More games!

This weekend featured quite a lot of gaming again, but almost entirely D&D, so there are no pictures.

For your viewing pleasure, here are photos for one of last weekend's many games:

How it started ...

How it was going ...

How it ended.

I thought the greater firepower for the Russians would offset the numerical disadvantage. 

I was wrong.

Rules used were G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T.

This was the last game for the Cossacks. They are heading to Canada. The Imperial Russians are heading to a new home near me.

 ***

The D&D campaign we started on our vacation, continues. Although school started back up on the 1st, it's barely put a dent in our gaming.

Indeed, I haven't played this much D&D since I was a kid.

My son asks to play almost every day - so much so, that we've churned through almost everything I prepped in advance. And, having little to no time between sessions, I had to call last night's session short.I felt like the quality of my DMing was dropping rapidly. 

I've been using a couple of sample dungeons (Holmes and the one in the Swords & Wizardry quick start, both of which I've run many times before), and some of the many freely available one-page dungeons for this megadungeon - reskinned to connect them thematically. However, we have gone past what I reskinned, and I was having to do that on the fly.  While I can improvise easily with an unkeyed map, I can't help but feel compelled to refer to the key when one exists. That led to disjointed play with me flipping back and forth between pages.

I'll spend some time tonight finding or creating some unkeyed maps, make a quick list of what occupies the level and generate contents on the fly so we can play unhindered again. I don't need detailed descriptions of room contents to run a game, I just need to know in advance the relationships between the entities on that level and their relationships with entities on other levels.

I'm a big fan of dungeon economies (which gives PC's an access point to gold without having to fight, if they can find a way to become a part of it) and preparing relationships between factions that the party can get involved with. The latter produces emergent story, and that's my preference - rather than a particular plot (the only hook for this campaign is the PCs are seeking fame and fortune), I like the players to decide what matters to them, and for the game world to react to their actions.

We are using the Moldvay/Cook Basic/Expert rules (I was in 6th grade when I got them. He's in 7th now.), supplemented with some OSR-created products, including the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion and some new classes.

So far, it's working like a charm.

 **** 

We played Blitz Bowl together this weekend and he had a great time. That he trounced me by 11 points might have something to do with it. I'm not bitter - he made a great use of one of the bonus play cards to score the winning touchdown - but I demand a rematch! 

It also made me want to get paints for the Nurgle team but there's a bunch of stuff in the paint queue currently.

In related news, my son has expressed interest in possibly playing 40K (he's met some kids at school who play). My wallet weeped a little, but I do like a lot of the figures.

We primed some of fantasy figures from my Pile of Plastic this weekend and one of his sci-fi looking "army men" and we'll do some painting sessions, so he can find out if it's something he likes enough that he'd want to paint up an entire force (Kill Team only requires 10 figures per side, so that sounds like the best entry point to me).

His birthday is coming soon, and I would be happy to buy him a 40K starter set(he likes the set with 5 marines and a bunch of Tyranids), or a box of figures and paints, if that's what he wants.

Weekend Report

For reasons I cannot discern for the life of me, I had time to play a lot of games this weekend: five, to be precise, and that's not including the multiple multi-hour sessions of D&D played with my son.

This embarrassment of riches raises an interesting question: "How many should I include in one post?"

I think we can all agree this is a first world problem, as the kids used to say.

After much thought (about 11 seconds), I realized that I don't know when I'm playing next, so I'm going to milk these games for all they are worth!

Rather than chronological order, I'm going to start with the game that accomplished something beyond game itself. It was the last game of the weekend.

 The first "game changer" (pardon me while I laugh hysterically at my own joke) is that I painted the grid you see below. I have long coveted the cream and green chess board featured in some of Bob Cordery's early grid game reports. This is my homage and budget solution - craft paints and kraft paper.

The squares are 4" and the whole thing is 24" square (which is a 6x6 grid. I only mention that for those ,who like me, majored in liberal arts and only took math because they had to). I have used a 6x6 grid with 6" spaces many many times, and while I wouldn't mind a slightly wider battlefield so flanks could mean something, I like that this 24" "board" fits on the table next to my laptop. 

As for flanks, I may borrow a page from the 3x3 Portable Wargame rules and have flanks take place off-grid.

The scenario is Take the High Ground from One Hour Wargames.The rules used were The Portable Wargame, using the two-hits option, and filtered through my memory as I couldn't be bothered to re-read them.

In my defense, I was too excited about my new painted grid.

For reasons I don't comprehend, I see the infantry as two-figure companies. The cavalry as squadrons and the gun as a battery.

