What War or Boardgame are you playing?

[hamurai]

Oct 5, 2020 13:54:13 GMT -6 arkansan said:

Right now I'm working on developing my own hex and counter wargame for battles in the Elder Scrolls universe. I'm in the process of gathering and organizing lore sources on actual battles, sadly these are few and far between

The Imperial Library would be my starting point for this: www.imperial-library.info/books/all/by-category

If I remember correctly, there are quite a few books about battles, skirmishes and wars in the many TES games. The problem is, the books' names aren't always a good hint. Still, searching for "battle" on the linked site gives 71 hits already, which may be a good start for you.

[arkansan]

Oct 5, 2020 22:02:19 GMT -6 hamurai said:

Oct 5, 2020 13:54:13 GMT -6 arkansan said:

Right now I'm working on developing my own hex and counter wargame for battles in the Elder Scrolls universe. I'm in the process of gathering and organizing lore sources on actual battles, sadly these are few and far between

The Imperial Library would be my starting point for this: www.imperial-library.info/books/all/by-category

If I remember correctly, there are quite a few books about battles, skirmishes and wars in the many TES games. The problem is, the books' names aren't always a good hint. Still, searching for "battle" on the linked site gives 71 hits already, which may be a good start for you.

Thanks for the heads up!

[stevemitchell]

Ostkrieg from Compass Games. This was a Compass release from about a year ago, covering the Russo-German war at a strategic level. It features a system similar to that used in Pacific Tide: each player has a set of cards (different for each), and the cards can be used to activate locations for movement, or to make attacks on an enemy location, or to bring in reinforcements. New cards are dealt out at the start of 1942, 1943, and 1944, plus the players can purchase used cards and put them back in their hands, depending on their build point levels (number of victory locations held, plus oil points).

The Germans did well in 1941, capturing Leningrad and then Moscow, although not getting much beyond Kiev in the south. The Russians retook Moscow with a winter offensive, but the Germans took it back in the spring of 1942—it changed hands several times thereafter. In 1942, the Germans went all out in the south, driving into the Caucasus and going as far as Astrakhan, before the Russians started to roll them back.

Most of 1943 was spent by both sides building up new forces, with the Russians using their winter offensive capabilities to push the Germans back in the Ukraine. In 1944, the Russians played the “Romanian Defection” card, but this ended up backfiring: the Germans used their new builds for the year to march into the Balkans, reconquer Romania, and then blitz on into the southern Ukraine—more easily accomplished, as the Russians had moved most of their forces from the Ukraine north to capture Moscow for the final time.

And 1945 saw the Germans on the defensive, but still holding onto Leningrad, Odessa, and a few other points in the Ukraine. As the Russians failed to match their historical level of progress, the Germans won a Minor Victory.

[owlorbs]

Ostkrieg is one I'd like to play.

[stevemitchell]

Back to PanzerGrenadier with East Front from Avalanche Press. In the "A Handful of Tanks" scenario, the Romanians and the Russians fought it out for 50 turns in the Crimea--and ended in a draw.

[stevemitchell]

Old School Tactical (OST) is a system for fighting squad-level battles in World War II, published by Flying Pig Games. I used the map from OST Ghost Front and units from OST Vol. 2, OST Airborne, and OST Ghost Front to play an "OST Mini-Campaign," per a set of rules designed by Norm Smith and posted on the Consimworld site. These rules let you recruit your initial forces, partially at random, partially by point-buy; and then play a series of four Actions (battles) separated by three Lulls, where new forces can be brought into play.

My basic premise was the SS attacking in the northern sector of the Ardennes, with elements from the 82nd Airborne thrown in as a blocking force. The initial American set-up was flawed, leading to several SS breakthroughs; and after that, a long series of delaying actions and defensive battles, with the Germans finally winning the mini-campaign. A nice set of optional rules for a good game system.

[Punkrabbitt]

Hi there! I played a solo game of Super Mission Force this morning and I had a really good time. Such a good time, in fact, that I immediately wrote a whole blog entry about the Defenders protecting the warehouse district from some Starro-enslaved members of the Justice League. Y'all can check it out at rollin-with-my-homies.blogspot.com/2020/10/super-mission-force-defenders-vs.html

[Punkrabbitt]

Last Friday night I played a game of Rednecks & Revenuers using the Quick Intermediate Level Skirmish rules from Irrational Number Line Games. You can read all about it on my blog at rollin-with-my-homies.blogspot.com/2020/10/qils-rednecks-revenuers.html

[Falconer]

The big three for us right now are War of the Ring (the perpetual favorite), Firefly, and Wingspan. On a real Firefly push ahead of running a RPG. The boardgame really immerses you in the Verse in a way that nails it.

