Well,
It is that time of year again and it is time to look back at what was and how I did on the gaming front. So without further ado here what I wanted to do met up with how I actually did.
Terrain
Well I had grand plans to do some cool looking terrain for a couple of projects,
WW2, Old West and a Caribbean town for Pirates. Well, this was an epic fail! Now I did help my buddy Robert work on some roads for WW 2 games and I did paint up two buildings for GitD and Pulp games, but other than that was it.
Games
First off I wanted to get Legends of the Old West back on the table this year, and once again this was an epic fail. Besides talking about playing, that is about as far as we got. A few friends did buy a couple of buildings, but nothing else happened. In fact my son and I were just talking about it how we both failed on this. Also I wanted to do a LotOW day, but that did not happen either.
One success has been Bolt Action from Warlord, I got the game in September and have gotten in 4 games, one of them today (I lost!) and this looks like the game for 2013, but more on that later.
Flames of War stayed on the table and Robert and I got in a ton of games as well as I played in my first Flames of War tournament. In fact I think FoW was the most played game for 2012. I completed my third army (American Infantry) and feel pretty comfortable with the game.
As some know, Last February saw the last Gathering in the Desert for Lord of the Rings. After 5 years of running this event I decided to hang up my hat of organizer for LotR. Some were sad to see it go away, others said it was time. There has been talk of running something else, but we will see.
Lord of the Rings went cold for me this year, after GitD, I was spent and disliked where GW was taking the game. Most recently GW released the Hobbit game, a revamp of the LotR game. But due to the crazy pricing, I can not justify spending the money on the game anymore, in fact GW has become way overpriced and I am done with them, on to better things.
I also wanted to get Empire of the Dead to the table, did get in two games of it, but that is about as far as that got. Did get a few Werewolves painted and a few henchmen built, but than it got put on a shelf and that was that. I had plans to Demo the game at our local convention in February but the convention has been canceled, so no big demo for Empire of the Dead for now.
Lastly my buddy Mike and I had ideas of grandeur of doing a Blood Bowl tournament. I started the year with a Blood Bowl day on new Years day and it was a hit, hence the idea for a BB tournament. Well, do to some local issues with BB players, this idea sort of petered out. So fail on this.
Blog Stuff
Well I got an online award for the blog, I was nominated 3 times for the Liebster Award! This award was given to me as a way to bring attention to smaller followed blogs and it is nice to get a nod from peers on what I am doing.
So there you go, now lets look at the plans for 2013...
Well with my divorcing of GW, I have found a new game company that seems to be hitting it out of the park with their games.
Bolt Action will be getting a ton of play since it is now my favorite WW2 28mm. I will be doing a challenge with three other buddies starting on New Years day so stay tuned for that. I also plan on working on terrain to go along with the WW2 gaming.
A Black Powder American Civil War game that Robert got to the table this year has got me committed to building a brigade of Confederates for another game.
There has been talk of doing Hail Caesar games and since I have a Mongol army and a viking army just sitting, this could become reality rather soon. Seeing how Bolt Action and Black Powder are great games, I am sure HC will be as well.
I am looking at still doing some Old West and the inspiration is coming from a PS3 game, Red Dead Redemption. I got this video game for Christmas and it is giving me the itch to do some old west gaming. I am going to be play testing a friends Old West game so this will be perfect for this year.
Flames of War will be back this year since just today my buddy Robert just got a cool scenic piece that looks like Anzio. So perhaps we will get our act together and finally play a campaign using the FoW rules. Regardless we will be getting back to 15mm WW2.
So that just about does it for 2013, I am going to keep the list short and sweet and we will see how it shakes out for the new year. Robert and I have a saying, once we write it down on our blogs, it usually dose not happen, so I am trying something new this year, short and sweet. Happy New Year folks, see you in 2013...
TK
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Hunting Tanks we are...
