Northstar Miniatures: Death in the Dark Continent Pre-Order

Northstar Miniatures succesfully launched the pre-order for the Death in the Dark Continent wargame rules with discounts and free miniatures. Check below for more details.

Death in the Dark Continent is a set of rules to recreate warfare in Africa between 1870 to 1899. It was first written by Chris Peers in 2009 and was extremely well received by players, selling out quickly. When the reprint was discussed, I said to Chris that I'd like to do much more with the next version. 

The new version of Death in the Dark Continent is what is at the printers right now. The basic rules have not been re-written. It's not a second edition, but we have restructured the rules to make them easier to read, in response to players comments. The new book also includes the extra army lists and rule changes that were developed after the first print run. For example the army lists have increased from 32 to 80 different armies. We have added are lots of photographs of painted miniatures, many of them used to show game play, but also just Photo of Death in the Dark Continent. (BP1569)to show off how great figures for this period can be. There is  Photo of Death in the Dark Continent. (BP1569)artwork and photographs, most of it contemporary, some from Osprey Publishing and others commissioned for the book. 

Chris has added lots to the new book as well. He has written a history of the period, a who's who of the personalities, and a new game. The new game is in addition to Death in the Dark Continent, it's called Man V Beast and is a period safari game pitting hunter against prey. There are a number of sample armies photographed and described in the book, to help illustrate to players what a DitDC army looks like. I hope you'll find that not only is Death in the Dark Continent a great game to play, but that this book is the sole work you'll ever need for referencing late 19th Century Africa. 

Check all information and more miniatures here and make sure to check the pre-order fast as discounts are time limited!

Northstar Miniatures: Death in The Dark Continent - Darkest Africa Wargame Rules Pre-Order

Northstar Miniatures will be launching their Nickstarter pre-order campaign for Death in the Dark Continent on March 31st, and it will run till April 14th.

The Nickstarter pre-order campaign for the new game 'Death in the Dark Continent' begins next Friday. Every copy ordered will come with three exclusive African civilian figures, designed by Mark Copplestone for the game's release. The first 5 days you will be able to buy the book at the 'early bird' price of £18.79, the actual retail is £25.00. Once we sell 300 books, the Chokwee Elephant Hunter will be given away to every Nickstarter participants. We have a further selection of exclusive miniatures we'll be giving away as the numbers of books sold increases.

Limited Edition Darkest Africa Miniatures

More Copplestone Castings figures that saw very limited release in the past. These though will be given away as spend rewards in the DitDC Nickstarter. The more books we sell, the more free figures we'll give everyone. The Masai Chief by Mark Copplestone. This figure was once on limited release. He'll be available to buy again for the duration of the Nickstarter, to participants only. The African Knights. These figures are the private range of Kev Dallimore. He is allowing us to distribute them during the Death in the Dark Continent Nickstarter.

Northstar Miniatures will be releasing the third incarnation of the popular Death in The Dark Continent wargame rules as a proper hardback book counting 180-190 pages. You will be getting two games in the new version of Death in the Dark Continent. As well as the main wargame, Chris Peers has added a new Man V Beast hunting game to the book, where players take the roles of hunters and animals and stalk each other down.

"The Chief of the blue-coloured cattle, who was so confident of his strength, had refused to flee when the Matabele approached. Their onset was as the voice of lightning, and their spears as the shaking of a forest in the autumn storm. The Matabele lions raised the shout of death, and flew upon their victims.." Stooping to the ground on which we stood, he took up a little dust in his hand: blowing it off, and holding out his naked palm, he added "That is all that remains of the great chief of the blue-coloured cattle!" The words of a Native Guide, South Africa, late 19th Century.

Ila warrriors emerge from ambush, startling the local baboons. (In game terms the Ila are Elite Skirmishers.) Kev Dallimore painted them with the tall grass on the bases. The game encourages you to base the figures on 60mm by 30mm, which allows you to 'go to town' on making them mini dioramas.

Below you can see the covers of all three Death in The Dark Continent prints starting with the latest cover at the left followed by the second and first edition cover artwork of these splendid Darkest Africa rules. The original book had around 46 pages, the latest book will have an astounding page count of almost 200 pages, all filled with colonial splendour!

Northstar Miniatures: Death in the Dark Continent Pre-Order

Northstar Miniatures: We are beginning to organise the Nickstarter pre-order campaign for Death in the Dark Continent.

