Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast (Yarkshire Gamer)

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to the first, long form "normal" Podcast for a while and todays guest is Andy Johnson.

Andy was born in York which gets a big tick in a box on this show ! and in the first part of the show we chat about Andys Wargaming life and the old Little Soldier Shop on Gillygate in his home town.

Section 2 covers Andys extensive military career in the Coldstream Guards and how wargaming was used as a learning tool throughout his service.

Its then the usual quiz etc before we move on to talk about Andys books and his Utube Channel "Brave Men Died Here".

I really enjoyed reading my guests books and they are highly recommended.

Books avaliable via the link below

Amazon.co.uk: Andy Johnson: books, biography, latest update

YouTube Channel is here

Brave Men Died Here UK - YouTube

Back in a couple of weeks when I hope to be interviewing Lorenzo Sartori editor of the Italian Wargaming Magazine Dadi & Piombo 

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to Episode 34 of The Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast and hopefully the first of 3 December 2022 Episodes.

Today I am talking about the ultimate Napoleonic Wargame, Leipzig. Somewhat overshadowed in the UK by Waterloo but the numbers of troops and casualties are eye-watering and subsequently the number of figures needed to play this game are like wise not for the faint hearted.

But before we get into the Big Topic I chat with my guest Rohan Saravanamuttu about his wargaming history, his thoughts on Big Battles and of course he takes part in the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz.

In addition to the Quiz, there's a great wargame pet hate locked away in Wargames Room 101 and a new Desert Island Wargame feature.

We then move onto refighting Leipzig and Rohans new book published via Helion called Leipzig The Battle of the Nations - A Wargaming Guide and take a deep dive into his process for writing the book, his choice of contents and of course the contents.

The book can be bought directly from Helion on the link below

https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/leipzig-the-battle-of-nations-a-wargamers-guide-to-the-battle-of-leipzig-1813.php?sid=7aac49ae287b74b473de898037d4420e

If you fancy seeing more of the book I did a flickthrough review on my Utubes Channel 

https://youtu.be/D_J1Kv5Ll0c

Next episode will feature the wonderful Henry Hyde who is relatively new to the hobby 😆 so I'm sure you'll give him a Reet Big Yarkshire welcome. That should be out in 10 days to a couple of weeks.

So until then Sithee 

Regards Ken 

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Hello everyone,

A bit of an unexpected release today for a bit of an unexpected event.

You will remember that award that I was asking people to nominate me for ? Well the Podcast only went and won the thing ! After just over a year on air and with lots of quality competition its not a bad effort to walk away with the winners spot.

I just wanted to put together a quick episode to say thanks to everyone who voted for the channel and give a quick whistle stop tour of the short history of Yarkshire Gamer, its only 20 mins long so don't get too comfortable.

Expect a branded range of round dice in celebration.

The Award Ceremony can be seen here,

https://youtu.be/I1tB54NYQeE

If you don't follow the Podcast yet, get thissen down to the link below and give us a follow, Its FREE !

Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast (podbean.com)

Back to regular programming with a new episode next Friday.

Until then

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to Episode 47 of the Podcast and this time we take a look at one of my  favourite Wargaming niches, that is Naval Wargaming.

And to help me on that journey I have press ganged David Manley to guide us through a minefield of turning circles, broadside markers and wind gauges.

David has been involved in Naval Wargaming most of his life, inspired by his fathers service in The Royal Navy in WW2, he has gone on to a career in Naval Ship design and currently uses wargaming within his course content at UCL.

If its Ancient Galleys, Ships of the Line, Pre and Post Dreadnoughts or Nuclear Powered Carriers, David has written a set of rules for them or desigend a 3d ship for them so who better to help us get our feet wet.

David's rules and 3d ships can be found on the link below,

https://www.wargamevault.com/browse.php?author=David%20Manley

Sit back and enjoy our chat about all things Naval.

The next episode will be out in 10 days, its already recorded. I will be speaking with Peter Thompson who is the owner of Pro Arte, The manufacturer and supplier of paint brushes to Yarkshire Gamer (and a few others !) for over 40 years.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Hi everyone.

No surprises with the content of this episode as I present the second part of my interview with Nick Jellicoe. In the first part we covered a lot of the background to the battle and the characters involved.

In this part of the interview we look in detail at the battle itself, going through each of the major phases of the action at Jutland. We then finish the show off with a quick look at John Jellicoe after the Battle.

The two episodes weigh in at just over 4 hours and I have to say I enjoyed every minute of each one. I would like to thank Nick for being so generous with his time and hopefully you enjoyed our chat as well.

Next episode will feature Joe Bilton, Joe is one of the leading terrain makers out there and his recent Stalingrad table at Salute was a joy to see. As some one who often shies away from that side of the hobby from both an enthusiasm and talent perspective it will be great to hear from Joe on how he gets excited over some grass tufts and a bit of scatter !

So until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Welcome to the latest episode of the Podcast with my two guests Richard Marsh and Colin Rumford who are responsible for one of the most popular sets of WW2 rules available - Rapid Fire.

First released in 1994 and supported by many subsequent Supplements, Campaign and Scenario Books the rules have gone through a recent update with Rapid Fire Reloaded, a chartless version of the orginal rules.

It's a long episode but with two guests that's always the way as we go through the regular features with each guest, eventually after a couple of hours we get round to actually talking about the rules ! But this isn't a short form Podcast after all it's just as much about getting to know the guests as it is the main topic.

The Rapid Fire website where you can obtain all the various books is

https://www.rapid-fire-uk.com/

Hope you enjoy the episode, next up I hope will be another Historian style show with Nick Jellicoe where we will be discussing the Battle of Jutland.

Until then Sithee

Regards Ken 

Its that time of year again where the gang meet up in our terrace bin yard to chew the fat on the hobby in general.

Today I'm joined by regular guests Alex Sotheran from Storm of Steel and Iain McDonald from Flags of War, we have a quick catch up whilst Alex saves up the money for his internet connection before he tells us how he became the "face" of Warlord Games.

Its then time for the panel to ratify the recent entries into Wargames Room 101 before moving on to draw Rounds 1 and 2 of the World Cup of Historical Wargames Miniature Manufacturers and yes the Perrys are in it !

We then finish of with the usual #askournora listeners questions where we discuss weighty topics like which pizza topping we would be.

Hope you enjoy, as always with these shows they are not for the faint hearted and best listened to in a darkened cellar with soundproofing.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

In this Episode I talk to the owner of The Wargames Holiday Centre, Mark Freeth.

Originally started in Gods Own County by Legend of the hobby Peter Gilder, the WHC stayed in Yorkshire for many years until it moved somewhere south of Sheffield. 

I catch up with Mark on the history of the centre and how it has thrived in its new home near Basingstoke. With in excess of 40,000 mainly 28mm figures the games are a joy to behold and the Centre gives everyone the opportunity to play in a BIG GAME.

A great fun interview with a modern gaming great who is keeping that old school BIG GAME flame alive.

Interested in whats going on at the WHC, why not try out their website.

https://www.wargameshc.co.uk/ 

Hope you enjoy this one, I did. Show your appreciation by giving the Podcast a follow on Podbean.

Regards Ken

If you have recovered from the first part (Episode 26 Crack on Lad) then its time to conclude my marathon chat with Martin and Ste from The Plastic Crack Podcast.

This is the normal final section on the show and we chat with the guys about their own Utubes channels, their accidental arrival on the show and how they are still technically squatting !

We discuss the musical merits of Jazz as a background to videos and the typical Wargamers timeline going from Project to Collection to Obsession and finally Divorce.

Its a one hit show without the normal breaks so if your of a certain age you might want to visit the loo first before pressing play.

Thanks again to my guests, Martin from 7th Son

7th Son - YouTube

and Ste from On Point HQ

On Point HQ - YouTube

The next episode will hopefully be a Brews in the Binyard Summer Special, stay tuned !

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to Episode 18 and today we have saved on jet fuel and stayed in North America for todays guest who is Curt Campbell.

Curt lives in Canada and has an excellent Hobby Blog called Analogue Hobbies.

Analogue Hobbies (analogue-hobbies.blogspot.com)

Each year for the last 12 years Curt has run a Painting Challenge over the Northern Hemisphere Winter Months (20 Dec to 20 Mar). Painters from all over the world have gathered together in a virtual Art Studio every year to encourage each other to make an big hole in their Lead (and plastic) mountains. The web page for the Challenge is below.

The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com)

As always the chat is full of the usual features, the Big Game chat, the Quiz and the new feature Wargames Room 101 gets a new entry.

If you enjoy these Podcasts then why not nominate it for the Little Wars TV Caesar Awards, it would be great to grab a nomination in the Podcasts first year. Link to nominations is below.

Caesar Awards - Home

I hope to have a couple of episodes out in December so stay tuned, until then

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

This episode as previously stated will be something a bit different as I move away, just for a short while, from the usual tried and tested format.

Todays guest is Nick Schofield and although Nick had a brief dabble with wargaming when he was younger he hasn't rolled a dice for many years.

My guest works in the church and has studied in Rome so there is no wonder that he has gained an interest in looking at the British and Irish Volunteers in the Papal Army during the 1860s.

So with my first ever non-wargaming guest I have shifted things around a bit so regular listeners will notice that the tried and tested format has been put aside for this one episode.

I chat with Nick about his background and his wargaming experiences before moving onto the history of the St Patricks Battalion and the Papal Zouaves using his book Victorian Crusaders, published by Helion as my guide.

It was a great chat with Nick, he's very engaging and clearly knows his stuff and it was lovely for me to talk to someone about a subject I am very interested in as well as stepping outside the comfort zone of my regular format, its definitely something I will do again in the future.

Nicks book is available from Helion direct and also from many other book sellers, link below

Victorian Crusaders | From Musket to Maxim 1815-1914 | Helion & Company

Hope you enjoy this little excursion from the Wargames path and I will see you in 3 weeks time for another episode.

Until then Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

25 episodes done ! and for this, Yarkshire Gamers Silver Jubilee I have gone back into the mists of time.

