if the Laurel and Hardy figures contacted a French officer.  The cards either described a slapstick moment, produced an event which could affect a unit, or a Jeanie-Weanie Card.  A heart-broken Hardy joined the Foreign Legion to forget the girl who had recently jilted him.  Only to discover that everyone else in the legion had been jilted by Jeanie-Weanie as well!  If a Jeanie-Weanie card was turned this was added to our heroes' pile.  If they had enough cards at the end, Stan and Ollie could actually be the winners.

This whole idea was very popular and enjoyed by visitors to the table.  Well done Lee.

The Jeanie-Weanie Cards and Event Cards

Legion mounted infantry deploy in the rocky outcrop as the Berber horde advance on them.

After an initial setback the Berber camelry force the mounted infantry back and take control of the centre.

Steve occupies the hill with sharpshooters in order to occupy the legionnaires that are emerging from the fort.

Meanwhile, the French column is coming under increasing pressure.

The Foreign Legion are reduced to defending the walls and some rough ground.  By this time the Berbers have learnt to reduce their losses from rifle fire by throwing out skirmish screens.

Lee makes what Ray considers is a dubious umpiring decision, and replies with a long and loud "wwwwhhhhhaaaaaaaat!

Wave after wave of Berber cavalry is pushing the French back.  Though the mounted infantry still annoy the Berbers in the centre.

However, a ferocious charge by the warriors eliminate the French mounted infantry to a man.  Now they eye up the units deployed from the fort on the right.

The French are looking increasingly exposed as the integrity of their defensive position is slowly undermined by determined cavalry charges.

French units start collapsing and being eliminated under the merciless advance of the Berber cavalry.

The legionnaire units from the fort are wiped out by cavalry and the Berber warriors.  Lee calls it a Berber victory.  It was hard fought and the first half of the game looked tough for the Berbers.  But once the melee tough cavalry were screened from French fire by skirmishers, the tide turned.

Stan and Ollie wandering around the battlefield causing mayhem wherever they went!

This was a lovely looking game, brilliantly organised and put together.  It is no wonder that this was voted Best Demonstration Game.  Well done Lee, thoroughly deserved.

What follows are just a few photos of my favourite other game at Broadside.  A Mexican Revolution game from Shepway Wargamers.  I just thought that it was well-crafted with lovely models, including a couple of great looking planes.

Well, what a splendid day I had with the Rejects at Broadside.  The show was brilliant and very enjoyable.  There was a happy buzz about the place.  Well done to the Milton Hundred Wargames Club.

And a last well done again to Lee for his great game and demonstration of how to put a successful one together - regardless of prize.  The Rejects enjoy doing this exclusive for Broadside and really find pleasure in talking to everyone who visits us.

Now for a day to rest and recover.