Fall In! 2017 - Part II: The Rest of the Show

The craziness of the season and work has prevented me from updating the page as much as I'd like, but I'm going to try to catch up.

When last we left my Fall In! AAR, my friend Chris and I had just finished a game of Chain of Command. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the vendor area and the exhibition halls before we grabbed dinner and headed off for our second game of the day: a playtest of the World War II company level rules, Hail of Fire. I had seen this game being run at the last couple conventions and was curious to try it (at some point I'd like to get into a non-Flames of War company-level WWII game) and so I convinced Chris to give it a whirl.

The rules themselves are only a few pages, so it was a nice, quick pick-up game after a long day of wandering around the show. The German side was commanded players experienced with the rules, while the Allied commanders were all green, so it might have been helpful to have a little more explanation of the rules before we dove into the game. That said, once we got the hang of it, it ran fairly smoothly, though there were a few times were we were missing stats or some rules didn't quite make sense, but having run playtests at shows myself, I think the GM (Brandon) did a commendable job of running a fun game!

As for the engagement itself, Chris and I found ourselves commanding two wings of attack made up of a company of US paratroopers and a squadron's worth of mixed British tanks (primarily Shermans and Cromwells) and a few other support units (including an American recon troop and off-board artillery). We were facing off against a German panzergrenadier platoon supported by a mixture of anti-tank guns and armored vehicles.

The battlefield from our right

The field from our left

The battlefield presented to very different tactical challenges. Our right flank was densely packed with hedgerows and a small village, while the left was largely open with a smattering of thin tree lines. Our objectives were two of the farmhouses on the left, the triangular, hedgerow-enclosed field, and one of the buildings in the village. We decided that our best way to approach the hidden enemy was to launch a pincer assault/double envelopment. I would lead a platoon of paras, the recon platoon, a squadron of tanks forward in the center to discover the whereabouts of some of the heavier German assets and put pressure on the central objective, while the two flanking wings (commanded by Chris and another player) would mount swift flank attacks with their armored squadron.

My paras and recon teams inching forward to sniff out the Germans

The recon platoon and Para .30 cal setting up shop

I advanced a few of my para teams through a wheatfield just outside the village while my recon platoon and .30 cals took up position in a grove of trees atop a small hill overlooking the triangular field. There were joined by a friendly FOO from the right wing units, and together the began laying down some fire on German units that popped up in the center. They had some initial success, but return fire began to decimate the recon teams and killed the FOO, ending the barrage. Meanwhile, a multitude of German teams opened up a galling fire from the cover of the village and started ripping my paras apart. As the recon teams began to fall back, the surviving German infantry got rather ambitious and surged across the road and charged the paratroopers, getting the upperhand in short order.

While the fortunes of war were stacking against me, the Germans were unaware that they were sealing their fate. The game gives each side a finite number of activations per turn, which can also be used to react to enemy actions. In this case, since the German players were burning their activations left and right to respond to my platoons' actions, this left them with few actions of their own, and very little chance to react to our flanking forces. This meant that the para platoons and support tanks in the wings had a much easier going toward the objectives. The right wing advance almost unopposed into the village, while Chris's men on the left found themselves engaged in a duel with some dug-in anti-tank guns but not much more. While I was fretting that my line was going to collapse...our forces were launching assaults on two of the objective houses.

The Germans in the village began launching counterassaults against the flanking intruders, but could not overpower the hordes of Shermans. Chris's skillful maneuvering soon had his infantry in strong positions and had what was left of his tanks were threatening to hit the immobile Pak guns from the front and flank simultaneously. I decided to lend a hand at this point, and brought up my platoon of Cromwells to overwhelm the two gun platoons.

