The Streets of Glenndon

 The Streets of Glenndon

     On Saturday, I had the opportunity to host a game using Wiley Games' Fist Full of Lead (FFoL). We used the core rules and fielded a Roaring '20s style "gangster" game. FFoL was originally written for Wild West games and since then has branched out to cover all periods of skirmish gaming - Ancients, Horse & Musket, WWI & WWII, Sci-fi, Horror, Post-apocalyptic, and Grimdark. (For that last one, think 40K-ish things.) I like the rules, especially since the mechanics do not change no matter what the period. Things like armour, automatic weapons, Sci-fi equipment and the like are added and/or subtracted as needed. So if you wanted to have a game where Greek hoplites faced Chaos Space Marines, you could do it... although I doubt the game would last long!

     Although I messed up the rules of the game a bit, everybody seemed to have fun. The game took place in storied "Glenndon" since Glenn 3D printed the majority of the buildings and vehicles... which were absolute grand!

Glenn watches over his city... gleefully.

     Glenn ran a gang of bootleggers while Tom led a rival gang bent on robbing the bank. John was engaged in running the city police, with Beth's help until Bear joined in. Beth: "Bear, do you mind handling a group of cops?" Bear: "Not if I can have corrupt ones!" (Oh, yeah, they proved to be less than upright.) Beth then helped Shane who was in charge of a group of Federal agents - either FBI or Prohibition Bureau Treasury agents. John and Shane were not all that familiar with the rules so Bear and Beth assisted. Each group had a mission:

•    Glenn - get a truckload of hooch off the table
•    Tom - rob the bank
•    John - stop the bank robbery
•    Shane - find, stop, and seize the illegal liquor
•    Me, the gamesmaster - run some strange civilians, like street toughs including the famous Gorilla Brothers, a police informant, a lady of easy virtue, and a woman with a baby carriage. 

    The game is card driven with a number of special cards so off we went!

The back streets of Glenndon

The town square

Jimmy's Lunch - almost like a place to eat!
A really nice 3D print from Glenn.
Maisey trolls for "business" on the sidewalk.

The gentrified High-rent district... with the Feds mustering on the left of the photo.
These buildings were mine. The two on the left were bird houses and the one on the right
was a gift to me from Beth one Christmas back.

Looks like a nice place to raise your kids...
if you move fast and duck quick.

    Glenn's gang began to load the liquor immediately while Tom's guys stole a car and headed to the bank. John and Bear local heat piled into their car and head into the square leaving 3 cadets ("grunts" according to the rules) who almost immediately shot the police informant as he approached them. The Feds headed to the bootlegger's stock on foot. The Gorilla Brothers - Eek and Meek, if I recall - joined Tom's gang. (They were armed with baseballs and baseball bats. They could throw the balls and cause shock to any one hit. The bats could do more damage.) A few street toughs decided to stop Glenn's bootleggers to get a cut of the action. One died while the other was still fighting three bootleggers at the end of the game! I'd say "Hire that guy!"

Loading up illegal liquor with street toughs and a street walker watching.

The local Bulls load up their car.

The Cadets, left to walking, begin their advance.

The Cadets meet a stranger and shoot him.
He was Joe N. Fermer, the town's police source.
Accent on "WAS."

The Bootleggers stole a car and started out with their illegal goods.
The horse and wagon - a big hit in the game - held them up some.
Traffic is always a problem!

The Bank Robbing gang in their stolen car are about to meet the Cops
in their car. Joe N. Fermer has yet to meet his fate in this photo.
The gun moll on top of the car meant she was driving.
Gang leader, "Downtown" Brown and his BAR-toting associate are
on the far side of the car.

So John and Bear smashed their car into the robber's car.
That stopped them and started a classic firefight with
pistols, rifles, Tommy guns, shotguns, and at least one BAR.

One of the Gorilla Brothers is down so his brother takes the fight
to the cops since he took all that kind of personal.
(My shape-eyed readers will note that the luncheonette is named "Jerry's"
on the side and "Jimmy's' on the front. We all agreed that they couldn't
afford "Under New Management" signs and put their money into "Good Eats."

The Feds join the fire fight.
Beth took the one building off on the advice of either Tom or Glenn,
leaving the roof there to mark the place and allowing me to see the action.
By the way, THAT was the bank!

