Pursuit Of Glory – When All Else Fails….Read The Playbook

Boardgames, Sessions, World War I

Tim and I had an enjoyable session with Pursuit Of Glory (PoG) last weekend.

Enjoyable….PoG?  Oxymoron.  This game has a history of breaking my mind. So, why the change?  Great Weather and Bad Football (USC vs UW and Seahawks vs. Chargers).  We took significant breaks from the action.  That’s why we managed only six turns.  And, I must mention the always amusing and distracting banter generated by the Official Playlist Of Wargaming In Central Oregon –  Pandora’s 10cc Channel.

Here’s a situation photo after our last turn.

The Central Powers control the Balkans, the Allies are advancing in Mesopotamia, both sides are staring at each other across the Suez, with the Russians and Turks pondering what to do in the Caucasus and Persia.   The Allies can conduct invasions, and the Central Powers have opened a rail route between Germany and Turkey, so German replacements can be used by the Turks.

As usual, the stage has been set for some interesting gameplay….. right when we shut it down.

We had good discussion about the game the following morning.  I asked Tim to send me his thoughts on important strategies to employ.  I thought it would make for an interesting post.  The more I thought about it, I decided to look at the Playbook.  Never read or, if I did, I didn’t retain anything (as you will read).

The important points are summarized below, as our observations about the game.

Russians:  Be aggressive because you will probably lose.  Delay the inevitable Russian Revolution by getting Victory Points (particularly in Persia) and attrit the Ottomans, who have limited replacement points.

I did a bad job of this.  Passive with both.  Tim had a full complement of Turkish replacement points (25) at game end.  Not good for the Allies.

British Empire:  Protect Suez by moving divisions from other parts of the empire.  Invade Mesopotamia as early as possible.  Support the Russians in Persia.  Deny the CP Jihad points.  Invade Salonika early to support the Serbs and perhaps stop the railroad connection from Germany to Turkey.  Invade other regions to spread out the Turks.

Neither Tim or I were particularly aggressive in Egypt, although we both built Corps and were ready to assault across the Suez.

I invaded Mesopotamia in the first turn and subsequently focused on my play there…..at the expense of the Russians and other invasions.

Again, we both avoided Persia.

I did manage to clean out the Mesopotamia tribes as part of my advance towards Baghdad, despite my incredibly stupid play that allowed Tim to cut off and destroy (by attrition) an understrength Corps – a rare Allies asset.

I always shy away from Salonika.  Must be a product of my knowledge of what happened.  As the guidebook states, invasions take a lot of planning – especially reinforcements and accumulating cards to use for operations.  For me, that’s a distraction from the 10cc station.

Tim was aggressive – as he should be – in Bulgaria.  I was able to stall the advance, but did allow the Serbs to collapse, with the railroad line completed to further bolster the Ottomans.

Turkey:  Build corps, as they are much more powerful than divisions.  Use divisions to delay any advances.  Use entrenchments (easier to build than in Paths of Glory).  Garrison beachheads.  Get Bulgaria in the war as soon as possible.  Likewise, and most importantly, start the Russian Revolution as soon as possible.

Tim did a good job with all of these play suggestions.

My biggest “takeaway” is the realization that the Russians will lose and their role is, by being aggressive, supporting British efforts in other theaters.

I’m looking forward to our next game…..hopefully in November.

Gunfight At O.K. Corral

Review + Session Report, Skirmish, Solitaire

Started my survey of skirmish games last week.  Besides having fun, I want to come up with a set of hybrid rules incorporating the best element(s) of each game. While hopes are high, expectations are relatively low.

Started with “Gunfight At  O.K. Corral” by Minden Games. This is a “point and shoot” game that plays quickly and has some replay-ability.  I’ve had the  print and play edition for several months.

I’ve always been interested in the event.  Sure, there’s the enjoyable movie, which has some questionable historical aspects.  I’ve been to Tombstone.  It’s, shall we say, “touristy”.  I enjoyed reading “The Last Gunfight“, “High Noon In Lincoln“, and “No Duty To Retreat”

For me, the fundamental definition of replayability is whether or not I enjoyed a game enough to play it again at some point in the future.  Another consideration is rules overhead or, “are the rules so involved that I am willing to  re-learn them at some future date”, and how much effort will that take.  Some rules systems just stay in your head better than others.  Another factor is whether or not the optional rules and/or scenarios are intriguing enough to try another day.

