The setup was based on a portion of the Deux Fermes Crossfire scenario from IanH's wargame pages and further modified and adapted to a 6x6 grid (3' x 3'):
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| The Righteous Red Army Prepare to Battle Horrible Huns! |
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| Heroic Soviet Infantry Advance! |
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| Gallant Soviet Guards Press the Attack! |
The MG in the farmhouse sprayed the woods closest to the road every time the Soviets tried to advance into them. Generally speaking, the Soviet rifles couldn't hit a billboard at point-blank range. Oh and the Soviet MG jammed the first time it had a chance to shoot. Meanwhile, the German rifles pulled off stunning displays of marksmanship, even while disordered.
In the end though, it was close combat that proved the deciding factor - it caused the loss of all three Soviet rifles and their platoon leader!
This was also the first time using the two-figure 2" square bases and I'm rather pleased with them (I said that about the 3" bases and the 3" x 2" bases before that, so don't put much stock in my reaction). One of the reasons for the change is that I received a copy of Crossfire for Christmas and I decided, quite without much thought, to give it a go as close to the rules as written as possible, given my gaming idiosyncracies. That is, with limited table space and large figures.
In practice, this means keeping my basing as close to the recommended size as I can, while still having multiple figures per base (prone figures kind of mess this up but I did my best to keep at least one dimension 2"). This way, I can field a company or two in the same space smaller scale figures might use, with approximately the same number of terrain pieces. Conveniently, this works well for other rules as well.
The 2" square makes a less convincing platoon on its own, but two together make a nice 4" wide platoon (or company or battalion for that matter) of four figures - and that works for OHW scenarios (for which I tend to prefer Morschauser for the rules). I can even fit in a vehicle along with a few infantry stands in my 6" grid space, for higher level scenarios/rules where a unit is a company or battalion.
Your multi-part MG team blends very well into the ranks of your Soviet forces. How do you do your crop field terrain?
ReplyDeleteHi Reese,
DeleteThanks for the comment!
I used a coconut-fiber doormat that has a rubber backing - it has the right "look" I think. I had read that coconut-fiber sheds a lot without the backing, but you might get more mat for you money without it.
I count the fields as in or out of season as needed, although visually, with 1/35-1/32, they look more like harvested or low crops.
To be fair, lot's of people playing in smaller scales have the same issue with their crops, so it's not a huge issue but I think about it sometimes.
I have toyed with the idea of making fields with a box (the walls of the box represent the crops, and figures go inside the box - with or without a lid - to be in the fields) so that they would be tall enough to conceal figures, but then they end up taller than my current hills!
I love the look of them. They are the scale height of summer wheat here in eastern Kansas so no worries about them looking harvested. I have toyed with the idea of a corn or wheat field. With my single figure basing and measurement based rules, I may use rows of corn with plenty of space between, but your mat idea has got me rethinking. I am slowly advancing my terrain passed ancient Lincoln Logs.
DeleteBut I love those Lincoln Logs! I've been thinking about picking up some myself to make Russian farm buildings.
DeleteNice looking game. It will be interesting adapting Crossfire.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter! Hopefully the 2" bases means I can field the standard company vs company game on the suggested 4' x 4' table, much as with smaller scales.
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