Another week, another podcast, and this time it’s an interview with one of the well-known giants of the hobby, Richard Clarke.
As half of the TooFatLardies pairing, he has been responsible for such popular and innovative rulesets as Through the Mud and the Blood, Sharpe Practice and Chain of Command, and runs a growing business that is, by any definition, highly successful.
I ask Rich about his wargaming background, and we discuss his track record of writing articles for magazines, dating back many years. What attracted him to writing to begin with, and how important and enjoyable is it for him?
Rich tells us which of the TFL projects have been his particular ‘babies’ and which he is personally most proud of and why, and I also ask him about one of the skills he rather hides under a bushel, that of being a talented illustrator. We also discuss something else that Rich is proud of, the enormous growth of the ‘Lard’ community around the world.
We also cover a serious point about publishing: many people refer to TooFatlardies as a “small, independent publisher”, but whilst they are certainly independent, it’s no longer true to say that they’re small! We reveal some of their business facts which will probably surprise most people, and ask why despite this, the perception of TFL as “a couple of blokes in a shed” has persisted.
I also ask Rich about his recent experience running the Discord Kriegsspiel campaign “Big Trouble in Little Lardas”—Nick explained how it was set up, so now we hear what umpiring it was actually like and what Rich feels was gained from the exercise. We also hear about his experience working with the late, great Paddy Griffith in running Kriegsspiel games.
We discuss Rich’s passion for history and the way that informs his wargaming and game design, and we delve even deeper into his love of friction in wargames, citing Clausewitz and Jomini. What does he say to the notion that most wargamers (especially those with no military or history background) provide quite enough friction of their own without the need for mechanisms that add more?
Rich also spills the beans on the non-Lardy games he has enjoyed—you might be surprised!
Just as with Nick previously, I ask what persuaded Rich to come aboard as a patron and what his views are about online content delivery.
We crammed a lot into a couple of hours, so I hope that you enjoy the show. I certainly enjoyed chatting with Rich and hope to do so again in the future.
Henry
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