Grinding It Out – Part 2

Boardgames, Sessions

The Pea Ridge game is developing some action as both flanks are  in contact.

To the South, both sides are deploying, with the Confederates moving into contact.  Van Dorn’s force has managed to unlimber artillery to support this advance against the Union right.  Little room to maneuver, so Van Dorn’s brigadiers are moving right down road, with supports moving into the adjacent woods.

A different story to the North, where McCulloch’s wing is deploying in the woods in order to flank the Union position.  The Confederates have been able to unlimber two artillery units for support but, again, the terrain is masking fields of fire`

Room For One More

Kriegsspiel, Sessions

I’m Home Alone, so the Dining Room Table is available.

Haven’t played Kriegsspiel for a while, and that beautiful Command Post Games Brandywine map has been just sitting in the garage……Why Not?  Use all available horizontal surfaces!

Cycled through any number of Internet sites as well as my West Point Atlas Of American Wars to put together Order of Battle, general dispositions, and background on the battle.  The process was time consuming, but interesting and fun work.

Decided to use Kriegsspiel’s standard scale of one block represents 450-500 men.   Since most of the brigades involved had 1,500-2,000 men, this works just fine.  However, the respective forces were organized in (divisions) groups of two (2) brigades.  I’ll have to ignore this lack of symmetry as my table-top groupings will have three (3) blocks, not  four (4)……just grit my teeth and suppress those compulsive instincts.

Here’s a viable map of the initial dispositions that I will use (North at top).  The Continentals were initially positioned along Brandywine Creek, but have reacted  to Howe’s flanking march from the north by pulling brigades off the line.  The remaining Continental brigades are facing Knyphausen’s force  moving east towards Chad’s Ford.

My map’s scale is roughly 1/16,000, while Kriegsspiel uses 1/8,000 scale maps.  Ranges and rates of movement are reduced by one-half.  Fortunately, the weapons used in 1777 are the same as those used in the 1824 Kriegsspiel rules, so no adjustments for effectiveness needed.

Another set of rules to read and become (semi) fluent with.  Also, I get to re-learn working with Kriegsspiel Dice.  That process is interesting in and of itself.

SOPAC – So Far

Boardgames, Naval, World War II

As threatened, I’ve plunged into  VASSAL to play Empire Of The Sun’s (EOTS) “South Pacific” scenario.

Turned out to be double learning curve.  First curve is working with VASSAL.  Have  made a couple of half-hearted attempts in the past, without any sustained or focused play.  As to the scenario, I was surprised how quickly I’d forgotten the rules since my last play with Tim back in July.

In retrospect, I should have read that post.  Repeated a couple mistakes I had noted.

This is a great learning scenario that allows you to focus on card draw mechanics, activation, movement and both air/naval, as well as ground battle phases in just one area of the map.  While the scenario allows for play (and the significant rules overhead involved) in the  China/Burma theaters, those regions are not critical for achieving victory.

VASSAL’s Log function is handy for “What the Hell have I done” references as it  records everything you do.  It also documents but  your “back button” adventures when the player decides to “un-do” a previous decision.  Vacillation can be amusing.

You can quickly change sides, which makes solitaire play a breeze.

I also like the screen shot option, which I intend to use for this blog as soon as I reset my first game.

More later…Game One of the World Series is starting……

Grinding It Out – Part 1

Boardgames, Sessions

You can only read the rules and stare at the setup for so long.  At some point, you have to play the game.

Started my Great Battles Of The American Civil War (GBACW) game the other day.  Pea Ridge is a classic meeting engagement, with only one unit on the map before Turn 1. Then both sides start moving troops onto the map, with each side’s respective forces entering through two hexes.

During movement I maintained brigade integrity for the most part, attaching artillery to brigades to maximize unit density and minimize the length of the “column of columns” moving on roads through heavy forest.  Here’s an overall shot of the game map during Turn 5,  when contact first occurred.

One of the problems I’m having working with the game system is the rules.  There are a number of iterations, which is not surprising since the initial game (Terrible Swift Sword – a true Monster Game) was introduced close to fifty years (!) ago.  The rules changed as publishers changed;  first SPI, then TSR , SDI, and then GMT.  These changes were in both additional detail as well as scope.  In fact, from what I’ve read, the earlier editions of the game are not playable with the new – GMT – rules.  Fortunately, for those just getting into the system, GMT has reissued the main games, and has added others.

Since I had the earlier games, I decided to work with the earlier rules and sold off my GMT GBACW collection.  But the question remained, “Which set?”.  I’m not the only one with this  quandary.

Another rules problem is that many of charts are printed on the individual game maps,  not in the game specific rules packets so they can be copied, consolidated and stapled.  One possible  reason is that the scales of the games vary.  The best I can tell is between 150 and 120 yards per hex.

Ugh!

My current approach will be to use the Standard Rules V.1 (with the included charts), individual map charts,  Quick Reference Card and Consolidated Errata.  The latter two are available over at Russ Gifford’s great SPI site.

Enough of this.  I’ll get to the game in the next post.

 

Boardgame Geek Breakthrough

General

The Geek is wonderful.  Such a great resource.  But…..a real rabbit hole.

Followed a thread the other day and discovered how to modify your homepage when   logged in.

Can’t find the thread, but here’s a quick and dirty summary of what to do.