So,
Today my buddy Robert and I threw down another Bolt Action game, this being the 4th game for me and Roberts 5th game. Robert wanted to try something a tad bit different today and I was all game for it. He wanted to try out a all tank army against a more balanced list as written in the book. I know, I know, some of you are thinking, "You can't take all tanks! It's not in the rules!" Well, Robert and I love trying out new ways to play games and Heh, this is our game! Oh and we also took about 1100 points to boot, I know crazy huh?
So here is Roberts force below:
4 Sherman's
1 M10
I can't remember which Sherman's he took and I am sure he will chime in when he see's this post.
My force is as follows:
Veteran 1st Lieutenant with two attendants all armed with SMGs
Squad 1 - Regular 10 man unit with NCO with SMG and a light MG, also equipped with tank grenades.
Squad 2 - Regular 10 man unit with NCO with SMG and a light MG, also equipped with tank grenades.
Squad 3 - Regular 10 man unit with NCO with SMG and a light MG, also equipped with tank grenades.
Squad 4 - Veteran 10 man unit with NCO with SMG and a light MG, also equipped with tank grenades.
All Infantry squads are Tank Hunters
2 Regular MMG's
1 Regular PaK 38
1 Regular Panzer IV
Total cost 1128 Oh and I forgot to take pictures of my force!
We played scenario 3 Point Defence and we agreed that Robert would be the attacker while I played defender. Below you can see how I deployed, most troops being Hidden as per the scenario rules. the Veterans and the 1st Lieutenant were deployed in the buildings yard in the center.
This scenario uses 3 objective markers which were deployed 6" in from the edges and one in the center of the board. Here is a MMG team covering one objective wondering how they will stop a tank!
My Panzer IV deployed on the road awaiting the Americans!
And my Pak38 hidden in the wheat fields with another squad of Tank Hunters lying in wait.
Robert opened up with a Preparatory Bombardment and the best he got was 2 pin markers on a few units, while most only got 1 pin marker. So Turn one started with me having to rally most of the units which I was successful with.
Robert got his tanks to come on his left flank and slowly moved towards my line.
And he push forward on the right flank with the other two tanks, he kept the M10 in reserve. Once both tanks advanced on the right they took their shots at my Panzer IV, but both failed to damage it but caused me two pin markers and also caused me back up!
Turn two started with Robert pushing his tanks on the left closer towards my line. Meanwhile I kept most of my troops hidden not wanting to reveal them just yet. He took aim at my Veterans that moved into the farmhouse and one unlucky veteran was killed by MG fire from the tanks.
On the right the other tanks started to push up and close in. My squad in the wheat field advanced to the hedge line while the Pak 38 took a shot at tanks that revealed themselves on the right, but the gunners missed. Also my Panzer IV took a shot at the approaching tanks but failed to cause any damage, they must still have been shook up from rounds taken earlier.
Turn 3 started with my PaK 38 taking another shot at the Sherman's on the right, but once again they missed, the Panzer IV took another couple of shots from the Tanks approaching on the left, but now the US gunners could not hit anything.
So Feeling lucky, the German tank crew took aim at one of the Sherman's and scored a hit causing it to be knocked out
The Veterans that had moved into the farmhouse decided to move out and head towards the woods next to the Sherman's to get into a better position to attack the Sherman's. While heading towards the woods one Sherman opened up with it's MG's and they manged to kill 4 more Vets, which was not enough to cause them to test. meanwhile the 1st Lieutenant moved up to assist with his Leadership for the Vets in the next turn.
My regular unit decided to head towards the two approaching Sherman's that were concentrating on the Vets, while my MMG on the Left went into Ambush awaiting the M10 that was sure to appear.
Turn 4 started with the veterans in striking position to spring their trap but the M10than decided to enter on my left side.
Good thing my MMG team was on Ambush because it opened up on the M10 and got lucky to cause a Pin marker. This worked out for me since the M10 crew decided to open up on my regular troops coming out of the woods, but their aim was off and no hits were scored.
the next order dice came up German, so the Veterans sprang their attack and since they were Tank Hunters with grenades they caused damage to the Sherman and caused it to catch fire. The crew had enough and lost their nerve and broke and ran.