My guest Stephen Barker is not only a Historian, Author and Battlefield Guide he is one of my oldest Wargaming friends. So if you want to hear a couple of old chums, being all misty eyed, talking about their Big Game origins, this is the episode for you.

Stephen has been away from Wargaming for quite some time now and it was interesting to chat with him about his observations on the hobby after a lengthy gap and how he is enjoying his rebirth into the hobby. We had met up at the Partizan Show (May 2022) the day before our recording and that influenced the conversation and was a good reference point for our chat about the state of the hobby today. 

We come back to earth with the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz and Wargames Room 101, listen as another pet hate is banished to the Wargames Tip !

The usual Big Topic Chat at the end of the show covers a number of topics. Stephen runs a number of Battlefield Tours around the Oxford area featuring the English Civil War and The Great War covering both general histories and Battlefield Tours of Edgehill, Naseby and Cropredy Bridge. Walking these hallowed fields is a topic we haven't covered before on this Podcast so it was great to get an insight behind the scenes.

Stephen has also brought out a couple of books, his first a history of the 8th East Lancs Battalion brings to life on of those short lived units of the 1st World War.

Lancashire's Forgotten Heroes, 8th (Service) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment in the Great War: Amazon.co.uk: Stephen Barker, Christopher Boardman: 9780752448121: Books

Then finally after a couple of hours of chat we get to the title of the episode. The Flying Sikh is the title of my guests new book which has just been released. It tells the fascinating story of the only Sikh airman to fly with the RAF/RFC during the First World War. We discuss the origins of the book and get some tasters of this unique story. The book is published by Pen and Sword and can be purchased via the link below,

Pen and Sword Books: The Flying Sikh - Hardback (pen-and-sword.co.uk)

I hope you enjoy my chat with Stephen, it explains a lot about my own Big Game obsession. I plan to be back in a couple of weeks time with the other half of the Plastic Crack Pod Cast, Martin (7th Son) and Ste (On Point HQ) will be my guests.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Episode 9 is my first face to face interview with a guest, everything being previously done on Zoom.

Peter Morbey has been running Elite Miniatures since 1985, the company is still going strong constantly producing new figures and expanding the existing ranges of miniatures.

I was very kindly invited across to Elite HQ (still in Yarkshire) and using my new Zoom H1n Voice Recorder had had a chat and a brew with Pete about all things Big Game.

If you haven't seen Elites ranges before make sure you pop down to their website and have a browse, the new Collectors Series stuff is absolutely superb.

http://www.eliteminiatures.co.uk/

Thanks again for listening and if you haven't already give the Podcast a follow.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Todays guest is well known within the Wargames World for being Mr 6mm, but there is a lot more to Pete Berry than that.

Its a great chance to discuss his wargaming background and a love of Big Games going back to huge games using 15mm Medievals and classic old school Napoleonic Plastics.

Forlorn Hope are still a big favourite set of rules for ECW here at Yarkshire Gamer, written by Pete back in the 80s its great to discuss the rules and how they have survived over time, his interest in the period and how renactment of the period influenced his rules development.

There is of course a chance to chat about the 6mm - 28mm "divide" and how many of the myths around 6mm gaming and 28mm Big Gaming actually aren't that different.

We take a trip into the features section with the quiz and a great entry into Wargames Room 101 before moving on to talk about Baccus Miniatures and the 6mm focused show that is The Joy of Six.

You can look at the Baccus range on their website below,

Baccus 6mm

and get some details about the show below,

Joy of Six (joysofsix.co.uk)

My next guest is hopefully Mark Hides who runs a Professional Painting Service, Conflict in Colour. As well as that Mark is an author who runs a great blog. We will also go all gooey eyed over the old Sheffield Triples show, still, for me, the greatest Wargames Show ever.

Until next time,

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 10 sees me one again, crossing time zones and continents as we tick off Kentucky USA from our World Tour of Wargaming.

I had to name this episode as a homage to the Knife quote in the first Crocodile Dundee film, if you think you are a big gamer or you think I am mad saying a 6ft table is a small table then the games John does might just change your perspective.

We chat and cover many topics as usual, including some you might not be expecting, US Heathcare and the boring nature of the names of UK Wargames clubs are just two thinks you had no idea you wanted to hear about.

Its another long one but John and I enjoyed our chat and its always a shame to cut things out.

John put on a 72ft long game based on the WW2 Market Garden Operation (yes that's 72 feet) in 54mm so he knows his larger games.

Check out John Battlebrush Lander on Facebook for details of his Painting Commission service.

https://www.facebook.com/thebattle.brush.1

Thanks again for listening, give the podcast a follow on Podbean and I'll see you in two weeks for the next one.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

In this episode I talk with another Big Game proponent, Colin Ashton. Before the interview begins I talk about my plans for the future of the Podcast.

Colin runs the Carryings on up the Dale website and owns a number of huge collections of figures in 28mm. 

In what is now a regular format, I talk to Colin about his background in wargaming before discussing The Big Game and his experience with them.

Its then onto the Yarkshire Gamer quiz, our guest has links to that lot over the hill so he was always going to fall short of a full house !

Its then onto the topic as we discuss how Colin has kept gaming, in his home gaming room via the internet during lockdown. He talks about how these games have been run and more impressively how he has kept them Big. We discuss how remote gaming is likely to stay with us in some fashion once freedom returns.

The winner of Dr Chris Browns Arnhem Book from the previous episode is B5PUP so if that's you get in touch via the messages below.

Colins Website can be accessed via the link below, pop along its well worth a look.

https://www.carryingsonupthedale.com/

I'll Sithee in a couple of weeks for Episode 5.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 8 sees me going a long way south of Sheffield, in fact we've gone as far as Cape Town in South Africa.

Simon Hall is a self confessed Big Gamer who also has had a very successful time writing rules, initially as one of the team on Fields of Glory before more recently publishing his own set of Ancient / Medieval rules Mortem at Gloriam.

Over the course of the show we cover many topics, Simon admits to owning over 60,000 figures and claims not to me mostly a collector on the Venn Diagram of Wargaming. We discuss Wargames skills in business (something I touched on in the last episode with Nick Skinner).

The Big Game section covers some great huge games from my guests past, a WW2 Normandy landing on a 30ft square Judo Mat and a huge WW2 Eastern Front game where the Russian and German Commanders were locked in a room with only a phone for communication !

For a lad from "that place over the hill" (Simon was born in Burnley) he does pretty well on the quiz and despite his protestations that the final mark should be out of 19, he got 75% from 20.

For the Big Topic I talk to Simon about his Mortem et Gloriam rule set, although they appear Competition Based as many Ancient style rules do, I chat with Simon about how they were developed for Big Games and go through a couple of the most interesting mechanisms in the set. If I sound like a fan boy its because I like the rules. Dont worry as a Yarkshireman if I didn't I'd tell thee !

Mortem et Gloriam is avaliable from the site below and other major gaming retailers,

https://www.theplasticsoldiercompany.co.uk/shop/rulesets/mortem-et-gloriam-rules/

The next episode should see me go on the Road for a trip to the Big Game Figure Manufacturing Legend that is Elite Miniatures.

Sithee

Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

This episode we are back to the usual interview format and my guest is Iain McDonald who runs the company Flags of War.

Just like it says on the tin Iain supplies a huge range of 28mm flags from right across the span of history to wargamers throughout the world.

If that wasn't enough on top of a full time job and a family Iain has branched out into producing 28mm figures. Starting with figures covering the Gangs of New York inspired by the Warriors movie. He has moved on to cover the Jacobite Rebellions and has one of the most complete ranges available for that period. 

Iain produces figures for periods he loves himself and that clearly shows, he has ranges of War of the Austrian Succession and The Border Reivers in the pipeline.

But as with all my guests we don't just talk shop, we cover Iains wargames history, cover the Venn Diagram of Wargaming and of course have a bit of Big Game Chat.

The Quiz breaks down into a discussion about Fish and Chips whilst we get another successful entry into Wargames Room 101.

Iain was a great guest and its always great to hear from enthusiastic people who run smaller companies for the love of the hobby. 

Flags of War can be found at,

Flags of War

Thanks for listening and if you haven't already please subscribe to the Podcast (it's free) it helps to increase the profile of the show to a wider audience.

I hope to be speaking with my old friend, Historian, Author, Battlefield Guide and Wargamer Stephen Barker in the next Episode.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

In this Episode I talk to long time friend Richard Harris, Richard is a long time gamer who will be familiar with many on the Wargames show circuit taking Big Games around the UK show circuit over the years.

Richard now runs Legendary Wargames with fellow gamer Andy Lawson. They specialise in big (and I mean big) Wargame Holidays, with a specifically built Lodge containing an initiative table set up and thousands of 28mm figures.

We discuss Richards entry into the hobby in a mere 4 minutes before discussing Big Games in general, tackling the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz before discussing Legendary Wargames.

Legendary Wargames can be found on the link below

https://legendarywargames.com/ 

After having a host of newcomers on the Podcast, it was time for a member of the gaming Glitterati and who better than todays guest.

The John Lennon to Rich Clarkes Paul McCartney, the slayer of Black Puddings and Judger of Breakfasts, the one and only Nick Skinner.

In between talking about Cricket and Avocados we did manage to occasionally discuss wargaming.

Nick does a great effort at the 4 minute challenge, we chat about his entry into rule writing and his thoughts on the big game.

After a dip into the wacky world of the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz we discuss the ruleset for WW1 in the East (Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Palestine) in which we both have a family interest.

We end up chatting about Big Game rule writing before Nick corners me on my one Skirmish game, The Sweeney.

A bit longer than usual but I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

If the Lord Spares Us can be bought direct from TooFatLardies on the link below,

https://toofatlardies.co.uk/product/if-the-lord-spares-us/

Thanks for listening, if you haven't already give the Podcast a follow so you don't miss and episode, see you in 2 weeks for another Episode.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Less than a week on from the first instalment of my interview with Hobby Legend Henry Hyde comes the "conclusion".

