Wargames To Go

nother smaller episode. Hmm, I should get used to this. Now I'm wrapping up my exploration of Charlemagne the Carolingians: their empire, their renaissance, their script, and their fighting. The Treaty of Verdun. A building block of modern European history, especially for the nation-states of France and Germany. There's just so much here. That is, there's a lot of history here--not that many games, and even fewer films. I don't think there's even that much to still see if you travel to Europe, though it was a bucket-list item to visit Aachen and Charlemagne's capital & cathedral there. I put several games in my geeklist, and some others added more. Although there were only a few, they did enhance my enjoyment and understanding of this topic.    Films Nothing! Other • The Rest is History podcast's series about Charlemagne Books • Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and the Empires of AD 800 (Sypeck) • Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe (Gabriele/Perry) • Strategy & Tactics Quarterly 33: Armies of the Dark Ages (Miranda) Travel While on a recent trip to Germany we saw two particular sites that made a strong impression on me, and I discussed in the podcast episode. • Charlemagne's Palace complex at Aachen (only the Palatine Chapel still remains) -Mark My next topic is going to Ireland, again tying in with a trip I get to take. Now I'll have some great films to include, and I've already been appreciating my dive into that island's complicated 20th century history, not to mention all the other centuries. Here's a geeklist with my preliminary ideas about it.

This is a smaller, almost impromptu episode before I get to my next intended topic. During my last trip, the historic connection I was trying to make was to Charlemagne and his imperial capital at Aachen. That's still coming, both some games and a podcast episode. With that in mind, I'd specifically been trying not to get into more WW2 history while visiting Frankfurt, Cologne, and some places in-between. However, it still came up in the form of social history, the recent decades since 1945. I saw some sites about that, I read a book, saw a film, and wanted to share some thoughts on the podcast. But what about a game? This time I wasn't thinking of traditional military history--I was learning more about socio-political history. Fortunately, since 2014 our hobby has had a perfect game for this topic, Wir sind das Volk. It's a game I appreciated and played a few times when it was new, but its latest incarnation on Rally The Troops has given me many more opportunities to play it. What a rewarding tie-in to my reading and travels.    Besides the game and its specific history, this general topic has me thinking about a political problem that has no easy, let alone perfect solution: how does a defeated opponent, perhaps a guilty nation in a tragic war, ever work its way back into good terms with other nations--its recent foes? To do so quickly & easily ignores the death & suffering that occurred. To extract a painful price over excessive time only contributes to danger of recurrence. Now I know a little of what happened after the World Wars, but what about the American Civil War and other conflicts. If & when I manage to visit Ireland, I believe this is a relevant issue there, too. Is it too challenging of a topic for "games" to handle? Perhaps. But it wasn't so long ago that no one had ideas about how to make a game about Postwar Germany, or the Suffragist Movement in America. Now look where we are! Designers can be more brilliant than we can imagine. Films • Judgment at Nuremberg • Nuremberg • Malta Story Books • Exorcising Hitler: The Occupation and Denazification of Germany (Taylor) • Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 (Judt) • Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945–1955 (Jähner) Travel While on a recent trip to Germany we saw two particular sites that made a strong impression on me, and I discussed in the podcast episode. • Haus de Geschischte Bonn • NS-Documentation Center (the EL-DE Haus), in Cologne/Köln -Mark Charlemagne will be still my next topic. I'm not sure how many games there are about him and this period, but it ties in to my trip to Aachen, I'd like to learn more, and want to take a break from WW2. Here's a geeklist with my preliminary ideas about it.

