Keep Your Powder Dry

The latest ruleset to come under the KeepYourPowderDry microscope will be the last rules review for a wee while (until I purchase some more).  The writers of the Spanish 30 Years Wars rules Liber Militum: Tercio have tweaked the rules so that they can be used for a number of other conflicts within the pike and shot period with the Kingdoms expansion booklet. Described as a 'ruleset for large scale battles with miniatures set in the Thirty Years War' the rules have been translated into English. The publisher keeps changing website (currently Tercios Miniatures), and  has a  free slimmed down version of the game to download: Brevis Editio: Tercios Finding a printed copy might need a little shopping around: North Star currently have the core rules book, but not the Kingdoms expansion.  The rules are intended to be fast play so the basic mechanics are pretty simple. Turn order is alternated, and each turn consists of two elements: planning and action phases. Units are al...

Don't forget to have a look at the entry for Oxford , the King's capital;  Banbury ; the battle of Chalgrove Field (coming soon); and the battle of Middleton Cheney (also coming soon). The first entry in the Oxfordshire Houses of Interest post isn't a house, it's a castle. Broughton Castle to be precise, home of Lord Saye and Sele. And what a castle! Broughton is a fourteenth century moated manor house. William Fiennes, the 8th Lord Saye and Sele, emerged as one of the leaders of the Puritan Parliamentary group in the 1630s who were opposed to the autocratic (and religious) behaviour of Charles I. He earned the nickname 'Old Subtlety' because of his meticulousness in outwitting the King's advisors. Among the fine collection of miniatures on display is one of John Pym William was one of the founders of the Providence Island Company: the Company met frequently at the Castle - although those meetings were often a front for covert meetings of the ...

We should be used to 28mm Civil War figure manufacturers publishing their in-house rules, Warlord's Pike and Shotte, Foundry's 1644. The Kingdom is Ours is Bicorne's foray into rules publishing. Whilst it is to be expected that these rulebooks become glossy showrooms for their figure ranges, The Kingdom Is Ours has a stronger whiff of it being Bicorne's catalogue with some rules tacked on, rather than a set of rules that showcase figures from a particular range. As appears standard, there is a very brief timeline and introduction to troop types encountered in English Civil War battles. The ever splendid Peter Dennis providing the cover artwork Then follows an explanation of the 'unit trackers', a frame to hold a number of dice (10 D6 per tracker). And yes you are going to need one for each unit. Coincidentally, or not, these are for sale on Bicorne's website. You will also need a command tracker for each general (just 5 D6 for these). Shares in a D6 company ...

 For those of you with an occasional ear on Radio 4, this week's Book of The Week may be of interest... The Restless Republic - Britain Without A Crown by Anna Keay is being serialised this week. Five 15 minute programmes serialise the story of 'the extraordinary decade that followed the execution of Charles I in 1649'. All episodes will be available for five weeks via BBC Sounds. You can find the BBC Radio page for the programme here. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

KeepYourPowderDry continues in its quest to take over Front Row on Radio 4... The much anticipated latest from  Pádraig Lenihan has finally arrived. Much anticipated because of the dearth of material available on the Eleven Years War component (of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms) that is available for not-silly-money ™ .  I must point out that I was sent this copy, gratis, from Helion Books, courtesy Charles Singleton. Thank you. Having heard Pádraig speak at the Helion Conference, I was looking forward to getting my hands upon this volume. Not just because I wanted a book that didn't involve selling a kidney, but mostly because I have just started my Catholic Confederate army, and am unsure what to do cavalry-wise. First a look at the pictures. Let's face it, everyone turns to the colour illustrations when they first get a book like this. Guilty as charged m'lud. There are eight full colour 'soldier' pictures by the very talented Seán Ó Brógain, one of which app...

Sorry regular readers, comments and the contact form have temporarily been turned off. Why? A YouTube 'content creator' has put a direct link in his description to my post about Newark Upon Trent.  Why has he done that? Because I posted a picture of an information panel from Newark Castle, which features an image of a man of African descent. An information panel that I did not write or have any hand in creating. The man pictured is an actor, portraying a man called John Americanus, who fought for the King at Newark. John's role in the defence of Newark is well documented. And yes, John was of African descent. The National Civil War Centre created a Civil War Trail around the town, information panels are located at points of interest. These panels feature QR codes which accessed features on a now defunct smartphone app. Each location also featured an eye witness account - stories from real people who witnessed the events in Newark. Each information panel has a photographic r...

Readers familiar with Radio 4's Front Row will be wondering if KeepYourPowderDry is muscling in on Samira Ahmed's post-Archers slot on the nation's airwaves. Fear not. But this is a first for KeepYourPowderDry...a theatrical review. A trip down to that there London saw KeepYourPowderDry visit the Garrick Theatre, for the self styled 'riotous new comedy' set around Captain Blood's attempt to steal the crown jewels. Written by Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly), and directed by Sean Foley (Upstart Crow); the Crown Jewels stars Al Murray as King Charles II. He’s joined by a star-studded cast: Carrie Hope Fletcher, Mel Giedroyc, Neil Morrissey, Joe Thomas, Aidan McArdle, and Tanvi Virmani. Not Al Murray Based upon the somewhat incredulous story of Captain Blood's attempted theft of the crown jewels, the script allows the cast enough leeway to exploit their talents as stand up comedians. (I'm trying really hard not to give any spoilers here, can you tell?)  At ti...

Cirencester, a town I knew quite well, having lived there for a short period of time in the early 90s. Little did I know at the time that the town had a role in the Civil War (the Roman connection, along with 'quaintness' were Ciren's indelible marks at the time). Cirencester changed hands a number of times during the Civil War due to it's strategic positioning on the approach to the West Country. Originally held by the Royalists it was taken by Parliamentarian forces in 1642. The most significant engagement took place on the 2nd February 1643 when Prince Rupert took the town. Rupert marched from Oxford and camped overnight at Cirencester Park. He attacked the next day at noon, the bloody battle lasting four hours. In the initial assault he bombarded the town from Ceciley Hill, and attacked and took the heavily defended Giffard's House. Rupert's army found that the buildings outside the town walls were still intact so were able to use the cover that they aff...

The battle of Stow-On-The Wold saw the King's last field army capitulate to the New Model Army, effectively ending the First Civil War. Sir Jacob Astley left Oxford in December 1645 to rally troops in the midlands to the King's cause; unfortunately, a lack of money and widespread flooding hampered his task. Early in 1646, Chester fell to Parliament, and Astley found himself at Worcester; the Parliamentarian Colonels Birch and Morgan were manoeuvring their separate forces forcing his route, and Brereton was advancing south from Cheshire closing the door on Astley's escape north. Another Parliamentarian force, under Fleetwood, was waiting near Stow blocking Astley's road to Oxford. Somehow Astley managed to outmanoeuvre Morgan and cross the Avon. Morgan would harry Astley's rear-guard delaying his progress, giving time for Birch and Brereton to catch up. Astley was able to make it to the fields north of Stow, where he would make a stand. Unfortunately for Astley, all ...