2026 Q3 Report: What we make of the mess

 

Napoleon's Bivouac on the battlefield of Wagram during the night of 5-6 July 1809
(Adolphe Roehn, 1810).

 

Success is relative. It is what we make of the mess we have made of things.

― T.S. Eliot

 

This quarterly report is a couple of days late. So was the last quarter’s report. I try to keep some things on A Fast Game to a fairly strict schedule, but lately more and more of my time has not been my own, and life outside of games intrudes pleasantly and unpleasantly, and there is also a burden of my own construction that devours what little time I have left.

I’ll try to get back to a tighter schedule in December/January. I doubt anyone besides myself really cares about a few days’ drift, but nonetheless, punctuality should be maintained, lest everything else begin to slide into chaos.  But enough histrionics – let’s get back to the appraisal.

 

Incoming

I have been trying to wind back on the number of games I order or purchase because of the perennial difficulties of storage, which I’m sure I’ve mentioned before. Nonetheless, I feel vaguely richer for having received thirteen new or new-to-me games this quarter, three up from last quarter. Of dear – that’s roughly one a week. When put that way, it seems like a lot.

A couple of these – 1809: Talavera (Tactical Workshop, 2026) and Brandywine 1777: A Time for Heroes (Les 3 Zouaves, 2026), were crowdfunded a while ago, while Nine Years: The War of the Grand Alliance 1688-1697 (Compass Games, 2017) was an addition to the Brandywine package with no extra shipping from the Australian distributor, Milsims. La Bataille de Hanau (Legion Wargames, 2021 – unboxing post here) was on special direct from the publisher (honestly, I could have gone a lot harder on that sale had money not been an option). The Grand Battles (GMT Games, 2026 – unboxing here) seventh expansion for Commands & Colors: Napoleonics (GMT Games, 2010), The Three Days of Gettysburg (GMT Games, 2026), Thunderbolt Deluxe, (GMT Games, 2026) and Coast Watchers (GMT Games, 2026) were P500 orders. Army of the Potomac (GMT Games, 2026), the second volume in designer Mark Herman’s Civil War Heritage series, was a post-purchase from Amazon after I’d cancelled my pre-order (to make room for Thunderbolt, 3DoG, and The Grand Battles, which all dropped in the same order – when I had to give up one game, I reasoned (correctly, as it turned out) that AofP would be the easiest to source domestically).

Q3 haul. Thunderbolt is absent from this picture (I only realised this
after putting everything away).

I’m sure I’ve expressed in this forum my lack of any nee for a new tactical-level game system. While I own several tactical systems, Operational is my preferred mode of play. That said, I can sometimes be convinced, as was the case of during a conversation with The Last Hundred Yards (GMT Games, 2019) designer, Mike Denison. Mr Denison told me about how the game had come about and gave me a brief appraisal of how the game plays out, the emphasis on the attacker’s maintaining momentum, how armour functioned and so on. In spite of my best intentions, I ordered a copy of LHY Vol. 3 - Solomon Islands (GMT Games, 2022) that afternoon.

1943-1945 (Dissimula Edizioni, 2024) and Model’s Counterattack (Dissimula Edizioni, 2025) were an opportunistic purchase. I'd regretted not backing both games during their respective Kickstarter campaigns. As it turned out, these copies landed at a store interstate that does a roaring trade in games whose owners are no longer in need of them. These two were mentioned in the store’s newsletter, which I happened to read on the bus home. I ordered them when I got in. I’m a fan of Sergio Schiavi’s work, so I was happy to give these two a new home.

Operazione C3 rule book (Banmsai 30)

I also received a copy of Bansai 30 (BonSai Games, 2026). Bansai is BonSai Games’ in-house wargaming magazine. Publisher Yasushi Nakaguro reprinted A Fast Game’s interview with designer Brian Train, in this issue, and Mr Nakaguro was kind enough to forward me a courtesy copy. Each issue of Bansai comes with a complete game, and number 30 included Operazione C3 (Aleph Game Studio, 2024), which first appeared in the November 2024 issue of Italian wargame magazine, Para Bellum.

It is a source of consternation that, apart from The Great Battles, I have yet to punch, sort or otherwise spend much time with any of these new additions. I anticipate catching up on at least some of these before Christmas, but I can make no promises regarding which ones. Brandywine 1777 is near the top of the list, as T ordered a copy at the same time and is keen to play.

 

Games played

Agincourt scenario, Men of Iron Tri-Pack.

My opportunities to play have taken a hit this quarter, and there are a couple of reasons for this, which I have talked about previously, so I’m not going to rehash everything here. My brother-in-law and I have been meeting once or twice a week for a game, and have been giving The Grand Battles a workout when we can. We’ve played a couple of the Grand Battle scenarios, including Borodino on the even larger pre-printed card map. After some back and forth, I finally managed to secure the patch kit for T’s Men of Iron Tri-Pack (GMT Games, 20), so we’ve had a couple of runs at the Agincourt scenario, just to get a feel again for the system. T is keen on getting to the Blood and Roses scenarios, claiming a distant relative who fought at Tewksbury. Expect a write-up or two in Q4.

