There are a lot of people out there trying to recapture the spirit of the original D&D games. For my own part, I can think of nothing that was more magical than my first excursion into the blue covered rulebook I got back in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Old School Hack is another attempt.
The Miniature Wargaming Editor
Charge At The Alamo Board Game
Charge At The Alamo is a free print-and-play board wargame of the Mexican assault on the famous defenders. The author writes that it’s:
A downloadable game portraying the Mexican assault on the Alamo. The Alamo Compound and six immediate approaches are depicted on a map that can be adequately printed on a single 8/5 x 11-inch sheet.
Units are activated on the basis of Command Rolls. Twenty-nine Mexican units (roughly companies) face ten Texan personnel units and eight artillery markers.
The Alamo complex is represented by walls and buildings of varying strength which can be reduced as a result of attacks. Defenders may be outside or inside certain structures. Mexican formations have stacking limits and may spread from their original appearance area by oblique movement.
The rules amount to approximately seven pages. Optional rules, examples of play and designer’s notes are also included.
Combined Arms 2000 Board Game
Combined Arms 2000 is a free print-and-play board game for modern era combat. The description from Board Game Geek:
Combined Arms 2000 is a light wargame simulating armored warfare using modern technology. It features a realistic scale for both movement and fire (1 space = 1 kilometer), a good selection of vehicle and infantry types, off-board fire support, and fixed-wing air support.
Players build armies from parts of a shared deck, then fight! The attacker has only ten turns to seize his objectives. Wise use of reserves, clever scouting, and bold maneuver are all needed to attain victory.
This is a free print & play release on BoardGameGeek. Print cards and box to 110 lb cardstock, and rules to a single sheet of typing paper. Heavy lines on the box are cut lines; lighter lines are all mountain folds.
Making An Orange Grove
The Daddy’s Little Men Blog has a brief article on his experience trying to make an orange grove for a game set in southern Lebanon.