Take a tour through the Vault and read some classic Wi articles. I'm writing this month's From the Vault at the end of a very busy week. Every December the Wargames Illustrated team has to push to get the next issue of the magazine ready well ahead of our usual sign-off time; we have to earn our break for the holidays! Happily, all is done, disasters have been dealt with, last-minute changes have been made, and festive cheer is now in abundance at WiTower as we get ready to leg it and take a week or so off. I'm carrying that festive spirit over into the first few articles from the Vault too: Wargames Illustrated 136 - January 1999 Christmas time, mistletoe & wine... Penned by Richard Clarke in the days before multiple Lardy rulesets stole away his time, this Christmas-themed article is absolutely full of festive cheer with its focus on... Roman chariot racing. Ok, Rich might be stretching it a bit with the theme but this would be a fun little game to spread across the dining room table after you've put away the leftovers and tracklements on Boxing Day. Wargames Illustrated 147 - December 1999 A Christmas Game Pete Tanner's article might not have the most enticing or creative title but it does offer some fun suggestions for Christmas gaming that can be played with friends at your wargaming club. This is a short piece - just one page - but has plenty of ideas for tabletop merriment with chums. I'll leave the festive theme there (if you want more articles you can search for 'Christmas' in the Vault) as I'm heading to warmer climes and Mediterranean waters. No, I'm not jetting off on a holiday abroad, I'm referring to Room 17 Games' ancient naval battles rules - Thalassa - which are free with our current issue. Having had a few games of Thalassa I can't recommend it enough. It's fun, fast, and tactically rewarding and the ships look beautiful. My last task of 2022, once I'm done writing this column, is to get their digital STL files scheduled to go online 1 January 2023. Once they do anyone with a 3D printer can start the new year by printing out an ancient fleet of Triremes and Penteconters. Hurrah! In the meantime here are some ancient and not-so-ancient themed naval articles to read: Wargames Illustrated 289 - November 2011 The Battle of Rhium 429 BC Neil Smith takes in the Peloponnesian War in this combination of background and battle report. The system used in the game here is Fleet of Battle (find the full rules for that in Wi278) but you'll be able to switch things up