This game has a relatively low rules overhead as well as some optional rules/characters and a campaign game.

Here’s the feuding factions lined up to conduct business.  I didn’t use the schematic O.K. Corral play area included in the game.  It’s not bad at all.  I didn’t use the two optional allies of the Clantons, which include Johnny Ringo.

The player controls the Earp Faction.  The sequence of play is in phases:  Nominate Targets, Action, Fire Order, Fire.  The Action Phase is skipped on Turn One.

Each participant is rated for Accuracy, Experience (upper right and left, respectively) as well as Morale (alpha) and Gun Speed (numeric).

Accuracy and Experience are used to calculate whether shots hit or miss their target.  Morale is tested for “B” and “C” ratings (which apply to the Clanton Faction) to determine  during Turn One if they fight or run.  Gun Speed determines who fires when in the Action sequence.

The Clanton Faction’s targets are determined (“Nominated”) by the system using a table and six-sided die (this is the only instance where a die is used), while the player nominates the Earps’ targets.  Ranges are short (directly opposed or directly diagonal) or medium (two diagonals).

A modifier chit is drawn for each character before play begins.  This effects the individual’s place in the Fire Order.

Players shoot in a sequence (Fire Order) determined by  the sum of Gun Speed plus the modifier chit.  Shooting is not simultaneous.  So, hits will effect a subsequent shooter’s abilities.  Hits result in a single wound (light), three wounds (major) or KIA.  Six wounds incapacitates a player, or in game terms, renders him “unconscious”.

A deck of  cards determines whether a shot hits or misses, and the location/severity of any hit.  The  To Hit number for all characters is “7”.  This is modified by the character’s Accuracy and Experience ratings.  This modified rating is compared to the value of the card drawn.  If the value of the card is equal to or lower than the final To Hit number, the shooter hits the target.  A King is always a miss, and an Ace always a hit, regardless of To Hit number.   The suit of the subsequent card draw determines the severity of the wound.

A game takes three rounds.  The side with the most participants killed, routed or rendered unconscious is the loser.

I played three games.  While the game is acknowledged to favor the Earp Faction, some ahistorical results occured.  In one game the highly rated Wyatt Earp missed his target on two consecutive turns.  The result was a Clanton Faction victory.

The card use in determining sequence of shooting is one that I will try to incorporate in my hybrid rules.

In summary, this game “is what it is”.  A shootout.  No running, jumping or second-by-second actions (Gunslinger).  The inclusion of 52 additional counters with, photos of characters, including other gunfighters and bystanders allow you recreate any number of historical or theoretical shoot-outs.Of course, one can always cook up a whole bunch or house rules to expand the scope of the action.

The game provides a good value as well as replayability if one is a fan of this genre.

End Of An Era

Uncategorized

Well, the title is perhaps a little dramatic.

However, this does mark the beginning of a (hopefully) consistent stream of posts….no guarantee the content will be all that engaging.

I’m back home from a summer hiatus, marked by some Heroes Of Normandie play, as well as a new game of Fire In The East – Groza on JET.

Took the table down.  Fifteen years! All my painting impentiamentia is in storage.  In one box and organized for future use.  I had very little lead left to paint, and haven’t been able to  get to it.  I’ll leave the psychological analysis to others.  Here’s a photo for the record.

The current plan is to just play….revive DBA (De Bellis Antiquitatis) using Version 3.0, begin playing GCACW (Great Campaigns of the American Civil War), as well as continuing Groza.  That should be enough for my Fall gaming season.  Oh, and maybe some skirmish miniatures.

Never Disappoints

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II

Played Illusions Of Glory with Tim last weekend.  I had the Allies.  Probably the longest game we’ve had.  We made to 1917 with the issue definitively in doubt.  Previous games were shorter, with either Austrians or Russians committing a series of early fatal errors.

Here’s a quick shot of the board when we decided to stop.  Top of the photo is West.

Tim did an excellent job of keeping Austrian loses low, and letting the powerful German armies attrit the Russians to the point their troop quality was dangerously.

