It's Aliiiiiiiive....

..clearly the weekend before Hallowe'en is an auspicious time for digital Necromancy.

Glossing over the extended hiatus in a few words in no particular order (domestic building project, China, technical gubbins and work), it might be asked why the Tao of Lard has revived now?

Here's the answer:

The tenth anniversary edition of I Ain't Been Shot Mum! I first bought IABSM about six years ago, even though there wasn't any WWII kit in the lead pile, and browbeat various club ne'er-do-wells into letting me use their kit to try out IABSM.  The rules were/are thoroughly enjoyable, and (to my limited mind) are positioned perfectly to marry historical simulation with entertaining games (even if there are some who treat those concepts as mutually exclusive; Yesthatphil and toofatlardies amongst others challenge the "It's only a game" mentality in this TMP discussion).

This was my introduction to the world of Lard, and since then Charlie Don't Surf, They Don't Like It Up 'Em, Algy (currently being revised) and Bag The Hun have been bought and- most importantly- played.  To be fair, other Lardy goodness has also been bought but only read.  So far. 

Too Fat Lardies have gone for broke with this release, providing all one could need to play IABSM (assuming you already own the necessary toy soldiers) in a variety of bundles.  Here's what was in the preorder bundle, alongside the softback rulebook and a PDF copy of said rules:

At the back of this poor quality photo you can see three examples of the IABSM card deck available (104 cards, enough to field two infantry companies, five armour platoons, eight Big Men, three off-table support units for the Allies and again for the Axis, as well as all the bonus characteristic cards).  In the foreground are the IABSM tokens also now available.  From left to right:

• Low ammo marker
• Artillery aiming point marker (which came in handy for the Free World in last night's game of Charlie Don't Surf)
• Pinned marker (likewise for these; two on a squad indicate that it is suppressed)
• Reduced Actions marker (you might be able to make out the wee 1 on it)
• Lieutenant Hugh Jarce! (Limited edition figure; not sure if he's still available from TFL.  He'll probably end up in my 7TV games as a "Mad Mitch" sort of chap)
• AFV Reduced Movement/Immobilised markers (the green and red spanners respectively)
• AFV Main Weapon Damaged/Out Of Action markers (the green and red targeting pieces respectively)

I've already begun hawking the rules around to try and persuade others that they really want to give IABSM a try, but without solely relying on their kit.  I'm sure they'll come round to my way of thinking after they play a few games, not just one.  By now, the Lead Pile contains some 15mm Early WWII British from Peter Pig, so I've begun to have a crack at them.

Of course, whether I continue to make progress is another thing, particularly when I've also got these chaps vying for attention at the other end of the desk...

A rather large quantity of Peter Pig's Late WWI Germans (luckily all the British are done).  Even before the arrival of IABSM, I'd been poring over my copy of Through The Mud & The Blood, also from TFL.   I'd been lucky enough to spend some time around Albert and Arras in France recently, helping my folks with their ongoing family history project, and spending a few days retracing my great grandfather's steps during the Battle of the Somme and ultimately his death in 1917 at the Battle of Arras rekindled my interest in WWI, and my thoughts turned to the various TFL WWI rules like Mud & Blood, If The Lord Spares Us, as well as others to be found in various Lard Winter ans Summer Specials.    

However, IABSM arrived and my train of thought was redirected...

It's like I've never been away.