The fire fight gets real, the bootleggers move, while the horse-drawn
wagon runs interference. 

The Feds are in the fight.
The beads have a meaning: red indicates a wound, yellow shows shock, and
white means "out of ammo." A burst with a Tommy gun expends the whole magazine.
Each figure could take 3 three wounds unless they are small-ish (2) or big-ish (4).

The bank is saved! The Street is a mess!

Meanwhile in the luncheonette...
10¢ for a slice of pie! I'm in!!
I am in awe of the detail Glenn put into his buildings.
The bartender is from the Beth/John collection and he seems right at home!

Car crashes, rampant gangsters, less-than-honest cops,
a horse-drawn supply wagon, stolen cars!
Just like the movies! Better in fact!

      

At the end of the game, Shane had a Fed agent at loose ends.
We told him to go in the cafe and get a cup of coffee...and a slice of pie for 10¢!

    We closed up because both John and Bear had to leave with Tom soon after. Glenn actually fulfilled his mission. We all seemed to enjoy ourselves. I need to get a better handle on the rules but I'm learning. The main point is we all had fun. Cudos again to Glenn for his great buildings and cars. Thanks to all who played... and as always to my great wife, Beth.

Seven Years War again

    Andy and I have been trying to up our game for the Seven Years War in 15mm. We've also been using a slight variant of the Honours of War rules on the company lever for the so-called "French & Indian Wars" in North America. (That's for another blog later.) Personally, I've found these rules quite playable and I think they have the "feel" of the period, although that's a judgement call since I didn't live in central Europe in the 1750's. I'd recommend them.

    This past Saturday, I unlimbered my Austrians to face Andy's Prussians. In games prior to this, I had fielded my Russian army, an old favourite. We'd also used Andy's French troops. My Swedes are still on the painting table. Andy and Glenn faced Dave and I over the table. We fought to a draw... which I considered a "win" considering my abysmal luck and field general skills. Some photos follow, courtesy of Andy and of Dave.

From the Prussian perspective; the advance to the town of Neues Unbenannt.
The large blue dice show the status of the brigadier, since that officer could be
Dashing, Competent, or "Dithering" for that turn. The rules set that up. It has
a lot to do with historical aggressiveness and staff work.

Dave stares down Glenn.
The cotton balls denote the unit has fired.

Austrian Kurassier and Prussian Kurassier prepare to go sword to sword.
The Prussian heavies (elite) are a "large" unit with some extra troops and a +1 in melee.
They were brigaded with a dragoon regiment.(regular)
The Austrian had a regiment of Kurassiers and a combined unit of Kurassier Carabiniers
and dragoon horse grenadiers, all elite.

The Austrian advance over grain fields.
Rifle armed Jager (small unit of skirmishers) precede the one brigade of line infantry.
A brigade of elite grenadiers goes into the village.

Some photos of previous games where the French took a strong punch in the nose.   

French vs. Prussians - fighting over an open field

The French advance.
The red bead denotes a casualty. We've gone to a better system now.

The French right flank

We're still learning the rules and are using the 20mm distances for our 15mm armies.

     I like these rules and I hope to continue to used them. In the SYW period, I cut my teeth on KoenigKrieg and there's still a few things I really like about those rules. I've also played Warfare in the Age of Reason and found them fine as well. I'll stick with HoW for a good long while, I think.

Christmas Party at the Games Group

 The Hamilton Road Games Group (meeting at the Crouch Branch of the London Public Library most Saturdays) tries to hold a holiday gaming party on the Saturday closest to the Christmas holiday. This year's event was well attended with over 22 people playing games. That might not sound like much to many of you, but for the Games Group, it's quite good considering the recent pandemic.

When my family and I arrived, two games were already in full swing. On table was holding the continuation of the BattleTech league that has been going on for a while. The second table was hold a game of Star Trek: Ascendency. Once that game ended, a similar game involving the well-known Dr. Who franchise. I've never played that game and I can't even say what the game is titled.

The games in full session

The line forms at the snack table.

A number of us set up a Hamilton Road holiday tradition game of Wings of War which includes Snoopy flying his dog house (Sopwith Camel) and Santa's Sleigh which comes in as  a replacement for the first aircraft shot down. Now if you shoot at Santa, YOU take the damage 'cause you're on the "Naughty List." It's fun and the game is quite colourful. Andy brought the planes and the playing aids for the game. Santa's sleigh came from my family's collection. I say "my family's collection" because my wife and children all play. Beth and Wren were present at this event, although Wren didn't fly a plane, but handed out the cards and damage markers.

