Weather has been very pleasant on the Palouse of late. Mother's Day this past Sunday was no exception. As if on cue, the pair of flowering crabapples in the backyard were in full bloom on Mother's Day.
 |
| Flowering crabapple trees in bloom. |
The festivities started off with a bang as Kevin hosted a massive Waterloo game in 10mm on Saturday. The game saw six players gathering to refight Waterloo and celebrate our host Kevin's birthday. More 10mm WoFun figures than I could count were jam-packed onto a 12' x 6' foot table. The battle began mid-morning, saw a break for a bratwurst lunch, and then a conclusion to the game by mid-afternoon. My French came away with a convincing victory as the Allied center was broken and their right turned. Good fun!
 |
| Kevin setting the table. |
 |
| I commanded Reille in the French Center. |
 |
| Generals pondering their next moves. |
 |
| Lower Spokane Falls. |
 |
| South channel of Upper Spokane Falls. |
 |
| Rocks of Sharon "Big Rock" |
 |
| Battle of Bassignana 1745 |
Next time, maybe some freshly painted figures? Sumerians, anyone?
That Waterloo game looks very impressive! Great to see you and Nancy getting out and about. Here we had a lovely week of weather, but now it has turned cool and unsettled again. I'm told Summer will come at some point! Looking forward to seeing how Bassignana plays out:).
ReplyDeleteSteve, the Waterloo game was impressive with big blocks of figures and played on a square grid. I hope you do see summer at some point this year!
DeleteThat's a massive Waterloo game indeed! Very uplifting outdoor shots, that river is majestic. Your table for the 1745 Battle of Bassignana is equally impressive too, look forward to seeing it played out
ReplyDeleteThanks, Phil! I look forward to seeing how Bassignana goes down on Thursday.
DeleteThose crabapple trees look great in full bloom. An impressive Waterloo table, and I'll look forward to the first AAR for Bassignana. Six players? My guess is the Rejects.
ReplyDeleteBassignana's six players see no Rejects. Thursday's game is a melding of two different groups. Perhaps I can convince the Rejects to take a stab at this game?
DeleteThat Waterloo game looks very impressive. You are also lucky to be surrounded by such beautiful countryside
ReplyDeleteThe Waterloo game was impressive with troops stacked up everywhere. I agree that this is a beautiful part of the world in which to call home. Well, at least we enjoy it!
DeleteGreat photos - enjoyed the tour very much! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Tony!
DeleteCongrats on reversing history Jon...where were the Prussians?!
ReplyDeleteLovely scenery as always too
The battle was won before the Prussians could show up to spoil the fun.
DeleteLovely scenery. The falls look good - not angry and swollen but with a powerful flow. Not sure about Waterloo - "so many figures but it's got no soul" as Gerry Rafferty might have said. But that's not to belittle Kevin's achievement in getting it together and delivering a result with six players in a day, including bratwurst.
ReplyDeleteWith Waterloo, there really was no room for maneuvering. Does that equate to no soul? Perhaps, but is this any different from many Ancients battles where the two armies lined up and went straight at each other?
DeleteFor Reille's command, it was advancing straight forward and into the wall of British.
Dense blocks of figures on a gridded terrain is probably more of the issue. Napoleonic isn't my thing but it redeems itself with its colour and it is missing for me there. Sorry guys, because I'm sure it was a great game to be in. BTW, my crabapple is in bloom but it is white/pink. Are all US ones red or just yours?
DeleteAnthony, I agree about the look of the contrasting color, gridded table. The presentation is a bit stark for me too. Masses of 10mm figures tend to contribute to the loss of visual impact not helped by the WoFun 2D figures. Still, the game was enjoyable and the French saw victory. I can only speak of my own crabapple. The blossoms are initially red but quickly fade to pink.
DeleteOur crabapple tree here in New Hampshire is just coming out in leaves and blossom buds--so we're lagging this year. Nice, well rounded range of activities (a day of brats and minis having equal precedence among them). I hope you didn't ruin it all by mowing the lawn, too (if so, thanks for leaving that out).
ReplyDeleteEd, your crabapple bloom timeframe is usually not too different from ours on the other coast. You must have a very long winter. The mowing of the lawn was yesterday...
DeleteGreat sounding game and nice photos I look forward to the 18th century and your Sumerians equally!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain caveadsum1471
Thanks, Iain!
DeleteMajestic photos all around. It's great to live near such spectacular nature.
ReplyDeleteIt is great living surrounded by beautiful countryside.
DeletePlenty of action on the Palouse!
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
Deletethat is quite a lot of wofun figures indeed. Seens like a very economical way to get a decent looking LARGE battle to the table.
ReplyDeleteglad you weren't eaten by wild dogs from being outside so much.
A lot of WoFun, indeed! WoFun figures are a good way to lower the barriers to entry when a gamer has neither time nor inclination to paint. There were many dogs on the hike but all on leash.
DeleteThat is a very impressive Wofun collection, never seen one that large before, very impressive. Lovely scenery from your bike trip, looks stunning.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen that large of a collection either. Impressive sight, isn't it?
DeleteThe Waterloo game looked immense.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos of your bike and hike.
There were many, many 10mm figures out on this Waterloo table. Glad you enjoyed the photos!
DeleteFantastic looking game Jonathan. Kevin did a great job in assembling all those figures.
ReplyDeleteWhen you said you were going to the Rocks of Sharon, in my mind this converted to Tolkien's Rocks of Sauron 😂 Which is why the concrete bridge in the picture looks vaguely Middle Earth Dwarven to me 😂
Wonderful scenery around you, you have chosen a great place to live.
Good luck with the new game and I look forward to the reports.
Kevin has amassed huge Waterloo armies, no doubt. The plan is to give the battle another run-out in a week or two. Not Sauron but Sharon. We joke the the rock formation should be renamed from “Rocks of Sharon” to “Sharon’s Stones”…
DeleteI hope for a smooth running and enjoyable first battle on Thursday. I may need some luck.
Game looking great but that outside photos! Beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michal! Both falls and rocks are within six miles of the house.
DeleteReally enjoyed seeing your outings photos. So handy having such places nearby.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s not to like about Sumerians I say! When I go to the British Museum l always pop up to the Sumerian bit, l find it fascinating.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/mesopotamia
Alan Tradgardland
Thanks, Alan, and thank you for the museum link.
DeleteTime to venture outside once again, still so so here.
ReplyDeleteTime to venture out again!
DeleteIt's nice to see the river has not run out of water yet. Very nice scenery in the climb. Beautiful weather and views The Waterloo game becomes impressive, that's a lot of troops and looks great. Sometimes forward is the only way out. Glad it was fun.
ReplyDeleteRiver is not out of water yet although the mountain snowpack was less than in a normal year due to El Niño. Seeing the Waterloo table upon arrival was an impressive sight, indeed! Vorwarts! Whoops, wrong army.
DeleteYou live in a lovely neck of the woods matey. Always nice to have a few shots of the countryside around you. No wonder you get out and about so much.
ReplyDeleteI only pick the best parts to share…
DeleteA beautiful location and great weather.
ReplyDeleteLove the big Waterloo game. Very inspiring!
Thanks, Lee!
DeleteGreat stuff Jon the Waterloo battle does look packed !
ReplyDeleteThanks! The table certainly was packed to the gills.
Delete