The Nickstarter pre-order campaign for Death in the Dark Continent will begin March 31st, and will run till April 14th. There will be stretch goals, like this Chokwee Elephant Hunter, as the numbers of books sold increases. Check more information about this upcoming new rulebook here

Pen and Sword: Chris Peers' The African Wars Hardback

Pen and Sword: In The African Wars Chris Peers provides a graphic account of several of the key campaigns fought between European powers and the native peoples of tropical and sub-tropical Africa in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

His pioneering and authoritative study describes in vivid detail the organization and training of African warriors, their weapons, their fighting methods and traditions, and their tactics. He concentrates on the campaigns mounted by the most successful African armies as they struggled to defend themselves against the European scramble for Africa. Resistance was inconsistent, but some warlike peoples fought long and hard - the Zulu victory over the British at Isandhlwana is the best known but by no means the only occasion when the Africans humiliated the colonial invaders. 

Chris Peers is a leading expert on the history of the armies of nineteenth-century Africa and has written widely on the subject. He has also compiled a series of books on the armies of China. He has contributed many articles to military history, wargaming and family history magazines, and his major publications include Warlords of China, 700BC-AD1662, Warrior Peoples of East Africa and Soldiers of the Dragon.

Grab this excellent background book over here.

Northstar Miniatures: Last The Law of the Gun Wild West Rules Copies For Sale

Northstar Miniatures: There are less than 10 copies of The Law of the Gun left. I don't think Mr Peers is going to reprint this, so grab yours now.

Northstar Miniatures: 'The Law of the Gun' Wild West Rules Post Free World-Wide

Northstar Miniatures: We are doing 'The Law of the Gun' post free world-wide for the next week only. "The Law of the Gun" is a set of rules for small-scale skirmish gaming set in the American West - catering for players interested in both the real and the "Hollywood" versions. They emphasise simplicity and speed of play, and a game can usually be played to a finish in an hour or so. Figures are based individually. 

Most will fit easily into categories based on their equipment and level of combat experience; an “action dice” mechanism means that better fighters not only shoot straighter but react faster than less experienced ones. Each man can have his own personal characteristics, but the basic manoeuvring unit is a "gang” of between one and four figures. One or more gangs can be combined to make up a player's force, which might represent an official posse, a band of outlaws or Indian war party, or just a small group of companions or even a lone gunman. Nearly all the dice used in the rules are the traditional six-sided variety, though they also make use of special "wound dice" and "wind dice", both of which can be replaced by normal D6s if you prefer.

Northstar Miniatures: Author Chris Peers on The Law of The Gun Wild West Rules

Northstar Miniatures: The author of the new Wild West rules 'The Law of the Gun', Chris Peers, has written a short run through of the rules. Check it here in the Northstar Miniatures magazine.

Northstar Miniatures: New Chris Peers' The Law of the Gun Rules Announced

Northstar Miniatures: Coming soon, Mr Chris Peers' new Ruga Ruga Publications rule set, The Law of the Gun. "The Law of the Gun" is a set of rules for small-scale skirmish gaming set in the American West. The approach is very different from the author’s previous 19th and early 20th century skirmish set, "A Good Day To Die", in that it is specifically focused on the western gunfight. Even more than most other periods, this one is as much mythological as historical, and these rules attempt to cater for players interested in both the real and the "Hollywood" West. From the former point of view, the time period covered is roughly from the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 until the last of the Indian fights, at Wounded Knee in 1890. 

The emphasis is placed more on the individual man rather than the unit, and you can give him his own personal characteristics, and follow his adventures in combat, in a way that was not possible with the previous set. But although you can allocate special abilities to some of your figures if you wish, you will not have to spend valuable playing time dicing for everyone's individual statistics before the shooting can start. Most figures fit easily into a small set of categories based on their equipment and level of combat experience.

As ever, the emphasis is on simplicity and speed of play. What a gunfighter needed on the streets of Dodge City was not a lawyer's eye for the small print, but the ability to react quickly to unforeseen circumstances, and this is the trait that we try to encourage in the players. The game systems in "The Law of the Gun" are fairly conventional, and should not take much time to learn. Nearly all the dice used in these rules are the traditional six-sided variety, otherwise known as D6s, though they also make use of special "wound dice" and "wind dice", both of which can be replaced by normal D6s if you prefer. Measurements are given in equally traditional inches

Figures are based individually, but the basic manoeuvring unit is what we call a "gang”, which can consist of between one and four figures. One or more gangs can be combined to make up a player's force, which might represent an official posse, a band of outlaws or Indian war party, or just a small group of companions or even a lone gunman. An “action dice” system is used to introduce an element of uncertainty regarding who moves next, enabling the better fighters to react faster than less experienced ones and take several actions while their opponents are still hesitating. The result, we believe, is a fast-paced, unpredictable and exciting game which can usually be played to a finish in an hour or so.