Join the Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx I'm taking the win. For a while now I've been wishing I could do these episodes more often, study more topics, play more wargames, read more books, see more movies… This time, it worked. I didn't play that many games, but I played a few while digging into a new topic: the American entry into WW2's ETO through Operation Torch. The combined American-British amphibious invasion of the western half of North Africa was something I knew a little about, but—as always happens with me—I learn a lot more through this experience. I learn some more details about what happened, and a lot more context. That's the part of history that I find most fascinating. In this case, the wider context had a lot to do with Vichy France and its colonies. The formation of this new, odd government, who was responsible, how it operated, and America's complicated, troublesome relationship to it. One book really brought that home, but it showed up in everything, including podcasts, movies, and the games themselves (at least somewhat). Films • Patton • The Big Red One • Casablanca Books • When France Fell (Neiberg) • Patton: A Biography (Axelrod) • An Army at Dawn (Atkinson) • No Ordinary Time (Goodwin) Travel No, I didn't make it to Morocco, Algeria, or Tunisia to see this places in-person. That would be amazing. I'd love to see the Atlas Mountains and sunset from there that Churchill insisted that FDR see during their famous conference. The closest I've come is getting to see the US Army Desert Training Center that Patton himself picked out from his knowledge of the American Southwest, and trained troops that would later be part of Operation Torch. To be honest, it's now a pretty run-down place. Clearly the modern army trains elsewhere. Yet it's still an interesting part of history, and what wargamer doesn't enjoy seeing some tired, old tanks? -Mark Charlemagne will be my next topic. I'm not sure how many games there are about him and this period, but it ties in to my trip to Aachen, I'd like to learn more, and want to take a break from WW2. Here's a geeklist with my preliminary ideas about it.

Join the Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx Here's what I wrote last time... Quote: Ok, let's see how my attempt to tackle smaller topics more often actually goes. Can I get out one show/topic per quarter? That's my personal goal for the rest of 2025. Then I'll re-evaluate. FAIL Oh well, it was a noble goal. The reasons I didn't succeed in my goal are boring, so let's skip those. There's always next year, which isn't so far away! In this episode I do manage to bring my Norway topic to a conclusion, by playing not too many more games, but by seeing more films and going to this wonderful country. Like almost all traveling, it was a lovely experience. And like almost all my wargame explorations, I learned quite a lot. That's a win, in my book. Before I get to those games, movies, and travel, however, I use this opportunity to talk about my experience at SDHistCon last month. I'd been to this unique convention once before, and again it was a great experience. One of these days I hope to make it to the Circle DC event on the opposite coast, which sounds equally fantastic.       For Norway, I was fortunate to visit in May, just in time for their national holiday. We arrived in Oslo and spent several days there. That included a side trip to Oscarsborg Fortress (Festning), which was instrumental in slowing down the German invasion and takeover of the capital & country. It's probably no exaggeration to say that the bold action of its commanding officer gave just enough time for the government and royal family to flee Oslo, ultimately forming a government-in-exile rather than one forced to surrender. Not to mention the evacuation of the nation's remaining gold reserves overseas, away from German hands (as happened in other countries). Guns of Oscarsborg Festning that fired across the narrow Oslofjord And here was the fire control room for the fixed torpedo tubes that stopped & sunk the invading Blucher cruiser The fortress museum has a great animated map of the entire event. Even in 2025 you can't always find the same things online. Oslo was an occupied capital for the entire war, and it contains a fantastic resistance museum. It made me think of the different ways countries were occupied, which ones had governments in exile, and other peculiarities. I also learned more about the various coastal raids that the British conducted in occupied Norway throughout the war. Films • Max Manus • The 12th Man • Suicide Mission • The Arctic Convoy • War Sailor • April 9th • Gold Run Outside and inside photos of the Hegra Festning (Fortres) that held out in northern Norway   -Mark For my next topic I'm going to be looking at America's entry into WW2 in Europe, at least in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Here's the geeklist for it.

