Somewhere in France, 1944 - Panzer Kids!

As noted in my last post, my son and I were set for another game of Panzer Kids. The game took place Thursday night. The scenario: a big cat (Tiger 1) was on the hunt for allied mice (three Shermans), aided by a Panzer IV. 

Both sides made good use of the cover provided by the countryside.

A shoot out - two Shermans engaged the Tiger.

The Tiger took damage quickly and was rendered largely useless.

The Panzer IV on the other hand ...

... scored the first kill of the game.

The Allied tanks again ganged up on the Tiger and this time knocked it out for good.

The young general surveys the final carnage with smug satisfaction.

The cat's eyes were too big for its stomach!. 

Despite the abundance of cover, the Allied commander opted to turn the hunter into the hunted and did so boldly. It paid off, this time.

**********

The optional rules worked quite well The bocage rules also worked as I hoped - allowing the Allies to keep one Sherman in reserve to strike when the Tiger was vulnerable, and the PzIV to advance up the table (with it's weaker defensive value, this was a huge plus).

My son immediately asked when we could play again, which is the highest possible praise for a game.

This is our third Panzer Kids outing I think? I may have said it before, but it bears repeating, I highly recommend Panzer Kids - don't let the Kids part turn you off. There's an enjoyable game here for adults, too.

There's a pay-what-you-want Basic version if you want to give it a go to get a sense of the rules, but the Deluxe edition rules add some of the features older gamers would expect (flank/rear bonuses, damage effects, ATGs, etc.) without adding complexity - plus there's quite a list of tank stats. 

I think this game took 45 minutes start to finish. It's hard to tell exactly how much of it was the game though, because there were quite a few tangents - such as extended sound effects making for shots that hit (or missed for that matter), wild cheering and "end-zone celebrations" for successful shots, random hugs, spontaneous improvised "national anthems" to spur on the sides, etc. - not atypical if you've ever had the good fortune to game with a nine year-old.

The Table is Set!

The table (err, bed) is set for the next game of Panzer Kids Deluxe! This time we'll be "somewhere in France, 1944". If we keep playing this game I'm going to have to expand my collection of 1:48-1:50 scale armor. HAVE TO I SAY!

Tanks not necessarily in their starting positions.

I just like the way this Corgi model looks going into the field.

 Vehicles are Solido / Verem and Corgi.

This game we'll incorporate the optional damage rules, wreck rules, and the flank/rear attack rules. 

For the bocage/hedges, I've decided that the tanks must be in contact to see/be seen and to shoot/be targeted, otherwise it blocks LOS. Tanks may not cross bocage/hedges.

New Cloth, New Look

I present without fanfare, a preview of my new ground cloth:

This picture, mostly lit by daylight on an overcast day. is the closest I could get to capturing the color.

Pictures do not quite capture the richness of the color, but in-person it is exactly what I want. 

I contemplated quite a few options: fleece - plain or printed, felt - plain or painted, neoprene, painted plywood, flocked mats, etc. over multiple weeks. In the end I decided on microsuade in "celery", ordered it early in the week and it arrived Friday, several days earlier than expected. It was relatively inexpensive at under $30 usd for 3 yards, 58" wide, and is easy to clear of cat hair.  The latter was a driving factor in choosing this material. 

One can't can't get a new cloth and not setup a game, so Friday night that's what I did. Stay tuned!

Recover the Tiger Revisited

One Hour Skirmish Wargames: Plan Tortue Scenario (Just tanks!)

I was eager to try out my ideas for an all-tank game using One Hour Skirmish Wargames, so I grabbed the Plan Tortue scenario from the book an(French resistance vs Germans with some vehicles) and modified it for my purposes.

Somewhere in Europe, 1944, a weakened German tank troop is en route to join its battalion. The Allies have set a trap with a minor road block (a large downed tree) to slow the advance and a troop of Shermans to take out the German armor.  

The Germans win if they get the Tiger off the board (it should be one vehicle, but I decided the Tiger had to do it),  the Allies win if the keep the German armor from leaving the board, either by delay or destruction. There are 6 turns allotted for the scenario.

To clear the road block, a German tank must make contact with it, and then spend movement points, up to 3 per phase, until they draw a face card.

I setup  long was on my 3' x 5' kitchen table - tracked vehicles move at 12" so the extra length felt necessary. I don't have a lot of trees,but the trees on each side of the road are considered to block line of sight. The field is not harvested and blocks LOS as well.

Overview of the battlefield.

From the Tiger's point of view.

Two Shermans wait in a field.

Another waits in the open (but shielded by trees).

The column, such as it is, is off.

The Shermans advance but the column ignores them to race by.

The Pz IV demolishes the barricade.

Things don't look good for this Sherman but they survive.

And then team up with their fellows to unleash a torrent on the Tiger. And were totally ineffective.

The Tiger escapes. German victory! The Allies take a parting shot and brew up the Pz IV, but small consolation.

*****
The tanks on both sides were either horrible shots or the armor did its job for almost the entire game.  I allowed the Allies one card draw after the Tiger escaped and finally someone did some damage - and they brewed up the Panzer in one  hit! So, I never got to test my ideas from the previous post.

That said, the game played quite well without them and I was never quite sure if the Germans would make it or if the Allies would succeed.

For a 'beer-and-pretzels' type tank game, it was quite a bit of fun - there were a number of choices to make. For instance, I opted to get the Panzer off the road so the Tiger could get off the board, but that used up the points on that particular turn, and the Tiger had to sit for one more Allied phase and risk destruction.

I think the barrier card draws worked well - that's in the original scenario. One thing that I thought of doing instead was allowing HE fire to blow up the barrier, maybe by treating it as a regular target. That is, the tank would draw a shoot card and the barrier a defense card.

Forty-five minutes from start to finish, and I barely needed to consult the book once I got going. I only turned over one Joker, so it was two turns, but 5 or 6 phases for each side. I didn't have to let the Allies have their last phase but I figured 'why not' since no one had done any damage. And, of course, that's when they decided to be effective.