Believe it or not Victorian Science Fiction or Steampunk was not invented over the last twenty years, nor the last fifty, or 100! It really started as Futuristic Science fiction in the 1860s at the dawn of the industrial revolution. A man named  Edward S. Ellis wrote a series of dime novels about a Steam Man built by a young boy and the adventures they had on the prairies.

 

 

 

 

 

G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T.  

GLORIOUS ADVENTURES in SCIENCE LOOSELY

INVOLVING GENERALLY HISTORICAL TIMES

This is a new page under construction devoted to GASLIGHT a relatively new and enormously fun game using an alternate version of history during the period between the Civil War and WWI most people call the “Victorian era”.

GASLIGHT combines the basic abilities and history of “Victorian” times with a liberal sprinkling of “Jules Verne” what ifs. Imagine the British army attacking Afghan rebel tribes with regular infantry but instead of a battery of mountain guns in support they have two “Gatling” gun equipped “Steam Spiders”

I first played GASLIGHT at the great Mecca of Historical gaming conventions, “HISTORICON”. It was my first foray into “Victorian Era” gaming. I was drawn by the wonderful figures, vehicles, and the opportunity to paint and build miniatures that while being solidly based in historical fact also allowed me to stretch, alter, and in some cases invent new history!

The game I played in was hosted by the HAWKS gaming club and run by one of the rules writes “Buck” Surdu. By the end of the first game I was hooked and was soon on my way home with the rules and a box full of unpainted minis to start my Victorian collection. Several of us who had been to the convention were on the same plane and it was rumored that the Pilot had commented on the fact that it took several hundred extra feet to get the plane off the ground, do to being overweight.

PICTURES of GASLIGHT Men, Women, Weapons, and Fabulous Contraptions!

The rules are simple and fast but a bit tough to get through as the organization and layout is somewhat haphazard in my opinion. This is probably because as with most miniatures rules they are written as a game develops among a closed group of gamers. this results in many things and processes being taken for granted as being known and not clearly written with examples for us people with poorer than average IQs.

That aside they are great! Chris Palmer and Buck Surdu have done a great job in giving us a simple, fast, fun game that can be played in a reasonable amount of time! they do not force their vision of the GASLIGHT Victorian age upon us but merely give us the charts and mechanics to build and play in are own version of it. what was hard for me to figure by myself in front of the fire was figured out fairly quickly when pondered by several of us playing our first game at the clubhouse. Most of it is common sense and what answers we could not find right away were settled with a quick made up die roll. I the scope of this type of game it doesn’t matter, GASLIGHT is for FUN, if you want to argue? go play Napoleons Battles!

GASLIGHT and other Victorian Science Fiction based games like Valor, Flesh, and Steel, and Space 1889 and just a hoot to play and a great way to get away from total historical games and still use a lot of your existing colonial and other mini’s. It’s also a great venue for those of us who love scratch building things from our imaginations! Games can start with just a few figures and 1 or two contraptions. Great way to have one of those semi brainless, beer and pretzels, blow off steam type evenings! Also a great way to introduce new or younger gamers into the hobby.

During a recent GASLIGHT Game the not to be deterred Prussian paddle wheel gunboat commander call for more steam in a vain attempt to move forward! The to German marines at the lower right were overheard to yell up in jest ” Achtung Der Kapitan you seem to need a Bigger River!” Kapitan von Pushonn ignored them and commanded corporal Günter to open fire with the deck gun on the Arab fortified position just to the left across the river.

Gunter being slightly better at his job than his Kapitan silenced the Arab gun with a couple of shots!

Please check out all the GASLIGHT pages from the main drop down menu.