Sumerians On Parade

In an effort to upgrade my Impetvs armies to include a two-frame, dice tray at the back of each stand, I pulled all of the 28mm Sumerians from their boxes and set to work.  Having made short work of this little project by adding Warbases' dice trays to the 28mm Sumerian collection, I figured why not take a group photo while they are all out of their boxes?

When lined up across the table, I was surprised at how this project has grown even though new units are only added occasionally.  For a sense of size, each hex is five inches, so the footprint of this display is about three feet square.  Several collections remain to receive this treatment.  Maybe Punic Wars will be next?  First, I need to place another order with Warbases for a restock.

Why lead off with the Sumerian collection for this upgrade?  Well, Nancy is hosting a game day for her social group next Saturday and asked if I was interested in hosting a game.  Since there are men with an interest in history joining, she suggested several rounds of Commands & Colors.  Now, only one person had played a wargame and that was a game of Commands & Colors years ago.  Still, several were interested and willing to give it a try.  Well, the size of the potential participant pool grew, and table space was drawing tight.    

With three tables reserved upstairs, my little game was pushed downstairs into the game room.  A game with a small footprint on my large gaming table was not going to work especially with three or four players interested in playing.  A change of plan was needed.  How about a game to introduce these gamers to tabletop miniatures gaming?  

My choice?  A small four-player, Basic Impetvs game using the Sumerians.  With four, like armies on the table, I figured that after a brief overview and coaching throughout, that we could get through a game in about 90 minutes.  At least the players will get a taste of miniatures wargaming.

Will introducing four non-wargamers to a simple wargame with figures be a bridge too far?  We will see.  Wish me luck.