 

The other notable impact of this game was that it confirmed my opinions that 1) an ahistorical 19th Century France vs England game is fun and colorful (or is that colourful?) and 2) Two large figures in a smallish grid-space gives exactly the kind of aesthetic I want in a grid game. 

I should add, as it is relevant, that I am a minimalist at heart. Or at least, I don't like having a lot of stuff. I dislike clutter (at least when it comes to storage and wargames tables. I believe when you're creating something, like painting miniatures or writing as song, take up all the space you need with all of the things). 

There's this notion of "the silent to-do list" that I find an apt metaphor. Things that I'm not using weigh on me.

Because I want to free up some storage space and Russia is slated for the chopping block for various reasons, I wanted to make sure I could still have a 19th Century European battle when desired - particularly as part of my Antarctica Lost World (if you missed those posts, it replaces Venus).

Huzzah! No need to keep the Russians or even the unit of khaki British infantry (I'm reducing the Europeans to three units plus a leader, supplemented by heroic civilian characters, often the heart of VSF gaming write-ups).

As for the aesthetics, that's a personal matter (at least in popular parlance. when i was a senior philosophy major and a grad student in philosophy, i would have been happy to argue otherwise), but as I mentioned, it's exactly the look I was going for. 

I'm tempted to try it with WWII figures, but a I tend to equate two figures with a squad. It's a me thing.

The French arrive. The battle is joined. I honestly don't recall who won.

On a Dusty Venutian Plain

I haven't had much time to play wargames of late - a lot of time was spent prepping for the wrap up of our D&D campaign. But, I did have about an hour late one evening last week where I put a small G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. game on a 36" x 30" clearing on the kitchen table.

The picture below is everything I dreamed of when I first started wargaming!

Tally ho!

Regardless of your feelings about the orange and black Tanitians (not Carthaginians), or the bare table, I think you will find there is a definite Victorian adventure novel flair to it. 

I have been drawing maps, brainstorming histories and personalities. This is the kind of thing I do not get from strictly historically-inspired games. And it has caused a revaluation of what collections I want to maintain and what I might want to move on.

That's the topic of a different post.

For now, I am working on finishing up a few French Foreign Legion to fill out their Gatling crew. I also have 5 of the black-with-orange-lines Tanitians to finish up.

And I should probably rebase the British and Russians to match the VSF collection as I think it's clear there needs to be more of these glorious lancer charges against lost civilizations or the civilizations of other planets.

Expansion Continues

Upon return home from my road trip (the subject of a future post), some additional acquisitions were waiting for me.

First up, four more Britain's Cossack figures - bringing my total for my "Great Game Gone Hot" Russians to eight. Of course, the Russian enclave on Venus has no doubt sent along some Cosscacks to deal with the Venusian inhabitants and to keep both the British and French in check.

 To my surprise, I won an eBay auction for them and managed to spend less than $50 USD shipped. The officer may have had their horse painted? It's very flat white. I don't really care - just noting for the purists out there.

They will make my Russians more mobile than my British, which will allow for some differentiation between two otherwise identically constructed forces. I really should look for some French cavalry.

Perhaps more importantly, to me at least, they put me within reach of being able to field the "Russia 1812" scenario  in Stuart Asquith's Guide to Solo Wargaming. I've done very little reading on the Napoleonic era, but what I did to was focused on 1812 and the attempted invasion of Russia. I have long wanted to do some sort of game around the French retreat.

Asquith's scenario is small (12 figures a side), and while I don't have 12 Cossack cavalry suggested, 8 is close enough. Eventually, I'll acquire some French, and finally scratch that itch perhaps. Perhaps I'll win another auction someday and reach the 12 Cossack cavalry suggested.

Additionally, two books I had ordered prior to departing arrived.

Unsurprisingly, they are titles to support my interest in the Italian Front in WWI. Both of these have been on my "want list"for several years, and while shopping for books for my trip, I found that they could be had for less than previously priced. Unfortunately, they would not arrive anytime close to my departure (indeed, they arrived just before my return).

I have only flipped through each at this point but both contain substantial numbers of photographs which are making it more possible for me to picture the fighting on that front.

Although part of the Images of War series, Sopwith Camels Over Italy 1917-1918, contains a good bit of text to support the many photos of pilots and their flying machines. There is very little in English on the air war over the Italian Front, so this is a valuable addition to my library for that alone. It also happens to line up with my interest in the wider War and justifies my acquisition of a Sopwith Camel for my planned British force for 1918 Italy. 

The First World War in the Alps has far more photos than I realized - many depicting life in the trenches as well as combat. With an unblinking eye, the horrors of war are on sometimes gruesome display within. And while I find it fascinating, the chapter on the recovery of an Austrian soldier, frozen and preserved in the ice many decades after the Great War ended, is a little too well-supported by pictures for my squeamish self.

