Monthly Archives: September 2015

Shipbuilding (New/Old Project)

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures

Nice song by Elvis Costello.  Wargaming theme…..Falklands.

Finished up my last complete ship and pinnace last night, as discussed earlier in my New/Old Project post.  Here’s a couple of photographs of the fleet.

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Indifferent photos, as usual.  I just can’t work up the enthusiasm for precise, dynamic pictures.  Working on it.

These should be a start for the East African project.   No fleet actions, but they might make for some tactical fun, or at least Pretty Up The Battlefield.  Not a bad thing at all.

Also finished up the two forts, and will finish the  the palm trees also included in the boxed sets.

 

Irregular Wars Review

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance, Review

Been playing “Irregular Wars – Confict at the World’s End”, off-and-on for the past couple of weeks. I bought the 2nd Edition rules last Winter for potential use as the ground combat system for my East African Renaissance Campaign. I was looking for something more streamlined than De Bellis Renationnis (DBR).

I’ve played DBR for a number of years using 25mm figures. Before that, it was George Gush’s rulesets. Gush was extremely detailed, DBR less so. I’ve enjoyed all of these rules. I’ve also played DBR’s cousin De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) with 15mm ancient and medieval armies. It is also a good system, but its renaissance variants seemed to lack period chrome.

Irregular Wars is described as “A Wargaming System for Small Actions in the Age of Discovery”. The 90 page book contains both rules,army lists and campaign guidance. It is a system….one which allows a great deal of flexibility, emphasizes playability and not gamesmanship. This is a far cry from DBR/DBA’s emphasis on precise alignment of units for melee and distances for shot. Even distances (or units) are flexible in IW, as each unit of measure is derived from base width. Any type of basing can be used, which avoids the living hell that is  rebasing.

Many of my figures are based for DBR. The one “element” look just didn’t seem right for the larger table size allowed by IR. The solution was easy, just double up the bases. The result is a nice “block” unit providing a sense of density on the table.

While the lists aren’t as detailed as DBR’s, they are varied and provide for a random army composition. Outside of compulsory companies, the Lord (as IR puts it) must recruit an agreed upon number of troop types, then role a die to determine the number of companies available for each type. The number of figures per company is low, so an army can be built quickly and inexpensively.

IR uses several die types to randomize game situations. These range from d6 to d2. It also employs Chance Cards as well as a pre-game Disease and Mishaps table to inject uncertainity into a game. The ruleset includes five scenario types for those players looking for more than a straight-up fight. Easily reproducable game charts are contained at the end of the book.

Each unit is rated for resolve (more on that in a moment), movement, melee, short range fire and long range fire. Certain units have special capabilities. Here is a link to an  Army Rosters sheet I put together, as well as a link to a unit  Capabilities Chart.

The author states that resolve is the key element in the game system. Units lose resolve as the result of unfavorable combat outcomes, reaching a point where they waver (and retire) and, finally, when resolve reaches a zero level, eliminated as fighting units. Both wavering and scattering companies can effect the resolve of other companies. The Lord can rally a company, restoring one point of resolve. Resolve levels range from 5 to 3, with the former representing elite units.

The turn sequence is a basic roll for initiative, shoot, action, and melee. Gunpowder weapons may fire once before having to take an action to reload. Actions are not limited to movement or disengagement from melee. Specific units can hurl curses at the opposition reducing their resolve, or invoke blessings to restore resolve. Melee is straightforward and bloody. Melee strengths are added to a d6 roll. It doesn’t take long for those 3 resolve units to waver.

The result is something that I hoped to find, with well crafted random elements making it well adapted for solitaire play. Highly Recommended.

Irregular Wars/Galleys and Galleons

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures,

Quick post to mention that I’ve been playing Irregular Wars off and on over the past week.  Fun little game, and the anticipated “engine” for my East Africa project.  Less cumbersome and more applicable than DBR.

I’m also going to check out their Galleons and Galleys naval game, for use with the ships I’m working on.

Good stuff, designed with verve and imagination.

You can get to the Irregular Wars website here.

For Galleys and Galleons, check out the Ganesha Games website.

I’ll be posting a quick review of Irregular Wars sometime next week.

Doubleheader

Boardgames, Sessions

She’s away with the trailer this weekend and my salmon hunting expedition postponed (the biomass has not moved into the Columbia yet), so I’ve set up two games on the dining room table.

The first is another try at the Luzon Scenario from The Damned Die Hard (TDDH).  The second is an old Europa Magazine scenario, Operation Icarus.

I found a nice TDDH series replay at a fellow Oregonian’s site.

The Icarus scenario is one that I’ve played before.  As Hitler is quoted in The Eagle Has Landed, it’s a “simple matter of logistics”.  How to get German units from Norway to Iceland, repair ports, build airfields, resupply what units you have, and, yeah…….stop the British.  If only I had one more para unit!

I’ll post a session(s) report later on.