Regular listeners will notice that this show starts with the usual 3rd part of the Podcast, the features section so you will get to hear Henry answer the Avocado Question and are round dice still universally banned !

Its then onto Wargames Room 101 and Desert Island Wargame for some more great chat.

The final Big Topic ended up being a bit of a Podcaster Love In, as I chat to Henry about the origins of his Battlechat series. Even after around 4 hours of recording I still had a bunch of stuff I wanted to cover with Henry, some of it pretty weighty but at the end of the show we talk about how important it is to talk about these subjects. I hope to have Henry back on in the new year to go into more detail.

All of Henrys content can be accessed via his website

Battlegames – Wargaming content from Henry Hyde, Creator of Battlegames on Patreon

Next up I hope to have the "traditional" (well we've done it twice) Xmas Brews in the Binyard Xmas Special out a few days before Xmas, so until then,

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

After last episodes Paintbrush Geek Out its time to return to the regular format of the show with one of the hobbies premier rule writers.

Dave Brown broke into the world of wargames rules with his Napoleonic set General de Brigade and since then has developed successful sets of rules in both WW2 and the ACW, with other taking forward the basic system into the AWI, Seven Years War and late 19th Century Europe.

Dave has recently joined forces with the toofatlardies to reinvigorate his earlier rules and we now have another holy trinity of O Group, Pickett's Charge and General de Armee.

We cover all the usual sections and have a good laugh through the quiz and Wargames Room 101.

We have a quick chat about the forthcoming GdeA2 but mostly its me asking him how long it took to think of the name.

Its a long one, over 3 hours so make sure you have a couple of pints of milk in so you can keep the brews coming !

Next episode will be my Golden Jubilee so I will be having special guests Nick Skinner and Rich Clarke on to celebrate their remarkable achievement of getting two rule sets in the final of the recent World Cup of Wargames Rules.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to the Podcast within a Podcast, yes it's time for another Brews in the Binyard Episodes with the regular gang, Sean Clark of Gods Own Scale and Alex Sotheran of Storm of Steel Utubes.

As regular listeners will know this is very different from the usual Episodes and is a lot more free form. Imagine three mates talking down the pub about a hobby that they love and you won't be far off the end result.

The first part of the show sees Alex and Sean finally evicted from the cellar whilst Sean has a confession to make when it comes to his latest hobby purchase. At the end of this section the boys complete the draw for the Yarkshire Gamer World Cup of Historical Wargames Rules, which was actually quite exciting 😀 

Part 2 has the team acting in their capacity as adjudicators of entries into Wargames Room 101 before adding our own (obviously deadly serious) take on the Mid Winter Minis incident a few weeks ago.

Then, in Part 3 its time for the listeners questions in the #AskOurNora section.

I love making these Brews episodes, I hope you enjoy listening to them.

Next up will be David Manley an experienced rule writer and font of knowledge on all things Naval Wargaming.

Until then, Sithee 

Regards Ken 

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Today my guest is Dr Chris Brown, author, historian and of course Wargamer. Chris is an expert in Scottish Medieval History and the Arnhem Campaign of WW2 and has many books in print on both subjects.

We covered many topics and it was fascinating to hear a Historians perspective on our hobby. Not afraid to speak his mind his review of the film Braveheart during the Podcast is worth the entry fee alone !

Chris runs two Facebook pages one, S.P.I.T (Stupid Projects in 28mm) covering the Big Games he plays. He has the perfect home set up with a table in his living room and his wife, Pat is an avid wargamer too, now that is a perfect set up.

Dr Brown will (Covid permitting) be running a big game event in Arnhem itself over the anniversary weekend and we cover all the details of that event.

Chris has also very kindly donated one of his books which I will be giving away, details at the end of the Podcast.

Remember Go Big or Go Home

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to the first Podcast of 2024, it always seems to take me a while to get started again in the New Year, but at least I managed to get an episode out i January this time around.

Today my guest is the author of the blog Shed Wars, Giles Shapley who is also known by his nom de plume "Eric the Shed".

Shed Wars was and remains one of the staple Wargaming Blogs and it continues to be regularly updated (unlike some, yes I mean you Yarkshire Gamer !) with the gaming adventures of Giles and his friends.

In recent months the Shed has relocated to a more rural location outside the M25 and Giles has converted on of the buildings on the land he bought into a new improved version of the Shed. Plans are afoot to get on site accommodation so you can stay and play.

All the usual features are here, so sit back and enjoy nearly three hours of Wargames Chat.

The Shed Wars Blog is here

Shed Wars

And details of The Shed Wars Experience

The Shed Wars Experience

I'm in the process of organising recording of the next episode so I'm not able to announce my next guest but expect 2 episodes in February.

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Here we go with Part 2 of the Brews in the Binyard Episode.

PARENTAL GUIDANCE - This Podcast contains at least 14 naughty words.

If you missed Episode 15 I was talking to Alex Sotheran of Storm of Steel and Sean Clark of Gods own Scale, it took us nearly 2 hours to get to the end of what is normally the first section of what is normally my first section of the Podcast, so a strategic decision was made to cut the recording in half and present it in two separate episodes.

So we start where we left off and have a short Big Game discussion (having covered a lot in Part 1). We then go into what can only be described as a "very different" Yarkshire Gamer Quiz. With Alex and Sean taking the quiz at the same time and Alex doing the quiz pretending to be me it made for the longest ever Quiz but probably the funniest.

Up next in homage to Seans Gods Own Scale Virtual Library I introduce Yarkshire Gamers Wargames Tip or Wargames Room 101. So if you have a particular aspect of Wargaming that's a pet hate for you then, if you can persuade me, I'll chuck it on an old trailer and take it down tip for you. Tune in to hear the choices of my two guests. 

We end the show with a #askournora Wargames Problem Page which generated some really interesting discussion. I finally disclose my detailed painting philosophy.

Alex produces excellent Battle Reports, Reviews and Painting Tutorials on his wonderful channel Storm of Steel

(3) Storm of Steel Wargaming - YouTube

Whilst my other guest hosts the brilliant God's Own Scale Podcast, broadcasting small scale loveliness to the world on a regular basis

God’s Own Scale Podcast (podbean.com)

Pop along and enjoy their content (obviously after you have listened to this first !)

I really enjoyed doing these episodes and hope to persuade Alex and Sean to come back and do a Brews in the Binyard special every now and again.

Back on the 2nd week of November with an interview with Jason Weiser who has just launched a new Wargames Magazine called Military Miniature in the US.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome back everyone, it's been nearly 2 months since the last episode, doing 5 in December was like setting a flamethrower to both ends of the candle and I had burnt myself out.

But after a good rest and concentrating on my hobby projects for a while I'm back and ready to go again. I've got the next 8 episodes planned with some great guests, I have Manufacturers, Painters, Authors, Big Gamers, Hobby Legends and the like to bring to you, I also hope to bring episodes from countries we haven't visited before and get the low down from fellow wargamers around the world.

In addition to that I have a tester episode with a non wargaming Historian which will follow an obviously different format, but if it works its something I plan to do in the future if it works out well.

But that's the future, it's time to introduce my guest, I first became aware of Martyn Kelly from his Facebook posts regarding some huge participation games he has put on at Conventions in the US. He's done some brilliant Italian Wars games featuring a 196 figure Pike Block which in my opinion really represents the 9,500 men who were actually in that block, much better than 24 figures for sure.

I love talking from Gamers outside the UK and getting there perspective on a hobby we all love in so many different ways. All the usual features are here, Big Game Chat, Quiz, Wargame Room 101, Desert Island Wargame and the usual chat in between.

I talk to Martyn in the Big Topic about the set up of Conventions in the US, how they are organised and what a visitor expects to see. We then move on to talk about what visitors expect from a Big Game at a convention and the differences between putting such a game on between one with friends and one with total strangers at an event.

Its then a deep dive into how my guest goes from that first germ of an idea through to actually playing the game at a show. Trust me its a lot of work and guys like Martyn go a long way to make these events what they are, so if you haven't say thank you to your game organiser.

It wouldn't be Yarkshire Gamer with a bit of Italian Wars Chat (now apparently an extension of the Wars of the Roses ;-) and we start the Pavia Challenge live on the show. Martyn has gone for 1:25 scale so I've gone 1:24 !

It was a great chat and the fact that I thought that we had only done an hour and a half when we had done two and a half shows that the phrase "time flies when your enjoying yourself" is true.

Keep up to date with what Martyn is doing next as well as a wealth of information about his previous projects on his blog, College of Kings.

College of Kings - Posts about my miniature armies.

Thanks for listening and welcome back to the show, don't forget to subscribe, like and leave a review wherever you listen to this. Not much in life costs nowt, but this Podcast does so give us a like.

My next episode will be out in a fortnight and I'll be speaking with Steve Shann. I've known Steve for a long time and you will be familiar with the name if you've listened to previous episodes. Steve has a number of publications to his name covering diverse topics like WW2, Leipzig and The Franco Prussian War. On top of that Steve does a spot of painting so get ready for 2 hours on the correct shade of blue for French Uniforms !

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

I'm back to the normal format with this Episode when I talk to another stalwart of the North East Wargames Scene, Robbie Roddis.

My guest has been gaming for most of his life and will be well known to many on the show circuit by the wonderful display games he and his gaming chum John Reidy used to put on.

Robbie has a number of different websites but it was his love of the Borgias and his site dedicated to building his Cesare Army that inspired me to get into the Italian Wars and I think we all know where that went !

Aut Caesar, Aut Nihil (wargamingtheborgias.blogspot.com)

The first half of the show is dedicated to Robbie and his gaming as well as the usual Yarkshire Gamer Quiz. We discuss many different topics, Robbie loves a chat and has plenty of stories to share, his general wargaming blog can be found on the link below.

The Independent Wargames Group

The final section of the episode is dedicated to one of the greats of our hobby, Peter Gilder, a man associated with Yorkshire through the Wargames Holiday Centre which he founded in a village called Thornton.

