Followers

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Now, we had it tough...

Back in the 1970s Britain crackled with the static generated by 20 million pairs of crimpelene slacks, men sprayed their hair with an evil smelling laquer called Cossack, the height of culinary sophistication was mechanically reclaimed meat and pubs in Britain were compelled by law to be shut whenever you wanted to buy a drink. Life was brutish (or more accurately Brut-ish), money was short and so we had to get our wargames enjoyment from things like this:

 
 
 
 
You sent off for the Micro series from Tabletop Games in Nottingham. The small bag you received in return for your cheque or postal order contained everything you needed for a wargame - troops, terrain, measuring devices and rules, all bar the latter made of thin cardboard. It might have looked like an Avalon Hill boardgame, with counters representing troops, but you played it like a figure game - the hills even had contours. From what I recall it was actually quite a good game, if visually underwhelming.  However, I only had the Micro Colonial set with the Rorke's Drift supplement, though doubtless there are people out their who can tell us what delights the Ancients package pictured above contained.
Well, come on, speak up now!

7 comments:

  1. Let's see, I've got the lot (I think) but...can't find them. It came up on TMP and I listed them, put the things away somewhere and.. Likewise, can't find the thread on TMP either. I'll keep looking.
    Rob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Rob. There seems to be a dealer in 2nd-hand games in the US who is selling some sets for around 7 dollars. There's also a set of the Micro Sci-Fi up on eBay at present. Did you enjoy playing them?

      Delete
  2. Found the army layout sheets: In no particular order, and not sure if it is exhaustive: Macedonian,Persian, Indian, Ancient Briton, Late Roman, Byzantine, Hun, Goth, Sassanid, Gallic, Roman Republic, Carthage. I don't seem to have any Early Imperial Roman stuff, surprising, the basic set was the Republic/Carthage one.

    Rob

    ReplyDelete
  3. As I recall I bought it at a time when I was considering those new fangled 5mm figures. Rules seemed OK, good ideas and I considered trying to scale them up to use with 25mm figures. Main problems were that they were just too small and too easy to be displaced by any breeze. If I used them today I would consider putting them on magnetic tape and using a steel game board.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Never bought them but I remember the Tabletop Games guy (with his pipe so must have been pre-2007!) selling them on his stand at various shows... I remember they were very cheap....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fortunately 1970s skintness notwithstanding I never sank as low as carboard. Plastic yes but not carboard. One of my then friends bought a couple as he liked the idea of instant warrgames. I think we played twice As for the Brut Iwas an Old Spice and Tabac man myselfand Gawd help me a brushed Denim chaps- before becomeing a hippie- I blush to think On't
    At a later time- tghe 90s - remember "Smelly Bob" - he of the pipe who in later life tried to run over my driver at a show in Leeds cos Jimbo had inferred he should stand closer to the soap !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brushed denim chaps? You'd never have got away with those in Middlesbrough.

      Delete