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!"

Games Group Christmas Shenanigans

The Hamilton Road Games Group held its Christmas/Holiday party this past Saturday. Martin was flying home for Christmas later this week and we wanted to have our usual unusual games before he left. The festivities also included hot chocolate, cup cakes, cookies, and the like.

If I can dare call it a "tradition", we up held the tradition of the Wings of War Christmas Flight. All the players ran one WWI aircraft and the first player out returned as Snoopy in his Sopwith Camel. The Red Baron then makes an appearance and they go 'round and 'round. Santa arrives in his sleigh with a special twist. If you shoot and damage Santa's sleigh, YOU get the damage since you're now on the "Naughty List." This is always fun.

Ralph loaned us his "official" fly-over maps which added to the look of the game.

A bit further back - this shows that two battle mats were used so we could cover a whole table.

In her first outing, my daughter's friend Nia took to the air.
I don't know if she was victorious or not.

My daughter Katie uses the firing template to take a shot at Santa.
(Don't do it! It's too close to Christmas!)

All sort of aerial action.

The second game set up was a pulp fiction game (having nothing to do with the movie of the same name.) Here the Krampus and his associates have kidnapped Santa at the North Pole in order to destroy Christmas. The horror! A number of teams of adventurers responded to the call to help and rushed to the North Pole to free Kris Kringle and his work force. (Including Bernard the head elf, a few elves, Chris-moose [it is Canada after all], Chris-mouse [die Weihnachtsmaus who is to blame for anything and everything that might go wrong at Christmas], and Dominic the Christmas Donkey.)

The adventurer teams included:
                     Martin's Anti-Cthulhu academic and his soldier followers
                     Katie's SSR lead by Agent Peggy Carter
                     Nia's Star Wars crew
                     Kevin's team starring The Shadow
                     Bear's Sci-fi Highlanders
                     Derek's US Rocket Corps
                     The RCMP led by a new-comer whose name I never really got.
Opposing them;
                     Beth's Krampus with Chicago-style gangsters
                     Mark's team of 1920's brown-shirt stormtroopes led by Ebeneezer Scrooge
                     Matt's team of white-armoured stormtroopes led by the Grinch
The board was loaded with surprises. We used a variant of the 5-Core pulp adventure rules and they worked pretty well. Kevin knew the rules quite well and I relied on him to interpret many of the points of order. I recommend these rules and 5-Core has rules for just about every time period. (Five Men At Kursk, Five Men At Normandy, Chevauchee, On Samhain's Eve [fantasy skirmish})

I brought out my ancient and beloved castle model. Originally Rich was going to lend us his Wild West
Town houses, but the weather kept on his snow clearance job. His wife and daughters did come and they
helped captain at least one group.

Yes, it IS the North Pole.

Martin,, Katie, and Nia look something up on Katie's phone.

The game in progress with Nessie in play attacking the Anti-Cthulhu squad.

Bear's Sci-Fi Highlanders approach the Mystic Stone Circle with its stand of palm trees.
(Everything doesn't have to make sense, y'know.)

Kevin's Shadow team including Margo Lane, Moe Schrebnitz, The Thug, the Waiter, and the useless Physicist
move on after having chased away the Hippo You Want for Christmas.
The playing cards indicated the movement order. I had a deck and shuffled it each turn.

The US Rocket Corps look on as the Anti-Cthulhu team faces Nessie, the T-Rex
hidden in the mystical snows outside of Santa's castle.
Small coloured and numbered blocks indicate an encounter with the unknown
when the team came within 4 inches of the block.

Peggy Carter and Dum-Dum Dugan move toward the castle roadblock once
R2D2 roused them from unconsciousness and a stun that resulted from Mark
dropping grenades from the tower above them.

The Anti-Cthulhu squad took down Nessie with well place Lee-Enfield fire.

The Highlanders encountered the Toyland Fencibles and were troubled by the four-armed
ape who the Highlanders had chased off. They also discovered a hidden Zeppelin and used
it to get over the castle walls.

The US Rocket Corps successfully flew over the wall (whenever they flew, there was a chance
they'd blow up in mid-air) and skulk around trying to find the place where Santa was hidden.