So, while I'll probably hurry passed certain photos in the book, overall it's a welcome resource with images not contained in any of the other sources I have read.

An eBay Find

I am always on the lookout for inexpensive, and if possible, pre-painted ,Victorian-era civilians to serve in Victorian Science Fiction or Great Game scenarios. I also am keen on the idea of staging vignettes of the sort regularly seen on the The Duchy of Tradgardland. So, as I often like to couch these things in terms of a certain inevitability, when I stumbled upon the William Britain's Masters of Science range, and this figure of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in particular, money and fool were soon parted.

He's a bit short of stature compared to Armies in Plastic and such, but the real Brunel was but 5' tall, so it's quite accurate.

Of course, I have rechristened this good fellow to serve my own purposes.  Please allow me to introduce Professor Blackwood, late of Hull, proprietor of Blackwood Steamworks.

Lady Pennington, fresh from her return from her recent and much heralded expedition in Central Asia, discusses suggested improvements of the Gatling gun with the noted inventor and industrialist, Professor Blackwood.

Operation Hasty : Game 1

Corporal May took a look at his map. "There's a farmhouse on the other side of this ridge. Eddie, Atkinson, 'Stain', you're with me. Whiteford, take Saunders, Cross, and 'Lucky' around the base of the hill. I want the Bren covering the road and the farmhouse in case someone's home and isn't glad for the company." 

These paratroopers were among those chosen cause havoc for the Germans and prevent them from destroying infrastructure as they pulled back from Sora to Avezzano and that part of the Gothic Line. It had been christened by the higher-ups as 'Operation Hasty', wich didn't fill May, Whiteford, or any of the others with a lot of confidence.

"Yes, Corporal! Alright you lot, let's move!"  That was Lt. Corporal Frank Whiteford, the second in command for this squad. He had been in it since Dunkirk, and with May since the Moro River. He knew May could smell trouble a mile away.

Of course, May often was the one causing trouble.

A boxer before the war, he was always ready for a scrap in and out of the ring - and always willing to get one started if no one was forthcoming. In war, he learned not only was he good at knocking men out, but he was good at leading them, too.

As May and his team moved down the hill to the edge of the woods, they spotted a German patrol moving up along the farmhouse.

There are two blinds on the board - one in the field, one in the house. Rather than using the Nuts! patrol scenario and PEFs, I used the patrol scenario and forces from Platoon Forward. There are two blinds, one of which is the real patrol, and the patrol will consist of several blinds as well which have to be resolved.

"Looks like the welcoming committee is already here. Let them have it!" May's Sten was already spitting lead before he finished his command, bringing down the German squad's LMG team.

Another German was dropped by rifle fire and then Whiteford's team opened fire as they came around the hill, to terrible effect. 

The few Jerries who had survived the attack fell back behind the house.

Gott im Himmel!

Celebrations were cut short by the sputtering of bullets from a window of the farmhouse. 

"Spandau!"shouted Whiteford, as he was knocked to the ground. Lucky opened fire with his Bren - killing the gunner and leaving the loader scrambling.

From their left, alongside the farmhouse another LMG team appeared and again Lucky's Bren made quick work of them.

A kubelwagen raced up the road to provide cover for the badly mauled German patrol which was trying to withdraw. With its mounted MG-42 it opened fire and wounded Lucky, but Saunders caught the worst of it. 

Under a hail of lead, Whiteford scrambled, grabbed Lucky and Saunders and dragged them into cover behind the hill.

Meanwhile, the MG-42 in the house had repositioned and prepared to open fire on May's team on the hill. The trunk of the tree to his left exploded in splinters and May hit the dirt. Dragging Stainton who had caught one in the arm, he slipped back into the shadows of the trees.

The firefight ended as quickly as it started. The Germans withdrew- unaware that they had come against a single squad - as Cpl. May led his men to temporary safety deeper into the woods. 

Stain and Lucky would be OK and could keep going, but Saunders, on the other hand, was in bad shape.

"What do we do, Corporal?"

 

*****

• Rules used: Nuts! Final Edition
• Platoon Forward generated the German patrol - it was far better equipped than I had expected. I was OK with that given the historical situation.
• I used the Nuts! non-player force movement and such. The decision to withdraw was made immediately after first contact (by the Nuts! table for that). I figured that since the other blinds were in position, they would provide cover for the withdrawal - hence the tripod MG, the extra LMG team, and the kubelwagen getting some action before ending the game. 

The Great Game on Venus : A Non-canonical Battle

Sunday, Cloud Captain and I met up for a learning game of  Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles and a first outing for some of the terrain he is putting together.