New-Old Project

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance

For reasons I still can’t fathom (no pun here), I decided to finish off my sailing ship project.  As with most everything else, its genesis occurred somewhere in the distant past, in this case as an adjunct to my East African Renaissance project.    After all, a coastal campaign should have ships.

I already had a couple of the old “Limeys and Slimeys” ships, but fabricating and fitting the various bits and sails needed to give the hulls some semblance of realism was just too difficult.

Some time ago, I found a Weapons and Warrior Pirate Battle Game that looked promising.  This Pressman kit boasts having “over 100 pieces.”  It came with plastic pirates (worthless), two ships, two pinnaces, a fort,  a small stockade (semi-worthless), along with cannons and mortars (all too large, and therefore worthless). Everything (except ships) was designed to explode if hit with cannon shot from the oversize guns.  While 17th century vessels, they are close enough to the period and had the advantage of fully rigged plastic sails.  The ships can be used with both 15mm and 25mm figures.

Not content with one box, I later bought another.  Both languished in The Shed for a few years.

I started painting one of the ships last Fall.   Things did not go smoothly.  I just couldn’t get the hull colors right, and must have primed and re-primed the damn thing four times.  Finally, things came together and, with the help of some photos of others’ work found on the net, I finished one.  The second followed shortly thereafter.

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Here’s the basic hull out of the box, along with a hull that I literally ripped the deck “prongs” from, and put down new decking.  While it looks bad, when painted and with a grate added, it works quite well.

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Speaking of painted, the next bad photo shows the rough first coats of my latest efforts.  This will be “Red Boat”.  The others are green and blue.  I just slop the paint on at this point, especially red.  For some reason, red has never covered well.  Not even when ingesting PBR.  I’ll use crimson for the second coat.

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Hopefully, this one will be finished off in a week or so – multiple projects going on.  The fourth boat will be a little problematic since it is missing some important bits.

Who Are Those Guys?

Ancients, Miniatures

KC SOA

Well, they’re the Kansas City Chapter of the Society of Ancients circa 1983.  Quite a crew.  I can remember a few names, and have a foggy notion of others.  I’d mention a few, but have a great fear of internet photo liability.

The locus was Yankee Doodle Game and Hobby in Grandview.  Great shop.  Lots of miniatures and a good selection of board games.  But he had to make a living, so there were lots of D&D items.  I won’t discuss that clientele.

The shop was a clubhouse.  You could always go down and hang out.  Scott (owner) would be up front at the cash register, painting (helluva painter) and holding court.

I was snookered into buying a mound of half-painted MiniFig Dacians.  This army needs an experienced, sophisticated tactician.  That was not me.   The other players had either Romans, Byzantines or Steppe Nomads.  The Dacians never had a chance, not even when I figured out that I needed to get lucky and get lots and lots of woods.

There was a really big table in back.  Maybe 12×8.  On selected Saturday evenings the chosen few would have big English Civil War games with hundreds of Hinchcliffe figures.  The table looked just like something out of the (then) newly published Miniature Wargames magazine.  These games would start at closing time, and end well after midnight.  Lots of beer, pizza, and fun.

It was a fantastic introduction to miniature wargaming.

The Damned Die Hard

Boardgames, Review + Session Report, ,

Tim and I decided our next FTF game will be a scenario from War of Resistance (WOR), one of two games in HMS/GRD’s Glory series.

I have both games, so he took the rules for WOR, and I set up the Luzon scenario from The Damned Die Hard (TDDH).  Interesting scenario, with the US player having to decide where to defend against a relatively strong but disorganized Japanese invasion force that is already ashore, and then a fighting withdrawal further south through terrain that is no easily defended.  To make things tougher, the Japanese have air supremacy.

As the British say, “All battles occur at the junction of two maps”, and this game is not an exception.  The break between the two map sheets is right across the best initial line of defense.  I’m going to get copies made and scotch tape the damn things together.

The unit sizes are small – battalions, reduced battalions, and regiments.  ZOCs are reduced for many units, and the smaller artillery units can only support one Regimental Equivalent (RE).   Special rules for jungle, and jungle rough terrain that provide the Japanese with some real advantages, as well as exploitation movement for light infantry and certain infantry units based on their intrinsic movement factors.  So, while it looks like Europa, it isn’t Europa. Closest Europa comparison I can come up with is Winter War. The similarities that come to mind are small  unit size , ZOC limitations, and special terrain features having a real effect on play.

Here’s the link for the WOR designer notes.  These notes are detailed, and give a good feel for the rules.

Company’s coming over so I had to take the game down.  Here’s a picture of the Dec IV turn after the Japanese pushed through the initial US MLR.

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Seems like a fun game, and I am looking forward to setting it up again late this week.

Europa: Battle Of The Bulge Scenario

Boardgames, Sessions

Finally getting around to posting up about last weekend’s Europa game.  It was a hard-fought contest, coming down to the last impulse.  The scenario uses a modified Europa turn sequence, with a non-phasing reaction phase placed between the phasing player’s movement and exploitation phase.  It’s air-on-demand, regardless of impulse.  The scenario involved the Dec I  through Jan II turns.

