Another Delayed Blog --- Over the Top 2015

It has been a bit busy and I've not been keeping up with current events as it were. A few weeks ago, Andy, Kevin, Martin, and I journeyed to Brantford, ON to take part in a games day. We met Ralph, Dan, and Mark there as well as a number of other people we knew. It wasn't a convention as conventions usually go. There were a few vendors from the local area and a number of games were offered, but there were no panels, discussions, or presentations. Just games, and that's what we go to thing like this for, not so?

In the morning, we played an American Civil War game using Ralph's 25mm figs and the Black Powder rules. It was a good game although my luck held and it was all bad. My troops failed to activate during a number of turns and when they did activate there were cut to pieces half the time. I controlled a mixed brigade of two infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and a batch of "pickets" which usually mean skirmishers.

the field of battle - Confederate lines to the left, Union to the right.

My infantry brigade, including a veteran Zouave regiment... not that it helped.

Rebel infantry. Oddly they all seem to hail from the Carolinas.

More Rebel foot behind the plowed field.

The most amazing play in the game was a melee in which 15 hits were scored against the Union side, which promptly saved 14 of them! This should be a record.

My cavalry finally activated and countercharged the Reb horsemen... who sent my boys packing in one round of melee. My pickets also did the same sort of run-off. My opponent turned his infantry to attempt to flank the player on my right, but he got bogged down and was concerned I might flank HIM! No worries! I couldn't activate my infantry enough to do any more than amble forward a little bit. Not my best day in the lists.

Another Confederate brigade

The Boys in Blue answer the challenge.

The fight over the field heats up.

My pickets/skirmishers wander forward without enthusiasm or direction.

My cavalry regiment prepares to counter-charge (and melt away like an ice cube on the front steps in August.)

Ralph in his Flame shirt instructs.

All the troops were Ralph's and the terrain was Andy's. We hope to capitalize on this in the new year with both Ralph and Martin (from J&M Miniatures) bringing their substantial collections of ACW troops to the Hamilton Road Games Group. I'll keep you informed.

Later in the day, Andy and I hosted a "Tiger Hunt" game, a Disposable Heroes "free-for-all" where each player starts with a Tiger I and runs it until it's knocked out. The respawn (as it were) with a Panther until that's knocked out. They then respawn as a Mark IV. After that, you're sidelined. This makes for a fun game, especially for younger players. It also serves as a primer for the rules for armoured fighting in the DH/C7B game system by Iron Ivan.

Mark, another friend Dan, two adult women, and an adolescent girl played. The young lady truely enjoyed the game and was quite vocal in her delight when she brewed up an enemy tank.

A view of the lovely village of Panzerdorf-am-Schlecht.

Down near the sheep pasture.

The game... already in progress.

 One targeted and one brewed up.

Gotcha!

Panzerdorf-am-Schlecht with a view of Flat Oak Hill.
(I was given some "flats" of the old school type a number of years ago. I ended up calling them Flat Oaks.)

My understanding is that we hope to have games days like this every three months or so in various venues in Southwestern Ontario as a way of keeping interest, communication and cross-pollination going. There are possibly three or maybe four true conventions within a day's drive of where I live, so this alternative is a way of keeping interest alive and avoid wargaming isolation.

Grimsby Games Day

 This event took place two weekends ago, but it's been quite busy in the meantime and I didn't get to blog anything. So please excuse the delay and enjoy the narrative of the day.

Andy and I had been invited to take part in the second games day at the Grimsby, ON Public Library and Art Gallery. We (and a few others) went down last year for a War of 1812 themed day. This year was more open gaming. We decided to keep it simple and put on our "Tiger Hunt" table top game. In this game, we use the armour rules from Iron Ivan's Disposable Heroes and Coffin for Seven Brothers. Each player begins the game with a Tiger I tank.{Panzerkampfwagen VI H (Sd.Kfz. 182) for them was is picky.} You then play the game "straight" with spotting and penetration rules in full effect. If your tank is put out of action, you get another. Originally, your second tank would be a Panther.(Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Sd.Kfz. 171) If that one brews up, you get a Mark IV. At the games group, we've used Russian, American, and British tanks and tank destroyers as well, just to liven things up. For a display game like this one, we keep it simple.

(Photos courtesy of Andy or myself.)

My wounded Tiger awaits the recovery vehicle. The half-track could fix a blown track in one turn. That's all it could repair, however if another player "called" it, you had to wait until you could call it again.

