I Ain't Been Nuked Mum!

Played a playtest of IABNM again yesterday.  Soviets attacking a US position circa 1989.  I am planning to run a similar scenario (with modifications based on this run through) at the SJCW group meeting on May 9th.

Soviet Forces are attacking to seize 2 of 3 bridges across some river.  Lots of tanks and a group of BMP infantry vs 2 platoons of Americans in M2 Bradleys, an M901 AT Company, and a platoon of M1A1s.  It was a slaughter...

Prepare for Battle!  The table setup 4' by 8' and we will be using CM for measurements.  The US will setup on the far side and have to stop the Soviet steamroller.

A little closer in with the blinds in place (I use playing cards as blinds.  This is the center of the US defense.

A pre-game arty attack puts a hurting on the US right flank!  (I could not find the word stonk and used a regular barrage rather than the IABNM stonk rules - found the correct rules today and will be using them in the game on the 9th).  Black squares are "built up" areas of hard cover, buildings are simply for show.  The 4 M2s have suffered a loss of action (orange) and most are shocked (white).  

A T80 Company (I used a single card per T80 company, need to make more cards) destroyed two M2 Bradleys after passing by the woods.  M2s try to fire back on their card - OOOPS, no firing Wire Guided missiles over water!  (first change for the game on the 9th noted.).  One of the remaing M2s dashes for the bridge to shoot across it with the ITOW (can not shoot and move so has to hope he lives)

Soviets move up in the center, US Blinds card did not come up for 4 straight decks allowing the Soviets to move up without being spotted.

The US Blinds finally appear and the M1A1 platoon opens fire!  They destroy 3 T80s on the right flank including one on the bridge - see the picture 2 down from here.

T80s in the center (another Company) activate and destroy two of the M1A1s.  The last two manage to fire a bit longer.  The T80s also managed to destroy two of the M2s from the HQ platoon (City on the left).  At this point we called the game.

The remains of the US right flank.  The Infantry were pummeled by the T80s firing HE and only one Bradley was left alive.  Changes for the next game are to move the river further back and have the US allowed to setup on either side, to put the off board AT missile card in the deck right away (was waiting for the HQ to unmask and call it in), and allow the soviets to start in a woods line rather than come in from off table - this will allow the action to start a little sooner and allow the Soviet arty into the game along with the US missile strikes from off-board Apaches.  

The IABNM rules will be published by Too Fat Lardies and are currently in Playtest.  I can't say for sure when they will be done but they are very far along now.

AAR for ASL FE 116 Bad Neighbor Policy

Played ASL scenario FE 116 bad Neighbor Policy with Tycho on Saturday and the more I play the worse I get...  this scenario takes place in Slovakia in 1939 and features the Slovaks vs the Hungarians, we could not decide which side was Axis and which was Allied.  I played the defending Hungarians and Tycho the Slovaks.  Early war, crappy troops, and tin cans - which proved to be decisive.

Setup Done.  Slovaks must enter between the Germans Crosses, Hungarians had to setup beyond the road denoted by the Soviet Stars.  Victory was having the most mult-hex buildings at game end (11 on the board).

End of Slovak turn one.  I took 7 to 9 Defensive fire shots with a modifier between 0 and -2 and had NO effect with any of them (not even causing a single MC/PTC).   Granted they were all 1 or 2 FP but... 

End of Hungarian Turn 1, more non-effective fire.  I REALLY should have hustled those units on the right up to the other road, results of that blunder coming up next!

End of Slovakian turn 2.  This half turn really set the tone for the rest of the game.  Two tin cans VBM freeze sleezed my guys where the red arrows are pointing, which allowed his infantry to skirt right on down the road - if only I had moved those infantry along like I had planned when I setup the darn defense to being with...  Although I managed to shock one ofthe Tin Cans and the gun fired on the other he then managed to win both CCs (red arrows pointing out locations).  I really should have broke and ran with the group near the gun, they could have held him up next turn - but I got greedy to save the MMG, stupid, Stupid, Stupid.  Oh Homer...

