Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. Or By mail at PO Box 1522 West Chester, OH 45071-1522 Or by email 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

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

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/

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

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

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

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