118.8K
Downloads
71
Episodes
A wargaming Podcast covering that modern day rarity, The Big Game. No 10 figures a side on a 3ft square table here old chap. All scales, all periods, so long as its BIG. You know what they say ”Go Big or Go Home” We, my friends have gone Big ! Each episode will look at a different aspect of the Big Wargame and do a little bit to bring them back into fashion. Is it a coincidence that Warlord games bring an Epic scale box set out just after this podcast went to air ! I don’t think so, so get on board the Big Game Train and let’s ride it down a 30 foot table. Regards Ken The Yarkshire Gamer
Episodes
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Welcome back everyone, it's been nearly 2 months since the last episode, doing 5 in December was like setting a flamethrower to both ends of the candle and I had burnt myself out.
But after a good rest and concentrating on my hobby projects for a while I'm back and ready to go again. I've got the next 8 episodes planned with some great guests, I have Manufacturers, Painters, Authors, Big Gamers, Hobby Legends and the like to bring to you, I also hope to bring episodes from countries we haven't visited before and get the low down from fellow wargamers around the world.
In addition to that I have a tester episode with a non wargaming Historian which will follow an obviously different format, but if it works its something I plan to do in the future if it works out well.
But that's the future, it's time to introduce my guest, I first became aware of Martyn Kelly from his Facebook posts regarding some huge participation games he has put on at Conventions in the US. He's done some brilliant Italian Wars games featuring a 196 figure Pike Block which in my opinion really represents the 9,500 men who were actually in that block, much better than 24 figures for sure.
I love talking from Gamers outside the UK and getting there perspective on a hobby we all love in so many different ways. All the usual features are here, Big Game Chat, Quiz, Wargame Room 101, Desert Island Wargame and the usual chat in between.
I talk to Martyn in the Big Topic about the set up of Conventions in the US, how they are organised and what a visitor expects to see. We then move on to talk about what visitors expect from a Big Game at a convention and the differences between putting such a game on between one with friends and one with total strangers at an event.
Its then a deep dive into how my guest goes from that first germ of an idea through to actually playing the game at a show. Trust me its a lot of work and guys like Martyn go a long way to make these events what they are, so if you haven't say thank you to your game organiser.
It wouldn't be Yarkshire Gamer with a bit of Italian Wars Chat (now apparently an extension of the Wars of the Roses ;-) and we start the Pavia Challenge live on the show. Martyn has gone for 1:25 scale so I've gone 1:24 !
It was a great chat and the fact that I thought that we had only done an hour and a half when we had done two and a half shows that the phrase "time flies when your enjoying yourself" is true.
Keep up to date with what Martyn is doing next as well as a wealth of information about his previous projects on his blog, College of Kings.
College of Kings - Posts about my miniature armies.
Thanks for listening and welcome back to the show, don't forget to subscribe, like and leave a review wherever you listen to this. Not much in life costs nowt, but this Podcast does so give us a like.
My next episode will be out in a fortnight and I'll be speaking with Steve Shann. I've known Steve for a long time and you will be familiar with the name if you've listened to previous episodes. Steve has a number of publications to his name covering diverse topics like WW2, Leipzig and The Franco Prussian War. On top of that Steve does a spot of painting so get ready for 2 hours on the correct shade of blue for French Uniforms !
Until next time, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Well by now you are probably sick and tired of seeing who the Best Wargames Manufacturer is and who has the best Customer Service in the hobby, its time to delve into the stuff we are really interested in like "What is the best Wargames Rumour (with or without substantiation), so sit back and enjoy finding out who is the best Wargames Troll on a Yarkshire Based Podcast, Blog or Utubes Channel.
Its a star studded audience and our roving reporter will be outside T'werking mens club to see the guests arrive before we go inside the auditorium for the award ceremony itself.
I'm joined by my co-hosts Alex "Storm of Steel" Sotheran and Sean "Gods Own Scale (retd.)" Clark. So sit back with a pint of best, some left over Christmas Cake and Wendsleydale Cheese and enjoy.
The awards have been voted for by an illustrious panel of judges in the main with two voted for by the public, so any complaints, direct it to them.
All the best for the New Year and thank you once again for listening to the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast.
See you all in 2023
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Christmas comes round once a year and with it comes our traditional (well we've done it twice) Brews in the Binyard Special Episode.
As always I am joined by my two scale "experts" Alex "Storm of Steel" Sotheran and Sean "Gods Own Scale (retd.)" Clark for a 3 and a half hour Monster Episode. If you are taking this in one sitting make sure you are warm and have adequate supplies of food and drink to hand and preferably something massive to paint. If that's two much then the show is split into 3 easier to digest sections.
