Yet another WIP map

 

 Based off an old 1970's boardgame.

Up to eight starting positions. The actual game had max of 6 players with independent roving hordes filling in any gaps.

 

 

Sample map [WIP]

 So, not mighty empires, more inspired by Fantastic Battles.

So very much a work in progress. It would be a point to point movement system. Each point could have a specific battlefield, or narrow type of battlefield. It would offer choices to players of where they might want to fight a battle. Possible option would be to allow players to try and open up new paths that currently do not exist. High degree of risk but payoff might be worth it.

So far it is just a rough draft, no real thought has gone into it yet, and I have not assessed how good or bad the routes available might be. Tentative capitals have red names, topographical location/places of interest have a different banner.

Anyways thoughts and ideas appreciated.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

 

 Hope it is a good time for all!

 

Campaign time?

 

So given that we have not managed to get together to play a one off game why don't we try to get a campaign going!?!

Yeah, I know,  it sounds kind of crazy.😵

Any thoughts on this? I propose that we start playing in the new year, but that we start planning now!

I am open to suggestions on what to play. Some possible choices:

• Pulp Alley create a new campaign 
• Pulp Alley replay one we have played before
• Pulp Alley a mash up of previous campaigns to create a new one
• Pulp Alley, as above, but add in scenarios from the scenario book 
  
• Fantastic Battles using their system
• Fantastic Battles using modified Mighty Empires or some other system
• Pyrrhic war (Little Wars TV)  style campaign but with fantasy armies
• Battle fleet Gothic
  
• Warhammer using modified Mighty Empires
  
• Warhammer campaign using a mini campaign like Circle of blood
• Back of Beyond (I would need to paint stuff but the motivation would be good)
• Oathmark campaign either with their rules or Warhammer/Fantastic Battles
• Congo
• Chaos in Carpathia 
• Super hero
  
• Silver Bayonets (working on those figures)
• Or something else that you think would work for the group.

Best that it be simple rules that more than one of us has played (or that are so simple it would not be a challenge to introduce them) Based on attendance history it would be better if the campaign can be played even when some players cannot attend. I would prefer that we do not have the campaign grind to a halt due to the absence of one or two players. Pulp Alley worked well in that who ever showed up played and were not hampered by any absence players. 

I do not think we will see much game playing in December, but would be happy to be proven wrong. 

Next game day?

 So, what and when is it to be?

Suggestions?

Shall we return to Fantastic Battles, maybe WW2 such as Rapid Fire/Battle group/O Group?

What about Pulp Alley again, or maybe some other miniature game of even a board game?

Also, are Sundays still the best day or should we include Saturdays into the mix?

Comments welcome and needed.

Thank you

Another game day in the books

terminator Genisys was the game of the day. It was our first time trying the game and I think it went pretty well! The game saw 10 Terminators trying to control more territory than the 17 humans could. While the resistance soldiers got off to a strong start by the end of the game the robots had managed to inflict a lot of casualties, even if they were unable to hold any objectives. the game played well and lasted around 3 hours. 

After the game these was a good bull session amongst the three attendees, with one of them also using the time to also paint some figures, while I worked on some fields.

An after action report will be posted up on the main blog, soon.

Next game day TBD.

 

Next game day and update regarding Pulp Alley game from our last session

 Looks like next game day will be Sunday September 17th 18th.

So far I believe What a Tanker! is still on the list, as is Mare Nostrum (time permitting) I have been working on another game this week but I do not think I will have it ready in time. 

Also I have posted an AAR for our Pulp Alley game from August 21st. Click HERE to see the report.

Another fun game day thanks to all who attended!

So despite an interruption in the gaming day, we were able to tackle a few games today. The 'big' game saw us return to Pulp Alley after too long an absence. Two leagues of apes, one a scientific expedition, the other a gorilla general and his troops struggled over a ruined city landscape each trying to capture (or help) a lone astronaut (Brent) 

The game worked out to be very hard on each players gangs. The Chimpanzees lost their gorilla zoo keeper gang in a brawl that also resulted in their gorilla gang that they were fighting being eliminated. The other two gorilla gangs found disaster due to terrain & plot point perils. Ultimately it was a close match going right down to the end of turn six, but a well placed shot by the gorilla leader, along with a clever card play, saw Zira wounded forcing her to drop the plot point that she controlled. This left the gorilla leader as the only owner of a plot point and thus the winner!

While we were able to jog our collective memories about the rules and were able to play with only a few errors, it is kind of sad what simple rules defied or immediate recollection.

After Pulp Alley we tried out a board game called Mare Nostrum, an empire building game. It was good to finally take this one off the shelf and give it a whirl. Like all games there was a rules learning curve and lots to think about regarding strategic goals. The game itself is actually quite simple, rules wise, but presents a lot of options for the path to victory with lots of replay potential. The turn sequence is quite intuitive and quick to pick up leaving players able to focus on their plans for conquest.

We rounded off the day with two quickie games, Tsuro and King of Tokyo. Both lightweight games but both entertaining.