[makofan]

I played the old 1971 SPI classic Barbarossa recently, and am in the middle of a VASSAL game of Antietam from SPI's Blue & Gray quad. I am the Confederacy, and the game is really representing the bloody and tense struggle

[stevemitchell]

Old School Tactical from Flying Pig Games. Marine tanks vs. Japanese tanks at the Peleliu airfield in the "Nakagama Strikes Back" scenario. A crushing Marine victory. In the European theater, Shermans can (maybe) hold their own against PzIVs, but are toast once they come up against Panthers or Tigers. But in the PTO, the Shermans are absolute monsters compared to the feeble Ha-Gos.

[stevemitchell]

A couple of "deep cut" selections: Tigers in the Mist from GMT Games, ending in a draw; and War at Sea from L2 Design Group, ending in an Axis victory.

[stevemitchell]

I played a new release from GMT Games--1918: Storm in the West. This is a second edition of a game that was first published in Command magazine a couple of decades back. It covers the final year of fighting on the Western Front in World War One. The Germans start off strong, with their new Strosstruppen units and tactics, but they have to make big gains before the Americans start showing up in force. Historically, the Germans attacked the British sector first, before turning to the French later. I decided to have them start off against the French, and they were able to blow a 60-mile hole in the French line running west from the Argonne. The Germans captured Orleans, Epinal, and Reims, and pushed the French back 30 to 40 miles, but--that was the high water mark for them. After that, the British, and then the Americans, began counterattacking, and were eventually able to push the Germans back to, and then beyond, their original trench lines. The game ended with an Allied victory--decided on the last die roll of the last turn. So, a good game, and real nail-biter.

[hamurai]

Last week one of the group showed us his prints from onepagerules.com

The new WH40K rules put many of us off and we were looking for alternatives. We had a lot of fun with the OnePageRules, they're quick to learn and play easy.

There's a lot of free stuff on the website, but the entirely complete full rules aren't free. The free stuff was enough for us, though. Rules for futuristic and fantastic army and skirmish games.

[Punkrabbitt]

hamurai, what didn't your group like about the new 40K rules? By "new" are we meaning 8th or 9th?

Thank you.

[hamurai]

New is 9th edition.

I think that some of the issues most have with WH40K aren't new to 9th edition, though. I'm not sure, actually, because I only started my "40K career" a year ago and that was with Kill Team, so I was never as involved in the discussion.

What I heard was that they liked the new terrain and cover rules, but more or less disliked all the other changes. Many are annoyed by basic rules which are overwritten by every other unit's special rules. The nerf hammer made some feel that what they had tested over a long time as a valid army setup was suddenly useless and they were forced to get new models to be back in the game.

Personally, looking at Kill Team and WH4ßK in general, I'd say that quite a few of the rules could need a streamlining to reduce the dice rolling. A roll to attack, another to wound, another by the target to save, then an injury roll - that's 4 rolls for a single shot and it may be more if special rules allow re-rolls. I'd like a faster mechanic with 1 roll for the attacker and 1 roll for the defender, for example. Like, an attack roll with fixed wound values, then a save test for the target where, for example, if there are more 1s than successes, the target is out of action automatically. Something like that, to speed up play.

I love the miniatures and lots of the fluff of 40K, but even the skirmish feels like it's more a game of chess with less action and more looking stuff up and dice rolling.

I also play Carnevale and there you have an attack roll and a defense roll. Successes of the attack minus successes of defense plus base damage value = damage done. Really quick. That's how I like it. Of course, there are also special rules, but they're not as many as in 40K, where every unit has like 4 traits. In Carnevale, most have none to two and only heroes and leaders have more.

[Punkrabbitt]

Really, I thought 8th edition was the best since 2nd edition, and 9th took all the best parts away from it. I enjoyed three years of revival, and will continue tinkering with my armies because it's a great way to meet new gamers and I'm moving hopefully within the the year. But 9th sucks almost as much as 3rd through 7th.

[owlorbs]

I just fired up a game of The Russian Campaign (AH 3rd) on vassal with my wargaming buddy. And just to make sure I'm confused about what I'm doing I'm also soloing a campaign game on my tabletop downstairs.

[Falconer]

I have been eyeing this ‘Gallic War’ game. I have been in love with the theme since I was a kid, and it gets raving reviews.

[stevemitchell]

I played the Battle of Gettysburg from GMT's Clash of Giants: Civil War. The game ended in a Northern victory.

[stevemitchell]

Marching to the sound of the guns once more. . .

I played Holy Roman Empire from One Small Step. This is a strategic-level game on the Thirty Years War, with 2-year turns and area movement. The Palatinate (and Protestant coalition) ended the war as the big winner, with 52 Victory Points, followed by Spain (28), Bavaria (27), Austria (25), France (15), and Sweden (10).

Then it was off to sea with The Invincible Armada from Turning Point Simulations. This is a rather clever operational and tactical treatment of the Spanish Armada. The stout-hearted English chaps ran roughshod over the Dons.