Borodino (near-completed set-up).

After a hiatus, I’ve come back to Rally the Troops, playing an American friend at Washington’s War (GMT Games, 2010). I’m thinking about dipping my toe in with Paths of Glory (GMT Games, 1999), which is now also available on RTT. In fact, at time of writing, the site now hosts thirty-four titles. That’s thirty-four different games with full rules implementation – the system won’t let you do anything you can’t do under the rules. I’m embarrassed to admit, I’ve never played PoG, but I have another online acquaintance who is willing to coach me through my first game.

Two champions meet in single combat before the battle. Midgard: Heroic Battles.

The Wednesday group has been trying out a relatively new – definitely new to us – minis rules-set called Midgard: Heroic Battles. Reisswitz Press, 2024) Midgard covers a span from late Bronze Age through to well into the Middle Ages, and provides a smooth, intuitive, and convincing system for combat and realistic movement. So far, we’ve only played a few games set in late Roman England, but this is fast becoming one of my favourite Minis rules-sets.

Our host also introduced us to Baltic Empires (GMT Games, 2026), with a five-player game, which we played out over two weeks, but as it turned out, could probably have managed in just one if we’d played half an hour longer – Poland ran away with a Cultural Victory. We’re all keen to take it out for another spin, if only to gang up against K (who played Poland).

Another French victory. Siege of Quebec, Second Edition.

I did find time to roll out a couple of short solo games. Siege of Quebec (Worthington Publishing, 2022) is an old favourite, and short enough to get two or three games done in a short afternoon, which has been my habit of long standing because I never seem capable of beating the game on the first run.

1854: the Alma (Conflict Simulations Ltd, 2023) is another frustratingly good solo game, and one I come back to once or twice a year. I don’t think I’ve got the upper hand on this one even once. It’s a tough needle to thread. I’m sure it can be done, but I’m still looking. I probably need to write something about this one.

Baltic Empires. Truly one of the prettiest maps I've seen in a while.

Blog matters

I uploaded just ten posts this quarter, a frequency of less than one a week. I mentioned in the last quarterly report that I had begun to gather data for the blog’s next big research project. While fixed in scope, the project has ballooned beyond my initial expectations in terms of effort and time required. I had intended to have that finished and posted by the end of September (certainly before the release of this report) so as to have something to show for my tardiness on pretty every other front. I am, however, still working on it, tinkering and adding. I anticipate another fortnight, so I’ll say it should be up in three weeks’ time, and so give myself a little cheer when it arrives a week early. Whether it will have been worth the effort remains to be seen, but I did have fun with the research end. It’s taking too long to finish, but there may be some value to it when it’s done.

A Fast Game received 26,866 page views over the quarter, slightly better than Q2. It seems the less often I post, the more interest is paid to the blog. I can’t explain this; I’m just glad interest isn’t waning while I’ve been off doing other things.

In all, I posted 19,030 words to A Fast Game in Q3; not nothing, but a low-production quarter for me, and about 1,700 words more than I wrote for my Honours thesis, some time ago now. At 458,103 words overall, A Fast Game is a long essay short of The Count of Monte Cristo in length.

Announcement by Gary Mengle (Ardwulf's Lair) regarding the CSR Awards.

A recent online announcement has confirmed that, while delayed, the Charles S. Roberts Awards for 2025 will be going ahead, albeit later than in recent years. A Fast Game will continue the coverage of the Charlies that readers have come to expect over the last couple of years.  

 

Extra-curricular activities

I have taken my first step into a larger world and joined my first competitive wargame ladder. Bill Peeck runs the Washington’s War ladder for Rally the Troops. This was on the recommendation of a friend who I’ve played a couple of games with via RTT, but I fear tired of beating me so convincingly each time. I’ve been paired for my first round game, but haven’t yet heard back from my opponent; still, it’s early days. Next quarter, I’m sure I’ll be able to report on two or three sound defeats. Beyond actually playing some more and different games, all of my efforts will be funnelled into getting A Fast Game back to a reasonable frequency of posting.

 

Next steps

My primary objective in the short term is to complete the current research piece. Beyond that, the only plans I have for A Fast Game are to try to catch up on all the things I have let slide in these last four or so months. There should be an interview coming in Q4, but I can’t say more than that – it’s a surprise. There are a couple of people I’d like to interview for A Fast Game, but I haven’t approached anyone yet. There is also one more (much more focussed) feature article I’d like to do, something that’s in train, but may not get to the blog before next year. Sorry to be cryptic, but I don’t want to say too much because I’m still working out how best to make it work.

That's all I can tall you for now. Thank you for reading this far, and for sticking with A Fast Game. More posts are on the way, and most of them will be more interesting than this one. But right now real life calls (in the form of a sink full of dirty dishes and a hungry feline).