Bozadir & Peapod as a Wargame
Wargaming is a popular hobby enjoyed by both children and adults alike. One of its original exponents was H.G.Wells, who wrote about it in his famous book Little Wars, first published in 1913. He said, ‘Little Wars is the game of kings – for players in an inferior social position. It can be played by boys of every age from twelve to one hundred and fifty.’ Though to be politically correct in this day and age, we should also include girls as well.
Wargaming is predominantly an indoor game fought between two or more players commanding opposing armies of authentically painted military figures. It is played on a tabletop battlefield, complete with model houses, roads, hills, forests and other scenery. Armies from almost any period of history (including fantasy and science fiction) can be recreated, from Ancient through Medieval and Napoleonic to modern day. A number of manufacturers produce wargame figures, cast from metal or plastic, and normally conform to the most popular scales of 25mm, 15mm and 6mm. The hobby is supported by a wealth of published historical background information, battle scenarios and details for painting uniforms, together with specific sets of playing rules for each period and scale. High Street magazines, National exhibitions and Wargame Clubs up and down the Country also support the hobby.
However, unlike most wargames in which the armies are represented as full size soldiers in miniature, readily available 6mm scale Ancient and Early Medieval figures correspond to the actual, real life size of Bozadir, Peapod and the folk of the Green Empire. Equally, the garden, together with its attendant plants and insects, is their real life size environment and makes an excellent ‘wargame table’, English weather permitting, of course.
But there is no reason why the more ambitious cannot set up a modestly sized wargame table indoors during a rainy afternoon, scatter it with bits and pieces from the garden and commandeer a few of mum’s houseplants in order to create an authentic setting. A length of old tree branch, for instance, with a bit of cutting and carving, could easily be turned into the Citadel of Flainaire. A little more imagination could recreate the outlaying city defences. The scene is then set for Bibrax Thornhelm to defend it against the Norgian siege, followed by its relief as Dunlin and his Salicsian army attack the besiegers. Other battles described in the books can also be recreated or alternative scenarios can be made up. Would Bozadir have beaten Wasp if Dunlin had not turned up to help him, for example? Could Wasp have won the battle anyway if Blackwing and his Sabuli had not fled the field? Would Peapod Greenears have escaped to Laphelle if the spiders of Grazog had not got them to the thorn bushes quick enough? Who knows until the scenarios are played out?
A few manufacturers produce comprehensive and relatively cheap ranges of 6mm ancient and early medieval armies (Heroics and Ros, for example) These figures are superbly detailed and I have made an effort throughout my story to inform the reader of the arms, uniform details, colours and insignia of the various nations involved in order that their armies can be recreated for War Game purposes.
Acquiring real size model insects can prove troublesome, though bodies can be made from hard-setting modelling clay (Das Pronto for example) and fine wire for legs. Alternatively, dead insects from the garden can be used by the less squeamish! Standard 6mm figures can be modified into riding positions with a bit of waist cutting and the addition of Das Pronto legs.
Playing rules can be loosely based upon those published for 6mm Ancient and Medieval wargames. Additional rules for insect flying and riding, aerial combat, war-beetle charging and melee will need to be devised by the players, as will any special rules for the havoc caused if a real live insect happens to lumber unexpectedly onto the scene.
As a 25mm Napoleonic wargamer, I often relish the chance to escape the bark of cannon, the rattle of muskets and the clash of sabres to spend a leisurely afternoon in a warm garden with Bozadir and his companions. There is nothing better than winning a skirmish against a band of raiding Hagrathian beetle-riders at the edge of the lawn and celebrating the victory with a cool jug of Grubseed’s dandelion ale.