Martin (of J&M Miniatures) had to watch his tank "brew up."

Another Tiger lies in ambush.

The town in the middle of the table... with a knocked-out Mk. IV as cover.

Yes, Martin brewed up TWO Tigers and in just about the same place.
He laughed all the way to the end of the game.

There were three other games going on as well. One was a well laid-out game of the Gallipoli landings in World War I. I had to admire the board and how it was textured and done up.

The Anzacs dig in to await the assault by the Turkish troops.

They didn't have to wait long.

Martin put out a very tasty table for an American Civil War game using Black Powder. Sad to say, no one took up the invitation/challenge to play this. The table was a delight to see, however.

Confederate/Rebel/Southern infantry have taken up defencive positions at a stone wall.
It should serve them well.

Union/Federal/Yankee/Northern/Blue Coat troops on the attack, determined to drive off the Gray Coats.

Confederate artillery holding the centre of the line.

Union artillery supporting the attack.

Confederate cavalry upholding the traditions of the South.

This view deserves a larger photo!
Federal infantry, including zouaves, prepare to advance.

In a side room, used for art classes, storage, and coat racks, a vast Napoleonic game was held using Arty Conliffe's Shako II in 25mm. This is my preferred rule set and I was quite interested in the game, which was set in the Iberian Peninsula. (Did I say "interested"? I should say "drooling.") There seemed to be seven or eight players there, with British, Spanish, and Portuguese troops opposing French and Rheinbund battalions. It... was... GLORIOUS!

I asked a few time, but no one would/could tell me who was in the coach.
There was some mumbling about mistresses...

The British hold the hill while the French assault, all in the "same old fashion."

The Spanish are holding a walled estate or monastery as the British advance to support them.

Portuguese troops come forward to flank the French.

A good view of the "Thin Red Line" with skirmishers out.

British horse artillery about to bring the pain.

How here's a rarity: Spanish Cuirassiers!

The British must be doing well; they're leaving the hill!

Shako II is an "old school" wargame, using artillery sticks.

Looks like the French and Allies are about to be flanked.

The Grimsby venue is a good one, although a small one. It may never reach the threshold of a "convention" but it's a good time. They're thinking about a theme approach for next year, possibly something for WWI since we're in the anniversary time for that one,

I hope you enjoyed this little "travelogue."

... In the Forest of the Night

A few years back, Andy hit upon an idea to practise the procedures for tank combat in Iron Ivan's Disposable Heroes. He called it a "Tiger Hunt." On a rather full table-top, each player would enter the table with a German Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I tank, which would keep everything equal. This way we could learn and become familiar with the mechanics of that part of the game. Each player received a playing card and the referee had a deck of card made up of those cards that had been given out. When your card was pulled, it was your turn. Once your Tiger was "killed", you reentered the game with a Pz. V Panther. Once that was knocked out, you entered with a Pz. IV. Well, this ended up being so much fun, we continue to play it as is, with no infantry, artillery, or air power.

Our friend Mark asked us to set up one of these games and he was going to bring down a bunch of his buddies. Unfortunately, some had to change their plans and only Mike came with him. From the London area, Martin, Derek, Bear, Tyler, DJ, Katie, and your humble blogger joined in the fun. Andy refereed and Beth took photos. The photos in this entry are by Beth, Martin, and myself. Another table was in use by Wayne and Kevin with a WWI game Wayne has been preparing for the next Hot Lead convention.

Since the thing was a "free-for-all", there's no sense trying to describe the thing or do an After-action Report. Only Mike made it through the game with one tank, or almost all the way through the game. I ended up using three different chassis with varying success. Martin brought along his Armoured Recovery Vehicles which are "drones" that will fix any blown treads for any player. He also brought along his 1946 tanks from his "What if" scenarios.

Katie and one of the local library kids set up roads and houses for the board.

Andy briefs Mike and Mark on the mechanics of the game.

The field of battle with the first entries coming down the roads.
My Tiger is in the left foreground.

I'm making progress toward some cardboard houses. They'll still provide cover.

DJ's Tiger used the raised aspect of the bridge to pinpoint targets.
The bunkers meant nothing in this game. In other outings, Andy would put an 88 in the bunker near the bridge,
which would fire at anything and everything

Martian Lizardmen stalk around the board.  I told people they were "in the market" to buy some advanced armoured vehicles from the Germans or Soviets or whoever.