Robbie has took it upon himself to get as much info, photographs and articles relating to Peter and put them together on one website. In addition to that he has gathered memories (and a video) of those who attended the WHC when it first began.

Not leaving it there, my guest has interviewed many of those who knew Peter and has gathered together an impressive collection of documents and memories which he has put together in a dedicated website, see below.

Peter Gilder A life in Wargaming

It's great that Robbie has taken the time to put all this information together and I'm sure if you have any similar documents or memories Robbie would love to hear from you.

I think its a fantastic memorial to someone who had a massive effect on our hobby, who (of a certain age !) wasn't influenced by those pictures of Peters figures in the early Wargames Magazines or those Battleground TV shows. If you haven't seen them, you are in for a treat !

(1) gettysburg - YouTube

Don't forget to send in pictures of your "bounce sticks" 

I'm hoping Episode 15 will be out mid October when I will be doing something different again. A bit of a Wargames Magazine Episode with two other Social Media Gamers, Sean Clark (God's Own Scale) and Alex Southeran (Storm of Steel) so we will have perspectives from 6mm to 28mm via 15s.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Hi there,

Welcome to the first episode of 2025 and today I combine two of my favourite things in life Wargaming and Italy.

My guest is Lorenzo Sartori who runs the Italian based wargames publishers Dadi & Piombo.

Lorenzo has been publishing a magazine of the same name for over 25 years, along with various sets of rules and books relating to wargaming, including the very popular Impetus Rules.

I chat to Lorenzo about his Wargaming History, as I do with all my guests before moving on to discussing the hobby in Italy in general before finishing off discussing the magazine and his rules.

The magazine is available via the website below,

https://www.dadiepiombo.it/

I love talking to wargamers from around the world about this wonderful hobby that unites so many of us.

Thanks for listening and I'll see you again soon.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

This episode sees us return to Gods Own County after a trip round the world in the last episodes.

Todays guest is David Marshall who runs the company TM Terrain. He is an outstanding terrain maker and very kindly gave up his time to chat about how he got interested in the terrain aspect of our hobby as well as talking about his techniques and methods.

We had a cheeky idea to visit Games Workshop, buy the smallest thing in the store and then when asked what we were into, we would reply with the most obscure army we could think of, surely a game all the family could play.

David is most famous for working with the Perrys to produce the awe inspiring Agincourt Display which is now in the Royal Armouries here in Leeds and we of course chat about how that amazing piece of work came about.

I've failed again to come in under two hours, David had more than one question for me at the end of the show and we ended up talking Big Games for a bit longer, whats wrong with that !

Thanks again for listening, I hope you enjoy.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Well by now you are probably sick and tired of seeing who the Best Wargames Manufacturer is and who has the best Customer Service in the hobby, its time to delve into the stuff we are really interested in like "What is the best Wargames Rumour (with or without substantiation), so sit back and enjoy finding out who is the best Wargames Troll on a Yarkshire Based Podcast, Blog or Utubes Channel.

Its a star studded audience and our roving reporter will be outside T'werking mens club to see the guests arrive before we go inside the auditorium for the award ceremony itself.

I'm joined by my co-hosts Alex "Storm of Steel" Sotheran and Sean "Gods Own Scale (retd.)" Clark. So sit back with a pint of best, some left over Christmas Cake and Wendsleydale Cheese and enjoy.

The awards have been voted for by an illustrious panel of judges in the main with two voted for by the public, so any complaints, direct it to them.

All the best for the New Year and thank you once again for listening to the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast.

See you all in 2023

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to Episode 33 and the 3rd of our Catch Up Episodes.

A different format to usual for the new listener, today I've dipped into my previous guests and picked out 3 for a bit of a chat to see what they have been upto since we last talked.

First up from Episode 22 is Simon Miller. We had to cut the last interview short (well after 2 hours 😀) and we never got to hear about his wavy bases !

We talk about Simons current Projects and his plans for the future before he drops the bomb shell on me that he has co written a book on the Italian Wars, he kept that quiet.

Simons Big Red Bat Shop is here

https://bigredbatshop.co.uk/

Whilst the book can be bought from Helion here

https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/the-italian-wars-volume-4-the-battle-of-ceresole-1544-the-crushing-defeat-of-the-imperial-army.php?sid=b5307ecfc2b9453fc415fd4d3ede3c22

My next guest Richard Harris goes way back to Episode 2 of the Podcast and he is one of the owners of Legendary Wargames, we chat about plans for the coming year as well as the forthcoming release of "Grand Skeedadle" a Peter Gilder inspired set of ACW rules. Enjoy it as me and Richard fail to take 1813 from 2014 😆

information and bookings for Legendary Wargames can be done here

https://legendarywargames.com/

And then up last to bat is good friend of the show, Nick Skinner from the Toofatlardies who was last seen in Episode 7. Nick has been a busy boy since we last spoke. We chat about his numerous visits to the continent, the goings on at Lard Island as well as a bonus entry into Wargames Room 101.

Toofatlardies goodies are available here

https://toofatlardies.co.uk/

It's a long one but with three great guests 2 and a half hours will fly by.

My next guest will be Rohan Saravanamuttu who has just published a Wargamers guide to the ultimate Napoleonic Battle, Leipzig, hopefully out in a fortnight.

Until then, Sithee 

Regards Ken 

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Welcome to Episode 42 of the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast and today I have an absolute hobby legend for you.

George Nafziger is a prolific author who has had many many titles published over the years. His first book in 1988 Napoleons Invasion of Russia was a fantastic debut and the subsequent series of books on the later 1813 and 1814 Campaigns are absolutely essential reading on the topics. When the came out they were the first easily accessible source of information on those campaigns I was aware of in the English Language. We in the UK were often fixated on Waterloo and Wellingtons Campaign in Spain that these books opened up a new area of interest in the Napoleonic Wars.

Not only that my guest is well known for his amazing series of Orders of Battle from the mid 17th Century onwards which are available both online and in the case of the WW2 series in book form. Its hard to describe the level of detail that is contained in these lists. If you want an accurate army with the kit they had, this is the place to go for research.

It was great to talk to George and as you would expect from Yarkshire Gamer, no rabbit hole was left explored ! I did have some technical issues with the recording but hopefully they have been ironed out in the edit.

George has a web site covering his books and orders of battle

Home - Nafziger Collection

With the books available here

Products Archive - Nafziger Collection

Remember if you are ordering from outside the US, contact George direct via e-mail and he will sort out the postage rates for the country of your choice.

Drnafziger@yahoo.com

Next episode I hope to be talking with Paul Thompson of Early War Miniatures. 

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to Episode 59 and today I am chatting with Pete Brown who is the main man at The Assault Group who are probably better known as TAG.

Pete has had a interesting journey in the hobby prior to setting up TAG, he's worked at Table Top Games, Games Workshop and Wargames Foundry so it was great to chat about his career in mould making and casting and especially chatting about Bob Connor the owner of TTG who is sadly no longer with us.

TAG are probably best known for their extensive range of 28mm Renaissance Figures, covering most nations and conflicts in the period, as Pete is a self confessed list ticker he is always keen to finish off his ranges and not leave customers hanging on for that final pack in a range.

Its another wide ranging chat about the hobby which I'm sure you will enjoy.

TAG figures can be purchased via their website, link below,

https://theassaultgroup.co.uk/

The next episode with be the Summer Edition of Brews in the Bin Yard which will include the draw for the World Cup of Historical Wargames Miniature Manufacturers.

Until Next Time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Not wanting to lumber a single guest with Episode 13 I decided it was time to introduce a new, occasional format for the show, The Catch Up.

One thing I noticed with other Podcasts I listen to is that, a guest comes on and announces a game or a new range of figures or an event and that's it you never hear from them again !

I thought it would be interesting to "catch up" with old guests and see how something they spoke about on their Episode went. Such a chat probably wouldn't need a full episode so I came up with the idea of having multiple guests on the same show, each chatting for 20 minutes to half an hour on a certain topic.

That led me to consider adding other guests who haven't been on the show before to do a shorter format interview. So that's how this idea was born and it was all going so well until my fourth guest for this show had to pull out at the last minute. A bit of a panic, not his fault, a genuine reason but I managed to fill the time with some else new. 

So all in all a different episode, I hope you enjoy it.

I speak with Chris Breeze from Episode 1 about the World War Roses event and his involvement in playtesting the new Wars of the Roses Rules, Test of Resolve.

Test of Resolve – Wargame Rules

Next up is Andrew Dickinson from my Wargames Club in Leeds and we talk about the new club venue, the history behind that and the forthcoming show FIASCO at the Royal Armouries in Leeds

Leeds Wargames Club - Organisers of FIASCO

Then its Gareth Lanes turn in the chair, another veteran of Episode One who tells us all about the huge uplifts in his ongoing projects.

Finally I brought forward The Wargames Problem Page to fill the vacated interview slot. Here me and Nora Batty discuss a number of gaming topics, some controversial, some less so.

We are back to the normal format next episode (10th September) for a Peter Gilder special, when I speak to Robbie Roddis about his time in wargaming (including blaming him for getting into The Italian Wars) and his website dedicated to Mr Gilder.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

As the Episode number ends in a 3 its time to dip back into my list of previous guests and give them a ring and see what they have been up to.

This is also the first ever "Award Winning Episode" following Yarkshire Gamers win in the Best Podcast Category so if you are new, welcome onboard. 

First on my list is Rules Author and Big Gamer, Simon Hall from Episode 8. Since we spoke Simon has been a busy boy releasing two more sets of rules, Divisions of Steel for WW2 and Renato et Gloriam for the Renaissance 

Divisions of Steel (divisions-of-steel.co.uk)

Renatio et Gloriam – Renaissance Tabletop Gaming (renatio-et-gloriam.co.uk)

But that's not all he's been up to, in some very exciting news Simon is working on a boardgame version of the all time classic computer game Rome Total War, the production looks amazing and I'm sure it will do very well,

TOTAL WAR ROME: THE BOARD GAME — PSC Games

Next up I speak with the owner of the Wargames Holiday Centre, Mr Mark Freeth last time we spoke we were in the middle of lockdown and the Centre was just about to move venue so things were very much on hold.