And finally, two games of An Attrition of Souls from Compass Games. This is a high-level strategic game on World War I, with 6-month turns and point-to-point movement. I played once using just the basic rules, to learn the system, with the Entente (Allies) winning at the end of the Spring 1916 turn. Then I tried again, this time adding in the optional rules (elite infantry, tanks, trenches, random events, etc.). The war went to the bitter end, with the Entente winning at the end of the Fall 1918 turn.

[hamurai]

The last games I played were (1) Saga ( Age of Magic, to be precise). Lots of fun with few rules.

I've also picked up a box of (2) Corvus Belli's Infinity - mainly for the miniatures, I have to admit, but I like the game itself and apart from the extensive list of special abilities, it's really fast and fun to play. That's on my "have to play again" list.
Not a classic wargame, but a very nice skirmish game. I guess you could play it as a wargame, but then book-keeping and the special abilities would make it less fun.

[stevemitchell]

I played French and Indian War from Worthington Games. This is a fairly simple point-to-point game, with monthly turns, just covering the years 1757-58-59. 1757 saw some French gains in the west and center, but 1758 turned into a British blitzkrieg: they landed new forces to take Fort Louisbourg, then swept down the St. Lawrence River to capture Quebec and Montreal. A British victory at the end of 1758.

Then I tried Husky 8 from DDH Games. This covers the 1943 battle for Sicily at the regimental level. The Allies had captured most of the island by game's end, but the Germans still held on to Messina. So, this was a draw.

[stevemitchell]

The games in Jack Greene’s naval trilogy—Ironbottom Sound, Destroyer Captain, and The Royal Navy—were some of my games from decades past. In fact, The Royal Navy was so popular with a group of North Texas gamers I played with that we used it as the basis for a miniatures rules system, using 1/1200 scale minis. Unfortunately, all three titles ended up in my storage unit when we relocated to the Fort Worth area 16 years back, and were only “liberated” earlier this year.

So, I finally got The Royal Navy back on the table. This has 13 scenarios from World Wars I and II (plus you can find some more on line). I started with “The Sydney and the Raider,” wherein the Australian cruiser Sydney encounters the German armed merchant ship/commerce raider Komoran in the Indian Ocean. Historically, the Sydney closed to about 1,000 yards from the Komoran before the two ships opened fire; both ships quickly sank from all that point-blank range damage! In my game, the Komoran did some heavy damage to the Sydney, but the greater weight of the Sydney’s guns sent the German raider to the bottom in only two turns of combat. Both sides also tried torpedo attacks, but these missed.

Next up: “The River Platte,” with the pocket battleship Graf Spee taking on the cruiser Exeter and the light cruisers Ajax and Achilles. The Germans sought to take out the largest target first, so concentrated on the Exeter; they did some light damage, although they also managed to start five fires on the cruiser. But the British ships started getting the range on the Graf Spee, and a lucky hit from the Achilles (a 3-in-100 special damage result) sent a 6-inch shell plunging through the deck and blowing the hapless Germans into atoms.

And then: “Indian Ocean Night Action,” with the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer facing the light cruiser Glasgow near Madagascar. This is a “what if” fight; historically, the Glasgow was searching for the Admiral Scheer, but missed her by a few miles in the darkness, and the Germans soon withdrew from the Indian Ocean and returned home. Effective German gunnery soon sank the Glasgow, but not before the Brits inflicted enough speed loss on the Scheer to claim a draw (presumably, other ships in the area could now catch up with the damaged raider).

Followed by: “Action with Force H,” another hypothetical night fight, with British and Vichy French ships clashing off Gibraltar (historically, the French slipped past the Brits in the darkness). The British have the battlecruiser Renown and the destroyers Griffin, Velox, and Vidette, while the Vichyites have the destroyers La Malin, L’Audacieux, and La Fantasque. A big advantage to the Brits with Renown, but the French destroyers are bigger and better armed than their British counterparts.

After some initial long-range shooting, and multiple torpedo attacks on the Renown (all missed), the Renown got separated from the British destroyers, but managed to “cross the T” of the French squadron at point-blank range. In a single gunnery round, the lead French destroyer (Malin) disappeared under a hail of 11-inch fire. After that, the two surviving Vichy ships did their utmost to get a long way away from Renown. The game ended in a draw, with the French managing to sink the Velox on their way toward the map edge.

And then it was off to WWI for “Coronel.” This has Von Spee’s Pacific squadron (armored cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and light cruisers Leipzig, Dresden, and Nurnberg) encountering a substantially weaker force under Admiral Craddock (armored cruisers Good Hope and Monmouth, light cruiser Glasgow, and armed merchant ship Otranto) off the coast of Chile. The British lost the Monmouth and the Glasgow before deciding to turn away, but the Germans managed to blast the Good Hope in the stern pursuit, so only the Otranto escaped into the gathering darkness. The damage to the German ships was minor by comparison.

