Fantastic Battles upcoming game

 

So this weekend we will (hopefully) be playing another game of Fantastic battles, Orcs vs Dark Elves. The scenario is one of my own creation heavily inspired by a scenario in a wargame magazine. The original was a recreation of the Battle of Camlan. It had an interesting pre game sequence involving both sides in a mini Strategic stance showdown. Each side selects a strategy, Ambush, Cautious advance or bold charge. Once selected their choices would be crossed referenced and one side would be deemed to have out scouted their opponent or have tied each other. This end result dictates the deployment zones for the two armies.

In this case the bold charge has run into an ambush. The Orcs will deploy their army facing east while the Dark Elves will form up a blocking force to the east and an ambushing force to the north. The Orcs will deploy 75% of their force with the remainder arriving later in the game.

Their strategic stance choice also granted them a bonus army strategy and an objective. Hopefully this game will give me the chance to test out some new rules that I have been working on.

Battlefleet Gothic Campaign?

  

So, after one play of the game I have started thinking about a quick campaign of Battlefleet Gothic. This would be the planned campaign map of the Gethsemane sub-sector. This is right out of the rule book but quickly redrawn by me. 

The campaign would focus on a classic Imperial vs Chaos struggle with any other groups acting as lesser powers and or pirates. We would use the 'new' rules that can be found on the Battlefleet Gothic FB page. They are really just a clarification and somewhat updated version of the classic rules. 

Battlefleet Gothic, next game day Saturday August 2nd

 

The table has been set, the forces planned out, all is ready for our next game day!

All Quiet on the Martian Front - Return of the Tripods

 

Scooping up some civilians

American forces advance into the gap!

 

 

 

This weekend we gave Return of the Tripods a try, a reworking of All Quiet on the Martian Front rule set. It was a fun game. There were a few changes to the rules, some good, some bad. However for the two players that did not know the old rules, it seemed to flow fairly well.

This weekend Terminator Genisys!

 

So, since I am going to play this game at our outreach public gaming session in a couple of weekends I thought it would be nice to refresh my memory about how it is played. I have played it at least once, maybe back in 2022, so it is a refresher not a complete learning of the rules.

 

Way cool announcement from Wargames Atlantic

 This just in check out THIS link for an update in the business practice of Wargames Atlantic!

VSF Glorious Adventures in the Age of Steam FFOL game 2 for April 12th

 

Just working on the set up for the next game. This one will be less of a free for all more structured, perhaps... I am looking over scenarios to see if I can modify one for the game. At this point not certain how many players will be attending and there might be late arrivals. I am thinking about an escalating game so that late arrivals can still participate.

 So maybe a raid on a farmstead while at the same time there are some archeologists that need rescuing. This time around I am cutting down the army lists a bit, no artillery for starters and I think I will try to keep it down to the recommended 5 units per faction.

Glorious Adventures in the Age of Steam [Fist Full of Lead] April 5 2025

 

Some of the action form the game last Saturday. Three players to start then we lost one and gained one. It was quite the chaotic game with lots of figure removal! The rules were quick enough to pick up, just need to remember those stoke rolls when activating vehicles...

VSF table for this weekends game of Glorious Adventures in the Age of Steam (GAAS)

  

So, GAAS is a variant, of sorts, of the Fist Full of Lead games Bigger Battles. There are minor changes in the rules from Bigger Battles and a real focus on the VSF aspect.  I have set up a roughly 8' by just over 4' area and the game will see up to 6 different factions fighting it out.

Pulp Alley Global Adventure campaign

 

So, our next campaign will be a globe trotting series of adventures! I have been inspired by the boardgame Fortune and Glory by Flying Frog. I am making use of their map and some of their cards and rules as the campaign rules, while the scenarios will of course be Pulp Alley.

The following list covers some of the changes, amendments that will be in place for the campaign.

Hobby Day January 11 2025

 

Cutting boards and cutting machine should anyone need them

 So, we had our first Hobby Day of the new year, quite frankly the first hobby day in quite some time (maybe a few years?) We have another one scheduled for January 25th and hopefully we can have a few more over the rest of the year.

The idea is to have a good time talking and working on projects with each other, offering advice and/or supplies to help us further our gaming goals. I for one really needed the kick in the ass to get going on some projects! It can also be a lonely hobby so sharing some time together, even though we all worked on different projects, makes it a social activity, and more fun.

Vice Alley II Final results are in...

After more than 26 games the campaign has ground to a halt! 