We find out what new games are on the menu for this year and chat about the upcoming Donald Featherstone Weekend, an Italian Wars extravaganza which will be attended by yours truly.

Below is a link to the weekends at the centre, hurry up though places are very limited,

Home - War Games Holiday Centre (wargameshc.co.uk)

My final guest goes back to Episode 3 and everyone's favourite Arnhem and Scottish Medieval History expert Dr Chris Brown when we spoke last time Chris was planning his annual wargames event in Arnhem (on the anniversary of the landings) set in a hotel was was fought through in the battle.

Unfortunately the Phobon Plague prevented the event going ahead but things are going full steam ahead for this year and we chat about his plans for the event.

S.P.I.T. Wargames: The Return to Arnhem! - Warlord Community (warlordgames.com)

(6) S.P.I.T. Wargames | Facebook

Chris has also recently discovered one of my favourite wargaming places in the UK Common Ground Games in Stirling. CGG has a huge gaming area, a well stocked shop and a great cafe and is a must visit every time Yarkshire Gamer is North of Northallerton. 

He is organising a Normandy themed gamed day this summer, with plans for other days including a Vietnam themed event.

If you are ever in the area pop in and pay a visit

Tabletop gaming venue Scotland, Stirling 40k, fantasy games tables UK (commongroundgames.co.uk)

I'm still waiting for confirmation of my next guest but there will be a new episode at the end of the month, I know, 2 episodes in a month I am spoiling you !

Until next time,

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire |Gamer

Hello again, welcome to Episode 56, the first of a double header on the Battle of Jutland, by far the largest sea borne action of the First World War and what a great guest we have to discuss it with you, Nick Jellicoe, grandson of John Jellicoe Commander of the British Fleet at the battle.

We recorded for about 4 and a half hours and it was a great discussion cover many aspects of Nicks life as well as the battle itself. 

I haven't split a guest episode for a while but I had recorded this episode along with the ones with Nigel Atter and the Rapid Fire in a period of two weeks so splitting this episode will make it easier on your time and also give me a bit of a break until I record the next episode.

In this show I talk to Nick about his life as well as a most interesting chat around his fathers WW2 career. We then go on to discuss the prelude to the battle and some of the characters involved.

Back in two weeks to talk about the battle itself and its aftermath.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Today my guest is Author, Painter and old friend Steve Shann.

Steve has been a full time painter for many years now and many of the figures in the collections of my previous guests have originated from his brushes, so it's a great excuse to get a bit of a geek on about Paints, techniques and of course wet palettes 😆

Alongside the painting Steve has been writing articles and books for the hobby and beyond. He has a passion for the Franco Prussian War with a number of cenario books, wargame and uniform guides going back to the 1980s.

In recent years Steve has self published two excellent scenario books on the diverse subjects of Leipzig in 1813 and The Seelow Heights in 1945.

It's a long old chat with the episode just tipping over 3 hours. This isn't a short format, I want to bring you a good all round wargames chat not a 10 minute sales pitch, I know a lot of people who listen to this whilst painting so hopefully you will get some more figures done, so here is an excuse to get some more done !

I'll be back in 3 weeks time when I will be speaking with Nicholas Schofield, who has written a book on the British and Irish Troops in Service of the Papal States in the 1860s. It will be an experiment in an episode that is more about the history than the wargaming, hope you will enjoy it.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

You can find out lots more about Steves Book, Paintings and Terrain at his blog site

https://steve-nationsinarms.blogspot.com/

Episode 35 of the Podcast sees the first of a two part interview with one of the stalwarts of the Wargames Hobby, Mr Henry Hyde.

There isn't much that Henry hasn't done in this hobby over the years, as an author, Podcaster, Magazine Editor, Wargamer, Artist etc etc etc etc !

He has been a guest and an interviewer on many occasions in the past so I've given Henry the full Yarkshire Gamer treatment and hopefully you will find out something you didn't know before, you certainly won't have heard his wonderful "Red Mud Rant" and the reason behind the soon to be released Battlegames branded hairdryers 😉

As you would expect with me and Henry this wasn't a 5 minute chat, this 2 and a half hour discussion covers what you would normally get in the first two parts of a "normal" episode and I cut the big game chat short !

We will be back next week with part 2.

All things Henry can be accessed via his website

https://battlegames.co.uk/

Until next time

Sithee

Regards Ken 

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Hey Up,

Its time to go across the pond to the USA and speak to a couple of guys who are part of the team who run Little Wars TV on that there Utubes. These guys are so big they even have more subscribers than Alex Sotheran !

The channel has been off air for a while and has recently returned to the airwaves so I thought it would be a great time to have a chat and see what was going on and what the plans for the future are.

Greg and Miles from the show volunteered to be my guests, we had limited time so its a slightly different format to normal, but I don't think you will notice that much, however its "only" 2 hours long, blink and you will miss it :-)

If you haven't seen their channel its here 

https://www.littlewarstv.com/

Hope you enjoy the show and I'll see you in a couple of weeks when I will be back with a chat with Legend of the Hobby, Trevor Dixon of Dixon Miniatures

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Hi everyone,

This was planned initially as a bit of a catch up episode with a number of guests but I wasn't able to get all the  interviews done and I've been away myself so rather than have this lying around for weeks I've put my catch up with Paul out as an individual episode.

Paul was my guest on Episode 43 and we chatted in depth on that occasion about Early War Miniatures and at the start of this show we chat for half an hour about what is going on at EWM and how they managed to cope with The Great Wargames Website Wobble of 24, something that affected many companies in the UK.

We then move onto, what for me is one of the most fascinating stories I've ever covered on this show, the German raid on the coast of the Isle of Wight in 1943, an event which occurred just round the corner from where Paul lives and works.

An amazing amount of work has gone on since we last spoke and Paul fills us in on the information that has come to light recently. The story isn't complete yet but its been a privilege to be party to the information as its come out and I look forward to hearing more.

My next guest will be author Andy Johnson who has written a number of historical novels set in different eras, the WW2 and Wars of the Roses books have been on my reading pile recently. Andy has also done a bit of gaming as well as having a career in the military, so there will be plenty to chat about.

Its important for me to keep the Podcast fresh and entertaining (for me as well) and with that in mind I've got a couple of different types of shows (in addition to the current, wargamer, brews in the binyard and historian styles) in the pipeline and I hope to announce those in the near future.

So sit back and enjoy my chat with Paul and I'll see you again next time.

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Its only been a week I know and you are either eagerly awaiting the second part of Brews in the Bin Yard Summer Special or still recovering from the first one.

Either way its here and in this part of the show we answer questions from different members of Yarkshire Gamer, Gods Own Scale and Storm of Steel audiences and try and keep you entertained. If you don't enjoy the first 30 seconds of the interview then its going to be a long two hours !

As always my guests for Brews, I say guests but they are more part of the furniture now, are

Sean Clark of Gods Own Scale Podcast

https://godsownscale6mm.podbean.com/

and Alex Sotheran of Storm of Steel Utubes

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNUYwNznn-ZuNMoHoF3urwQ

Next episode we will return to the normal format and I hope to be speaking to my first guest for a while from Australia, Carlo Pagano and the story of him bringing back to life Peter Gilders Sands of Sudan Rules.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

On the 500th Anniversary of one of the most pivotable battles of the Great Italian Wars, what better to do that a deep dive into the battle of Pavia, with a specific slant on recreating the battle on the tabletop.

I'm joined by Martyn Kelly who has last on the show 2 years ago. He is well known for his exquisite Big Games at Historicon in the US and this year he will be putting on a huge recreation of the Italian Wars classic.

Neither Martyn or myself are historians, just enthusiastic wargamers, we give our own briefing introduction on the history of the battle before moving on to a deep dive on the orders of battle and figures used in Martyns game.

After that we talk about the terrain for the battle and how that is recreated in miniature before eventually getting to the battle itself and how that presents challenges on the tabletop.

Martyn has an excellent blog College of Kings on which he posts updates on the project.

https://www.collegeofkings.com/ 

Please like, subscribe and leave a review wherever you see the show.

I'll be back in a couple of weeks when I will be talking to Aaron Johnston who works for the Battle of Prestonpans Trust and runs the What If, 1745 Jacobite Campaign on the YouTube.

See you then

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Hello everyone and welcome to my first ever Wargamers phone in !

I'm joined on the show by 8 different guests for 8 very different conversations about different aspects of our wonderful hobby, in order of appearance we have.

1. Gary Wills - we talk about the War of the First Coalition or the Revolutionary Wars and his book Throwing Thunderbolts about the period

https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/throwing-thunderbolts-a-wargamers-guide-to-the-war-of-the-first-coalition-1792-1797.php

2. Dex McHenry joins me to discuss the importance of using correct terminology when discussing wargames (like The Dark Ages)

3. Neil Armstrong bravely joins the show to talk about contrast paints !

4. Simon Stokes talks about how Wargaming the Dark Ages can be fun.

5. Sam and James from Warfulcrum join me to discuss "1918" a set of WW1 rules covering the final year of the First World War, which they have in development.

https://www.patreon.com/WarFulcrumGames1918

6. Then its time for Rhys Humphrey to talk about his Ashdown 871 Big Project

7. Then Harvey joins us from Vermont in the USA so he can blame a certain Yorkshire based Podcast on two huge projects he has become involved with.

8. My final guest is Chris Gosney who discusses filming Solo Wargaming for his YouTube Channel.

https://www.youtube.com/@CrustyColonel18/videos 

Hope you enjoyed this new format, do please leave a like and review wherever you listen to this is really helps broaden the audience.

If you fancy being a guest on the next phone in (if there is one) drop me an email to yarkshiregamer@gmail.com and I'll be in touch for the next phone in.

I will be back on the 24th February to talk about Pavia on its 500th Anniversary.

