ASL, LFT:281 - Pink Hill

 Another round of ASL with the LFT Desert boards.  Once again these are lovely boards but it could have used an image of the altered terrain from standard ASL maps.  We figured it out but a visual guide would have been helpful.  This one had a couple of oddities when it came to terrain SSR as well - the Orchards near town being Orchards instead of the altered style and tanks not being able to enter building hexes (if the tanks were every able to get anywhere near those buildings the game would have been lost a LONG time before).

Game start.  To win the Germans have to exit 11CVP (prisoners do not count, NQ in effect anyway) or have 12CVP more than the UK at game end.

First turn movement.  The UK had 9+ 2-2 or 4-2 shots and got a Pin and a single DM out of them.  Not a good start.

Game end.  The Germans had the CVP loss ratio they needed for a win so the UK charged with the tanks.  First one got a DM on one stack and the other Died.  The German aircraft was the MVP.  Darn thing destroyed my defenses.  If that first turn had gone differently it may have ended with a UK win.

ASL scenario FT:293, Wild Men From Texas

 A fun scenario but perhaps unbalanced (especially if the Mortars run out of WP after just one shot).

The Americans have 8 turns to take 18 rubble locations.  They have to start on the bottom map on the right hand side.  The maps in this LFT product are beautiful but figuring out some terrain is a pain.  A complete listing of each terrain image and what it represents would have been handy.  (they have a listing for the unique stuff but not the retextured "normal" stuff) 

German half of turn 2 and both Mortars are out of WP.  Getting across the open ground without it is "tricky"

I sent my troops around the flanks and the Germans had their mines there, luckily they did not slow me up much but going round that way slowed me up enough (along with getting plastered when first entering the rubble) that by this time there was not enough movement phases left for the US to enter 18 rubble hexes, much less fight the Germans for it.  (this is the end of turn 4 too).

Miniatures "Modern" gaming

 Got in a playtest game of Arc of Fire featuring a scenario from the book itself.  Fun to play with "modern" toys (scenario set in the eighties - which is now as far back in time as WWII was when I started gaming...)

The board layout.  The Angolans and Cubans come in from the left and have to exit off to the right.

Same board from the other perspective.

End of turn 1.  The Cuban scouts get knocked around by a missile (lucky considering).  A scout car is out in the front of this group - can't spot nuttin though!

End of turn 2 or 3.  More Angolan forces come on.  The South African missile launcher was found and taken out.

A couple turns later and the missile launcher was not taken out - it took out a T55 and then was destroyed.  the other T55 failed a MC and got neutralized for a turn.

Continuing to move up to the stream when a barrage starts coming down.

Game Over man!  Game over. 
My forces are spotted by a 90mm armed vehicle that takes out the PT-76s one by one and then my scout car.  THEN the arty falls.  The game ends pretty much historically with my Angolans getting smacked around.

A closer view of the 90mm armed vehicles.  I think the name was ratele.

This is once again at John's house and as you see he has a nice large spot for laying out a map and a nice layout to go along with it.  

Fireball Forward; Find the English! (and boy were they found...)

 Played a round of Fireball Forward with John at Dragon's Lair.  My Brits got stomped!  The Brits had arty but rolled a 3 (second to worst result) and a 4 (third worst result) for each attempt - having no effect on the Germans.  The German arty rolled an 11 and a 12 and an 11.  The best and then 2 second best results, leaving the majority of my armor broken from failed morale checks or destroyed from two failed morale checks.  The only breaks the Brits got were the German 50mm guns all breaking and the 88mm gun being destroyed before it could shoot.

End of turn 1.  A couple of Honeys have already been taken out at long range by fast moving Panzer IIH tanks.

End of turn 2 and things are only getting worse for the Brits.

Fireball Forward, Operation Crusader: Counter Reconnaissance Encounter

 My first FTF game in year (Thanks Danny!).  Also my first time getting the miniatures out in an even longer time.  The Counter Recon Encounter scenario from the Operation Crusader scenario book.  A good clean intro to the Desert and back into Fireball Forward.

First turn of the game.  The UK rushes onto the board.  The Germans did not fire so no losses were taken.  The UK spots the Germans in the depression to the left.  They fired upon them but due to range they miss with all shots.

End of turn 4.  The German PzJgr 1 AT vehicles were taken out by Arty when I used the initiative to call in back to back arty.  That plus forgetting the +1 to the morale check for an open top vehicle.  Though I think one of them still would have been eliminated and the other broken.  This left the table pretty much open for the Crusaders.
The red markers are destroyed vehicles and the black are those out of ammo.

End of turn 5 and game called. Due to the Arty wiping out the PzJgr vehicles the Crusaders cleaned up.  The Germans were down to 1 operational vehicle at the end of the turn and 1 with no ammo.