My tanks getting the first batch of AT guns in their sights

Going in for the kill against the second gun platoon

When bad things happen in the game (platoons break, objectives are taken, turns pass without retaking lost objectives, etc) each side pulls cards called "crits" which have random numbers assigned to them. These are kept secret, and when a certain number is reached (in this case, 18), the game ends. With the defeat of the AT guns on the German right, Chris was able to take our third objectives and the Germans were drowning in crits (we later found out that they had 17 points to our 1) and so we called it. Brandon, our gamemaster, was greatly impressed and told us in all the previous playtests the Allies had never taken a single objective, let alone three! All told, a fun evening.

As for Saturday, I had initially planned to meet up with my father who was planning on coming to the show for the day, but he had to bail at the last minute, so I wound up wandering around on my own. Besides exploring the vendor and game halls and flea market, I also helped staff the tables for the store where I work part-time by showcasing the line of paper wargaming soldiers from Helion Publications (expertly illustrated by the talented Peter Dennis) - for more info see my previous post.

Keith Stine runs a demo of his Disposable Heroes 2 rules

A beautiful game of 1870

A close up of the latter

Met set-up of a (brief) demo I played of the "By Fire and Sword" Eastern Renaissance rules -
don't my Ottomans look pretty?

Since I had off that Sunday, I made a rare third trip to the show, which involved some more poking about and selling some old gaming stuff to make way for new toys.

Overall, my haul included some modeling supplies, storage boxes for figures I'm expecting soon from Kickstarter, and a stash of the old North Star Muskets & Tomahawks minis. Overall, not a bad show!

See you at Cold Wars!

Fall In! 2017 - Part I: Chain of Command Game

Earlier this month, I attended Fall In!, one of the Historical Miniature Gaming Society East's annual shows, held in nearby Lancaster, PA. While I always enjoy going to these shows, I was especially excited because one of the guys from my new gaming group (who is totally new to miniature gaming) was tagging along on Friday.

In addition to making several trips through the vendor area and flea market, Chris and I were able to play in two participation games on Friday. The first was a spirited round of Chain of Command that was part of the Two Fat Lardies Day(s) run throughout the weekend. I'm still waiting on my British Infantry and SS Panzergrendiers (my painter's had a lot going on outside of the hobby...but they're coming), so haven't gotten to play CoC at home yet, but I thought the convention would be great way to show Chris the ropes so he could help me teach the others in the club.

The field of battle

The scenario was set shortly after the D-Day landings as a group of British Commandos, having captured some German entrenchments outside a small village, now must hold onto their dearly-won real estate against a counterattack by a platoon of Heer grenadiers with some captured R-35 tanks and an infantry gun in support.

The first few phases were pretty uneventful as I got both my commando rifle sections, Vickers team, and sniper team deployed in cover and on overwatch by phase three, while Chris's Germans began trickling in and working their way to favorable positions from which to lay down some fire before their assault.

One of my sections deploys along a hedgerow...

...while the other, along with the platoon sergeant and a Vickers team occupy the captured trench.

The Germans opened up with some rifle fire on my section behind the hedgerow and inflicted some shock, but it wasn't until the German infantry gun deployed and started firing that the men started to worry. Two were killed in quick succession and the shock began to pile up.

The pesky German IG with a friendly tank rolling up in support

At this point in the game, the dice gods began to smile on Chris, as he got a couple of back-to-back phases which allowed him to bring up more units and lay down some heavy fire, while I kept rolling lots of 4s (which didn't do much to help the solitary senior leader I had on the table) and several waves of multiple 5s, which certainly help me earn some Chain of Command dice, did not allow me to do much retaliation. Thankfully, our GM had decided to include a random event deck to be used when phase rolls produced at least triple 5's or 6's. One of the cards returned one of my killed Commandos to the ranks, for which I was rather fortunate.

A German rifle squad trying to whittle down the enemy, while the R35 contributes some (ineffective) fire

Eventually the dice began to level out and my section's corporal/junior leader did a great job at whittling away the shock his section had accumulated. The section began returning fire against their tormentors across the hedges, but only got a few points of shock. Thankfully (for me), the German fire gradually grew less effective - especially from the R35, which couldn't hit the broadside of a barndoor.