End of Hungarian turn 2.  RUN!  The gun managed to destroy the second tin can leaving only two left.  But those last two can stop my units from putting down defensive fire.  The Slovakian squads next to the gun put it out of its misery in the Defensive Fire Phase.

End of Slovakian turn 3.  The tin cans did the expected and VBM freeze sleezed my guy in R3.  Then a Slovack squad brushed off another -1 shot to get into P9, not looking good.

End of Hungarian Turn 3.  Trying to take back O9 building.  I managed to get guys in S10 to hold onto it though.  At this point Slovakians have 3 buildings and need 3 more to win.

End of Slovakian turn 4.  They manage to put a meleeonto the guys in N9 but the guy in S3 is holding them up from taking that building.  The gusy in V9 managed to take a building off to the right - 4 out of 6 captured.

End of Hungarian turn 4.  Blasted the gusy in P9 and went into CC, not managing to kill them (half squad left).  The Hungarian in R3 is holding on (upstairs, Slovaks downstairs but still an escape path).  While the guy in R5 breaks.

End of Slovakian turn 5.  He finally gets air support but does not bring it on yet.  The fight for R6 continues, I rout upstairs to try and hold the building and hope for a miracle rally, and hope to break his guys so they route first.  U6 manages to blast one of them...  A tin can fails a mobility check but his neighbor goes off to VBM another hex.

End of Hungarian turn 5.  The Slovakian Airforce attacks!  Boxcars! It attacks the guy in R6 and then R7 (FB with MG) but causes no damage.  Oh - did mention that the slovaks rolled up another 8-1 leader in CC?  At this point the Slovaks have 6 buildings unless the Hungarians can take one back it is over.

End of the game, The fight for P9 does not go the Hungarian way - the Hungarians in L5 and L3 show how far they could have gotten going all out - but the broken unit in L4 could route upstairs and keep possession of the building.

I sure hope I play better next time.  Tycho played a solid game - using the Tin Cans to best advantage.  All they are really good for is VBM freeze or denying route paths and they did that par excellence.

SJCW April 2015 Game Day and a New Game!

Yesterday (April 11th) was the SJCW (South Jersey Confederation of Wargamers) monthly game day and today the mailman dropped off a new game.  (Amazon deliveries come on Sunday!)

I have Command and Colors Napoleonics and am looking forward to giving this game a try!

For the game day there were four games played during the day.  A Colonial skirmish with Zulus and Brits, A WH40K game, a Pike and Shotte game (I think, forgot to ask exactly which rules), and a 15mm game of Angriff.  I was in on the colonial game and the Angriff game.

First up the Colonial Skirmish game.

The Umpire setting up the game.  The Green felt is hills (so are the little hills...), the little scrub things are just for show, the village is a Zulu village, I think the building is a farm or some such (we Brits were supposed to make it to there as a VC condition - more on that later), and the building near the road had Molly Sugden (OK, maybe not her) waiting for a rescue.

The British column, led by native troops with cavalry off to the side.  15mm figures and a 10 foot long table or so)

The Brits advance to Molly's place.  The cavalry in this picture (top center) or Boor Riflemen.

Zulu Riflemen appear on the hill to the British Left!  More Zulus rise up in front of the column!  The native troops rush to guard Molly and a British officer comes in on a horse to carry her to safety.

A turn or so later and Molly is rescued while the native troops are overwhelmed by Zulus...  Off to the right you can see the British Gatling gun setting up while farther to the right a Screw Gun is also setting up.  (or set up - when they fire massive swaths of Zulus are mowed down).  Also - the Zulu right horn appears and readies to charge.

Zulus charge the Queen's colors!  Almost all the Brits die except the color bearer!

A little further back the Brits form up the rest of the column while other groups try to get into the fray.  The template on the top right is the Case shot template...

The Zulu Left Horn appears and moves in.  The Gatling gun and the Screw Gun do some massive damage but they keep on coming...  Also, this time the Brit player (me) gets smart and steps back to form a line so that the Zulus are out of charge range.

The Last group of Brits get to form in an L pattern, the previous group of Brits did major damage to the remaining Zulus but were destroyed.  The final line of Brits (left of the road) were charged by the remaining Zulus and the Brits manage to mow them down.  The color bearer is dead, he would be about where that white box of Zulus is on the road.

