TINY BATTLE LETS LOOSE THE (DEVIL) DOGS OF WAR

Tiny Battle Publishing's November releases are now instock and ready for your order!

John Gorkowski's In the Trenches: Devil Dogs 

Queuing to go over the top

 

John Gorkowski's In the Trenches World War I tactical gaming system was first published in 2009 by Grenier Games. Tiny Battle Publishing is proud to reintroduce this modern classic to gamers in a series of affordable folio editions, beginning with two brand-new Base Sets. Base Set I is Devil Dogs, a three-scenario look at the famous and brutal Battle of Belleau Wood that earned the United States Marines the respect of allies and enemies alike. Next month will see the release of a second Base Set, Doughboys. Either of these sets contain all the status and administrative markers you'll need to play any of the expansions that follow. Counter art is by Christian Sperling (Neuschwabenland, Sticks and Stones) with maps by Jose Faura (Our Royal Bones). The expansions coming in 2016 will include materials from the 2009 releases, appearing through the courtesy of Mr. Grenier.   

Blood Before Richmond # 2: Glendale & White Oak Swamp     

Alfred Waud's sketch of Kearny's sector of the confused battlefield

The second game in Tom Russell's Blood Before Richmond series recreates the battle of Glendale, plus the artillery-only sideshow that was White Oak Swamp. It's Lee's last chance to cut off the Union retreat before the boys in blue entrench at Malvern Hill. Can they take control of the vital Willis Church Road? This battle has some very challenging terrain for the Confederates, rendered beautifully by Ilya Kudriashov. The Rebels are also starting to look a little weary, and are opposed by fresh, high-quality Union troops. But it's a fairly even contest, especially if the Union Player adopts the handicap of the special "Galena Rule".     

Two Shields & Swords Games For the Price of One!   

Portion of the Bayeux Tapestry depicting William's Norman cavalry galloping off to face Harold's English soldiers

The Shields & Swords series of medieval battle games debuted in the first issue of Yaah! Magazine with Stamford Bridge and A Hill Near Hastings. Tiny Battle is proud to reprint these games in one nifty package for those gamers who missed them the first time around. The games have been revised and rebalanced so as to utilize the updated ruleset that powers Our Royal Bones and We Happy Few.  It also reprints the essay that accompanied the games, "A Tale of Two Harrys". This is intended to be the last S&S release for Tiny Battle, and so it's only fitting that we return to where it all began. Look for other reprints of popular Yaah! titles in the future.   

Speaking of Yaah!...     

Yaah! Magazine issue #4

Our sister company Flying Pig Games is shipping the fourth issue of Yaah! Magazine this month. In it, you'll find a fair amount of Tiny goodies-- scenarios for Sticks and Stones, Invaders From DimensionX!, and Glendale & White Oak Swamp; fiction based on Invaders; and a standalone three-scenario sequel to Sticks and Stones called Poland Strikes! Gamers have been enthusiastic about Mark's WW4 universe and his new Platoon Commander system. Find out why by picking up Sticks and Stones and Poland Strikes! You might also want to pick up the third issue of Yaah!, which is still on sale, as it contains a four scenario mini-campaign for Neuschwabenland, "Switcheroo".   

And Speaking of Mark...   

'65 Squad-Level Combat in Vietnam by Mark H. Walker

The next game from Flying Pig, Mark  H. Walker's '65: Squad-Level Combat in Vietnam has just hit Kickstarter. It's an exciting, card-driven hex-and-counter game with scenarios designed in the inimitable all-action Mark Walker style. As of this writing, it's already well on the way to be funded. Join the Kickstarter fun here. 

--Happy gaming!

MOVE OVER RIN TIN TIN, MAKE ROOM FOR SERGEANT STUBBY, A REAL ROOTIN TOOTIN HERO

Sergeant Stubby was a stray, homeless mutt who served with the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division, and has been called the most decorated war dog of WWI. He participated in four offensives and 17 battles. At Chemin des Dames, in Feb. 1918, he and his unit were under constant fire, day and night for over a month. The sergeant was wounded multiple times by grenades and injured by mustard gas. After recovering from the gas attack, he returned to his unit with a specially designed gas mask. Whether at the front or in the rear convalescing from his wounds, he was always able to improve morale. His exploits were front page news of every major newspaper in the U.S.    

From a 1920 article about Stubby

Stubby provided early warning of poison gas attacks, located and comforted wounded soldiers in no man's land, and his supersonic canine hearing allowed him to detect the whine of incoming artillery shells before humans. He could sense German ground assaults and would make a beeline for the nearest sentry and bite and prod the man to sound the alarm. He was there for the liberation of Chateau Thierry, and the ladies of the town were so enamored, they made him a chamois coat he used to display his medals. His tenaciousness and fearlessness in capturing a German spy by himself in the Argonne got him nominated for the rank of sergeant.    

Sergeant Stubby leads a legion parade

After the war, Stubby wasn't done yet; he marched in and often led parades, he visited the White House, met three presidents, received a gold medal from General Pershing, and with his human, Robert Conroy, attended Georgetown University Law Center where he became the Georgetown Hoyas' team mascot and quite probably invented the halftime show-- he would run out on the field and nudge the ball around to the great amusement of the fans.     

Stubby died quietly in his sleep in 1926. The New York Times gave the little fellow an entire half page obituary, much larger than many of the notable persons of the era received upon their deceasement.

Stubby's YMCA membership card

For further reading on this four-legged hero: Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend helped Win World I and Stole the Heart of a Nation by Anne Bausum and David E. Sharpe; and Stubby the War Dog: The True Story of WWI's Bravest Dog by Anne Bausum