Next time we will hopefully play a full game of Mare Nostrum and maybe What a Tanker. Still want to do more Fantastic Battles as well!

Next game date Sunday August 21th

 

Planet of the Apes Pulp Alley game. Beneath a blazing Betelgeuse like sun, ape leagues and human leagues battle to acquire a critical item that will aid them in the conquest of the planet! Who will escape with the mysterious item?

Followed by, maybe, a game of What a Tanker! This would be a chance to test out artillery and anti-tank weapons.  

If not What a Tanker, maybe a boardgame like...

See Y'all on Sunday!!

Fantastic Battles July 31st game day

Finally got together for our much delayed game day (my fault as it took longer to shake my cold than anticipated) 

The day consisted of one game, Fantastic Battles and general chit chat, good times . Three armies converged on the table top, 1500 points of Dwarfs vs Orcs and Undead with a combined total of 1500. It was good to play out the rules again, a few mistakes were made by us (nothing that would have impacted on the outcome) and we yet again were able to finish a big game in one day.

Full AAR can be found HERE

Next up we will return to Pulp Alley and also (by popular demand) to What a Tanker!

Date to be determined...

 

 

July 10th gameday and plans for the 17th

So three of us got together on the weekend to play a couple of game. It wa a truncated game day tarting at around 1:30 an extending into the early evening. 

 

First up we tested out The Walking Dead game by Mantic. Technically the game i to be played either solo or head to head, 1 v 1. Today was jut a run through to see how the game functioned, not so much a test of the proper way to play the game, more of an extension of the tutorial contained in the quick start guide. 

We started with two players and as our third member arrived we split up the forces so that we each controlled 1 character. The mechanics of the rules were fairly straightforward and despite our disregard for the proper turn sequence the game gave us a feel for the game. I plan to try and run the solitaire small forces version and will repot on it on the Rants & Ramblings blog.

Our second game was a boardgame, Conquest of planet Earth. This is a game that two of us have played fairly often, but was new to one of the players. The game can be played competitively or cooperatively, we chose the latter.  Our three alien races were: Vyborian Arbiters, The Fome Guild Mages and the Trun. So these three alien races had to try and conquer circa 1950's Earth in 10 turns. Well the only race that had any real success was the Trun who were controlled by the player who had never played the game. He accounted for the majority of the fear points (victory points) and brought us closer to victory than the two veteran players have ever been. Alas as is typically our fate with this game the poor colonizing aliens were once again repelled by truth justice and the American way, in other words, the military industrial complex came through again!   

On Sunday July 17th we will hopefully get to try out another game of Fantastic Battles along with a Pulp Alley game, and maybe one other quick play miniature game TBD!

See you then!

Next game day(s)?

 Hi everyone!

So, it looks like two possible game days in the near future, Sunday July 10th and Sunday July 17th.

Sunday July 10th

This Sunday looks to start a little later than we have recently done so maybe 1pm-2pm start time. Possibilities for this day would include a boardgame, Pulp Alley miniatures or another game of Fantastic Battles,

Sunday July 17th

Hopefully back to our 'new' earlier start time of 11am. If that happens we could certainly try any number of games, including such things as Fantastic Battles (seeing a trend?), Pulp Alley, Chaos in Carpathia (on a mountain side) or explore another skirmish game like Fist full of lead. Open to suggestions.

See everyone soon!! 

Fantastic Battles AAR posted on Rants & Ramblings blog

 

Click HERE to be taken to the full AAR on this exciting game.

More games of this to come with more Warhammer armies converted over to the system! Hopefully very soon...

Here are some samples of some of the stats for unit used in the battle.

Wolf Chariot (Vehicle) Points 78 Resolve Move Melee Shoot Def 2×39 5 5 3 - 5+ 10 RES Unreliable -1 on MISHAP & IMPETUOUS rolls Fast +1 Move [included] Furious charge +2 MEL when charging – in addition to regular +1 charge modifier Expendable When scattered no ripple of RES loss & do not count towards triggering army defeat.

Wolf riders light (Irregular) Points 44 Resolve Move Melee Shoot Def 2×22 3 6 5 1/- 4+ 6 RES Unreliable -1 on MISHAP & IMPETUOUS rolls Mounted +1 RES, +2 MOV +1 MEL [included] Reckless -1 RES,+1 MOV & MEL [Included} Belligerent See cheat sheet

Possible leagues for PA of the Apes

 A sample list for the game, but only too  happy if someone else wants to create some leagues.

The figure breakdown is kind of fixed as I only have so many figures. Available groupings are:

• 2 male chimps, 1 female chimp and 1 five figure gorilla gang.
• 2 male gorillas, 3 five figure gorilla gangs
• 2 male orangutans, 1 gorilla, 1 gang of five gorillas 
• 3 humans and 3 gangs of five human figures
• 3 male astronauts and 1 female astronaut

I also have 6 mounted gorillas, 1 that would be a leader type while the other 5 could be a gang.