Seeing that the Veterans did a great job, the PaK 38 trained it's sites on the M10. It was a long shot, so they took it and scored a hit on the M10 causing it to become knocked out.
With three tanks out of four being either knocked out or on fire, Robert called the game giving me my first win in Bolt Action! The Germans had fought off the American armored attack and they would live to fight another day.
So after was all said and done Robert and I sat down to discuss the game and we both came to the same thing. Unsupported armor in this game had the same troubles that real tank commanders in war have now, it is tough! What we also understood was that this was a very unique game with specific army lists. First off, Robert took all tanks and was the attacker, secondly I took all tank grenades giving my troops the Tank Hunter ability. So with that this was not like most games and I would have to say that I had a huge advantage in this fight, but I could have seen this going the other way for me as well. Robert dice rolls were terrible and I was glad that the dice Gods were on my side this time.
Well to sum things up, I know that the standard Bolt Action game is balanced for play, but both Robert and I both agree that this was yet again another great game and we will be playing this in the up coming year. Now I must get working on my Pim Markers and the rules for our little Tale of Three paint challenge.
TK
Today my buddy Robert and I threw down another Bolt Action game, this being the 4th game for me and Roberts 5th game. Robert wanted to try something a tad bit different today and I was all game for it. He wanted to try out a all tank army against a more balanced list as written in the book. I know, I know, some of you are thinking, "You can't take all tanks! It's not in the rules!" Well, Robert and I love trying out new ways to play games and Heh, this is our game! Oh and we also took about 1100 points to boot, I know crazy huh?
So here is Roberts force below:
4 Sherman's
1 M10
I can't remember which Sherman's he took and I am sure he will chime in when he see's this post.
Veteran 1st Lieutenant with two attendants all armed with SMGs
Squad 1 - Regular 10 man unit with NCO with SMG and a light MG, also equipped with tank grenades.
Squad 2 - Regular 10 man unit with NCO with SMG and a light MG, also equipped with tank grenades.
Squad 3 - Regular 10 man unit with NCO with SMG and a light MG, also equipped with tank grenades.
Squad 4 - Veteran 10 man unit with NCO with SMG and a light MG, also equipped with tank grenades.
All Infantry squads are Tank Hunters
2 Regular MMG's
1 Regular PaK 38
1 Regular Panzer IV
Total cost 1128 Oh and I forgot to take pictures of my force!
We played scenario 3 Point Defence and we agreed that Robert would be the attacker while I played defender. Below you can see how I deployed, most troops being Hidden as per the scenario rules. the Veterans and the 1st Lieutenant were deployed in the buildings yard in the center.
This scenario uses 3 objective markers which were deployed 6" in from the edges and one in the center of the board. Here is a MMG team covering one objective wondering how they will stop a tank!
My Panzer IV deployed on the road awaiting the Americans!
And my Pak38 hidden in the wheat fields with another squad of Tank Hunters lying in wait.
Robert got his tanks to come on his left flank and slowly moved towards my line.
On the right the other tanks started to push up and close in. My squad in the wheat field advanced to the hedge line while the Pak 38 took a shot at tanks that revealed themselves on the right, but the gunners missed. Also my Panzer IV took a shot at the approaching tanks but failed to cause any damage, they must still have been shook up from rounds taken earlier.
Turn 3 started with my PaK 38 taking another shot at the Sherman's on the right, but once again they missed, the Panzer IV took another couple of shots from the Tanks approaching on the left, but now the US gunners could not hit anything.
So Feeling lucky, the German tank crew took aim at one of the Sherman's and scored a hit causing it to be knocked out
The Veterans that had moved into the farmhouse decided to move out and head towards the woods next to the Sherman's to get into a better position to attack the Sherman's. While heading towards the woods one Sherman opened up with it's MG's and they manged to kill 4 more Vets, which was not enough to cause them to test. meanwhile the 1st Lieutenant moved up to assist with his Leadership for the Vets in the next turn.
