My first copy of Charge! arrived 18th July 1987 and my second arrived today.
I bought the new copy partly because the front cover was a coloured photograph, secondly l thought that the b&w photos in the text would be bigger too and the text as well.
My first copy of Charge! arrived 18th July 1987 and my second arrived today.
I bought the new copy partly because the front cover was a coloured photograph, secondly l thought that the b&w photos in the text would be bigger too and the text as well.
You had me excited for a moment. Sorry for your disappointment
ReplyDeleteJust one of those things l guess.
DeleteAlan Tradgardland
Your disappointment saddens me. The book, however, is a classic!
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly a classic, l hope to game with it soon…
DeleteAlan Tradgardland
I bought the Terry Wise B&W reprint way back when in the 1980s sometime. The colour reprint I have is about the same size - photos slightly sharper. You will have to look out for an original copy.....
ReplyDeleteNeil
I fear I would have to mortgage the house to buy an original copy!
DeleteAlan Tradgardland
Very odd, my original edition has the dust cover in colour
ReplyDeleteThe new one I bought is a reprint copy of the orginal I believe.
DeleteAlan Tradgardland
I now feel peculiarly ignorant of the book's publication history as I had no idea that there had been so many - and varied - editions and that a new copy now looks exactly the same as the one I bought in 1967 (at least externally). Pity that it doesn't match the original internally.
ReplyDeleteThe only way that I can envisage the original being improved upon would be if the internal illustrations were in colour, and colour printing was, of course, too expensive for the early years of wargaming books.
My photo doesn’t really show how much better my 1987 copy was . I think it it something to do with contrast and that is what has affected the pictures .
DeleteAlan Tradgardland
My own copy of Charge! bought 1975 had the coloured dust jacket. That finally disintegrated many years ago, leaving it jacketless, apart from a cut-out part of the front cover.
ReplyDeleteThe difference in the print is not obvious to me from the comparison you've shown, but the difference in the sharpness of the pictures is quite marked. I can understand your disappointment.
Sounds well used and well loved!
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Looking on Abe Books there are copies for not too bad a price but sadly they are all in the USA.
ReplyDeleteI bought mine from Paul Meekins (I think) probably 10 or so years ago for £40 (ish). I have never tried the rules out - The Wargame always seemed easier to understand as a set of rules (to me).
My Guess is that you are referring to Charles Grant's 1971 title? Another book with a green dust jacket and large infantry units. At 48 fank and file per battalion I could never envisage painting enough Spencer Smith 30mms to create a decent sized army for either rule set – though we did try a couple of Charge games using unpainted figures in which it turned out that the companies acted as if battalions. Thereafter I generally stuck with Featherstonian style rules and 20 figure units of Airfix figures.
DeleteYou can play The Wargame with 24 man units quite easily.
ReplyDeleteI could never quite get my head around the rulesin Charge and the way they are laid out. Though I know people who swear by them.
I had the same reaction when I got the updated “Ancient Wargame” by Charles Grant.
ReplyDelete