Until Next Time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

I want you to think of this as more like a Magazine Episode, obviously not Hello Magazine, more like Hey Up, Love.

I've gathered together my own little Wargaming "Supergroup" and managed to persuade the Giant of the Utubes Alex "Storm of Steel" Sotheran and the Podcast Legend Sean "God's Own Scale" Clark to appear together in this episode.

We chatted for that long (nearly 4 hours) that I have had to split the recording into two parts, the first half would be the introduction section in the normal episodes.

PARENTAL GUIDANCE - This Podcast contains at least 4 naughty words.

Back in the day a Parental Guidance sticker would get you another million album sales, here's hoping.

Alex produces excellent Battle Reports, Reviews and Painting Tutorials on his wonderful channel Storm of Steel

(3) Storm of Steel Wargaming - YouTube

Whilst my other guest hosts the brilliant God's Own Scale Podcast, broadcasting small scale loveliness to the world on a regular basis

God’s Own Scale Podcast (podbean.com)

Pop along and enjoy their content (obviously after you have listened to this first !)

Back in two weeks with the second half of this recording.

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Back to the usual single guest format for this episode and I am very pleased to be speaking with Jason Weiser who is the Editor in Chief of a new, yes I said NEW Wargames Magazine, based in the USA.

As usual I speak to Jason about his own Wargames story in the first part of the Episode, before moving onto our usual Big Game Chat.

Then after Sean and Alex tried to destroy the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz in the last episode we get into further problems with translation and somehow manage to upset the State of Texas in the process !

The final section of the Episode (starts 1hr 14 mins in) is all about Military Miniature Magazine. How it started, how its going and what its plans are for the future.

The main website for the magazine is at

Home - Military Miniature

Jasons own personal website is at

It's 500 Miles to the German Border! - A Twilight 2000 miniature wargaming blog (500twilight2000.blogspot.com)

I didn't realise that the US didn't have a currently in print Magazine for Wargaming at the moment and I wish Jason and the Magazine every success in the future.

I will be back in two weeks time speaking with Curt Campbell on the eve of yet another Analogue Hobbies Winter Paint Challenge.

Until, then Sithee,

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Hello everyone and welcome once again to the Yarkshire Gamer Reet Big Wargames Podcast.

Today for the 71st episode I have three guests, Steve Bomford who runs the Company of Makers (CoM) Organisation which helps Veterans adapt to civilian life post service. Nick Denning who is a former British Army Infantry Officer who is developing a near future Wargame with the assistance of CoM and Conrad Steele - Benny, a 30 plus year RAF Veteran who is heavily involved in the organisation of CoM events.

Between us we discuss their individual careers and involvement in Wargaming before moving on to discuss the work that The Company of Makers does. At the end of the show we widen out the discussion to cover the link between Veterans and Wargaming, the benefits it can bring and how we, as individuals can help.

It was an interesting and often thought provoking discussion which I hope you will enjoy.

If you would like to know more about the Company of Makers their website is here

Company of Makers – Podcasts | Talks | Workshops

My next episode will be with The Posties Rejects, Ray and Big Lee when we will be having a chat around their channels and blogs as well as a review of the recent Salute Show in that there London.

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire |Gamer 

Welcome back and a Happy New Year to you all.

The first episode of 2022 features the two original members of the Plastic Crack Podcast, a live Monday Night stream of general gaming chat which is growing and growing in popularity.

Starting in March 2020 with my guests the show has featured a number of Hobby Glitterati as guests but is probably best known in its current format as 4 gamers chewing the fat over the most important and quite often least important topics in the hobby.

The show features all our usual features and as always we drift off onto important topics like "should you have gravy on chips". We have another couple of entrants into Wargames Room 101 as well as another fun trip round the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz.

The Podcast circulates round the four channels of the guys involved,

Dom runs Boots on the table and his channel is below,

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkVZHHEgIzNmQwCzZ-UHRhA

And Ken runs Miniature Wargaming Warriors, link below

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaDBpS2gxvtD4Om8yX-o3-g

The new release schedule of 2nd and 5th weeks of the month means that there will be just one Episode per month for Feb and March. So I will see you next month when I hope to be speaking with Gerry Elliot of Wargames Holiday Centre fame.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to the 31st Episode of The Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast and today my guest is Giles Allison.

Giles had a big influence on my American War of Independence collection as I was building it up through his excellent blog Tarleton's Quarter, that influence was felt by many others and I would rank Giles blog as one of the best out there. Full of information and inspiration for the AWI and many other periods, all available for free at the click of a button.

The show is in the usual 4 part format and as well as talking about wargaming we tackle heady topics like, is Avocado a Vegetable or a Fruit as well as the exact location of the North / South Avocado - Mushy Peas Line.

Hopefully the show has persuaded Giles to go back and keep adding to his blog and complete his AWI Collection. The blog can be found on the link below

Tarleton's Quarter (gilesallison.blogspot.com)

Hopefully I will be back in a couple of weeks chatting to an old friend and reet proper Big Gamer Chris Flowers.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to episode 45 of the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast and today we have our feet firmly planted once again in the soil of Gods Own County as we travel a short bus ride through the streets of Sheffield to meet todays guest Mark Hides.

Mark has been involved in the hobby all of his life and has carved out a career embracing various aspects of wargaming.

His day job is that of a Professional Painter with his company Conflict in colour, but in addition to that he has written a book about the hobby, "Real Life's a Bugger, A Tale of Sex, Dragons and Rock and Roll" which tells the story of a youth growing up in the 80s, finding their feet in the world and this great pastime of ours. His blog Real Life's a Bugger is well worth a read even if its not for the faint hearted.

If you graft onto that a figure company called Satanic Panic its amazing Mark has any spare time at all.

As you would expect from two lads who live in Yorkshire we have some opinions on a few things and "tell it like its is" but you will learn all about the Nuclear Attack version of Threads rather than the Zuckerberg Social Media one. We discuss the glory days of the greatest wargames show ever, Sheffield Triples along with strange blokes in Barnsley that look like Vikings and unreasonably large rule books.

In all the excitement the tinterwebnet failed to record a couple of chunks of the Podcast, especially our painting chat, so I will be inviting Mark back on the next catch up show to cover that aspect of things.

It was a great fun chat and I hope you enjoy it.

You can find out more about Marks Painting Services on the link below

Miniature Painting Service | Conflict In Colour

The figure range Satanic Panic, here

Satanic Panic Old School Inspired 28mm Miniatures

Marks Book is available here

(Real) Life's A Bu**er: A Tale of Sex, Dragons & Rock 'N' Roll By M.A Hides | New | 9781471643873 | World of Books (wob.com)

And finally Marks Blog can be found here,

https://reallifesabugger.blogspot.com/

I will be back in a couple of weeks time with Episode 46 The Summer Brews in the Binyard Special.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

We are back on our Big Game quest today with my guest Simon Miller.

Simon is probably best known for his two rule sets To the Strongest, which covers the Ancient and Medieval Periods along with For King and Parliament for the English Civil War, however he is also a proponent of the Big Game player and has put on some spectacular huge games at various shows throughout the UK over the years.

I talk to Simon about his own gaming in the first part of the show including the popular Venn Diagram of Wargaming. We then have a great Big Game chat, talking about those epic battles Simon has recreated over the years.

Its then onto the show favourites, The Yarkshire Gamer Quiz in which Simon a born and bred Londoner does extremely well before he adds the latest Wargaming Horror to Wargames Room 101.

We end the show with our Big Topic chatting about Simons Rules, how he got into rule writing and his philosophy around the games he has published and the ones he plans to publish in the future too.

Simons main blog The Big Red Bat Cave can be found here

The BigRedBatCave

Whilst his rules and other products can be found here

BigRedBat's Shop (bigredbatshop.co.uk)

All in all another fun episode to put together, I hope you enjoy it.

Coming up next month will be another of my Catch Up episodes when I talk to some of my previous guests and try and find out what they have been up to since we last spoke. April is a 5 week month so look out for a second episode which I have lined up for after Easter.

Until then, Sithee 

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Its time to meet the other half of the Plastic Crack Podcast Crew, you heard the story of Dom and Ken in Episode 20 so now its time to hear the truth from Martin and Ste !

It was a monster of a recording tipping in at nearly 4 hours, so rather than cut it down I've split it into two episodes so this one covers the usual Intro, Quiz and Room 101 sections, tune in next week for the main topic, PCP and Crackcon.

It wouldn't be a Reet Big Wargames Podcast without the odd diversion and this week we treat you to the wonders of Serial Killer Top Trumps and the northern culinary delight that is "Pea Wet".

Martin runs the highly successful You Tube Channel 7th Son, covering lots of different periods but probably best known for his Wars of the Roses features, you can find his channel here,

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgF5_KhcgdvNiRcrI0ZSJCg

Ste is the owner of the On Point HQ Channel, he is well known for his Bolt Action 28mm armies as well as the weirdness that is Turnip 28 !

https://www.youtube.com/c/OnPointHQ

Hope you enjoy this half of the episode and we will be back next Friday for the second half, in the meantime to save you Googling it, heres a link to the Top Trumps

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Notorious-Serial-Killers-Quartett-Spiel-ber%C3%BCchtigsten/dp/B076WLNRW3

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Its Podcast time again, this episode I've stepped aside from the usual format to get a deep dive into the world of paint brushes.

My guest is Peter Thompson, the head honcho at Pro Arte a company based in my favourite place in the world, Skipton.

We had a lovely chat covering the history of the company before moving on and discussing the finer points (pun intended) of the brush making world. From brush types, to materials, to handles, to brush care, its all there.

Its important for me to step slightly outside the Wargaming World and have guests who can enlighten us on aspects that maybe sit just outside our hobby yet still have a big influence on it, I hope you enjoy it.

The main Pro Arte website detailing the full range of brushes is here,

Pro Arte UK Artist Paint Brush Makers | Watercolour, Acytlic Oil Painting

Recently a company called ABC Brushes has started to attend UK Wargames shows selling some Pro Arte brushes so you should be able to pick some up there.