My regular unit decided to head towards the two approaching Sherman's that were concentrating on the Vets, while my MMG on the Left went into Ambush awaiting the M10 that was sure to appear.
Turn 4 started with the veterans in striking position to spring their trap but the M10than decided to enter on my left side.
Good thing my MMG team was on Ambush because it opened up on the M10 and got lucky to cause a Pin marker. This worked out for me since the M10 crew decided to open up on my regular troops coming out of the woods, but their aim was off and no hits were scored.
the next order dice came up German, so the Veterans sprang their attack and since they were Tank Hunters with grenades they caused damage to the Sherman and caused it to catch fire. The crew had enough and lost their nerve and broke and ran.
Seeing that the Veterans did a great job, the PaK 38 trained it's sites on the M10. It was a long shot, so they took it and scored a hit on the M10 causing it to become knocked out.
With three tanks out of four being either knocked out or on fire, Robert called the game giving me my first win in Bolt Action! The Germans had fought off the American armored attack and they would live to fight another day.
So after was all said and done Robert and I sat down to discuss the game and we both came to the same thing. Unsupported armor in this game had the same troubles that real tank commanders in war have now, it is tough! What we also understood was that this was a very unique game with specific army lists. First off, Robert took all tanks and was the attacker, secondly I took all tank grenades giving my troops the Tank Hunter ability. So with that this was not like most games and I would have to say that I had a huge advantage in this fight, but I could have seen this going the other way for me as well. Robert dice rolls were terrible and I was glad that the dice Gods were on my side this time.
Well to sum things up, I know that the standard Bolt Action game is balanced for play, but both Robert and I both agree that this was yet again another great game and we will be playing this in the up coming year. Now I must get working on my Pim Markers and the rules for our little Tale of Three paint challenge.
TK
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Germans vs American Bolt Action!
So,
This past weekend Robert and I got together to play some Bolt Action up at Imperial Outpost games. We decided to play 1000 points and try out the Top Secret scenario. We set up a pretty generic table as seen below.
For those that do not know the scenario, both side start off of the table and you place an objective marker in the center of the table. Then both sides are basically racing to reach the objective and then carry it off the table very much like the Seize the Prize or Bilbo's Treasure scenario for LotR. Here is the objective placed in the center of the table.
Well Roberts side of the table was pretty wide open, while mine had only a few lanes of clear open ground, the fields were considered rough ground. So saying that Robert advanced his Americans as fast as he could towards the goal and by turn 2 he was along the hedge line. Meanwhile I was stuck crossing the wheat fields in the center. To make matters worse Robert decided to call down an artillery strike in the middle of the board which made it really tough for me.
Once Robert had taken up position along the hedge he started to hook around to take the objective by turn three.
I started to send my tank after his M10, but got caught wide open as I crossed over a fence and soon my Panzer IV was a smoking wreak.
I tried to rush the objective with two squads, but I got caught by the Americans and the two squads soon went away in hand to hand combat.
The start of turn 4 saw things go bad for me, I was starting to take loss' and Robert was quickly heading for his side of the table with the objective. Unfortunately I was not able to stop him and by the end of the turn I was in bad shape. I only had a few units left.
Turn 5 & 6 saw Robert heading for his side and by the end of turn 6 Robert was only 4" away from leaving the board.
The Top Secret scenario can go one more turn and you roll a D6, if you roll 4+ the game goes one more turn. As luck would have it, he rolled a 5 and the game continued. Now it was down to who got the next order and Robert drew one of his dice for orders and moved off the table for the win!
All in all this was a great game and Robert and I are very excited about playing more games in the near future. In fact we are planning on doing a few Crete games in the near future. So stay tuned for more Bolt Action games...