For now, here are three leagues for review. 

Pulp Alley of the Apes

 

Maybe for our next game? This was the board I made for the Analogue Painting Challenge. I am thinking maybe a quick one off Planet of the Apes game? I can certainly create some leagues, or those that want to can do the same, and we can have at it, maybe a four player game.

I still have room for another Fantastic Battles game and can certainly clear off the secondary table for some other game.

The big question will be when. So when can people get together again?

In the meantime some more teaser pictures.

Fantastic Battles Orc vs Goblin (preview of AAR)

 

Warhammer 6th edition, the clubs first game in far too long! (an AAR on the game)

 

Dwarves to deploy on the right, Greenskins on the left, the sticks show the deployment zones

So, it has been quite a while since we last played Warhammer but like riding a bike it all came back to us once we got started (the good and the bad) It was a classic match up Dwarf vs Greenskin. In this case the two Greenskin armies were aligned but not combined. Each was commanded by their own hero. One army was entirely made up of Orcs, while the other was all Goblin save for a single giant. At the start of the game the two Greenskin commanders fought a duel to see who would be the overall commander, the Orc chieftain was victorious knocking the Goblin leader even more senseless.

The armies were pretty basic, no lords only heroes and only 2nd level wizards for the Greenskins. The Dwarves had four leaders one of who was a Rune smith. No magic items or special banners, I figured we should just try a simple army battle with limited big hero intervention. The scenario was from one of the annuals, a three player variant, which also included some rules governing the selection of the war chief. 

The Dwarves defended the center of one long table edge while the attackers came in from the opposite side of the table, but from the corners, their center area was unoccupied. 

The Dwarves anchor their left flank to the old tower.

The Dwarven right flank terminates on the rocky outcrop.

The massed Goblin hoard

The Orc army

 

The opposing armies arrayed for action.

Everything was set up as per the instructions for the scenario, the forces were deployed, loins were girded and battle come down. The Greenskins were the attackers and tried to race forward to engage the stunties. However animosity did impact these plans. At first it had limited impact, round one went by smoothly. But, subsequent rounds, especially for the Orcs saw animosity create some serious traffic jams. For the Orcs the only truly successful units were the cavalry and the chariot. These two unit were able to attack the flank of the Dwarf army and in fact the cavalry were the only Orc unit to engage the Dwarves in melee. The Orcs did have plenty of success with their archers, driving back a Dwarven Thunderer unit, and the mage did become a nuisance too. 

By turn 3 the Orcs have contacted the Dwarven left flank

Meanwhile on the Dwarf right flank, the Goblins have leapt forward with their chariots and wolf riders in the van. They attempt to weaken the dwarf defenders with volleys from their rock lobber and doom glider. While the Goblins were remarkable adept at estimating the range, fate often intervened to weaken the actual impact. 

The dwarf crossbow men did inflict many casualties on the wolf rider but could not halt them and the chariots crashed into the Dwarfs inflict grievous damage. The canons seemed to be manned by drunks as they missed, a lot!

 

The Greybeards hold the far right of the Dwarf line take a lot of damage from the impact of the chariots
 

Crossbows and Greybeards were pushed back, but the rough cliff face slowed down any pursuit. Strong leadership kept them in the battle. The followup by the Wolfriders brought them into contact with the Iron Breakers while the second chariot slammed into the spear armed Dwarves..

 

Note the wolf chariot in the background fled into contact with the giant

 

 The spear Dwarves felt the impact of the chariot and 'fled' as only Dwarves can, very very slowly. Somehow, the chariot failed to overtake them in pursuit, must have been too much ground Dwarf gumming up the wheels.

The chariot was able to rally and prepared to attack once more.

The Orcs succeeded in their charge smashing through the clan troops. The threat caused the Dwarves to break up their battle line in an attempt to respond to the greater threat. The Orcs continued to suffer from traffic jams as a result of animosity and were also bothered by the persistent buzzing of the Dwarf gyrocopter. The copter focused it's attention on the Orc arrer boyz on the plain almost slaying the Orc wizard who was attached to the unit.

The rear areas of the Goblin army saw some action. The Dwarves had a ranger unit that had been hiding in the woods. This unit came out to threaten the rock lobber which forced the Goblin player to redirect a wolf cavalry unit to turn and attack the ambushing Dwarves. 

The battle did not go well for the Goblins. One rider was slain by throwing axes while seven more were hacked apart by the heavy two handed axes wielded by the rangers.

All that remained of the wolf boyz was, amazingly, able to rally!

 

By the way, you might wonder where the doom catapult is. Well it did not make it past the second turn! Unfortunately for the Goblins it suffered a critical and flipped over!

 

The game went well, but time was the greater enemy and we had to call it a day after turn 4. It was great to get together again and play a fun, simple game. It was nice to see three good size armies fight it out, but really the best thing was the chance to talk and joke and have some fun.

 

One note, not all who attended were caught up by the excitement, some just seemed to take a very relax view of the entire thing...