It was about this time that Chris began making the boldest move of the game, as a German squad began advancing through an orchard on my left, gunning straight toward the entrenchments. Thankfully, I had deployed a sizable portion of my force in their wake by this time and quickly began overpowering them with fire from a rifle section, Vickers, sniper team, and a 2" mortar which shot its allotted 3 rounds of HE in quick succession, but caused considerable casualties. Though the Germans were able to lay day fire as they advanced through the cover, things began to look bad fast (admittedly, this was first due to a mis-measurement on my part). The squad's junior leader was wounded early on, which certainly did not help them keep their shock total low.

A German squad catching all kinds of lead during an advance

Hoping to stabilize the the assault, Chris rushed a flamethrower team forward to attack the trench on their own. While I sent a few rounds their way, but sensing the vulnerability of the rifle section, put most of my attention on them. Finally, the amount of shock doubled the remaining number of figures, causing the squad to break. I then used one of my CoC dice to end the turn, causing the squad to be removed from the field. The next phase, I piled more fire onto the fast-approaching flamethrower team and incapacitated them quickly.

The German flamethrower team beginning to attract a lot of enemy fire

By this point, Chris had not rolled so well on the "Bad Stuff Happens" table and his force morale had dropped to 4, while mine was a 10.  We had been playing for a few hours (there was a small break for a flea market visit) and Chris had gotten a good handle on the rules, so we decided to call it. A hard-won victory by my Commandos! Getting the upper hand on elite troops in heavy cover can be a real challenge!

More on the rest of the show later...

New Gaming Group

Apologies for the radio silence. I'm really enjoying my job with the Park Service, but the hour and a half to two hour commute (each way) every day, along with some other big life events (like my wedding two weeks ago) have limited my blogging time. Now that things are settling down a bit, I'm hoping to get in a more of a rhythm.

Another reason to expect more listings is the fact that I've formed a new gaming group. At a get-together with some of my wife's colleagues in the area, I discovered that one of the guys played the Lord of the Rings miniatures game back when he was at school and that another was a big fan of strategy boardgames and video games. To these, we added a former co-worker of mine from the Seminary Ridge Museum in Gettysburg. Though none of these guys have played historical miniatures games, they were all very eager. At least for the present, our schedules have not allowed weekly sessions, but we've been able to meet at least semi-regularly, which has allowed me to start introducing them to some of the games in my repetoire.

Our first game, with my new mates Chris and Wes, was the Operation Mutay I scenario from the Operation Enduring Freedom book for Force on Force. I took the role of the insurgents (I find this to be an easier role for experienced players) and had the other guys play the role of the British paras.

The British Paras advance into Now Zad

From the very start, the game did not go my way. The very first TQ check resulted in a Fog of War card which reduced all my units to low supply. On top of that, I failed all of my attempts to spring ambushes the first two turns and, even when I was able to fire, I inflicted no casualties on the enemy until turn 4 (while, as usual, the insurgents were torn apart by the fire of the ISAF troops).

A lone insurgent leader stands firm against the approaching coalition forces

Taliban reinforcements come...too little, too late

Tables began to turn as the Paras neared their final objective. One plucky insurgent leader held off three enemy fireteams in front of the target compound, which bought time for more reinforcements to be rushed to the scene from other hotspots on the battlefield. These new units slowed down the British advance to a near standstill as the game drew closer to its turn limit, and even scored some hits on the enemy, but some exceptional rolling on first aid checks saved the day for my coalition adversaries. By games end, nearly all the Taliban units had been destroyed and the British had only suffered three light wounded (one from mine explosion caused by a fog of war card) and one serious wound and managed to get their entire platoon to the target compound...a resounding victory for the Paras!

The British platoon takes time to reorganize after a hard-fought victory

The next week only Chris could attend, and so I took our small numbers to introduce him to another favorite from my days with the Williamsburg Legati: SAGA. Chris took my Scots, while I played the Anglo-Danes.