TK
This past weekend Robert and I got together to play some Bolt Action up at Imperial Outpost games. We decided to play 1000 points and try out the Top Secret scenario. We set up a pretty generic table as seen below.
For those that do not know the scenario, both side start off of the table and you place an objective marker in the center of the table. Then both sides are basically racing to reach the objective and then carry it off the table very much like the Seize the Prize or Bilbo's Treasure scenario for LotR. Here is the objective placed in the center of the table.
Well Roberts side of the table was pretty wide open, while mine had only a few lanes of clear open ground, the fields were considered rough ground. So saying that Robert advanced his Americans as fast as he could towards the goal and by turn 2 he was along the hedge line. Meanwhile I was stuck crossing the wheat fields in the center. To make matters worse Robert decided to call down an artillery strike in the middle of the board which made it really tough for me.
I tried to rush the objective with two squads, but I got caught by the Americans and the two squads soon went away in hand to hand combat.
The start of turn 4 saw things go bad for me, I was starting to take loss' and Robert was quickly heading for his side of the table with the objective. Unfortunately I was not able to stop him and by the end of the turn I was in bad shape. I only had a few units left.
Turn 5 & 6 saw Robert heading for his side and by the end of turn 6 Robert was only 4" away from leaving the board.
The Top Secret scenario can go one more turn and you roll a D6, if you roll 4+ the game goes one more turn. As luck would have it, he rolled a 5 and the game continued. Now it was down to who got the next order and Robert drew one of his dice for orders and moved off the table for the win!
All in all this was a great game and Robert and I are very excited about playing more games in the near future. In fact we are planning on doing a few Crete games in the near future. So stay tuned for more Bolt Action games...
TK
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Black Powder Hits the Table!
So,
Today, Robert, Tom O, Joe and myself threw down a game of American Civil War using Warlords Black Powder rules. This game has been in the works for well over a year now and I have to say it was well worth the wait. We met up at Imperial Outpost and set up a 8' x 8' table and did a very generic looking table.
Robert and I took command of the Union troops, while Tom and Joe took the Confederates. The Rebels were to hold the bridge in the middle of the board, while the Union was trying to take the bridge themselves.
For the life of me, I can not remember which units were represented on the board, but we each had about four units plus a gun. I will leave the more formal descriptions to Robert when he posts up his battle report. So for now, here are some pictures that I took while playing the game.
So we played for about 2 hours and had a blast! I really like how the game played out and looked on the table. Everyone that stopped by enjoyed the way the game looked and we had a lot of complements, the best one coming from a 8 year old girl who said, "That's Cool"!
Needless to say, I am already planning to start building a few American War of Independence armies for my own big game. Hell I am even thinking of building a Napoleonic army as well, we also talked about using the Black Powder rules for some early WW1 games! So in a nutshell, I really really liked the game and will be spending my money to build armies for this game.
So long Games Workshop, I'm off to bigger and better things!
TK
Today, Robert, Tom O, Joe and myself threw down a game of American Civil War using Warlords Black Powder rules. This game has been in the works for well over a year now and I have to say it was well worth the wait. We met up at Imperial Outpost and set up a 8' x 8' table and did a very generic looking table.
For the life of me, I can not remember which units were represented on the board, but we each had about four units plus a gun. I will leave the more formal descriptions to Robert when he posts up his battle report. So for now, here are some pictures that I took while playing the game.
So we played for about 2 hours and had a blast! I really like how the game played out and looked on the table. Everyone that stopped by enjoyed the way the game looked and we had a lot of complements, the best one coming from a 8 year old girl who said, "That's Cool"!
Needless to say, I am already planning to start building a few American War of Independence armies for my own big game. Hell I am even thinking of building a Napoleonic army as well, we also talked about using the Black Powder rules for some early WW1 games! So in a nutshell, I really really liked the game and will be spending my money to build armies for this game.
So long Games Workshop, I'm off to bigger and better things!
TK