ABC Brushes

My next episode will be with the Big Game rule writer, Dave Brown.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 11 sees me refueling the Yarkshire Airlines Pigeon and going Hey Up and Away to Adelaide Australia to talk with Steve Wold.

Better known by many as Old Wargamer from the Twitters, Stephen was one of the first wargaming trailblazers on that social media format and his following today is over 6,000.

We cover many topics during the two hours we chatted, from the Wargames Scene in Australia to the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz.

We even find time to talk about Contrast Paints, yes those things, as well as the joy that is wargaming twitter.

A great fun chat, I hope you enjoy it on your journey to work, during your painting session or as my friend Stephen Barker uses it it, during his morning run (coming soon a Yarkshire Gamer fitness video !).

I will see you all in the second week of August for the next episode.

Until then, Sithee..

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

For my Golden Jubilee Episode I thought I'd celebrate with a couple of the hobbies luminaries, who just happen to have recently won the World Cup of Historical Wargames Rules with their Chain of Command WW2 set, not only that the runners up were another one of their rule sets, Sharp Practice.

Nick and Rich have done many Podcasts in the past so I tried to approach familiar topics from a different angle or ask new questions, in Part 2 I turned the tables on Rich and got him to interview me on Sidney Roundwoods 7 golden rules of Podcasting.

It was a great way to celebrate 50 Episodes, here's to another 50 more !

The next episode will be the Xmas Brews in the Binyard, I did have another 3 episodes planned for this year, but I don't want to make the same mistake as last year and end up burning out trying to catch up, so those will appear early in 2024.

Finally thanks to all the listeners over the last 50 episodes, great to have you all on board.

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Welcome to Episode 70 of the show and today I sit down with fellow gamer and podcaster Jared Fishman.

Jared runs the US based 20 Sided Gamified show and its a Wargaming show with a broad topic base which has a slant towards the educational value of our hobby in a wider context.

My guest is a teacher and has used gaming in his lessons as a great teaching tool, something I'm sure all of us would have enjoyed when we were at school.

As you would expect with two podcasters we rattle on a bit so it might be a two or three sittings to get through the show, or you might be hard core and get some painting done in a oner !

My next guest is one of a number who are trying to make their minds up on when they can do a recording, so I'll be back in a couple of weeks with someone !

20 Sided Gamified is available on all major podcast hosts, here is the Apple link

20 Sided Gamified Podcast - Podcast - Apple Podcasts

And on the Utubes

Introduction to the 20 Sided Gamified Podcast. Welcome to the Fold!

Hopefully see you at Salute

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to the first episode of the second season, not a lot has changed to be honest, its the same mix of Wargames chat and fun with the emphasis on the Big Game.

Todays guest is Fraser the You Tube star of the channel Von Ketteringham, his channel is one of the foremost in the gaming hobby and is a mix of tutorials, army showcases and general hobby chat.

I love Frasers no nonsense approach to his channel, no fireworks and fancy music just a great guy sharing his love for his hobby with his many followers.

VK does a lot of his gaming at his local club in Reigate and they have the room to fit in some big games at their hall. However in recent months he has built a dedicated outdoor building for his hobby.

As usual the show breaks down into the sections you will be familiar with, Fraser has a cracking go at the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz despite his only link to Yorkshire being a weekend out in Leeds with a great kebab !

You can find his channel on the Utubes via the link below

https://www.youtube.com/user/vonketteringham/featured

Episode 7 is due for release in 2 weeks time, hope you enjoy this one, give me a sub if you do and then you will never miss another one.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome back everyone to Episode 63 of the Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast and today I've got off my backside and driven down t'road to Honley just outside Holmfirth where I sat down with Trevor Dixon of Dixon Miniatures to chat about his time in the hobby.

He got his first break with Hinchliffe Miniatures before striking out on his own in the 1970s with a range of Monguls, much much more was to come over the following years.

Dixon Miniatures are full of character, something which for me is lacking in modern day 3d sculpts, his Samurai range is still one of the best for the period and as you can see, it looks the absolute business.

A bit shorter than usual as I just went for a straight interview rather than the usual sections but I had a lovely time talking with Trev and I hope you enjoy listening to it.

Drop by Trevors website and pick up some of his lovely figures, if we all do it, it will save him doing the decorating !

https://www.dixon-minis.com/

Back in a few weeks time for a catch up episode, my one confirmed guest so far is Paul Thompson from EWM who will give us an update on EWM, The Great Wargames Website Wobble and of course the 1943 German Raid on the Isle of Wight.

Until next time Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Its back, the Podcast within a Podcast, our traditional (well 3rd episode) of the Brews in the Binyard Xmas Special.

After being serious this year with special episodes on Paintbrushes and Papal Zouaves its time to let our hair down with a festive blow out. Sadly our usual hombre Sean Clark wasn't available this year so the wonderful Iain McDonald of Flags of War has stepped in, so Sean's Mexican corner is now Iains Jacobite Corner.

As usual the episode has a Parental Guidance Sticker as Alex can't stop swearing (as usual), I am of course as clean as a church mouse !

Sadly the recording of the track for Alex in part 1 didn't record so I have edited it together as best as I can, I couldn't leave out the Mistletoe and Wine bit.

Then Part 2 sees us review the recent entries into Wargames room 101 before moving onto a hot topic chat about how History is represented on the big screen. I then have my own Perry Miniatures related rant !

Finally its your questions and me and Alex actual get serious on our Complexity vs Playablity Session for a least 5 minutes.

Hope you all have a great Xmas and New Year. Its been a great 2023 for the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast and I want to thank everyone who has listened in. I hope to be back in the New Year with many more.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to the first show of what I can now say is a "Caesar Award Nominated" Podcast show !

Yes thanks to all you lovely people I was lucky enough to be one of those chosen to go forward in the Podcast category to the Awards Show in late March.

Thanks to everyone who nominated me, I am so pleased to have made the last 3, its a real achievement. Especially as this week the Podcast is 1 Year Old so its Happy Birthday as well.

Todays guest is one of the main proponents of the Big Game, Gerry Elliott. He was a regular the Wargames Holiday Centre meeting Peter Gilder there. As the old advert says, he liked it that much he bought the company.

Gerry was the co owner of the Holiday Centre with Mike Ingham for 17 years and we chat about his time at the centre as well as his love for the Big Game.

Following his time at WHC he built his own version, next door to the old one. But this time it was a different kettle of fish. This was no longer a commercial enterprise but a place for Gerry to game with his friends and likewise minded individuals.

Added to that he went for a different scale, 10mm !

But he didn't go small, oh no, he kept the same footprint as a 28mm unit but filled it with 10mm figures, Napoleonic units have up to 200 figures in them and the huge battles look spectacular, Gerry has over 100,000 figures and growing.

If you haven't seen Gerrys collection then have a look round the Situation Room Blog which has loads of pictures of his amazing set up.

https://gerryjelliottsituation.blogspot.com/

Thanks again for listening and I will see you again next month when I hope to be speaking with Simon Miller from To the Strongest and Big Game fame.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Its Christmas Time, there's no need to be afraid, or maybe there is as Brews in the Binyard returns for a Xmas Special.

Sadly there is just me and Alex as the third 6 from the unholy trinity Sean Clark couldn't make the recording.

Its a typical end of year episode with a review of 2021 and a look forward to 2022, as usual there are 14 swear words in the episode so please don't play aloud near children or nervous goldfish.

Which is better, Worcestershire Sauce or Henderson Relish, Yazoo or The Flying Pickets and what we are having for Xmas Dinner. Stories of tape measure duels and Big Games abound in a lengthy 2 hrs and 40 minutes.

Also included are some more of Yarkshire Gamers Rules for Life.

Many of my previous guests have been kind enough to record special Xmas messages throughout.

Its been a brilliant 2021 and I want to thank all my guests and especially you, the listeners. You have made this Podcast worthwhile with your support, likes, comments and follows, thank you one and all.

We will be back with new episodes in 2022, have a great Xmas and a Happy New Year.

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Alex can be found at Storm of Steel Storm of Steel Wargaming - YouTube

Christmas comes round once a year and with it comes our traditional (well we've done it twice) Brews in the Binyard Special Episode.

As always I am joined by my two scale "experts" Alex "Storm of Steel" Sotheran and Sean "Gods Own Scale (retd.)" Clark for a 3 and a half hour Monster Episode. If you are taking this in one sitting make sure you are warm and have adequate supplies of food and drink to hand and preferably something massive to paint. If that's two much then the show is split into 3 easier to digest sections.

The episode opens with a little story from Nick Skinner of Toofatlardies and if you don't enjoy that its going to be a very long 3 and a half hours. Interspersed throughout the show are Xmas messages from those guests from 2022 who could work out how to record a voice file ;-)

After the usual introductions and catch ups, section 1 has a relatively (for us) serious discussion on the tropes associated with World War 1, triggered by an episode of the American Podcast "Anything But a One". Alex and Sean are on fire in this one and have slapped the gauntlet down to the Blackadder like views of our Colonial friends.

Towards the end of the first part Sean is abducted by Aliens live on air, either that or the dial up internet connection in Stoke failed.

The second part descends to its usual levels with a review of entrants into Wargames Room 101 since the Summer Brews Episode and then Sean and Alex get to have a go at the new Desert Island Wargame Section.

Then for a finale its the usual "Ask Our Nora" section where the panel demolish the listeners questions. Sean once again is beamed up during the section but returns a short while later after a good probing by the Greys.

Brews in the Binyard is a bit Marmite, some of you love it more that the other "normal" episodes whilst others don't get it. Its designed to be fun, its a bit slack when it comes to editing out naughty words, we make a few jokes. So you have been warned lol.

Merry Xmas to all the listeners and viewers of the Podcast and thank you so much for all your support this year, Yarkshire Gamer has continued to get more followers and listeners during the year and downloads have now exceeded 50,000 which is simply amazing.

Thank you all.

There will be a special one off Awards Show between Xmas and the New Year so until then,

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to the Podcast within a Podcast, the irrelevant chat of three middle aged men who are old enough to know better.