The episode opens with a little story from Nick Skinner of Toofatlardies and if you don't enjoy that its going to be a very long 3 and a half hours. Interspersed throughout the show are Xmas messages from those guests from 2022 who could work out how to record a voice file ;-)
After the usual introductions and catch ups, section 1 has a relatively (for us) serious discussion on the tropes associated with World War 1, triggered by an episode of the American Podcast "Anything But a One". Alex and Sean are on fire in this one and have slapped the gauntlet down to the Blackadder like views of our Colonial friends.
Towards the end of the first part Sean is abducted by Aliens live on air, either that or the dial up internet connection in Stoke failed.
The second part descends to its usual levels with a review of entrants into Wargames Room 101 since the Summer Brews Episode and then Sean and Alex get to have a go at the new Desert Island Wargame Section.
Then for a finale its the usual "Ask Our Nora" section where the panel demolish the listeners questions. Sean once again is beamed up during the section but returns a short while later after a good probing by the Greys.
Brews in the Binyard is a bit Marmite, some of you love it more that the other "normal" episodes whilst others don't get it. Its designed to be fun, its a bit slack when it comes to editing out naughty words, we make a few jokes. So you have been warned lol.
Merry Xmas to all the listeners and viewers of the Podcast and thank you so much for all your support this year, Yarkshire Gamer has continued to get more followers and listeners during the year and downloads have now exceeded 50,000 which is simply amazing.
Thank you all.
There will be a special one off Awards Show between Xmas and the New Year so until then,
Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Less than a week on from the first instalment of my interview with Hobby Legend Henry Hyde comes the "conclusion".
Regular listeners will notice that this show starts with the usual 3rd part of the Podcast, the features section so you will get to hear Henry answer the Avocado Question and are round dice still universally banned !
Its then onto Wargames Room 101 and Desert Island Wargame for some more great chat.
The final Big Topic ended up being a bit of a Podcaster Love In, as I chat to Henry about the origins of his Battlechat series. Even after around 4 hours of recording I still had a bunch of stuff I wanted to cover with Henry, some of it pretty weighty but at the end of the show we talk about how important it is to talk about these subjects. I hope to have Henry back on in the new year to go into more detail.
All of Henrys content can be accessed via his website
Battlegames – Wargaming content from Henry Hyde, Creator of Battlegames on Patreon
Next up I hope to have the "traditional" (well we've done it twice) Xmas Brews in the Binyard Xmas Special out a few days before Xmas, so until then,
Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Sunday Dec 11, 2022
Sunday Dec 11, 2022
Episode 35 of the Podcast sees the first of a two part interview with one of the stalwarts of the Wargames Hobby, Mr Henry Hyde.
There isn't much that Henry hasn't done in this hobby over the years, as an author, Podcaster, Magazine Editor, Wargamer, Artist etc etc etc etc !
He has been a guest and an interviewer on many occasions in the past so I've given Henry the full Yarkshire Gamer treatment and hopefully you will find out something you didn't know before, you certainly won't have heard his wonderful "Red Mud Rant" and the reason behind the soon to be released Battlegames branded hairdryers 😉
As you would expect with me and Henry this wasn't a 5 minute chat, this 2 and a half hour discussion covers what you would normally get in the first two parts of a "normal" episode and I cut the big game chat short !
We will be back next week with part 2.
All things Henry can be accessed via his website
Until next time
Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Friday Dec 02, 2022
Friday Dec 02, 2022
Welcome to Episode 34 of The Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast and hopefully the first of 3 December 2022 Episodes.
Today I am talking about the ultimate Napoleonic Wargame, Leipzig. Somewhat overshadowed in the UK by Waterloo but the numbers of troops and casualties are eye-watering and subsequently the number of figures needed to play this game are like wise not for the faint hearted.
But before we get into the Big Topic I chat with my guest Rohan Saravanamuttu about his wargaming history, his thoughts on Big Battles and of course he takes part in the Yarkshire Gamer Quiz.
In addition to the Quiz, there's a great wargame pet hate locked away in Wargames Room 101 and a new Desert Island Wargame feature.
We then move onto refighting Leipzig and Rohans new book published via Helion called Leipzig The Battle of the Nations - A Wargaming Guide and take a deep dive into his process for writing the book, his choice of contents and of course the contents.
The book can be bought directly from Helion on the link below
If you fancy seeing more of the book I did a flickthrough review on my Utubes Channel
Next episode will feature the wonderful Henry Hyde who is relatively new to the hobby 😆 so I'm sure you'll give him a Reet Big Yarkshire welcome. That should be out in 10 days to a couple of weeks.
So until then Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Welcome to Episode 33 and the 3rd of our Catch Up Episodes.
A different format to usual for the new listener, today I've dipped into my previous guests and picked out 3 for a bit of a chat to see what they have been upto since we last talked.
First up from Episode 22 is Simon Miller. We had to cut the last interview short (well after 2 hours 😀) and we never got to hear about his wavy bases !