Well that makes it sound worse than it really was, but I do think the campaign pretty much ran it's course. We tried a few new scenarios and played many scenarios from some of the other published campaigns and for the most part they seemed to blend in with the Vice Alley theme. We started with 7 players and picked up one along the way also one of the players switched their league (12th & 50th Precinct) 

There were certainly more L&O leagues than Syndicate leagues but at the start it was only 4 L&O to 3 Syndicates. The new player joined as a L&O side while the 50th replaced the 12th which skews the numbers somewhat

In the end I would have to say the Law & Order now exerts the most influence over the city! 

See below for the final numbers...

The leagues of our current campaign Pulp Alley Vice Alley II

 

So this campaign has been going on long enough that it is  past time that I should be posting up the leagues sheets. Now, most of the leagues maintain a steady roster, but a couple of them do swap characters depending on the scenario and or how the leagues has performed in actual play. That said this post represents the leagues as they have most recently been played. They also reflect the experience advances and reputation and society 'perks' that some leagues have acquired.

We have had 14 games played over 6 sessions. The most games any one player has played is 6, the average is 4 games. We have had the odd blow out, but for the most part the games have been very close.

Anyways without any further ado here are the leagues!

Latest King City newspaper account of a recent encounter between 3 leagues

 

and now a message from an alternative newspaper...

Vice Alley II updated picture of the main gaming table

 

So, these are the most up to date pics of the main table. In the foreground is the newly installed park. So far it is just roughed in. It replaces a cathedral and offers up more options. I will need to add a fence or hedges to surround the park, possibly a path through the park and sidewalks where needed. This will provide an open area in contrast to the dense urban environment of the city proper.

 

Vice Alley II second game

 

Vice Alley II first game Newspaper

 

Well the first game of the new campaign made the headlines! 

Pulp Alley - Vice Alley II The start of the campaign August 11 2024

 

On the eve of the first game of the new campaign, I thought I would post up some pics of the two gaming areas. There are two areas ready to go, the dockyards (above) and merchants row (below)

Pulp Alley Vice Alley II

 

At the top of the picture is the hobo camp on the other side of the tracks

So, I have the layout for the dockyards and warehouse district pretty much figured out. There is still a lot of work to be done to finish off these building,  but a lot has already been done.

Getting ready for the next Pulp Alley Campaign - VICE ALLEY

 

Hi everyone

So, as promised there will be a new Pulp Alley campaign, a Chicago cops and robbers style game starting in August. I have been working on the table throughout July. Currently there are around 42 buildings on the table, the plan is to mark out 3' x 3' actions as needed to play any given scenario. The pictures included are just a rough draft as it has already been changed since these pictures were taken. I plan to add a dock yard on another table.

Players do need to decide at the start of the campaign which faction they are working for the syndicate or law and order. It will impact what scenarios you can select and may even impact who is an enemy to each other.

1. Like the previous campaign everyone will get a free random associate at the start of the campaign.
2. If you select an associate during your league build you may select that associate as per the rules on page 27-28.
3. Weapon kits may be selected as per page 115 of the rule book. One free choice per character
4. During the game you will be restricted to level 1 backups. As your Influence/Reputation grows you will be able to select higher level backups. If anyone selects the perk call to arms then backups selected with those points are not restricted.
5. There may be special events that will impact on L & O/Syndicate leagues depending on the success of the respective sides.
6. Throughout the campaign you will have a chance to control specific locations (pool hall, racetrack etc) these locations will grant you a chance to gain some benefit.
7. There are some scenarios that can only be selected by a specific faction and only if that faction has a high enough Influence/Reputation score.
8. There are a lot of scenarios that are two player scenarios that can almost operate like a challenge. One player can select a scenario and challenge an opponent.
   
9. In some cases, in any given scenario, leagues of the same faction may not be enemies while in other scenarios they are. Even L&O leagues can mix it up, jurisdictional issues and all that.
10. There may be scenarios, or as a result of Reputation/Influence level that will see you gain vehicles for a scenario, or even longer.
    
11. I am thinking this campaign will not run as long as the last one, but the actual number of games is not predetermined.
    

As always I have extra figures and extra leagues that can be selected should anyone run low on time to build a league and figs of their own.

So far one player has already submitted their league to me. Once completed please forward your league to me. If you have pictures of figures please include them.

If you have a chance could you maybe indicate if there are times that work better than others to game, and/or specific dates that are no good.

If you have any questions or suggestions about what you want to see in the campaign please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you