As neither of us is ready to field any of the Venusian forces we are working on, another battle between my Russians and British forces seemed a good choice. Cloud Captain ran the Brits and I ran the Russians (into the ground. Oh, spoiler alert!)

Overview of table and Russian deployment

The thin Khaki line.
Photo credit: Cloud Captain

The Greens go marching off into the jungle . . .

Lancers charge! The Russian gunners are ready!
Photo credit: Cloud Captain

 

We both took variations of this same exact picture. Who doesn't love the 17th? It went as well as you'd expect. The Lancers did survive though and would eventually eliminate the gun crew. Only to be eliminated by Cossack cavalry.

The Greens head further into the jungle . . .

The Whites stake out a position and decide to hold it. The British lines span an impressive distance which calls into question the table dimensions.
Photo credit: Cloud Captain

Highlanders on the advance! I do love those figures.
(This is the last photo i took before my phone died. Note: make sure your phone is charged!).

Close combat is brutal for all concerned.
Photo credit: Cloud Captain

The Cossack cavalry joins the fray.  Or tries to. They are soundly beaten.
Photo credit: Cloud Captain

The British close in - a classic pincer! I guess? Maybe? Certainly a classic ruler shot.
(My knuckle tattoos spell "Book Nerd" in case I haven't mentioned that before)
Photo credit: Cloud Captain

But wait! What happened to the Greens? This. This happened.
Total devastation when caught by the Khakis in the open.
Photo credit: Cloud Captain

Having lost their gun, their cavalry, and 80% of the Greens, the Russians conceded.
Photo credit: Cloud Captain

*****

It was great fun and one of only a handful of times I've played a wargame against another person. 

We played the basic rules and still found several points we needed to clarify - not necessarily problems with the rules but perhaps our understanding of them or our ability to locate the relevant passage (there are definitely some bits that I felt should be either more obvious or placed somewhere else).  Although we did find something that seemed like an editing error with respect to the mention of Aimed Fire, but further close review will determine that.

We also thought about some changes we might make,because that's what wargamers do, is it not? 

Hopefully we'll meet to play soon and with some native Venusians on the table too. At the very least we need to try out unit traits, leaders, and commanders.

A Bridge - Maybe Too Far, Maybe Not

The Khan, pleased with the showing the two great powers had made for his favor, presented a second objective. There was, he said, in a small village, another strategically important bridge over the river Blast. The Russians would occupy the village with the task of blowing the bridge. For their part, the British were to prevent its destruction. 

Whether fueled by personal ambition or out of earnest belief in the glory of their respective empires, commanders on both sides relished the opportunity presented. With both sides fueled by jingoist sentiment for the other, it was perhaps inevitable. Certainly, that is what the Khan had anticipated, as modern historians have since uncovered.

Of note, for the concerned, the village (its name and location lost to history) was properly evacuated prior to the start of hostilities to ensure none of the Khan's subjects fell victim to the European soldiers.

Early troop dispositions.

The latest in technology.

Russian forces hold their positions.

To the surprise of many, Lady Pennington, late of the Royal Geographic Society, sporting an ensemble from Grace Brothers of London, led the British mountain gun battery.

 

In the distance can be seen the Russian general riding out to inspire the men under his command.

A crowd forms on the British left.

Eager though he was, the Old Man was late to the party.

Lancers badly riddled by the Russian artillery charge into the fray. Better to die in glory than idly standing by.

The sound of the bagpipes resounded to the alarm of all concerned.

 

Moving a Gatling without horses is a long and tedious process.

Lady Pennington, with her eyes keener than any man, rained destruction on the Russian defenders.

An overview of force dispositions.

An again the bagpipes loomed close.

 

A violent scrum for possession of the bridge.

Cossacks and Highlanders collide!

A sacrifice by the sons of Scotland to push back the Russian battery.

Things got a bit sparse at the end. It was the British Gatlings that carried the day.

 

On this occasion, it was the Russians who were forced to concede. The British, thanks to their Gatling battery taking out the Russian engineers, managed to stave off the destruction of the bridge, but only after the first attempt to blow the bridge failed.

*******

Saturday, I fielded a reduced size version of Table Top Teasers #1 : The Bridge Demolition. The table was reduced to 3' x 3', and the forces reduced as well.

Attacker: two infantry, one cavalry, one gun, one Gatling, one commander.

Defender: one infantry, one cavalry, one gun, one Gatling, one engineer (a single figure), and one commander.

For the rules, I used my own Lancer Rifle Gatling, albeit with some on the fly modification for formations, as I played.

As I always play solo, that is not unusual, but in this case I played the British and diced for decisions for the Russians (their commander had diced as Aggressive). I was sure the British had lost until the die roll for the bridge's destruction gave them a few more turns.