A Tiger "brews up" - the first in the game.

The Typhoon decorates Katie's Go-Pro camera.

The Go-Pro follows the Martians on their trek. The Typhoon remains a decoration.
If it were more than a decoration, the game would be over quickly!

Derek measures a shot from his Tiger to Martin's. Of course, Martin HAD to use the Porsche prototype model.
(That's the only Porsche he'll ever own!)

The friendly Bergepanther from CAA provides repairs for a blown track.

A lurking Tiger.

Martin's Porsche prototype Tiger. The white chit shows he's targeted someone. The blue bingo chips indicate a "penetrating hit." This means your tank is damaged/ventilated. Each penetrating hit adds a +1 to the damage roll.

Not the greatest vacation spot.
Terrain from Andy's and my collections.

Katie helpfully points out the destruction wrought by her SU-101, another of Martin's PanzerDisney tanks.
My daughter - how blood-thirsty! But so is my wife - on the table.

From the left - Tyler's son, Mike, Mark (smiling), Andy, DJ, and Bear. Derek is just barely seen on the far right.
We had quite a gathering. Our numbers help the library's stats and we're glad to have a good place to play.

A lone Tiger with a few hits on it motors away from the swamp, lovingly referred to as "The Rubber Vomit."

There he is! 4 penetrating hits, a blown track (the blue chip under the stand) and a chit showing he's targeted by someone. This will not end well. Most of the tanks are Flames of War models with some Peter Pig models and a few oddballs as well.

Quite a crowd around the table.

 

Katie had Tyler's son roll dice for her while Tyler looks on. Martin checks a point on the stat sheet.

When my Tiger was knocked out, I re-spawned with a KV-2 (a crappy remould I picked up at a convention bring-and-buy years ago.) It was knocked out fairly quickly, but not before spanking a Panther!

My final ride - The dreaded Maus, seen here with a Martian taking a test drive.

Tyler's son's second tank - an American M-103 heavy. He goes for the big ones.

Another of Martin's PanzerDisney tracks brews up.

This will not end well.

At one point, Martin fielded a T-44 with side skirts. I've always been partial to the looks of that tank.

Some of Andy's Panthers and Mark IV's in the bull pen.

Some of my collection of weirdness that I brought along - a Mark IV Male,  a Sherman 76 ("Fury"), a Japanese Type 97, a Sherman Firefly, and a Soviet T-35, which we sometimes refer to as the "Mobile resort." ("Sir, the billiards room is on fire and we've evacuated the auxiliary dining rooms.")

This Panther tried to get away from the Maus. Didn't happen. With a 128mm main gun and a 75mm coaxial gun in the turret, it can hand out major damage.

The T-44 sneaks around the town while one of the last remaining Tigers hunts it. (Foreground, behind the big tree.)

Somebody tried to sneak up on me from behind, but I got 'em.

The Maus' victims - Someone else got the Panther, but I got the Centurion and the T-54.

Katie's SU-101 faces off with the Maus... but not for long.

The ARV's dash away after doing their repair work on the Maus.
The pile of chips shows how many penetrating hits I'd taken.

Now I go a-huntin'.

An M-34 Taylor burns in the town along with a Tiger, a Panther, and the KV-2

The last face-off of the day - my Maus vs. Tyler's T-10 (or IS-10 if you're a revisionist)
We exchanged fire for quite a long time, but I finally knocked him out.
I'm amazed! I actually won the day!
Martin said Katie had reserved the Maus for me since she knocked me out last time with a shot to the rear by a Jagdtiger!

At the other table, Wayne and Kevin were fine-tuning a WWI game of Canadians vs. Germans. It involved gas, the Canadians finding Lee-Enfield rifles and trading their Ross rifles for them, and an assault on a trench system. They were using Iron Ivan's WWI rules.

An over-view of the game. The green stuff is gas, either clouds on the ground or gas pooling in shell holes.

Canadians in the trenches behind barbed wire.

How long will they stay with the gas that close?

Another over-view later in the game.

Kevin and Wayne play the game while Andy takes a break from the armoured chaos to watch.

Canadians defending a ruin

German stosstruppen move into the trenches.

Wayne told me the figures were all Revell plastics.

As always, even though the historical games often schedule a game for a certain weekend, this is not written in stone and other types of games are most welcome. Next week, I believe that a WWI naval game is scheduled for a few of us, using the Naval Thunder rules.