Surprise! The Krampus' robot companion/bodyguard, Big Bob BSR faces down the Shadow.
Big Bob was immune to the Shadow's mysterious laugh, but not the Shadow's twin 45's.
That is, once the Shadow recovered from the surprise.
Oh, BSR means "Big Stompy Robot."

Peggy and Dum-Dum entered the castle and turned their Tommy Guns on Big Bob,

The RCMP led by Sgt. Preston and his dog King moved to the last encounter marker
and met with Dr. Who and his TARDIS who agreed to deliver them anywhere on
the board. They piled in and piled out to attack Big Bob.
The Commissioner - a beaver in uniform - wasn't really there.

A different view of the RCMP and their TARDIS ride.

Big Bob collapses under the fire of the SSR, the Shadow, and the Anti-Cthutlu squad.

The group between moves.

I know your favourite character is Nessie, so here's another view of the T-Rex
as he dukes it out with the Anti-Cthulhu squad.

Earlier in the game, the four-armed ape attacks the Sci-Fi Highlanders and the
Toyland Fencibles. Anything can happen in this sort of game.

In the end, time ran out before the adventurers could get Santa and his guys off the board although with one more turn of the cards, Santa would've been freed. As it was, the Star War's Crew did free Chris-moose, Chris-mouse, and Dominic the Donkey.

That was the bulk of the adventures this past weekend. A good way to prepare ourselves for the Christmas holiday. The library closes early on the next two Saturdays for Christmas and New Year's. If time permits, I may get some gaming and some blogging in.

I hope all you who take time to read this have an enjoyable Christmas and New Year holiday.

Christmas party at the library

Yesterday the Hamilton Road Games Group held it's annual pre-Christmas party at the Crouch Branch library in London, ON. Traditionally (meaning we've done it for more than 2-3 years), we play a game of Wings of War, a WWI aircraft game with miniatures. We add Snoopy on his doghouse as well as Santa's sleigh to the game for a seasonal feel. We added a game of Where Heroes Dare, a Pulp Era small group game from Iron Ivan. It was a variation of what was done last year.

Martin, Katie, myself, Kevin, and few of the local kids who come to the library prepare for the game.
Since we also bring cookies, hot chocolate, cupcakes, and other goodies, it gets to be a popular place.

Snoopy, the Red Baron, and Eddie Richenbacher take a go-round in the air.
I "flew" the Baron's plane and was the first to be destroyed by an in-air explosion.
The first player downed comes back in as Santa in the sleigh.

The Snoopy miniature counts as a Sopwith Camel and is a home-make paper model based on a down-loaded one.

More planes in a swirling dog fight. Katie liked the pusher.

Can't you just hear it? "I'll get you, Red Baron!"

The sleigh enters the fray although we broke for lunch soon after.
Kevin and Martin and one or two others when to the laundromat across the street for pulled pork sandwiches.
Yes, you read that correctly.

The Where Heroes Dare game was almost the same as last year's: Santa and the elves have been captured by the Krampus and the Grinch and their muscle - some gangsters and some Stormtroopers, both the Imperial/Star Wars and the Freikorps/trench raider varieties. A number of teams of heroes are tasked with freeing Santa and saving Christmas. As games master, I took the Krampus and hid the hostages in various places on the board.

Here were the other teams:

• Bear captained the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
• My son, Rob was Sherlock Holmes and Scotland Yards finest
• My daughter, Katie led the adventurers from the music of Steam Powered Giraffe, her favourite band.
• One of the local girls handled the Shadow ("The weed of crime bears bitter fruit!") and his team with Kevin's help
• Martin upheld the tradition of the Force and had Sergeant Preston and a team of the RCMP with warrants to arrest EVERYBODY!
• My wife, Beth fielded a fearsome patrol of the Toyland Fencible Infantry, teddybears all.

The Shadow and his team including Moe Schrebnitz, Margo Lane, the Physicist, the Waiter, and a street tough.

The Steam Powered Giraffe team - Professor Walter, Bunny, Captain Albert Alexander, Rex Marksley, and Lily who flew a mean aeroplane... until Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard damaged her engine with his two pistols.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Alan Quartermain, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jeckyl/Mr. Hyde (that the Hulk-ish guy in the centre. It takes a turn to change.), Mina Harker, and the Invisible Man (the empty base in him being invisible.)