Stymied in the North, I resorted to joint British/Serbian amphibious landings in Salonika and Albania.

As usual, things were just starting to get interesting when we had to quit.

Warfighter – France Expansion: Weapons & Missions

Boardgames, Post World War II, Review, Skirmish, Solitaire

Another day, another post.  Cold mornings with temps in 20s keep from engaging with the Work Farm, and I have the looming tax returns at arm’s length.  So, might as well post up.

The French come with a number of weapons/weapon systems not found in the basic game.  Different personal weapons with similar capabilities of those used by US forces, but crew served machine guns.  The French do have a number of explosive firing options.  The Eryx launcher is intriguing.

The missions are intriguing also, with low load-out limits and a nice mix of small and large resource points to spend.  I’ve included the African Warlords Expansion #32 locations in the following photo

 

Warfighter – France Expansion: Equipment & Skills

Boardgames, Post World War II, Review, Skirmish, Solitaire

Some time ago, I purchased the African Warlords Expansion #32.  Never opened the box.  But, after my more recent plays of Warfighter 2nd Edition, I decided to go all-in and purchase Warlords Expansion #33, as well as France #51.  These sets open any number of new play possibilities.

The France expansion contains a number of new (at least to me) skills and equipment options.  The set also includes an entirely new complement of weapons.  I’ll hold off on discussing the weapons until I’ve used some of the expansion’s unique systems.

The Local Translator card looks to be of some value.  Notice that only one card is for French soldiers, only.  Two of the cards involve hydration and acclimitization.

The African Location Cards add environmental considerations to the game.  Many locations require a D10 roll to determine if the individual soldier or squad is affected by the heat.  If the player must roll equal to or higher than the environmental number to avoid being suppressed or wounded (player’s choice).  The only way to avoid this is to play a “Hardy” token.  This token is contained in later basic game expansions, and covered in the DV Games on-line rules compendium.

The new equipment cards provide a number of options to obtain/expend Hardy tokens and avoid heat effects.  It looks like individual loadouts will involve a maximum use of canteens and hydration packs.  I’ll have to think through cooler placement.

Looking forward to setting this one up.

Good Decision(?)

Boardgames, Post World War II, Sessions, Skirmish, Solitaire

It worked out…..barely.  The Hostile Turn was interesting.

Since  no soldiers were in the location occupied by the hostiles, no reinforcements were drawn.  The still active Leader’s “Inspired” trait allowed each hostile to discard one suppressed marker, so the RPG Team took a shot at Minyard.  The result was two wounds to both him and Sietz.  Fortunately, Minyard’s hand contained a “Take Cover” card  cancelling the attack.  Whew!   The Martyr moved to the location occupied by the other hostiles, leaving the Objective card unoccupied.  Again, no reinforcements were drawn for the Objective because it was unoccupied.  The screen shielding the target had left.

The Team now had one 40mm round  left, so one chance to kill the VIP.  Since this would take a single action by Seitz, both soldiers refreshed/augmented their hand, hoping to draw a card or cards to enhance the attack.  No luck, so only a single Combined Fire card could be used, adding two to the attack role.

In Warfighter, any weapon attack involves both a six-sided and ten-sided die (D6 & D10).  The D6 determines whether the attack “defeats” the target’s cover, while the D10 determines if the target is killed or suppressed.

The Objective has a cover rating of four, with the M203 having a kill number of eight.  higher (the “0” on the D10 counts as a “10”).  A roll of four or more is required to defeat the cover, and eight or more to kill.  If only one number is rolled, then the target is suppressed.  If neither rolled, the target is unaffected.

I rolled a 3D6, and 8D10.  No kill!  Ugh and Oh Well, My My……But, walking away I remembered the M203 has a penetration rating of one.  This is added to the defeat cover roll.  Success!

Next…..On to Africa!

Tough Decision

Boardgames, Post World War II, Skirmish, Solitaire

Had left my Warfighter scenario set up on the dining room table, so I  picked up where I left off….with a tough decision to make.

The decision was whether or not to play the “Stronghold” card as my fourth location, and the last card before activating and engaging the scenario’s objective.

Here’s a photograph with lots of information….along with a semi-coherent account of what happened.

