And it’s a whopper. Over 130 pages brimming over with Lard. We did a count-up and there are twenty scenarios, seven articles on rule amendments and variations and three discussion pieces, including a look at the concepts behind out forthcoming Chain of Command rules. So plenty to get your teeth into.
So, what is a Lardy Special? Well, there are two a year; one in the Summer normally published in the first couple of weeks of June (we are a week early this year), and one at Christmas published (believe it or not!) in the first week or two of December. We published the first one ever back in Summer of 2004, so next summer will be our tenth anniversary.
Back in those days we had just published our fourth set of rules, Le Fue Sacre which sat along side I Ain’t Been Shot Mum, Kiss Me Hardy and Bag the Hun. We were inundated with gamers asking us for scenarios and support material. The quickest way to try to please everyone was to produce an e-magazine format product which could provide for a wide range of interests. It was hugely popular, largely I think because we didn’t just write scenarios but we also added a real leavening of additional rule ideas. The type of stuff that you just cannot fit into a set of rules. Unusual units represented, more obscure campaigns covered, and all with a good dollop of historical background in the mix.
And that highlights one of the key differences between a Lardy Special and a hobby magazine. With no adverts as such we don’t have to focus on short pieces of just a few pages, we can go into real detail. For example in this Special we have 21 pages covering the first day of the Irish Guards Battlegroup on Operation Garden. This looks in some detail at the German defences, uses period maps to illustrate this and the Allied plans and then presents a ten scenario linked campaign to represent the fighting on that day. All with the lead elements of XXX Corps racing against the clock to reach Eindhoven and the US 101st Airborne forces. It’s the type of piece that is too large for a magazine, but we can go into that extra degree of detail in the Special format.
So, let us take a look in detail at what is on offer this time.
Page 4 Highway to Hell. A mini-campaign for the Irish Guards Battlegroup on Day 1 of Operation Garden featuring ten linked battles as you fight your way up to corridor towards Eindhoven
Page 25 Beware the Tides of March. Phil Hendry presents a Romans against Britons scenario for Augustus to Aurelian
Page 29 The KMH Squadron Builder. Fat Nick shows us how to generate naval squadrons for Kiss Me Hardy games
Page 35 The Green Fields Beyond. British infantry tactics for the open warfare of 1918. An overview and three scenarios
Page 49 If You go Down to the Woods Today. Mike Whitaker seekis realistic terrain for Dux Britanniarum
Page 56 Of All Base Passions. Pat Smith presents his rule amendments for Sharp Practice in the Wars of the Roses
Page 62 Escape to Cock Lane. As scenario from the War of the Roses first battle in St Albans
Page 66 Bloody Greenstead 1477. Pat presents his epic War of the Roses scenario for Sharp Practice
Page 69 CAS in CSD. Brian Weathersby gives us an insight into airpower in Vietnam to add some punch to our Charlie Don’t Surf Games.
Page 81 Lard & the Blogosphere. Former Milk Tray delivery man Sidney Roundwood gives us the low down on his blogging days.
Page 84 Conflict on Kovnat. Inter-Galatic warrior Robert Avery presents a scenario for some hot action on Planet Kovnat for Quadrant 13.
Page 91 Double Dux. Regular Man-of-Lard Chris Stoesen gives us some tips for multi-player gaming with Dux Britanniarum.
Page 98 How to Protect Your Kibbutz. Tag team Jon Yuengling and Mark Kinsey present their thoughts on gaming the Yom Kippur War of 1973 with IABSM.
Page 105 The Roundwood Report. Sidney talks to Fat Nick about the world of the “fifth Lardy”.
Page 111 Hotter than a Snake’s Ass. Nuno Pereira looks at weather from Da Nang to the Delta and how it can affect our games in Vietnam.
Page 117 Your Dirty Rat 2. Dirty Rat Fat Nick builds up to the crescendo of his puply gangster game planned for the Christmas Special with part two of his force collection tales
Page 123 Who Pulled his Chain? Big Rich talks Chain of Command as he explains some of the thinking behind the new concepts you can look forward to in the summer
Page 129 Bagging the Bismarck. The Fat Lad presents the “ultimate war in the Atlantic scenario for Bag the Hun. Can you bag this nautical Hun?
So, there we have it. 133 pages of wargaming fun and all for £6 for the save saving PDF edition. We hope you enjoy it.