Join the Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx Ok, let's see how my attempt to tackle smaller topics more often actually goes. Can I get out one show/topic per quarter? That's my personal goal for the rest of 2025. Then I'll re-evaluate. Which brings me to Norway. Literally. In a week's time I'll be vacationing there, and that was a great reason to focus my next wargame podcast on this location. Instead of ALL of Norway's history (like I did for Scotland back in 2023, covering games & movies from the Roman era to the Jacobite Rebellion), I'm focusing just on WW2. In fact, I'm mostly focusing on the events of about a couple months in 1940, when Norway was invaded by Germany. I knew that had happened, but few of the details. Now I understand that Norway defended herself on the battlefield (hampered by late mobilization), the Western allies were fighting there, too, but ultimately the Germans were victorious. Norway was under Nazi occupation for the rest of the entire war. Be sure to check out the Geeklist of games for this topic. But there's more to it than that. The invasion itself was a complex operation of combined arms and logistical planning. The German navy was practically expended in this operation, and the Luftwaffe demonstrated again the new military technology of air superiority. Nevertheless, the strategic prize of the port of Narvik was retaken by the Norwegians and their Allies, Hitler's first significant setback in WW2. However, events back on the continent (the Invasion of France, the Evacuation at Dunkirk) drained the allies away from Norway, allowing the Germans to retake Narvik. There have been games about this strategic battlefield since some early days in the hobby, though not the earliest. At least since Frank Chadwick and GDW's treatment in The Europa Series, the Norwegian setting published in 1974. Over the years other titles have appeared, but this has always remained a lesser-gamed topic, with fewer titles. Fortunately, there are several smaller wargames, as I try to concentrate on for this podcast. There almost always are. Now I've played a few of them, watched some movies, read some articles, and soon will be visiting the actual location. This isn't a military history trip--it's a vacation for my wife & I. That means I won't see everything, but I'll see enough. I always appreciate being in the actual locations where things happened. It just adds to the experience. -Mark Films • The King's Choice • Kampen om Narvik • Nr. 24 • Atlantic Crossing Other • The YouTube channel Historigraph has an outstanding series of animated maps with voiceover narration about the Invasion of Norway

As has happened before, my subject for this podcast episode sort of grew to be larger & more challenging than I was prepared for. As a result, I'm bringing this subject to a "close" before I'm actually finished with the topic. Of course we never really finish a topic in history, but some are more digestible than others. The entire scope of "first contact" between different peoples of the world was not so digestible! Even when limiting it to "New World" interactions in the Americas, it's a never-ending socio-historical challenge. We are still learning, still discovering, still understanding.        I haven't learned everything, but I've learned a lot. It's been rewarding. It's something I will come back to in the future, possibly when there are more sophisticated history games that aid my understanding. That's my hope.   During this exploration, I was on two YouTube shows by other hosts--one was Joe Byer's What Does THAT Piece Do? show, the other Fred Serval's Homo Ludens show. For this "conclusion," Joe returns the favor by coming onto my podcast to discuss the topic some more. This discussion is the first part of the episode, and I hope you enjoy it.          Be sure to check out the Geeklist of games for this topic. Afterward, I continue on by myself to describe the movies, books, and games that were part of my exploration. Then I conclude by sharing my plans to aim for smaller topics, single episodes about each, and hopefully closer to a quarterly schedule. That means the end of one show (this one) will include a look ahead for what the next one will focus upon. This time, you'll hear me wrap up with some plans for learning about the German invasion of Norway in WW2. I've already got a geeklist with some games listed, and I've recently watched Number 24 on Netflix about the Norwegian Resistance. Pretty soon I've got a vacation planned to Norway where I may learn some more, too.       I have a geeklist for this Norwegian topic, too. -Mark

Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx 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 Geeklist of games for this topic. For a few years, I just avoided the topic. However, I know that I have a lot to learn, and this could be my opportunity to do so. Once I read a couple recommended books and had wargame youtuber Joe Byer agree to partner with me, that was enough to dive into the topic. A key modification was my attempt to shift the focus to "first contact" between the Old World and the New. As early as it was, that's not really what's happening in any games about Cortes or Pizarro. In fact, almost ALL of the games in my episode geeklist are actually depicting armed conflict that occurred several years or even a full human generation after first contact. Oh well, that's the limitation of the hobby, at least as it currently stands. Some of the books (and a couple of the movies) do a better job with "first contact."   Bluesky link YouTube playlist However, like everything in history, it's all connected. Learning about what happened with the conquistadors or King Philip's War in New England inevitably requires you to back up in order to understand the context. That can back the story up to first contact. It does in the literature...can wargames (or more properly history games) be far behind? I'm seeing new designers, publishers, and perspectives enter the hobby, giving me some hope about that. Also check out Joe Byer's YouTube show, What Does That Piece Do? where he & I discussed this topic. As well as a Teach & Play video I did with Fred Serval for one of these games on his Homo Ludens youtube channel. In this introductory episode, I explain why I'm interested in the topic, what game titles I've found so far, and something about the books and movies that are relevant. As you'll see (and hear), I'm willing to really stretch the definitions of First Contact in order to bring in some movies. After all, this podcast has always been a "multi-media" exploration. I wouldn't have been brave enough to include the science fiction film Prey on my list, but after talking with some Native American friends at work I'm emboldened to channel their own enthusiasm for a wider depiction of their culture and topics in films. So why not?   What's next for this podcast? Well, I'm going to take a delicate dive into the challenging topic of anthropological "first contact" in history games. As much as possible, I want to explore what happened when Europeans & the indigenous people of the New World first encountered each other. I don't really mean the Indian Wars of the plains. Instead, I'm after what happened when the first ships arrived and people "discovered" each other. This is an area where history games and wargames have not made much progress, but that's also why the subject is interesting. -Mark

Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx [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 for a while. That's enjoyable, but since I don't notch wargame opportunities and completions frequently, it means these subjects take me a while. Since I'm eager to explore other topics, too, eventually I have to move along. However, just as with Vietnam, Waterloo, or Market-Garden, I will have learned so much that it will be easier to dabble with similar wargames (or even return to some favorites) in the future.         For this topic, I used my vacation to Scotland last September to prompt a lot of learning about that country's military history. Though I should say it wasn't limited to when Scotland was a country—-there's a lot of history when it was a kingdom, and also earlier when it was tribal territory. Part of the joy was beginning to understand this history in more of its rich complexity than I understood from watching Braveheart alone. ;-) Since I'd already dabbled in the War for Scottish Independence, with William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and a couple King Edwards . . . plus the early history of Roman expansion against the Caledonians, the major chapter in his history that still remained were the Jacobite rebellions. There are movies and wargames about this period, but not as many as might be expected. I'd seen the interesting faux documentary Culloden earlier, and this time I watched Rob Roy. There are a few films and other stories about this legendary+historic figure. The more recent (1990s) film with Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, and Tim Roth does not make for accurate history, but it's a decent film that can get someone like me reading about the real history of this person. As much as we can untangle, anyway.     What's next for this podcast? Well, I'm going to take a delicate dive into the challenging topic of anthropological "first contact" in history games. As much as possible, I want to explore what happened when Europeans & the indigenous people of the New World first encountered each other. I don't really mean the Indian Wars of the plains. Instead, I'm after what happened when the first ships arrived and people "discovered" each other. This is an area where history games and wargames have not made much progress, but that's also why the subject is interesting. -Mark

Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx 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 Hadrian's Wall up there. Of course, there's much more. Not only did I confirm the Roman-Caledonian history and learn more about Robert the Bruce or Bonnie Prince Charlie, I naturally uncovered a lot more detail in those conflicts...plus many others that fill the centuries between the parts I knew. Not all of them are depicted extensively in wargaming, but often at least a scenario in Ancient Battles Deluxe, as well as informative YouTube animations. In this episode I give some general impressions & observations about some of the game systems I played, notably Men of Iron, Ancients/Ancient Battles Deluxe, Commands & Colors, plus a standalone game about Bannockburn/Stirling/Falkirk. There are movies worth mentioning, and a few more games or scenarios to try. This is all expected to wrap up fairly quickly. Later this week I'm going to GMT's Weekend at the Warehouse, and there I'll get in a game or two to be discussed on the next podcast...along with a general report on the GMT event.   -Mark

Come join the new Wargames To Go (and Boardgames To Go) discord server https://discord.gg/vxEG9bMPdx 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 them in roughly descending order of their wargame bona fides. So the first ones are the most traditionally wargame-y, followed by more & more titles that go from consims to general history games, ultimately finishing with a few light euro-style boardgames. The first game discussed happens to the one that connects to my current exploration on this podcast, the Wars of Scotland. Border Reivers is a game I could only experience at a convention, so I seized the opportunity. The next Wargames To Go podcast should have a lot more Scotland in it, some of those films I mentioned, and is expected to wrap up this topic. Then it will be time to look ahead to the next one. I've got some ideas. Thanks to the entire SDHist board that makes this event happen. Harold Buchanon may be the visible face of the organization, but I know he'd want to point out over a dozen board members, plus other advisors, that make it all work. Harold & I are getting a demo of Night Witches from designers Liz Davidson and David Thompson My new favorite Canadian, podcaster Grant Linneberg from Pushing Cardboard Another demo, this of Molly House. I'm there with Dan Thurot, Drew Wehrle, Alex Knight, Dan Bulloch, and Meeple Lady -Mark