Author Archives: mike crane

About mike crane

I am a retired high school teacher living in Texarkana, Arkansas, USA. Although I enjoy wargaming in all periods, my favorite eras are WWII, Colonial, ACW, and Napoleonic. I enjoy making rules that are simple, fast, and fun.

Bombers and Fighters Over Europe: A sample game

Posted on June 10, 2018 by mike crane

By Mike Crane The appearance of this article as the sample game for June was a delightful surprise. However, it appeared in a 2015  issue of Lone Warrior magazine and although that doesn’t seem so long ago, I had forgotten … Continue reading →

Posted in Air gaming, Periods - World War II, Solo wargaming | Leave a comment

Review of ‘Ships and Seamen of the American Revolution’ book

Posted on August 21, 2016 by mike crane

Mike Crane reviews a resource book on the “Ships and Seamen of the American Revolution.” It’s filled with illustrations, from detailed ship drawings to charts and weapons. It’s on the Reviews page.

Posted in Naval gaming, Periods - Eighteenth century | Leave a comment

The agonies and joys of play-testing

Posted on August 2, 2016 by mike crane

By Mike Crane Okay, I admit it. There is much to be said for writing your own rules and making up your own games. But, there are a lot of agonies involved in play-testing those rules. First, every set of … Continue reading →

Posted in Solo wargaming | 4 Comments

A great choice!

Posted on February 4, 2016 by mike crane

By Mike Crane The piece by Steve Turner about building match-stick armies (LW 166) was a wonderful choice for the January Sample Article! Steve wrote a series of articles about his Seven Years War campaign on land and sea, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Periods - American Civil War | Leave a comment

Thanks for the memories!

Posted on January 21, 2016 by mike crane

By Mike Crane Now that Lone Warrior has gone to .PDF format, as a regular reader I would like to thank everyone who has made the publication and the blog a success up to the present time. Of course, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Latest issue of LW, Lone Warrior blog | 6 Comments

More MY navy ships in 1/3000 scale

Posted on June 3, 2015 by mike crane

By Mike Crane Mick Yarrow did it again. Now I have the finest fleet of support ships I could ever want for my kamikaze game because Mick has created even more models of support ships for the US Pacific fleet … Continue reading →

Posted in Naval gaming, Periods - World War II | Leave a comment

Diecast vehicles for modern wargames

Posted on May 17, 2015 by mike crane

By Mike Crane Over the years I have noticed that there are more grown men in the toy departments looking at the Matchbox cars than there are children.  I keep hoping that people are thinking I am toy shopping for … Continue reading →

Posted in Periods - Modern | 3 Comments

Review of some Mick Yarrow 1/3000 WWII ships

Posted on March 29, 2015 by mike crane

By Mike Crane I am making a simple game based on the idea of Japanese kamikazes breaking through the combat air patrol (CAP) placed around US warships and attacking the lightly defended auxiliary ships behind them. Aware of my interest … Continue reading →

Posted in Naval gaming, Periods - World War II | 1 Comment

Beowulf, Grendel, and Shape-shifter

Posted on February 24, 2013 by mike crane

By Mike Crane Rob Morgan’s recent review of Mick Yarrow’s Dark Age trio (Beowulf, Grendel, and Shape-shifter) is very interesting. His explanation concerning the shape-shifting character is very helpful — especially his reference to Beorn. According to Rob’s review, Mick produces the three … Continue reading →

Posted in Periods - Dark Ages | Leave a comment

Battle of Britain airplane models — Updated

Posted on December 16, 2012 by mike crane

(UPDATE: Mike’s drawings are now available in both .doc and PDF form. See below.) By Mike Crane The Battle of Britain is one of my favorite periods of history. I made almost all of these models in 2000 after a … Continue reading →

Posted in Air gaming, Periods - World War II | 3 Comments