The team’s mission is to  eliminate a VIP from Range 2.  But, in order to do this, the objective has to be activated, and this requires a soldier entering the adjacent location (card).

The team consists of Minyard (action cards to left of play aid, weapons and equipment above his personality card to the right of the play aid) with a M4 carbine, and Seitz (action, personality, weapons and equipment to the right of Minyard)  with an M203 carbine (M4 plus grenade launcher).  The plan is to use Seitz’s grenade launcher to eliminate the VIP.  In Warfighter, each soldier gets two actions per Soldier Turn.  Some cards allow the soldier to perform without using an action.

There is plenty of time left, and good cards to play.  No reason to discard in order to discard and draw for an alternate location card…..or was there?  I decided to go for it, even though activating the Stronghold location triggers the placement of at least seven points of hostiles.

Minyard held the card and used one action to place it.

Well, I drew what you see at the top of the photo.  Two Gunmen, a Radioman, a Leader and an RPG team. The Gunmen have to be killed first as they screen the other bad guys.  Yikes!!  I considered calling it quits, but decided to give the cards a chance.

So…..I used a Move Out  card (no action) for Seitz to enter the Stronghold  location.  This activated the Objective, which calls for a hostile fighter card draw.  My reward was a Martyr Bomber!  That dark cloud did have a silver lining.  A Martyr must move towards the nearest soldier during the Hostile Turn.  So, he would leave the objective ocation, and not serve as a screen for the VIP.  Well, that’s my interpretation.  And, in desperate times, researching Rules As Written (RAW) is not necessarily a priority.

Seitz then engaged one set of gunmen with a hand grenade, using a Snap Shot (again no action) card, killed them both, and moved back – using another Move Out  card – to his previous location.  Seitz engaged the Gunmen  with his M203, and after they were eliminated, suppressed the RPG team with another M40 grenade.  Minyard then suppressed the Radioman, but couldn’t harm the Leader.

Suppressed Hostiles will not be able to attack or move during the upcoming Hostile Turn.  However, the Leader can take action.

Will finish the turn tonight, and hopefully write up the outcome tomorrow.

Back At It…..

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II

Home after three weeks in better weather.

Fired up my Vassal Panzergruppe Guderian (PGG) project.  Actually read the Simonsen article.  Discovered my initial efforts were all wrong.  According to Redmond, the Soviets were defending too far forward, and the Germans not moving east fast enough.

Chastened,  I finished up Game Turn 1 using (I hope) the proper courses of action.  Here’s some screen shots.  By the way, you have to rename the each Vassal photo with a .jpg suffix in order to view/upload.

Soviet forces have moved east from their initial positions at the west map edge(s), and are using rail movement to move reinforcements so as to build defensive positions west of Smolensk.  The Soviets initially placed in Smolensk rolled a six, and could not activate/move.

Germans moving at speed to the east, but attacking the Soviet rear guard threatening their supply lines.

Germans were able to ZOC kill the Soviets, but were lucky.  The blocking force (Soviet unit strengths not known until moment of combat) was strong – 13 total combat factors – but placed out of supply, so halved for combat.  The German armored divisions then exploited east, while the motorized divisions used their second movement phase of the turn to pin Soviet units posing a potential threat to the German right flank.

This is going to be interesting……

Not Again

Miniatures, Napoleonics

Just can’t do it.

Strange preoccupations die hard, but my System 7 fixation is over.

All that research and calculating…..started playing but no enthusiasm.  Here’s photo of a portion of the battlefield, with the French menacing the Spanish in mixed order.  I really dislike overhead lights.

I can understand why the game never caught on.  Movement of the cardboard bits is annoying.  You can at least grab miniature bases.  So many charts.  Petty, but I’d rather play Kriegspiel.

I’ve always wondered how much of this hobby is the preparation, and how much is the actual playing?  In this case, about 99.9 percent of the former.

Time wasted?  No.  I revisited what I did (kinda) know about Napoleonic tactics, and learned some more.  And, was exposed to  new information.  I enjoyed that.

All of it is put away.  When tax season ends, and if I summon up the wherewithal, the whole lot will go on the market.  It fits in a compact box, easy to ship.

Still, I’m wistful.