[skars]

Red Star, White Eagle deluxe edition from Compass Games on the clipping table at the moment and MMP/The Gamers Bastogne currently being played.

[Punkrabbitt]

OK, so I played my first solo game of Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago last night using the "Just For The Money" scenario. I made a few mistakes, but I decided to live with them and replay it this morning properly. I kept my experience and treasure, though. I didn't take as many pictures of last night's game as I expected for Reasons, though, and I'm not sharing them here to avoid confusion. And originally, I only had one tortoise and was using a pair of oversized toy elephants instead, but my wife thought I should have the proper animals on the table and bought me the second tortoise shortly before I was going to play.



I really expected my Heritor and archers to be the heavy hitters of that game; as it turned out the Heritor would have been close to death in his first melee if not for his Mitigation ability! But the Tomb Robbers seemed to go through everything they contacted like a hot knife through butter. They had a lot of "20"s rolled for attacks! The Warden failed most spells bit finally got a couple of walls up in the last few turns.



This morning I replayed the scenario. I had kept the experience and associated upgrades to my Heritor from last night's game, but also the injured crewman who would be missing due to recovering from his serious injury.



So, the bad guys were more focussed. I was down a guy. I lost two more guys in the course of the game; one recovered nicely, but the other will be missing the next game as he heals up. This time around, the archery was more effective; I kept the Archer and the Scout close to the Warden as a bit of a mobile fire base. They were also pretty good in melee. The Heritor and two Tomb Robbers, well, that was a force of nature that smashed through everything.



On turn three, a Scarbark had the unfortunate luck to appear on token 5, between the Warden and many followers. It did survive to make it's own attacks. Likewise, a Tribal Chieftain didn't survive to the end of the turn on which it arrived.



After the Merchant and Tortoises were safely off the board, the remaining team went after the last treasure token. This stretched the game a little longer, but in the end, it too was recovered.



My Heritor is now 5th level and my Warden is 1st level. I am going to put together a board for the "Incinerator" scenario and play through that one next.

[flightcommander]

My kid got the "Minecraft: Builders & Biomes" boardgame recently and it's actually huge fun. It's one of those games that has a lot of ways to win, similar to Catan. The great thing about it is that it's just a lot of fun to play even if you get roasted by your 11-year-old child. It's from the Ravensburger folks so it's got pretty high-quality components; for example there's a fun "brick-mining" element to the game which uses wooden pieces. I'd reckon it has a lot of replay value because of the subtlety of the rules, and it can be a fairly quick game as well.

I would strongly recommend this to anybody with kids who are into Minecraft — it's not a knock-off of some other game like Monopoly but with Minecraft branding. It really engages with the Minecraft milieu on multiple levels without being overly complicated. They did a great job — I'm impressed!

[stevemitchell]

Watch on the Rhine is a new release from Canvas Temple Publishing. It includes three maps and four countersheets plus rules for three separate campaigns. I played the "main feature," the Siegfried Line campaign, which covers the Allied attack on the Reich from September 1944 to Spring 1945. This ended in an Allied victory. The Germans did get to make their "Watch on the Rhine" surprise attack, although they launched it further south than they did historically, between Saarbrucken and Strasbourg. Didn't have much impact, though. Then I tried the Cobra campaign, on the Allied breakout from Normandy and their push east toward Paris and beyond--and here the Allies failed. Well, they matched their historical performance, but to win the game, they have to basically defeat the Germans in 1944 (home by Christmas).

[hamurai]

With the arrival of the Clan Invasion Box and some Kickstarter goodies at our FLGS, BattleTech has come to the attention of many of our tabletop community. I'm really excited because it was the first game I owned back in the early 90s (I had played D&D then, but never owned any books) and now it's getting a huge hype.

I still like the rules from back then, they are still really well-done for what the game sets out to be, I think. I'm totally biased, too, of course

BattleTech will see a lot of action during the next weeks, I believe. Probably the only game I'll be playing at a table for a while now, due to Covid...

I hope I'll be able to test the Alpha Strike rules, too.

[stevemitchell]

Shiloh 1862 from Worthington Publishing. This is a brigade-level treatment of Shiloh, with hourly turns, 250 yards per hex, and 100 men per strength point. Not complex, but there's lots of dice rolling involved (the defender fires all his eligible units, the targets check for possible rout effects if hit or forced to retreat, then the attacker does the same, and multiply this down the battle-line with 20 or more units engaged at a time). The Rebs came on like gangbusters on the first day, but couldn't quite reach Pittsburg Landing, so the Union reinforcements arriving that night and early the next morning allowed Grant to go over to the attack. The final result was a very narrow victory for the Union.