ASL 262: Showdown at Tug Argan Pass. conclusion

 Finished up this scenario today  (another New Years Day game!  Woohoo!).

The Axis through in the towel after 5.5 turns.  Though I think they still had a decent chance to win it had to be no fun at all.  They have to take beating after beating after beating to get up on the hill.  When his FT tank immobolized I think all the fun was drained out of it.  For the Commonwealth it is basically a game of sitting tight and spread out to keep the Italian 100+mm arty from smashing them flat OR getting smoked out and not being able to punish the Italians on the way up to the hill.

Image from the end of the game.  The only notable item I could remember was an ATR immoblizing the FT tank.  The Italian arty did not help much either, he drew a bunch of red chits (using the red chit goes back in plus one rule or otherwise the Italian arty would have done nothing) so it did not land often.  The Italians did start causing MCs on the Commonwealth troops the last turn and the UK could not pass one to save his life.  Other turns they did not seem to fail any so it evened out.

ASL 262: Showdown at Tug Argan Pass

 Finally got back to ASL, first game since September!  It is my first foray into the desert in a long time as well.  OK for a change of pace but not a theater I'm really fond of.

The setup.  The Italians have to take the circled locations in 9 turns.  The Italians get 100mm OBA and the Brits get an 80mm battery.

First Toe Stub goes to the Commonwealth - a 51mm mtr immobolized an Italian tank and the crew bailed.

Start of Commonwealth turn 4.  The game is still up in the air.  Italian arty was sparse (drawing a bunch of Red chits - using Pleva rule so 2 reds do not end the Arty but go back in the cup) while the UK arty basically stopped the center Italian group cold (no black chit but lost radio contact once).  Next game day is New Years day where we should be able to finish this one up.

Fireball Forward: Operation Crusader scenario 1

 Played the Counter Recon Encounter scenario from the Operation Crusader scenario book with my son today.  It was partly a test of using Tabletop Simulator to play Fireball Forward.  The test worked great.  Hidden units work as well as measuring and dice rolls.  Going to start playing it more and hope to get more involved in it as well.

The Brits won this one handily due to very effective Arty (Germans had to spread out more!).  I will be giving it another go sometime but there are many other scenarios to try first.

The Dark Sands comes to an end

 The game of The Dark Sands, that started with a lot of promise ends with a sour note.

The map after the last Commonwealth attack of turn 15.  At best the Commonwealth can attack 8 more times if the Chits always work out.  Since there is no overrun mechanic in the game I setup the Axis Defense like so.

If all the combats on turn 16 end up with the defender eliminated that still leaves roughly 1 combat unit per defensive "line".  Axis Reinforcements consist of two units on the next turn and 3 on the last turn.  Just enough to plug all the lines enough to hold off the Commonwealth just long enough.  End result would be 3 Axis VP for holding the VP spots to 0 Commonwealth VP.  Even if the Commonwealth took a VP in the first turn (more than that is not really possible without insane luck) it would still be an Axis victory.  The lack of an overrun mechanic along with Commonwealth tanks serving very little purpose (they are faster and stronger and the advantage ends there) makes the end game very WW1 like.  Sadly the search for "the" game on the desert war continues on.

Next up, a Great Battles of the American Revolution game.

The Dark Sands Game 2 Turn 12

 Got in the last chit of turn 11 and all of turn 12 today.  That took 3 hours to complete.

The starting point.  The Germans just started a combat chit when power went out last time.  

The results of the attacks (forgot to show one - the Italian in the center got an A1 result).  The Allies are forced to retreat in all but one battle.  Putting a large number of their forced in jeopardy of being OOS.

At the end of turn 12.  One allied stack is eliminated for being OOS, another was eliminated by a retreat it could not make (surrounded and escarpment).  A final stack was eliminated in an exchange.  The Germans took a good bit of tank losses in the exchange but certainly made out the winner.  Good luck and good luck with the chits are helping the Germans right now.  Later the Commonwealth get better chits but will it be enough to force the Afrika Corps back far enough to get 2 or the VP spaces?

The Dark Sands

 It is taking me nearly a month to get this in so I don't remember much and got lazy on the pictures.  The Axis forces decide to pull back with the Commonwealth getting reinforced and better chits the next few turns.

The start of turn 6.  The Germans would fall back to Tobruk and hold a line near Halfya.  The Commonwealth would give chase.  In the back and forth both sides took losses but I think the Commonwealth took more.

The situation at the end of turn 9.  The Axis will start getting better chits soon and in 42 the no retreat rule for Tobruk goes away making it an easier target to take.