We talk about Simons current Projects and his plans for the future before he drops the bomb shell on me that he has co written a book on the Italian Wars, he kept that quiet.
Simons Big Red Bat Shop is here
Whilst the book can be bought from Helion here
My next guest Richard Harris goes way back to Episode 2 of the Podcast and he is one of the owners of Legendary Wargames, we chat about plans for the coming year as well as the forthcoming release of "Grand Skeedadle" a Peter Gilder inspired set of ACW rules. Enjoy it as me and Richard fail to take 1813 from 2014 😆
information and bookings for Legendary Wargames can be done here
https://legendarywargames.com/
And then up last to bat is good friend of the show, Nick Skinner from the Toofatlardies who was last seen in Episode 7. Nick has been a busy boy since we last spoke. We chat about his numerous visits to the continent, the goings on at Lard Island as well as a bonus entry into Wargames Room 101.
Toofatlardies goodies are available here
It's a long one but with three great guests 2 and a half hours will fly by.
My next guest will be Rohan Saravanamuttu who has just published a Wargamers guide to the ultimate Napoleonic Battle, Leipzig, hopefully out in a fortnight.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Saturday Nov 05, 2022
Saturday Nov 05, 2022
Here is my 32nd attempt at getting a Podcast right !
Today my guest is another old friend and fellow Big Gamer, Chris Flowers. Last week I got on my bike and went to speak with him face to face in his wonderful wargames room.
Chris grew up in a military family and stand by for a couple of awesome name drops at the start of the show.
Chris has been putting on large display games on the UK Wargames Show Circuit since the early 1980s. Beginning with the S.O.D.S group he was part of an amazing series of exclusively Napoleonic Games which were truly In the Grand Manner and a regular highlight at many of the events I attended.
Chris moved on to putting games on under his own name, then with the Bramley Barn Group and more recently with Legendary Wargames (see Episode 2 of this Podcast), he has diversified from solely doing Napoleonics to covering 1950s Cold War, Ancients and ACW at shows but his true love I think will always be games like Eylau and Waterloo.
All the regular features are here including a new Desert Island Wargame Section so sit back with a good brew and enjoy.
Chris doesn't have a website etc so there is no link this episode, you'll just have to go and see him at a show.
Next episode will be a Catch Up so lets see who, from my previous guests answers the phone when I call.
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Friday Oct 07, 2022
Friday Oct 07, 2022
Welcome to the 31st Episode of The Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast and today my guest is Giles Allison.
Giles had a big influence on my American War of Independence collection as I was building it up through his excellent blog Tarleton's Quarter, that influence was felt by many others and I would rank Giles blog as one of the best out there. Full of information and inspiration for the AWI and many other periods, all available for free at the click of a button.
The show is in the usual 4 part format and as well as talking about wargaming we tackle heady topics like, is Avocado a Vegetable or a Fruit as well as the exact location of the North / South Avocado - Mushy Peas Line.
Hopefully the show has persuaded Giles to go back and keep adding to his blog and complete his AWI Collection. The blog can be found on the link below
Tarleton's Quarter (gilesallison.blogspot.com)
Hopefully I will be back in a couple of weeks chatting to an old friend and reet proper Big Gamer Chris Flowers.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
Friday Sep 02, 2022
Friday Sep 02, 2022
It's been a month or so since the last episode so it's great to be back with another Big Game Chat.
This time we are off to Perth, Australia to talk with Carlo Pagano about wargaming in general and his reconstitution of Peter Gilders Sands of Sudan Rules.
As usual we had disappeared down a rabbit hole within 15 minutes of the start but I'm sure you all tune into wargames Podcasts to discover the difference between Crown and Flat Green Bowling anyway !
It's back to the usual 4 part format, we learn about Carlos' wargaming history and his love of Big Games. Whilst the Quiz reveals yet more food choices from your Local Fish and Chip Shop as well as what pet hate has been banished into Wargames Room 101.
The Big Topic is all about Colonial Wargaming, something we haven't covered before on the show so there is a good chat about that before we move onto the Sands of Sudan Rules.
Carlo has managed to piece together the rules from old scraps of paper left at the Wargames Holiday Centre and information provided by former players. The rules have never been formally published as they were used as a bit of a palette cleanser between Big Napoleonic or ACW games during the Wargaming Weeks that Peter used to run.
Carlo has his website at
https://withpyjamasthroughthedessert.blogspot.com/
The rules can be obtained in the UK from Caliver Books
https://www.caliverbooks.com/bookview.php?ohv1los7ubv6b8hvnp80l19ea7&id=27069
And directly from Carlo in Australia.
it's great to be back on air and I've got guests booked in now till Xmas and pencilled in until Feb 2023, having too many guests is a nice problem to have.
My next guest is Painter and Author Mark Hides, a Yorkshire Lad, Tune in, in a couple of weeks time as we find out more about life as a Professional Figure Painter.
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer