Babbage in the Crusades - First outing.

Games have been hard to come by of late.... but with festivities nearly upon us a well earned break and a chance to get some painting in and who knows perhaps some additional projects.... If I made the nice list :-)

I did manage to give the Babbage rules a run out and with the aid of the secret wargamers friend made a few slight revisions.

A follow on game with the Dust and Tears campaign which saw the remaining Crusaders looking to advance across the table defeating any Arab forces along the way. The Christians started in the right hand corner with the orange dots representing possible Arab forces. 

The skirmishers and light units moved forwards and triggered a number of Arab units giving the Christians a chance to order their lines ahead of any Arab assault.

Massed archery hopes to slow the Muslim advance and the hordes of light cavalry.

The Arab infantry faired no better from the Archers and Crossbows lightly armed spearmen held the line but were losing men at a rapid rate.

The Crusader Warriors came forward sensing a gap in the Arab line.

A clash in the centre of the table as the fanatic swordsmen met the Arab Spearmen.

As the Arabs fell back they were set upon by the elite Knights. Another defending unit wiped from the table.

The Christians were not having everything their own way, they were losing valuable troops, half the Knights were killed or wounded alongside a number of warriors. This would make the next encounter a challenge.

All in all not a bad first outing.

Skirmishers really prove there worth flushing out the various hot spots... The ability for Arab units to disappear and reappear on the flanks or ahead of the advancing Christian forces made it quite a challenge and force the Christians push against the known units to restrict the likelihood of them coming back elsewhere. The Christians need to think about sticking together as being out numbered and isolated will make the Arabs more aggressive.

More next year I am sure....

Thinking about the Christmas break - This was quite a shock - Dust, Tears & Dice: Dispatched from the Front XXXIV - Twixmas Projects

Two of the Arab cavalry units are still on the paint table - Can I get them done before New Years Day?

Best cancel all visitors :-)

Tactics II - A WW2 Desert Campaign.

Back in the height of lock down I had the idea to play this over zoom, it went back in the cupboard as we got back to normal. Every now and again I have opened the box and thought about turning it into a fully fledged table top game, but never had the volumes or variety of troops to cover all the units. 

Then chatting after the last club night I raised the idea of a campaign to link the games together, up until now we have linked the leaders in games, which is great for a big skirmish type affair but it does not give you that strategic feel, I mentioned Tactics II the 1950's classic and one bright spark suggest  it did not have to be western Europe - It could be a desert kingdom, so there you have it Vichy French and Axis Forces vs Commonwealth. Mixing in elements of Platoon Forward, Chain of Command and Bolt Action.

This could be a solo campaign or a mix of club night games to keep it flowing... Not sure right now but it should keep the brushes working... and give the figures a run out.

Tactics II is a real piece of board game history. It was first published in 1954 and whilst lacking the mechanics of more recent games it has a simplicity to it, with matches forces of Infantry, Armour and specialist units of Amphibious, Parachutists and Mountaineers. 

The board is squares with than hexes, Infantry units only have a rating of 1 point, with Armour a 2, it's a simple IGO - UGO with some variation for movement based on a simple weather chart. You cannot stack units so areas of control are important.

I thought I would tweak things a little, with each HQ holding a zone of command which can influence troops moving, so not all troops could be guaranteed actions and force players to protect HQ counters. Useful when adding in that solo map movement as plans can quickly fall apart. A HQ nearby would give you off board artillery in game, counters would only move if passing an order test, this would improve if close to the HQ's.

Every counter would carry a 1000 point value in Bolt Action and games, maps and opposing forces would be generated using Platoon Forward.

So on with the game.

The Commonwealth obtained the initiative and manage to activate a number of their forces more quickly to move forward although frustratingly one of the main forces in the centre failed to moved, which allowed the Axis forces in red to seize the small city in the centre of the board, although they had their own similar troubles with their main force also failing to activate, so were left with only a single counter to defend the river line.

On the right flank I opted for a swift advance seizing the port city of Karalaan before the axis troops could get a garrison inside. I also dropped parachutists behind the Axis troops to block any reinforcements getting to the city.

The forests on the map represent dense scrubland and rocky undulating terrain definitely not tank country. The rivers some a kin to the Nile, others Wadi's and the like.

Focusing on the centre whilst the Axis forces had managed to bring limited forces up to the river line, my Commonwealth troops outnumbered them 2-1 and had a HQ and Artillery in support. The 14th Infantry The Yorkshire Regiment are first to the fray,

Rolling on the mission chart a very limited scenario - a Patrol. The Terrain was classed as moderate as it contained a river. The randomly generated terrain below - The allied patrol will need to visit the Oasis, rocks, road and village..... Some where out there is a German patrol from the 2nd Mountain Division.

Whoever wins the game pushes the opposing counter back on the map.

Before we play that out, over in the mountainous west the Axis forces had reinforced the city but were facing my advancing Infantry down the coast road with Armoured forces picking there way though the narrow mountain passes. Now that does feel like Operation Exporter.

Not a bad way to spend an evening..... Now to put some toys on the table.

Rising Sun, Tumbling Bear #4 - Turn 3 The attack on Pyongyang.

After a 6 month hiatus we are back to the Russo-Japanese War....

With the successful defence of Cinampo the Japanese consolidate their position and set about fortifying the town Spending 3 of their 8 action points.

In the south Admiral Uryu heads to the home land to collect a further division for the campaign, I figured with land forces now in country and good progress being made in Korea a further landing in Manchuria would help the campaign.

General Oku marches north and captures Seoul without a fight, the city is filled with locals waving makeshift flags for the liberators.

Satisfied that Cinampo is well defended General Kuroki strikes north and heads for the strategically important city of Pyongyang, which is defended by Gen Glasko and 150 points of defenders.

Can the Japanese breach the defences???

General Oku 200 Points 

General Kuroki 210 Points 

Admrial Uryu 22 Fleet Points

Admiral Nabu 24 Fleet Points

Solo Wargaming Mechanisms - Part 2 - Kings of Bronze - Ancient Campaign.

Part 1 covered the placement of troops within the scenario, this section covers the gaming mechanics of units on the table, Covid19 has forced us all to think about solo gaming and there are a range of mechanics out there. But in my view none as good as Peter Gilders excellent Sands of the Sudan rules, they just needed a tweak and mixed with the Too Fat Lardies Infamy Infamy and Sharp Practice rules.

The original rules focused on British in the Sudan so the table below focuses on the Egyptians facing off against the Hittites.

The table below details the various units on the table when their chit comes out of the bag.

After rolling 2D6 the following actions are applied.

Huharmati with his state sponsored war band has been tasked with securing the high dunes over looking to route south. Having broken through the Egyptian lines, the Egyptian defenders come on in via various 1D6 entry points tasked with defending the objective.

The NYE come on in penny packets with a range of A,B & C's depending on the number of Infantry, light troops and Chariots in the force. Poor dice throwing meant that many of the forces were skirmishers or chariot runners or simply blanks. 

Surprisingly there was a total of 10 groups vs the Hittite's 9 and a high proportion of light troops, useful when they are meant to represent troops rushing to the scene to plug the gap, but not great at blunting an attack by formed troops.

Huharmati had a good run on the cards and managed to bring on his entire force before the tempus fugit card was drawn.

Huharmati riding in his heavy chariot lead his troops in a head long charge towards the high ground, the Egyptian forces were thinly spread and this was his chance.

The Egyptian commander entered the table and looked on from the far side of the table unable to move forward to aid of his forces near the dune. A 'C' on the reaction chart.

An Egyptian light chariot entered the fray driving back the Hittite chariot runners but was countered by the Hittite heavy chariots, with the Hittites throwing their heavy spears and the Egyptian loosing their arrows before closing to hand to hand. The light chariot was no match in combat, but got in a lucky blow wounding Huharmati,  they turned and fled but had worried the Hittites. 

The mass ranks of Hittite archers fire over the heads of the advancing chariots darkening the skies and peppering the Egyptian chariot runners who fell back. Meanwhile the Nubian's flanked the Hittites but were too few in number to cause them any concern. 