Victory points are awarded to the German player if able to exit units off the North map side (Brussels/Antwerp), or if the Allied player activates either the 9th or 3rd Armies.  For the Allied player, it’s simply a matter of avoiding German VPs.   We did not play the Boddenplatte option – which also involves VPs. Too much for the time available.

Tim’s axis of advance was South to North, using high-odds armored attacks to shatter outlying US units.  As Allied commander, I decided to activate either the 9th and/or 3d Army only as a last resort, way too many VPs involved.  The Allied reinforcement schedule is fairly generous, and it looked as though it was worth the risk to attempt a bend-but-not-break defense.

By mid-game, Tim’s pressure forced me to abandon Aachen in order to shorten up my defensive line, in order to create minimal reserves if needed to plug gaps of support weakened units.  The modified turn sequence saved me.  His January I attack attrited my unsupported southern units, forcing them to fall back.  However, during the reaction phase, I was able to reinforce these faltering units and seal off a penetration that would have given him access to the road grid leading to Brussels and Antwerp, and victory.

Early last week, Tim sent me an e-mail summarizing his impressions of the game.  Here they are…..

  1.   We forgot to halve the bombing factors of aircraft during the snow weather turns….oops…one for your rules screw-up files. We’d even talked about it during the set up.
  2. I wonder if it would be more useful to have the Luftwaffe fly harassment. They did help some on the attacks, but if they’d been halved, they wouldn’t have been all that useful (of course, they’d be halved for harassment, too). Making it harder for the allies to move up reserves would be a very good thing.
  3. I didn’t do a very good job of handling negative modifiers– I should have been a more cognizant of whether a defending stack was capable of AECD and if it wasn’t, used enough infantry to bring the attack below the threshold for ATEC. ATEC is very hard to overcome during bad weather. Of course, using more infantry lowers the German combat power. The other option, which I did use later in the scenario was to throw in more half capable units (I guess the Germans knew what they were doing when they made their panzer divisions into panzergrenadier divisions by detaching the panther battalions).
  4. I know we talked about it, but I was really surprised when you gave up Aachen. I was thinking that the allies would be very reluctant to abandon the first German city they’d captured and a west wall hex to boot. Given that the scenario didn’t penalize that decision, it was a good one.
  5. It was a bummer that my commandos got killed…I was hoping they would negate some of the negative modifiers from terrain and weather.
  6. I think I spent too much energy attacking the weak southern part of your line. I like to think I’m pretty good about focusing about what wins a scenario or a game, but not this time. In better weather, I might have been able to turn your flank, but its hard in the snow (and the axis fuel shortages hurt, too).
  7. I think you’re right that the Germans have to take some low odds attacks in order to try to crack the allied line.

BTW, the game involves a lot of counters in a very small area.  Tim liked that.  We did not use the black and white larger hex insert that accompanying the magazine.  Here’s the usual crummy picture, shot early in the day, so the beer mats are not yet in use.

 

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Fun game, Fun Time…….

War In The Aegean Review

Boardgames, Review

I’m going to use the criteria cited in a previous post and published by “Lloyd”.   Please read his article for insights concerning the criteria.

Decisions:  Not much flexibility for the commanders.  The VP schedule makes it very clear what has to be done, and the game mechanics concerning Rhodes takes the decision to invade out of the hands of the commander.  However, the coordination of air and naval units is very demanding and interesting.

History:  Both commanders are faced with the same operational problems as their historical counterparts.  Both commanders have to “do a lot” with very little.

Luck:  Plenty of that here with the variable number of impulses per turn, random day or night impulses, spotting, Luftwaffe availability, and Rhodes invasion die roll.  The German commander needs lots of it in order to shepard his combat units across the Aegean.  The Royal Navy needs the right die rolls in order to locate the invasion flotillas.

Atmosphere:  It’s a tense game.

Mastery:  Fairly easy to learn, and it took several replays to get the feel of coordinating air and naval forces.  On the other hand, you can do everything “right” and still lose because of the Luck factor.

Tweaks:  It’s a fairly comprehensive set of rules.  I tweaked it to reduce the number of impulses per turn, messed around with the sighting die roll, and Luftwaffe availability.  The solitaire task force rules – which I didn’t use – are very tweakable.

Abstraction:  Really not much.  Everything that was going on was going on, on the map (wow, what a sentence!).

Clarity:  Good.  However, I never figured out if early task force/naval units could all return.

Comprehensive:  Very good.  Lots of charts reduce the need to consult the rules.

Speed:  Fairly slow.  Even with low counter density, the joint operations involved made each impulse take some time.

Scenarios:  Not much flexibility at all.  The campaign game, with or without Rhodes.  That’s it.

Summary:  I enjoyed playing this game.  It took a lot of time due to the variable impulses, which I eventually capped at three per turn, spotting rolls, and need to think through each move.  The game definately grew on me, and I was intrigued by the operational problems faced by both commanders.  It’s very playable solitaire, but I think it would move more quickly with two players because the game dynamics are so fatiguing without a break.