Flames of War

I went and saw my first game of Flames of War today at my local gaming establishment. I have been kicking around the idea of seriously getting into a historical wargame or two for many years, but nothing has ever pushed me over that final edge until now. A number of folks I already game with are either interested or are already playing Flames of War, so (other than the financial concerns of playing yet another miniature wargame) I am ready to pick up some figures and get started myself. Then again, I cannot exactly claim to have a high degree of resistance for historical wargaming either. Anybody who has seen me get stuck watching History channel for hours on end (or Gettysburg whenever it comes on, like it did twice this weekend) is quite aware of my interest in history. Speaking of Gettysburg, that reminds me that I have been promising myself to make a day trip (or two) up there for the last couple summers. It is pretty sad that my commute to work every day is only about three miles shorter than a drive up to Gettysburg, PA, yet I have not been up there in a decade.

Next on my list of historical periods to look into are American Civil War (which is fairly popular from what I have seen so far), American Revolution (which might be a little more difficult), Napoleonics (another big one), some combination of Ancients and Medieval, and lastly the modern era (from Vietnam on forward).

When you think about it, it is hard not to have some level of interest in the American Civil War when you live in the Baltimorea area. You can hardly sneeze out here without hitting a battle site (Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Monocacy, and Manassas just to name a few). I want to go out to PA, stand on top of Little Roundtop again, where Chamberlain himself stood, look out onto the battlefield outside Gettysburg and some how try to comprehend the enormitiy of what happened there almost 150 years ago.

And then take some pictures and blog about it.