Fireball Forward Operation Crusader scenario 1

I ran a game of Fireball Forward today.  Playing the game were my son as the Germans and my friend Cass as the UK in the first scenario of the Operation Crusader scenario book.  The game was played with 6mm miniatures and I used Hinches for inches.  Allowing the 6' by 6' map to be setup on a 3' by 3' table space.  I also used blinds and like them - will be using them from now on.  Most likely 3 blinds per real unit.  For this game it was 2 blinds per real unit.

The setup for the game.  The German setup area is to the right of the grey line while the UK enters on the bottom left.  Finally on the Top Left and left hand side  is where the Germans can retreat off the map after turn 4.  The game last six turns.  The lined felt is a wadi and depressions while the other two bits of felt are higher ground.

End of turn 1.  The UK enter the board while the Germans moved forward to try and get some early spotting and kills.  Both sides get some crappy rolls and no damage is done to either side. 

End of turn 2.  More firing and no kills.  One of the Germans does fail a morale check and somebody breaks a gun (the pink circle thing)

End of turn 3.  The UK forces swamp the German Armored cars (and got lucky when they are not hit by them).  Two German Armored Card are destroyed and the last one (with the broken gun) fails a morale check and is broken status.

A closeup of the Armored Cars getting swamped.

End of turn 4.  A German 232 Armored car runs forward and manages to kill two Crusader 1 tanks (lucky shooting).  In return he is fired upon by the remaining Crusader and a Humber and fails a morale check.  Further up the other 232 Armored car is destroyed by a lucky shot from another Humber.  Finally the UK finally gets arty contact and brings down a barrage on top of the German Panzerjager 1 mobile AT guns.  It is not pretty as both of them fail their morale checks.

And the end of the game, the UK Humbers rush forward and kill one of the Panzerjaegers.  The Germans have no way to win at this point and the game is called.

Some really crappy luck mixed with good luck in this one.  The early shooting was without any kills and then it was deadly - mostly for the Germans however.  With fast moving Humbers getting critical hits while needing a 7 on a D6 (you can get that by being within a range die that is also rolled), a 6 also meaning a critical hit so armor is not as good as it could be.    Looking to play another game at the end of April.

Memoir 44 and met new gamers!

I finally got a chance to meet the Cape Coral area gamers today, after getting a nasty cold a few weeks back and being too sleepy to game a couple days back.  We played Memoir 44, which is a good bit lighter fare then I'm used to - pretty close to being Commands and Colors goes WWII.  It was fun and they seemed to put up with me - so next month it is Command and Colors Nappies and perhaps another game I'll try to spring on them after that.

The Setup for the game.  I was the left flank US forces.  Danny next to me was the Right flank.  Across the table is Frank and next to him is Kinley.  Opening setup for the game.  The plan is to go straight up the beach and blast em!

A card or two into the game.  Allies are getting plastered more than the Germans but everyone is getting plastered.

And the game is done (I think).  Allies had 6 VC token things and the Germans just got their Seventh.  No Hey Diddle Diddle here, instead my left flanks guys blew away a German unit on the edge of the board and swept around to take two town squares and Danny's took one on his side but the cards and dice were deadly and the US lost 7 units.

Actually a better game then I thought it would be, could use a bit more chrome perhaps, but then I play ASL so I never think there is enough chrome in any other game - even though I think there is TOO much in ASL...

Looking forward to playing C&C Napoleon in May!

ASL J109: Break for Hungary

Played this ASL scenario on March 10th, the second in a trilogy of scenarios dealing with Croatian Paratroopers near the end of the war.  To win the Croatians need to get 8CVP off the left edge of the board OR get 8 higher CVP than the Partisans - and prisoners did not count for the exit VP.

The game setup.  Unlike the last scenario this time the entire map is in play,  it is also ammo shortage for all Support Weapons.  So no MG fire lanes (sniff sniff).

The Croatian first turn sees a swing of good and bad dice on each side.  Looking over the log it appears to have been pretty even this time.  Although Croat attempts to take out the MG and MTR near the bottom of the map were some of the crappy rolls - as were a number of the shots on the advancing Croats so I guess it evens out.

End of Partisan turn 1.  The dummies heading to the top of the map are ignored the rest of the game.

End of Croatian turn 2.  Still not a lot of progress though the MTR crew was broken and the leader of the Partisan troops is all that is unbroken in the south besides the MG.

End of Partisan turn 2.  The Leader routes with his broken squads in tow (still broken, only leader is concealed) and the MG team left the MG in position (too heavy to move) and hid.  MTR team rallies right quick however.

End of Croatian turn 3.  The MG team could not find the MG, my BRILLIANT plan not looking so brilliant in hindsight.  The +1 for being fatigued would have been better.  On the plus side the MG team was not a target for any shooting either.  The leader manages to rally one of his charges, just in time too.

End of Partisan turn 3.  The MG is found and it and the MTR break the 9-1 leader and squads with him on the road (where the Malfed LMG is).  The center of the Partisan line is still being stressed however.  With the rally of the squad in the south things are looking better there.

End of Croatian turn 4.  BREAKTHROUGH!  The Partisan MG is taken out by snakes from the Croatian mtr leaving the rout open for the Croatian troops.  The 8-1 leader rallied and brought some MG firepower into the center of the map to keep Partisans honest.  A game I thought was going all my way last turn runs a crapper this turn.  Unless more troops can be moved south (past that Croatian 8-1 leader and MG position) if is 5 to 2 in the south...

End of Partisan turn 4.  The Croation MG position proves to be no threat, rolling badly to NE or just pins versus troops moving with a number of hindrances in their favor.  The center is now secure(ish) and the south has two squads in position with andother two on the way.  A Partisan HIPster comes out of hiding to try and whack a Croatian squad in CC (Croatians went right by his position) - when I got an ambush I decided to move between the squad I moved into CC with and the 8-1 MG stack forcing him to fire at them rather than move if the other squad could not break my squad.

Luck swings my way in Croatian turn 5.  The move forward but do not break my squad in the south and in the center their 8-1 stack is DMd. 

End of Croatian turn 6,  lost Partisan turn 5 somehow.  My Partisans had slid south to cover the bottom of the map.  On the Croatian turn my squad guarding the north side of the hill is taken out in Prep Fire leaving the hill undefended (unless I wanted to lose Concealment on my hill stack).

Seemed to have misplaced another one!  Anyway, a bonehead move left my one squad broken from Croatian fire, but perhaps not so boneheaded after all - the Croat player did not have enough units left to get off the board after trying to make my Concealed stack reveal itself.  he could have gotten 6vp off but needed at least 8.  This game went right down to the wire.  I recommend it as an interesting situation and it appears it could easily go either way with lots of decisions required by each player throughout the game. 

Have to put this in there, my second win after a long stay in the pit of despair!