The Toyland Fencibles at the advance! Bravely led by Captain Edward "Pooh" Gund-Steiff (seen here on his trusty steed)
and First Lieutenant Teddy von Tedenberger, the entire rescue force was named "Ted." My wife painted the majority of these figs; I will admit to doing the flags.

Sergeant Preston and King with their stalwart Mounted Police. "The Commissioner" (lower right) joined them but had no real part in the adventure.

Santa, chief Elf Bernard, Dominic the Christmas Donkey, Chris or die Weihnachtsmaus, the hippopotamus everybody wants for Christmas, Christmoose, and a few elves who look like aliens. (Why not?)
Die Weihnachtsmaus is the fellow who is blamed for anything that goes wrong at Christmas time - a handy German custom!
("Who ate the cookies and got into the gingerbread?" "Don't look at me! It was Die Weihnachtsmaus, of course!")

The Toyland Fencibles with their field music.

Sherlock Holmes, Gladstone the bulldog, Dr. Watson, Inspector Lestrade, and a few PCs from the Yard.

The Krampus, the Grinch and his dog, Max, four mobsters, and seven stormtroopers made up the evil destroyers of Christmas cheer.

Rob and Kevin discuss what-ever as the teams take the table.

The North Pole village

Actually a rather inviting place, with surprises in many of the houses.

The League advances to confront the evil doers. Dr. Jekyll has not changed yet and the Invisible man still wears his over coat and hat - It IS the North Pole, you know!

Holmes and Watson deduced that Santa was in the big house. They made short work of the Grinch and his stormtroopers, who actually DID hit what they shot at, taking out 3 police constable and the Hippo everybody wants for Christmas. Our sturdy adventurers now had to hustle Santa off the table.

The Shadow and his team confront the great four-armed snow ape, which appeared as they entered the circle of standing stones. Was this the source of Santa's magic power? We may never know!

The Toyland Fencibles and the RCMP assault the house holding the Krampus and the elves. Beth's Fencibles dragged off the severely wounded Krampus to face justice in the Toyland courts, while Martin's RCMP detatchment arrested everyone else, even the dead mobsters. Martin got a little RCMP-OCD  and repeated he had warrants to arrest the entire table.
The teddybears ignored him.

Lily flew a strafing mission over the great four-armed snow ape and really hurt him. Between this, the Shadow's automatics and Sergeant Preston's amazing sniping, the ape was taken down.

How did the RCMP get into the Krampus' house? Well, they met a friendly Time Lord who agreed to use his TARDIS to bring them all into that building. I think Martin tried to arrest the Doctor, but you can guess how that worked out.

The League overwhelms a Russian mobster who was on sentry duty with his PpSH SMG.

A big-time overview of the action.

Lily attempted to stop Scotland Yard and the Baker Street team from spiriting Santa away. All she got as a damaged engine for her trouble.

The Toyland Fencibles advancing into the village. A lone Freikorp stormtrooper is surprised by the bears' quick action.

The Grinch and his stormtroopers (Imperial and Freikorps) open fire on the Baker Street team. The constables and the hippo everybody wants for Christmas took the brunt of it. Holmes, Gladstone, and Watson took the stormtroopers down in hand-to-hand combat while Lestrade took out the Grinch with his two Webleys.

The Shadow and his team free Dominic the Christmas Donkey.

The League heads off with Santa's bag of toys as their victory swag.

Each team captured something of great value to the Christmas legends, like Santa's toys, the Christmas Donkey, the Krampus' remains, or Santa himself. If there WERE a winner, Rob would be close since he actually got Santa and die Weihnachtsmaus off the table where they could be picked up by airship or some-such vehicle. It was all for fun anyway.

My thanks to all the Hamilton Road Games Group members for playing along in both games, to Iron Ivan Games for letting me mess with their fine set of rules for pulp adventure games, to Steam Powered Giraffe for allowing my daughter to set up a team in their honour. (I hear they're great gamers themselves.)

Merry Christmas - however you celebrate it - and Happy New Year to all the readers!

"And I heard him exclaim ere he flew out of sight 'Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night!' "