Some of Anglo-Danes prepare for battle

I've only played once in the last few years, and I must admit my memory of the game was not as strong as I had hoped. I insisted on using some house rules (involving turn iniative/order and when dice were rolled) from my old club that I apparently misremembered. As a result, we only had a few melees, but all were bloody. Turn 2 saw each side kill three opposing hearthguard, and in turns 3 and 4, we each lost seven warriors. Finally, in turn 5, some Scots hearthguard ganged up on my warlord and killed him, ending the game. Chris picked up the rules and his faction's battleboard quickly and said he really enjoyed the game. We're definitely both looking forward to playing again and the interest in the game has since caused me to start purchasing some other factions. My Footsore Saracens are currently in the post!

Unknowingly, the Anglo-Danes charge into defeat

Since my wedding in mid-October, we've been able to meet once more and tried out a new game. In an effort to help the bookstore where I work part-time and the publisher's we carry, I've agreed to help showcase the soon-to-be-released Wargame the American Civil War and American Revolution books from Helion & Company at the upcoming Fall In! convention. These are the newest in a series of fantastic paper wargaming figures illustrated by Peter Dennis. The books also include basic rules by Andy Callan. To run the demos at the show, Peter was kind enough to mail me his personal set of ACW "paperboys" across the pond. To get some familiarity with the rules, I decided to run a game for Chris.

Some of the initial dispositions

Confederate troops defend a stonewall atop a hill

The rules include a sample scenario for the beginner's rules and three for the regular game, each of which is loosely based on an historical encounter. I set up "1861: Fight for the Hill." The rules were easy, but not overly simplistic and we had a fun game, even though the dice gods were clearly on Chris's side. Rolls of 6s on D6s were automatic hits and Chris's first volley of two dice from his Union infantry resulted in 2 "6"s. The very next turn, we were caught up in a melee in some woods, during which Chris rolled 10 dice and got 4 "6"s and two "5"s, which were also hits. For the first few turns, most of my units refused to move and/or inflicted very little damage to the oncoming Yankees. By turns 3 and 4, Chris's luck began to run out as his advancing infantry stalled and failed to charge up the hill. I was able to drive the Union troops from my right flank, by my own left began to crumble. Turn 5 saw the arrival of reinforcements to the field, with a Union brigade joining the fray, but I had five new units that would be coming on shortly. The battle hung in the balance by the start of Turn 6, but it was getting late, so we called it a draw.

The beginning of a rather brutal fight for the woods

Confederate artillery begins to take its toll on the Federal advance

The US juggernaut begins to waver under withering CS fire

These are admittedly shorter AARs than I'd like to put up here, but these games have just been little teasers for our new group. We'll hopefully start getting some more thorough games going soon (and hopefully our long-awaited debut of Chain of Command).

If you happen to be at Fall-In this weekend, be sure to say "Hey!" at the For the Historian/Casemate booth!

4Ground Northwest European Farm Buildings (20mm) Review

At long last, I have the opportunity to post a review for the collection of 20mm farm buildings I bought a few weeks ago from 4Ground. My planned Chain of Command campaigns take place in the rolling farm fields outside Caen, so I knew a collection of agricultural buildings would be a must. As I've been very impressed with the 4Ground kits I've gotten thus far, I saw no reason to stop.

The first building I put together (I actually got two of them) was the North West European Hay Loft. A simple, but practical structure, this building will look great among the large wheatfields that feature in the Scottish Corridor campaign. Not too much to say here. The construction was straightforward and it came together in less than a half hour. Overall, a fairly handsome little structure with removable roof and staircase. I may put some dirt on the ground floor and pick up some hay bales at some point, but I'm glad to just have them to throw out on the table for now.