An example of one of the Allied planes

German planes face down the Canine Ace of Aces.

I "flew" this Fokker D. VII - I called it the "Candy Striper."

A close up of Snoopy. Originally he was a paper model in 2D, and I built a "dog house'
based on a small wooden block. He's lasted a few years now.

Snoopy, an Allied plane, and Santa's sleigh.
Santa's sleigh was originally a chunk of balsa with a paper model built around it.

After a swift lunch break, the same group (with a rotating gallery of kibitzers) moved on to another almost traditional game - Save Santa from the Krampus! In the past, we've used Iron Ivan's Pulp adventure rules. This year, we changed the format to a mixed version of games from Wiley Games, drawing from their Fistful of Lead series of games - drawing from the modern, Sci-fi, fantasy magic, Horse & Musket, and horror games. We also used individual characters rather than teams.

Here's who was played and playing:

• Constable Steele, RCMP... played by Dan the Dice Man (a fixture at local conventions)
• Warrant Officer Vanier... played by Ralph (Modern Canadian soldier)
• The Phantom (Yes, that guy)... played by Rich (straight from Bengalla)
• Flash Borden (a sly rip-off)... played by Glenn  (taking time off from fighting Ming)
• Professor Destiny (think Dr. Strange)... played by Beth
• Anne Bonnie, Queen of the Pirates... played by Wren
• the tiles and moral support... supplied by Andy.
• All the bad guys... played by Your Humble Blogger, me.

Okay, Santa has been captured by the Krampus and his #2, the Grinch, and has been taken into the caverns beneath Santa's mansion at the North Pole. Santa is being held by the nasties, their Goblins, some monsters, and some mercenaries. The inspiration for the setting was "The Father Christmas Letters" by J.R.R.Tolkien, a delightful little book compiled from the letters Professor Tolkien wrote each Christmas to his children. I'd recommend it.

Tolkien's own art work
"Polar Bear defends Father Christmas"

We used Andy's MageKnight dungeon tiles for the hallways and rooms in the game.

The game... already in progress!

Anne Bonnie, Prof. Destiny, the Ghost-who-walks, and Constable Steele
move through the halls of the caverns.
(The Phantom was originally one of Bob Murch's Pulp Miniatures' Zombie figures.)

A larger view

Andy places doors and the like.
He knew how best to clip the pieces together.

"So THAT's what was behind the door." the Sergeant Major whispered.

Nasty Martian Ape vs. Sergeant Major!
What will happen?

This! Ape down!

Anne Bonnie made it past the Psycho-active mushrooms,
although, veteran D&D player that they are, they carved off a piece...
in case it might be needed later.

"So THAT's what was behind those doors!" whispered Flash Borden...
before he opened up with his blaster... and missed.

Flash jumped over the gobbos with his rocket pack while the Phantom's two 45's and Constable
Steele's Lee-Enfield laid quite a few goblins low. Professor Destiny threw spells to confuse the
goblins, who were none too bright to begin with. (Note that the Constable brought his own snow.)

To the Crux of the matter!
Flash Borden and SM Vanier enter the assembly room to find Santa tied up,
with the Krampus, the Grinch, a bunch of assault rifle toting mercenaries, and
one lone crazed goblin (probably ate too much mushroom) in that room.

Actually they made short work of the bunch. The rest of the rescue team caught up and

they took out all but two mercenaries (who surrendered and were arrested by Constable

Steele), took down both the Krampus and the Grinch in record time, freed Santa,

and SAVED CHRISTMAS!!!!  Yaaaaaaaaah!!

I think both Santa and the Crampus are from Reaper Miniatures.
The Grinch is a troll from an unknown, unremembered line.

Because of some things that were scheduled later, our family had to leave after the adventure finished.

It took about three hours which was about right for the day. We wished Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas all around and took our leave.

I wish the same to all of you who read this little thing. If you can get The Father Christmas Letters, do so. Every Tolkien fan might enjoy it.

Until next time, here is my family's Weihnachtspyramide in full spin. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My family is in no way German in background, but we like this,

"Stay down, ya big ape!"