Sometime in the early 1970s, three friends got together and tried their first Napoleonic battle, commanding brave Airfix plastic figures across a small table. Everything was very simple, the first set of rules was by Arthur Taylor (“the famous Little Green Book”). The first metal miniatures were bought and painted at the end of the 1970s. Minifigs,of course!

Then, the rules we used became more complex – Bruce Quarry and later Newbury Rules. Our first playroom was in the apartment of one of the players. Of course, still very small and modest.

We travelled through Vienna with our gaming table – to a total of seven different locations in apartments and basements, which were often cold and damp.

Over time more and more players joined. We bought terrain and figures, figures and more figures, now more than 28,000. Most of the Minifigs figures have been taken out of service and replaced with 28mm metal miniatures from all common manufacturers.

By fortunate coincidence (and our great friend the late Herbert Gratz) we got to know the legendary Wargames Holiday Center in Scarborough. We’ve been using In-The-Grand-Manner rules ever since.

In 2008 we discovered a wonderful room close to Schwarzenbergplatz. It was an ideal match for our requirements. One of us made himself (and therefore all of us) a present for his 50 th birthday and set it up as the Wargamers’ Paradise (abbr. “WP”) – we’ve been based there ever since.

We are now around 10 players with some more players who join us every now and then.