The Dark Sands continues

 We finished up three turns bringing us up to the start of turn 6.  The Commonwealth is pushed back to El Alamein but the Axis is running on shoestring supplies.  On turn 8 the Commonwealth gets a healthy dose of supply (lots of action chits) which could allow them to breakout of Tobruk and cutoff Axis supply if the Axis (me) is not careful.  So far Axis losses have been extremely light with all of them being restored by replacements while Commonwealth losses have been heavy.  Now does the Axis go for the knockout in two (just barely possible) or get a bit more conservative.

The West has not seen much action.  Some reinforcements are stuck due to lack of supply.  An oddity of the chit driven nature of the game. I had no Move chits and only those for Rommel and Afrika Corps and those were more important to use at the front.

In the Center the Commonwealth has been penned up in Tobruk since turn 3.  

In the East the Commonwealth make a stand at El Alamein.  The chits allowed them to make a hasty retreat from Mersa Matrah.

The Dark Sands continues

 Played turns three and four today.  A short post not due to frustration but due to too much going on.  Next game day is currently set for May 1 where we hope to get in turns five, six, and seven since they are shorter turns due to a lower number of chits in play.

The situation at the end of turn 3.  The Commonwealth forces made a hasty retreat to Tobruk helped by fortuitous chit draws - they were able to skedaddle before the Axis got most of their move chits) and the fact there were so few of them on the West map to begin with.  Combat did not go as well as I hoped either with the lone Commonwealth unit attacked on the West map able to survive the Italian attack and needing cleaned up by the Germans.  Probably the worst thing is drawing the best replacements chit early in turn 4 without enough losses to use the replacements though the tank loss being made good is a bonus.

The end of turn 4.  Combat did not go at all as well as I would like with step loses being nearly even and the Axis can not have win with that kind of exchange ratio.  The idea of attacking Tobruk is a non-starter so the Axis will think of bypassing and going for the auto-victory by taking both main victory areas.  Most likely not going to happen but it should force the Commonwealth to remove some units from Tobruk.  Since the best replacement chit was drawn this turn (and for the Axis it is lose or use) I know the infantry losses I took will not be made good.

The Dark Sands full campaign start

 Lawerence and I started our up The Dark Sands full campaign today.  Even with the test game we played a couple weeks back there were still mistakes.  I don't think any that are critical (since the opening turns are very scripted but still a bit annoying).

The map at start.  The UK will get pretty much all of the chits which makes the unit count misleading.  The Italians are going to take a beating.  This is actually a good thing simulation wise, in a couple of other games it is nearly impossible to replicate what happened to the Italians in this time frame.

The end of turn 1.  Most of the Italians have been eliminated already.  The rest fall back to Tobruk which was a bad move on my part - I should have read the TEC more completely.  The forts did nothing for them.  The would have been far more useful blocking the roads.

The end of turn 2.  All of the Italians are gone and the UK has forces in the Axis setup area.  Due to scripting the Italians had no chance but I might have saved one or two.  Also due to scripting the UK has no chance of keeping the turn 3 Axis reinforcements from arriving - though with slightly different luck and worse play on my part the UK could have gotten a LOT of troops into the Axis setup area.

Thoughts so far.

1 - A good simulation that is easy to play.

2 - Highly scripted due to the chits and reinforcements and withdrawals are on a set schedule with no consideration of what is happening in this particular game but the scripted nature of the chits also normally helps ensure things go semi-historically (at least so far).

3 - No tracking supply points!  Hurray!  The action chits handle that aspect of things pretty well (at least so far - if the Germans don't get past Tobruk and still have supply limited by lower chit counts it would seem a bit strange but I don't think that will happen).

Two complete game turns completed in four hours.  Not bad considering rules reading involved and this are pretty full turns in regards to number of chits to be played.  Next game is set for next week.  The Afrika Korps and Rommel come in and swing things back to Axis initiative.

The African Campaign Deluxe Edition

Played this on the 10th (Last weekend as I write this) and got creamed as the UK.  Rommel is a butt kicker!

The Desert as seen by wargamers millions of times.

End of turn 1.

Things get off to a SMASHING start for the UK (and if they don't restart the game - it won't take long).  Two auto-overruns, an Italian unit destroyed (far left) and the remainder attack my 2-6 unit and kill it (not so smashing start after all but those two escapees dies quickly enough).

Skipping ahead to end of turn 5 when the Allies have captured Tobruk.  Rommel has been building up strength during this time.

There is Tobruk safe and sound.

End of turn 11, The Allied forces have been obliterated in a couple of turns leaving only the 7-6 armor and 6-6 Austalians along with the HQ unit.  The Germans have the required points off the board to start the victory clock.

End of Game two turns later.  UK attempts to break the supply of the Axis units failed with a couple of repulses at Tobruk and Alexandria.  

Going to play this one again in a few weeks with lessons learned.  I'm afraid it will end up feeling more like a regular fight with long lines of units trying to get a breakthrough across the whole map then the desert war but we will see - I certainly messed up THIS game.