So far reaction mechanic's were holding up, units were charging forwards when out numbering their opposite number and taking a defensive stance, when no opponents could be seen or out numbered.

The rest of the Egyptian forces had been revealed but their random deployment meant that many were on the flanks and unable to cover the objective in the centre of the table.

Things were coming to a head in the centre of the table despite being wounded Huharmati seizes the objective as the Egyptian light forces are forced back.

The massed ranks of Hittite Infantry make slow progress across the table, the Egyptian Skirmish screen is unable to retake the dune, it was only held by the chariots at the moment. The Egyptian Infantry needed a break.

The break never came. The Hittite spearmen crested the dune, there was no coming back for the defenders and with only minimal casualties it was looking like a decisive first victory for the Hittite forces.

The last of the Egyptian defenders are driven backwards, the dune was secure. Time to call it a day.

CASUALTIES.

At the end of each battle, I need to test for those taken out of the fight. The Hittite had 4 casualties.

At the end of the game some of these men will be able to return to battle immediately, others may need rest to recover. Using the mechanism with Dawn and Departures. The Hittites compared their Force Morale with that of the Egyptian force, a difference of 2, this will give them two kills back.

The following dice ae need to be rolled for all battlefield kills - Flesh wound fight on. 5,6 - Rest up. 3,4 - Dead 1,2.

The Hittites suffered 2 Dead and 2 serious wounded - The force morale gave them 2 dead back so Huharmati was two men down for the next encounter as they recovered from their wounds. Huharmati prayed to the gods that he had been spared serious injury and readied his troops for the next encounter.

Solo Wargaming Mechanisms - Part 1 - Kings of Bronze - Ancient Campaign.

Back in March during lock down 1.0 I kicked off a WW2 campaign using Bolt Action and Platoon Forward, the excellent campaign management rules by Joe Legan.

Dust, Tears & Dice: Bolt Action Solo Play - Platoon Forward!

With the absence of face to face gaming, a new gaming space and Ancient Hittite and New Kingdom Egyptian Forces as yet untested time to put some plans together to get some solo gaming in. I am ashamed to say I can't be trusted to be fair to both sides so I needed to create a mechanism to generate encounters, terrain and battlefield reactions for the AI defenders within Infamy Infamy.

Joe's rules offer a range of scenario's tailored to modern gaming, but the principles work for any period, a scouting raid, exploiting a gap in the enemies defences or full blown battle.

Each scenario calls for the terrain to be set up in 9 blocks, some time ago I adapted the Too Fat Lardies - Dawn and Departures terrain rules for use in the desert, so followed a similar idea here.

In this case a small farm in the southern reaches of the empire heading south towards the lands of the Pharaoh, the table is sparse with a few patches of scrub and a high dune (which is to be the objective in this scenario).

I rolled the scenario which was 'Exploitation' - The Hittite commander has been ordered forward to exploit a recent skirmish, the Hittite forces are now several miles into Egyptian territory with orders to reach the high ground over looking the main track south.

The orders are clear now to decide on the forces are available.

Overseer Huharmati distant cousin to the King was called up to join the greatest military campaign ever seen in Hittite history, a campaign to free the kingdoms held under Egyptian control and the promise of untold wealth. The Hittite army was made up of numerous allies and contingents drawn from the far flung corners of the empire. The challenge for Huharmati was to rise above the other leaders.

Huharmati selects the following forces, which gives a balance of spearmen, archers and chariot runners to support his pride and joy the heavy chariots designed to punch through the enemy ranks.

9 Groups in total, split into Infantry, Chariots & light troops.

This core force is bolstered by the potential for additional support for the mission which is breakdown into a number of areas.

Chariots

Skirmishers/Chariot Runners

Close Assault - Elite Infantry

Archers - Spearmen

Big Man I

Big Man II

Big Man III

All of which have a probability ranging from Very Likely to Very unlikely.

Overseer Huharmati gained a BIg Man I, a further chariot and supporting runners.

Depending on your choices dictates the number of blinds you face on the table. These are split into three different classes A-C. Each scenario requires you to place them differently, perhaps on the most logical location or entering the table on specific locations.

I adapted these for Ancient play.

On to battle.

Huharmati  is tasked with seizing the high group on the far side of the table, he faces 12 blinds - 6 A's, 4 B's and 3 C's the Egyptians enter the table in penny packets on the table edge as they rush back to secure the high ground and close the gap through which the Hittites poured.

Overseer Huharmati and his forces must secure the high ground, to do so with minimal casualties will be a decisive victory.

Next up have added in the AI for unit and terrain generation, how are reactions of units handled on the table top.

Legends of the Water Margin #1 The Celestial Knights

Saturday afternoon and blimey everyone is out... perhaps the first time in months, so a chance to road test a couple of skirmish ideas and the first encounter in the Water Margin 'Zoom' Campaign.

Hu San Naing (3rd Sister) and Shih Chin (The Tattooed Dragon) with a group of banner man had set off on a mission to the temple of the half moon just outside of Siewku. Their mission to convince the guardians of the temple to join the heroes of the Water Margin.

Meanwhile attachment of militia had been ordered by Gao Qiu Governor of the region to order the knights to side with the government and supress the rebels.

I have been adapting the Too Fat Lardies Infamy Rules for Ancient China and adapted each 'hero' to be a unit and big man all in one unit, figures in a typical unit, become life points, and the close order rules become parry rules when fighting as individuals. The rebels have two heroes and a band of barbarians, whilst the government forces have a lesser hero and two half skirmish units and a missile unit and spear unit.

Both sides rush towards the shrine which is guarded by three Celestial Knights, if a character can contact a knight and roll under their force moral on 2D6 then the knight will join their party fighting as an Elite Unit with a Status II big man.

The bannermen rush forward with Hu San Naing skirting the wood whilst Shih Chin instils fervour in his followers. The three knight remain at the shrine of the half moon unmoved.

The rebels are first out, with Hu San Naing rushing across the bridge to contact the first knight. Meanwhile the governors troops took a more cautious route flanking the shrine and firing crossbow bolts and arrows into the bannermen.

Hu San Naing uses her womanly charms to convince the Red Knight to join the cause, while the militia close in on the knights defending the temple.

The Red Knight wastes no time in joining the fray and charges into the oncoming militia, driving them backwards with the volume of shock.

The leader of the militia being a low level hero had limited command choices and was forced to waste his flags on activating the small spear unit to stop Hu San Naing speaking to the Green Knight, whilst they inflicted a few points of shock, they were dispatched to man and the militia morale fell backwards.

Things were going badly for the government Shih Chin was over the bridge with his banner men, the Red Knight had chased of the spearmen and the Green Knight had come over to the rebels and set about attacking the captain of the guard.

In a last desperate attempt the skirmishers rushed to pour fire into the rebels but were driven off by the bannermen.

Left on his own the Captain and his standard stood their ground as the Green Knight charged home, by a miracle they defended all his blows and forced him backwards.

However the exhausted captain could not stop the Red Knight who charged in striking him several times, his morale gave way and he ran from the table.

A clear victory for the rebels and three new heroes have joined the outlaws of the marshes.

A fun solo encounter, as usual with Lardy rules the chits breakup the regimented approach to the turn sequence, turning big men into units seems to work ok and the defence rules creates a challenge to second guess your opponent, in this encounter I tossed a coin to decide if characters would carry out an all out attack or hold back half their dice to defend.

I might just have accidently ordered a few extra from Scotia Grendel to top up the hero count.

Kampfgruppe Stickler....

Being a child of the 80's it's surprising how much leaks through into my sense of what a game should feel like. I was a an avid reader of the likes of Warlord and Battle comics as a kid. One of my favourites was Kampfgruppe Falken. Major Heinz Falken leads a penal battalion on the Russian front looking to stem the Russian tide. 

Now that does sound familiar.

Here's a episode from July 1980 to get you in the mood for the next outing hitting the blog tomorrow....