'Schild en Vriend' is an old Flemish battlecry, used in the rebellion of the city of Brugge against the French, May 18, 1302. Legend tells that it was used to differentiate between the French-speaking (who could not pronounce 'schild') and Flemish-speaking citizens. Nowadays, historians tell us that it was probably 'Des Gilden Vriend'.
Well, as so many things in life, the club has changed quite a bit since we first put up this page. Back then (the 1997-1999 period, hereafter known as the First Golden Age of Schild en Vriend), we were a bunch of students (and one non-student) of various shapes and sizes (from grad and postgrad over PhD to post-doc students) with a shared passion and a nice regular meeting place.
Now, almost four years later, it's somewhat different. Most of us, having passed from studentship into a next phase of life, have scattered far and wide across Belgium, and even the United States in one case. As a result, Schild en Vriend went somewhat underground, only resurfacing yearly to put on a big game at TSA's Crisis convention.
In those four years, we have formed what can be termed as a loose alliance with a varying and exotic bunch of expats in the Brussels area, the International Brigade, under whose flag some members have played at a number of conventions and tournaments.
Lately, however, with the return of one founding member to the Dijle shores (quite literally) and the settling down of some other members in various places within easy reach of Leuven, a revival of the club is in the making (the Second Golden Age, so to speak). What form this will take specifically is not determined yet, but we will definitely not meet as often as we did before. Instead of weekly games, we will probably aim for monthly or bimonthly games. But what we will be lacking in quantity, we will make up for in quality. Over the years, our various collections of miniatures and terrain have only improved in size and quality, so, whatever other form the games will take, out motto will remain
Another thing we aim for in our games, which has been present from the beginning but was never really emphasized on this webpage, is the occasional experimental game. We have been known to play games as weird and wonderful as the underwater world of Aquazone, the pure paper and pencil submarine game of Probsub and, very recently, a so called multi-activity wargame involving plastic kit building, computer gaming skills and classic boardgaming. We fully intend to continue giving this kind of game a place in our repertoire.
| A CrossFire game in progress. British paras in the house try to stop German attackers. If you click the picture you will see more CrossFire pictures. | 
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We're still open to new members, so whether you're an experienced wargamer or just want to see for yourself what all this mucking about with toy soldiers is about, give us a yell, and join in a game.
If you're a seasoned wargamer, you might want to know what our popular rulesets are. And for those of you wondering what the elements in our coat of arms mean, this is the place to go.
 Home | This page is maintained by Bart Vetters Schild en Vriend Miniature Wargaming Club Leuven |