In between mentions of 80s TV detective Eddie Shoestring, Avocado Bathroom Suites, the sad demise of Bob Point and of course Sean tells us more tales from his deep in depth knowledge of the Mexican Revolution, there is on occasion some wargames chat.

But if your looking for some informative discussion on your early medieval army list options for your next competition then much, much more serious podcasts are available. 

We catch up on what the boys are doing with their channels before we take a deep dive into the Wargames Room 101 entries of my previous guests and see if any of them can be rescued from the Vault.

With nearly 4 hours of material recorded I decided once again to split this episode in half, with the second part released next week. So if you put a question forward it will be answered in the next episode.

WARNING - This episode contains some bouts of mild cursing, all references to that lot over the hill have been removed in editing.

My guests are of course Sean Clark of Gods Own Scale 

https://godsownscale6mm.podbean.com/

And Alex Sotheran of Storm of Steel 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNUYwNznn-ZuNMoHoF3urwQ

Until next week, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Here is my 32nd attempt at getting a Podcast right !

Today my guest is another old friend and fellow Big Gamer, Chris Flowers. Last week I got on my bike and went to speak with him face to face in his wonderful wargames room.

Chris grew up in a military family and stand by for a couple of awesome name drops at the start of the show.

Chris has been putting on large display games on the UK Wargames Show Circuit since the early 1980s. Beginning with the S.O.D.S group he was part of an amazing series of exclusively Napoleonic Games which were truly In the Grand Manner and a regular highlight at many of the events I attended.

Chris moved on to putting games on under his own name, then with the Bramley Barn Group and more recently with Legendary Wargames (see Episode 2 of this Podcast), he has diversified from solely doing Napoleonics to covering 1950s Cold War, Ancients and ACW at shows but his true love I think will always be games like Eylau and Waterloo.

All the regular features are here including a new Desert Island Wargame Section so sit back with a good brew and enjoy.

Chris doesn't have a website etc so there is no link this episode, you'll just have to go and see him at a show.

Next episode will be a Catch Up so lets see who, from my previous guests answers the phone when I call.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome back to the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast with our usual Xmas Special with the Brews in the Binyard Boys, Alex Sotheran from Storm of Steel and Iain McDonald from Flags of War.

In what is now tradition I butcher a Xmas song at the start of the show so get ready for a version of Fairy Tale of New York which you have never heard before !

The show ended up being 4 hours long, but lets face it, you've got plenty of spare time over Xmas, stick some earbuds in and pretend to be asleep after a festive meal.

We tackle weighty subjects like, what the f.... is Trench Crusade about, why historians can't make their minds up (again), Crisp Butties, the demise of Twitter, Warlord Games French Lancer horse legs and most importantly which is the best Fish and Chip Shop in Skipton.

Whether you digest it in a oner or in several more digestible parts, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did recording it.

I hope to be back in the new year with the regular mix of guests, until then have a great Xmas and a Happy New Year and may all your Pike Blocks be massive !

Until Next Time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer  

Hello everyone and welcome once again to the Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast as I reach the 54th episode. In a bit of an extended introduction I go through and explain a recent change in my guest booking process. Before moving onto the main course.

Today my guest is Nigel Atter who is a WW1 historian with a couple of books to his name who has studied one of my favourite campaigns of history to recreate, The Great War in Mesopotamia.

Its a fascinating area to look at and very different to the more commonly studied war on the Western Front.

My guest is no stranger to the wargaming table as well so we look at his own personal wargaming and history story before doing the features session, skipping over the usual Big Game chat to give us more time to concentrate on the main topic.

Nigels books can be obtained via Helion on the link below,  

Nigel Atter - Biography | Helion & Company | Military History Books

Hope you enjoy the episode and maybe get a taste for the Campaign yourself.

My next episode will see me talking with the authors of the WW2 rule set Rapid Fire, Richard Marsh and Colin Rumford.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Welcome to Episode 43 of the Reet Big Wargames Podcast and today my guest is Paul Thompson of EWM or Early War Miniatures.

Pauls company specialises in 20mm WW1, Interwar and WW2 figures and vehicles as well as a growing range of scenery, including a certain Binyard !

Its a long episode but Paul had some great stories outside of our usual chat so get ready for tall tales of German Military raids on the Isle of Wight in 1943, torpedoing sail boats in paddling pools with 1/35 scale submarines, riding around the country in a tank with the Perries and facing wargames gilterati whist dressed in plate armour.

On top of that we have all our usual features, Wargames Room 101 keeps going strong as another pet wargaming hate gets added to the Vault, we have another excellent attempt at the quiz and an unusual choice on Desert Island Wargame.

Thanks very much for continuing to tune in, the Podcast reached 75,000 downloads just after the release of Episode 42 and is already racing towards 80,000. If you enjoy the episodes and get chance please like, subscribe and leave comments where you listen to the show. Its a great way to get more people interested in the show.

You can get EWM figures via the link below, or why not pop and share a Ginger Nut with Paul at the next show.

EWM (earlywarminiatures.com)

Next episode should be out in around 3 weeks and I will be chatting to Pete Berry of Baccus Miniatures in the first ever Battle of the Scales :-)

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Hello all and welcome to Episode 69 of the Reet Big Wargames Podcast.

My guest today is Arran Johnston, Arran works with the Scottish Battlefield Trust and the Battle of Prestonpans Museum increasing awareness of the History of conflicts in the Highlands, Lowlands and Isles.

A specialist in the Jacobite Rising Arran has had a number of books published on that subject as well as Cromwells earlier campaigns in Scotland. On top of his day job he has also done some historical re-enactment, so as my grandma would say " He knows his eggs"

Arran has a personal website covering his historical work here

https://www.arranjohnston.co.uk/

The work he does with the Battle of Prestonpans Museum can be found here

https://www.battleofprestonpans1745.org/

Recently Arran has begun to use Wargaming as a tool to tell the story of the Jacobite Rising and has chronicled the Campaigns in a series of "What If" videos on the museums YouTube Channel.

The decisions made, by the Jacobites in the first run through and by the Government in the second have been made by members of the public which has been a really interesting experiment. You can tune into the campaign here

www.youtube.com/@Prestonpans1745

I think all wargamers would love to be involved in such a well run campaign.

My next guest will be Jared Fishman from the US Wargaming Podcast, 20 Sided Gamified Podcast.

See you soon

Regards Ken

Welcome to Episode 53, for the first time on the Podcast we are going to have a detailed look at a Wargames Show in the UK and we have started with the biggest.

Salute is a London based show which has been around since the 1970s, it has grown and grown through a series of venues to its current location in the Excel centre and it sees around 6,000 devotees of the Wargaming Hobby descending on it each year.

My guests are Phil Andrews who is the current lead organiser of the show and Martin Gane who is the President of the South London Warlords, the club that runs the show.

As usual we get to know our guests through the Introduction, Big Game Chat and Features section before getting into the Big Topic which of course is the Salute Show.

Full details, including tickets etc on Salute can be found at the following location,

https://southlondonwarlords.co.uk/salute-1

Hope you enjoy the episode and I will be back next month with another guest and another show.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

This is the first full episode of Yarkshire Gamers Reet Grand Toy Soldier Adventures.

Today the host is joined by Chris Breeze and Gareth Lane to discuss their own experience of the Big Game Wargame and their plans for The World Wars of the Roses, a international event which will see a number of games played across the globe on the same weekend, all of which will be WotR related,

After our double header history fest on Jutland with Nick Jellicoe its time to get back to basics with a special episode on Wargames Terrain.

My guest is Joe Bilton aka @Joe_Wargamer on Twitter (sorry Elon, its Twitter mate) who during the 5 years or so he has been in the hobby has produced some superb quality tables with an emphasis on more realistic terrain.

His day job is creating maps for Wargames, mostly Role Play and Fantasy style stuff but with an increasing amount of historical stuff chucked in, here's a link to the company

http://www.heroicmaps.com/

All the usual sections are there and we have a cracking entry into Room 101, I can feel the Twitters lighting up already !

The final section of the show is a deep dive into terrain making with some top tips and ideas for improving the look of our wargames tables.

My next guest will be Pete from TAG, I'm a big fan of The Assault Groups Italian Wars figures so I'm really looking forward to that one.

Sit back and relax with a nice brew and a Garibaldi and enjoy the episode.

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

It's been a month or so since the last episode so it's great to be back with another Big Game Chat.

This time we are off to Perth, Australia to talk with Carlo Pagano about wargaming in general and his reconstitution of Peter Gilders Sands of Sudan Rules.

As usual we had disappeared down a rabbit hole within 15 minutes of the start but I'm sure you all tune into wargames Podcasts to discover the difference between Crown and Flat Green Bowling anyway !

It's back to the usual 4 part format, we learn about Carlos' wargaming history and his love of Big Games. Whilst the Quiz reveals yet more food choices from your Local Fish and Chip Shop as well as what pet hate has been banished into Wargames Room 101.

The Big Topic is all about Colonial Wargaming, something we haven't covered before on the show so there is a good chat about that before we move onto the Sands of Sudan Rules.

Carlo has managed to piece together the rules from old scraps of paper left at the Wargames Holiday Centre and information provided by former players. The rules have never been formally published as they were used as a bit of a palette cleanser between Big Napoleonic or ACW games during the Wargaming Weeks that Peter used to run.

Carlo has his website at

https://withpyjamasthroughthedessert.blogspot.com/

The rules can be obtained in the UK from Caliver Books

https://www.caliverbooks.com/bookview.php?ohv1los7ubv6b8hvnp80l19ea7&id=27069

And directly from Carlo in Australia.

it's great to be back on air and I've got guests booked in now till Xmas and pencilled in until Feb 2023, having too many guests is a nice problem to have.

My next guest is Painter and Author Mark Hides, a Yorkshire Lad, Tune in, in a couple of weeks time as we find out more about life as a Professional Figure Painter.

Regards Ken 

The Yarkshire Gamer