Go to the site, log-in and then hit “Dashboard” (upper left).  Then hit “Subdomain” (same area).  Scroll down list and hit “Wargames”.  Then “Edit Dashboard”.  Make your changes (use the red x’s to delete).  Then hit “Save” tab.

Easy.  You lose clutter and gain wargame-centric information.

 

Plans

General

Back from SW Wyoming.  Green River Valley in full Fall colors.  Beautiful.

Time to start digging in for Winter.  Should be a busy one wargaming-wise.  My prime projects include many of the usual suspects and are:

Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit (ASLSK) – Start grinding through #3 – Vehicles.

Great Battles Of The American Civil War (GBACW) – The Pre-GMT games, starting with a few smaller ones and work my up to Terrible Swift Sword (TSS) scenarios.  But first, Genius Boy needs to figure out where he stashed the maps.  Found the counters, but all the usual hiding places are bare.  Time to pull the shed apart.

Der Weltkrieg – Will finish up my seemingly endless Serbia-Galacia Game to refresh my rules memory and then get to the Ottomans.

VASSAL – Use this as a platform to keep muscle-memory with Empire Of The Sun.  Will play the SOPAC scenario for starters.

JET – Operation Groza with Tim.

Miniatures – This is where things get scary.  I’m thinking about painting up some 15mm Blue Moon Mexican Revolution figures for Fistful of Lead.  Add some US Cavalry, and there are some interesting scenario options.  Maybe 48 figures total.  Then….and then…more Back Of Beyond/Red Actions figures.  Again, not many…..ten (10) Partisans (can never have enough rabble), and a modest six (6) cavalry in greatcoats.  All of these figures should be relatively easy (yeah…sure) to paint up.  Block and Wash.

Finally….maybe some paper 1680’s Caribbean figures.  And, at some point I need to start playing something new.  Maybe Malta Besieged.

 

Finally Did It

Boardgames, General

One recurring topic over at Boardgamegeek is “Grail Game”.  This seems to be a game someone must have, but cannot either find, or cannot find at an affordable price.

I really don’t have any, but I do (did) have one game I would use the acronym “GOYAABI” for.  That is “Get Of Your Ass And Buy It.

The game is/was “Terrible Swift Sword” (TSS).  Yes, the original Great Battles Of The American Civil War (GBACW) monster designed by Richard Berg.  It was superseded by “Three Days At Gettysburg”, which has gone through several permutations as the playing system has evolved – read become more complicated – over the last thirty or so years.

I sold off my copies of the later editions of the system, and concentrated on learning/playing the original games.  Why?  Simpler and cheaper, and just as challenging/fun.

The last game I needed to complete my collection (not counting the incredibly expensive “Corinth” S&T game) was TSS.  I purchased a copy of the Second Edition – upgraded counters and maps along with updated rules,  a couple of years ago.  The copy I received lacked the Confederate counters!  Fortunately, the seller was extremely reasonable and refunded almost all of what I paid.

In the interim, I became enamored with the first edition – I like the  classic SPI Redmond Simonsen maps – and frequently checked EBay and Boardgamegeek for copies and a reasonable ($50 or less) price.  Found one last week.  Bought it, and it arrived yesterday in very good shape.  Yes!

And now, the usual refrain:  I need to get it on the table.

Smoke

Boardgames, World War II

Been back for a couple of weeks and have enjoyed the last days of Summer.

Still playing ASLSK, getting in a least one turn each evening.  That seems to be plenty, especially since it’s the last activity of the day before shutting everything down.  I’m sure things will change when I return from my early Fall explorations of Western Wyoming.  Then it’s shut the place down, and dig in until April/May.

My great weakness (and I have several weaknesses when it comes to playing this system) is my seeming inability to use smoke.

Especially important when playing Starter Set #2.  This set introduces ordnance, which includes a variety of mortars.  While the system limits ordnance to Line of Sight (LOS) – as opposed to full ASL – even the puniest of mortars are invaluable for covering movement and mitigating the effects of defensive fire attacks.

I know, obvious.

ASLSK – Rules Maintenance

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II

Set up another scenario.  Need to keep hammering the rules into my brain.

This one is S16, Legio Nostra Patria.  It’s a one-mapper, with Free French Legionnaires assaulting a German held town.

Here’s my initial set-up.  Top of the photo is East.

And here’s my plan.

The French need to occupy three of the multi- hex building highlighted in yellow.  They already occupy the building at bottom center  of the photo.

The red-circled German units will be suppressed, and with that accomplished, the squads will move towards the occupied multi-hex building and, from there move Northeast.

As I worked with my cheap photo markup app, I realized this is not a good initial deployment or  plan.  However, I’ll give it a try.  My own little “Defense of Duffer’s Drift”.

This Should Be Fun

Boardgames, Sessions, World War II

Finally developing momentum getting Operation Groza, a Europa variant published way-too-long-ago in The Europa Magazine 23, to the virtual table.

Tim’s doing the heavy lifting, providing the JET module, Scorched Earth rules, and scans of the appropriate magazine pages with orders of battles, deployments, and special rules.

JET was/is an interesting creature.  Developed by Europa enthusiasts in Finland, it has fallen by the wayside (as has Europa) over the past couple of decades (gulp!  that long!).  Graphics are very crude by Vassal standards, but it is a good, intuitive, platform.  Tim and I used it in our Fall Of France game.

I’m heading out to The Sunfish Capital Of The World next week, so this will be an excellent off-site wargaming endeavor.