I haven't been an active historical boardgamer in over a decade. Closer to 15 years probably. But despite having gotten rid of dozens and dozens of games, I still have 2 or 3 bookcases full of board wargames in the basement. Someday, maybe...
Anyway, I stop by the Clash of Arms company website every now and then to see if there is anything new going on with them. It's not a regularly maintained website, and there generally isn't anything much to see, but Ed Wimble is a good guy and a friend, and some of my favorite games of all time are the "La Bataille" series of tactical Napoleonic wargames. They even published my only game design, La Bataille d'Orthez, back in...idk...when I had brownish blonde hair. It was that long ago.
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| La Bataille d'Orthez box |
The maps for Orthez were some of the last hand-drawn maps done by artist and cartographer Rick Barber as he transitioned (or considered transitioning) to digital maps.
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| A small section (NW) of the Orthez 2-sheet map |
In the news section of the Clash of Arms website, there was a note from back in May 2021 that Rick Barber had died suddenly at the age of 66. This hit me harder than I suppose it should have, or might have. In a number of ways. Having worked directly with Rick, it was hard to comprehend that he was gone...
Rick was a talented artist and cartographer, and his hand drawn maps, counters and cover art defined the Clash of Arms style in the company's formative years. Rick lived near the Gettysburg battlefield, and the Civil War (and maps) were his true passion. But his work defined the look of the La Bataille games, even into the digital age where Terry Leeds (who did the Orthez counters and supplemental artwork) and others mimicked his style in digital format. And that is not a criticism of Terry or anyone else. It is a celebration of the foundation that Rick put in place.
Not that working with Rick as a first time designer was easy. I spent a significant amount of time researching and creating the maps for Orthez, and delivered those maps of mine to Rick. A while later, I got a set of proof maps back from Rick that...weren't what I sent him. Specifically in the northeastern quadrant of the map area, he added a lot of terrain that I hadn't put on my draft maps. Woods. Swampy stream valleys. His rationale: it feels right and looks better. OK. We'll go with that; I had zero game designs to my credit, so who was I to argue. Not much of the fighting occurred in that area anyway.
There is one last thing that makes me chuckle. Rick and I agreed that we would put low-tech copyright protection into the maps. I added a named location to the map that simply doesn't exist. He did likewise. For any of the 2,500 people out there that own a copy of the first and only print run of Orthez, my elder daughter's name is Julia, and Rick operated under the name Black Cat Studios. Take a look at the maps and you will be able to find our copyright protection. If anybody else ever made an Orthez map with either of these names...
OK, there are technically a maximum of 2,494 people that own Orthez, since I have 6 copies. Although one of these final production boxes has all of my draft hand-drawn counters and maps instead of production components, so maybe there are 2,495. :-)
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| La Bataille games, and a bunch of Orthez copies |
Orthez is NOT a well known Napoleonic battle, although it is very interesting in its own right (if Napoleonics in secondary theaters of operation is your thing). This was mostly what made it interesting to me to design a game around, and the fact that qualitatively, this was probably the best army that Wellington ever commanded, certainly moreso than his famous Anglo-Allied army at Waterloo.
Not terribly long after Orthez was published in 2000, another game product with Orthez in it showed up on the market from a prestigious designer, complete with my fictional location referenced on their map. Uncredited. Tsk tsk. If I had lawyers, they would contact your lawyers. But I don't. And in 2021 I'm still alive and you aren't, so... I guess I win.
But I digress.
Rick was passionate about his art, and the mark he left on wargaming in general, and Clash of Arms in specific, will endure. His art, hand-drawn, hearkens back to a bygone era in wargaming. This should be celebrated. And is by me, at least. I won't ever be able to look at that shelf pictured above, at my game, or at any Clash of Arms games, and not think of you, Rick.
I find it hard to believe that my interactions with Rick occurred 22 years ago, but the calendar is cruel and doesn't lie.
Anytime I see a black cat I will remember you. RIP Rick.
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