Final Pic of the game showing the situation from the last pic at a slightly higher angle.  The Zulus are in the boxes and though they have been hurt (5000 to 1000 casualties) they claim the field and a Gatling gun (lucky for us they do not know how to use it)

At the same time I was playing in this game they WH40K game and the Pike and Shotte game were going on.  Since I did not participate in these there are no comments.

First up the Pike and Shotte Game.

Setting up

End of Game.

The figs for the game.

And the WH40K game.  (sorry guys, I thought I had taken a couple more pictures!)

After these games were done the Angriff game started up.  A US and German rumble in Normandy.

US Forces

My (blurry) Panthers taking up position - with Eric's Stug to the right.  I have two more Panthers on the left (one just off the frame)

A Better focused pic.

Panthers move up toward the town.

First shots.  The Stugs took out the armored cars and a the Sherman.  A Panther took out the Halftrack near the church.  So far on this flank no Germans have been hurt while on the left flank it is a different story with Panthers being blown apart by 75mm armed Shermans.  (I have a problem with the penetration charts in the game).

Three Panthers destroyed in one turn by three 76mm armed Shermans at 1750 meters range (yup, I have a problem with the penetration charts in this game, I don't think they take the slope of the Panthers armor into account at all).  To be fair the game was balanced the way it was but I would like to see armor slope better accounted for and more Shermans on the board.  A fun game with Excellently painted up miniatures!  (15mm).

Finally a shot of the game club meeting area.

This is held at the Cape May Court House (that is the name of a town - not a building in the town) Senior Citizen's center and went from 1pm to 9pm.

Hammered Scots!

Played Hammer of the Scots today and got HAMMERED as the Scots!  This is a Columbia Block Game on the Scottish wars with the English.

Setup for the scenario, Blue is Scots and Red are English.  That big blob at the top left are not actually in play.

End of turn 2 (1298).  The big blob of blocks in England (top right) have special rules to enter but when they do they can do some serious damage!

End of turn 3 (1299).  We were both working out how the game plays, the way to win is to have the majority of Scottish nobled supporting your side.  You do this by having control of their area at the end of each year or defeat them in battle.  In either case they will instantly defect to your side.

End of Turn 4 (1300).  Don't remember much of this turn but from the blocks left on the board at the end it was not a good year for my Scots!

End of turn 5 (1301).  A better year for the Scots.  I thought I was going to go from this position and start routing the English!  How WRONG I was!

End of Turn 6 (1302).  The English King finally ends up in the English reinforcement draw.  He and his troops proceeded to annihilate Scottish resistance in the south.

End of Turn 7 (1303).  The king trounced some more of the Hapless Scots but Mornay managed to run and hide, and so Ross was forced to convert to the Scottish cause since Monray was sitting in his area at the end of turn (Ross' area is the very bottom with two blocks in it).  The King has to leave the board at the end of the turn and goes back into the draw pile.  Probably missing his tarts, English swine!

End of turn 8 (1304).  Things are going from bad to worse to rock bottom.  The King was drawn as a reinforcement and then sea moved to the middle of the map with a knight.  The Scots had to scramble to stay out of the way, in the process Ross switched sides once again.

End of game.  The English moved first and caught the Scots.  Edward and his Knights made their attack and scored enough hits to kill off the Scots (Edward rolls 4 dice and hits on a 4 or less, Deadly!, and the other hits on a 3 or less).

A very fun and quick playing game.  I am looking forward to playing it again.  I have some ideas on how to put in a better game next time around and look forward to putting those ideas to use.  First is using a speed bump unit to slow up King Edward.  This game I tried to stop his big stack with a stack of my own - I ended up losing badly.  Second is to buy lots of units at the end of each year rather then building up nobles.  This allows holding territory that has been taken while allowing a unit to stay behind to hold MY territory as well.  If you can force a noble to defect at year end you get them at whatever strength they are currently at while defeating them in battle will leave them at strength 1.  Plus more blocks in play means more speed bumps for the king...