The completed loft

The loft's second floor interior

The lower floor and stairs

Next was the Dairy/Lean To. I wanted a small building for my farms and thought this would do the trick, but I did not realize at first that this model was just an add-on and, thus, only had three walls. It will add some variety, but undeterred, I bought a second that, when put next to the other, creates a workable (at least I think so) outbuilding.

Dairy exterior

Dairy interior

Ersatz outbuilding (good enough when needed)

Next came my favorite building, the North West European Granary/Cart Shed. Definitely the largest of the lot, this structure was not as intimidating to piece together as I'd thought. It has a nice mix of open ground floor and enclosed top floor, which should provided some useful cover for any defending troops. It also features a mixture of building materials which make it stand out even more. As always, the finished interior on the top floor is a nice touch. I may pimp out the ground floor a bit and maybe get a wagon for one of the stalls, but it's battle-ready for the time being.

Granary/Cart Shed

Upstairs interior

I really like these inlays

Rear detail

Since I needed more buildings than the variety offered, I bought two of the North West European Threshing Barn. Though I've assembled four-wall 4Ground buildings before, I had trouble with both of these. The problem seemed to be gluing the outer walls onto the inner ones fast enough so that the glue would not dry, but then I couldn't seem to get the recommended rubber bands and clothespins on fast enough to prevent the walls from warping slightly. Even leaving the bands and pins on for more than a day didn't seem to help much. The second one definitely came together more easily (though both were definitely messy affairs), but in my haste, I glued the long outer walls on the wrong side, so the vent holes don't match up perfectly with the inner ones. Nevertheless, it doesn't look half bad, and its enclosed design will stand out from the more open buildings. Wouldn't mind trying it again some time (maybe I'll try gluing the walls together first and then attach them to the floor).

The Threshing Barn

Threshing barn interior, showing some of the warping

The last building was the only one I decide to experiment with upgrading, but I felt like a pigsty without dirt and mud just wouldn't look right. As I've stated before, though I'm a veteran wargamer, I have never really done much when it comes to terrain construction or painting before, but figured this would be an easy project on which to experiment, I picked up some brown battleground basing material and wet mud paint from The Army Painter and applied them liberally throughout the pigsty. Though the dirt settled nicely, I was a little disappointed with the mud. I applied an undercoat and then, as instructed on the bottle, hit it with varnish and put another coat on to bring out more of the gloss, but it didn't turn out as expected. I tried the process again, but it still didn't have the glossy effect I hoped for. Perhaps it is just slightly dried mud. :-)

The finished Pigsty/Chicken Coop

The interior of the chicken coop

The interior of the pigsty

Finally, I picked up some accessory packs. I got some of the stone walls and stone walls with gates kits. These are super easy to assemble (and inexpensive) but will add a lot to the table. I also purchased some telegraph pole kits. I was really looking forward to these as I thought they would be a really nice detail that would add a level of realism to my setups. The straights were much lighter than the gate sections, so I hit them with a wash of Vallejo smoke, which helped a little. Might need to add another coat (and do the same to some of the stone buildings). While the base and poles were easy to glue together, but most of the more fiddly pits are made of a very flimsy cardboard that often separated as I tried to cut the pieces out or glue them to the poles. Though I got a few of those pieces on, it was turning out to be much more frustrating than I had hoped. Losing my patience (and terrain-making fun), I decided just to leave a couple as is and save them to be used as Rommel's asparagus - poles with mines mounted on top - if I ever decide to do the 29 Let's Go campaign.

I added some dirt to the walls and put a wash on some of the lighter sections

A sampling of some of my telegraph pole attempts

The untouched sheet of pole bits - the bane of my terraining existence

Though the kits did not all turn out as planned, I'm rather pleased with my acquisitions overall and can't wait to get them on the tabletop with my long-awaited figures. For those looking for farm building kits, I'd highly recommend the Hay Loft, Cart Shed/Granary, Dairy/Lean To, and Pigsty (as well as the stone walls). They are available for 15mm, 20mm, and 28mm figure scales.