More on Battle Cry 150th Anniversary Edition

Robert Cordery's Wargaming Miscellany blog (it's on my reading list to the right) often features a number of Richard Borg games in his projects.  He has recently reviewed some of the contents of the 150th Civil War Anniversary Edition of Battle Cry. Check out his posts on the board and some terrain pieces and figure comparisons. I posted about the new edition of the game here. 

Also, I should add, the cards look great and their artwork really fits in with what you see on the board and terrain tiles. 

Firestorm - Bagration

I recently received a copy of Battlground's Firestorm - Bagration campaign game (this was the big Soviet offensive in the summer of 1944 that pretty much ended German hopes in Russia). 

I like the FOW campaign ideas of linked scenarios and bonus "power units" - referred to in the game as Firestorm units - for boosting your tabletop armies for certain engagements. The interface between the campaign map movements and the game table seem to have a good dynamic. That said, I don't currently have painted Soviets ready for FOW (there's a growing number of troops in lead mountain, though). 


The one thing we are looking forward to trying out is the 'General's Wargame', which totally takes place on the mapboard. Each player is assumed to have armies in their territories and the Firestorm units are bonuses that may be employed to tip the balance of their engagements. The elite units may be lost in combat, win or lose. This concept could work well in a Late Roman campaign setting, with the deployment of certain palatine units and the like. It really got me to thinking.


Another thing I like is the concept of the 'Total War' game, which is designed for really big games. While I don't generally like to play really big games (I do enjoy looking at them), I mostly like the idea of dividing forces into combat and support groups and for using a 'To The Last Man' concept for army morale. This makes me think my arbitrary scenario-based army breakpoint ideas for Great War Memoir aren't a bad way to go about tabletop army-level morale.

You can check out the game's design notes here on the Flames of War website.

FOW Project: US Army Colors

US Mortar Teams and Paints

I think the search for US army khaki colors approaches the elusive search for German field gray uniforms and dunkengelb armor.

I am trying out a new (for me) paint - Privateer Press' Formula P3 paints for their Warmachine miniatures. Battledress Green looks like a very close match to some actual World War II US Army khaki items I have seen up close, and I have been applying it to my US heavy weapons teams. 

Something else new I have been doing with the teams is applying an undercoat of GW Catachan Green over the black spray primer. I think it helps to define the figure details a little better than a sometimes dodgy pass with the primer and the color ought to help bring out the green hues of the uniform and equipment.

Another good color is P3 Thornwood Green. I think it is probably too dark for US uniforms, but it has potential for helmets, machine guns, mortars - and possibly armor.  

Oh yeah - the P3 paints go on nicely and they seem to have a good pigment content. I'm not a paint expert, but I'd say they are comparable to Vallejo in quality.

Memoir 44 for The Great War: Suppression/Rally

HaT cover art for WWI ANZACs

One thing that seems to work well in our playtests is suppression, which limits the affected unit to one d6 attacks and no movement, as mentioned in the opening post on the subject. 

We also made a change to fire reduction caused by terrain: a unit may always have one d6 attack, even if terrain conditions might actually reduce attack dice to zero. We noticed this gave a little extra punch to machine guns who might otherwise be nullified by entrenchments at medium range.


We decided that suppression could be removed with a simple activation order, but that was all the unit could do. Furthermore, we also let units rally, meaning that an activation will restore a lost figure. Of course, you cannot rally while suppressed, nor can you do both in the same activation. 


More later on some thoughts about army morale/breakpoints and melee combat.

FOW Project: US Weapon Crews and a Favorite Glue

Elmer's School Glue Gel and FOW figs

While things seem to be working out all right with my US heavy support weapons (81mm mortars, HMGs), it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to paint and base the crews as well.

I did not get much done in this hobby session except for prepping the mortar crews and a few other figures. I don't usually base my 15mm figs before painting; instead I temporarily mount them on nails and plant them into a piece of styrofoam covered in newspaper (the newspaper protects the styrofoam from the dissolving properties of paint sprays). 

The glue is the real story in this post.

A couple of years ago I stumbled across the best glue for mounting metal figs on the nails: Elmer's school glue gel. OK, I haven't done any scientific testing here, but I can tell you that the gel glue has a weaker bond than regular white (or craft) glue - at least when it comes to metal-to-metal. I have had to gently wrest a painted fig or two from a nail using white craft glue, all the while trying not to scratch the paint job.  I don't have this problem with the gel at all. 

I don't recommend the gel glue for mounting troops on bases - metal, plastic, wood, etc. The miniatures seem ready to come loose with very little handling.

Warlord Games: Early Imperial Marines

Warlord Games has announced the release of EIR marines, complete with chain mail, bronze helmets, cloaks, and hexagonal shields. It appears these gentlemen are cast in metal. I have to say I like the looks of these guys. While I haven't shopped for EIR marines in awhile  - I bought some 15mm Essex nearly 20 years ago - and I think they wore shapeless leather (bronze??) armor -  these guys are nice enough to make me want to jump ahead and get into Early Imperial Roman small battle games mentioned previously.

Little Big Men Studios has created a very cool naval theme shield transfer of a triton and fish-creature (sample pictured right), and Warlord offers these as well.

Go to the Warlord site to see the announcement here.  If you want to see more pics of these fellows, then I recommend you check out Dr. Phil Hendry's site and check out this page. He does a great job with these guys.

FOW Project: US Heavy Support

I will try to catch up on my FOW projects a little over the three-day weekend. I plan to focus on my US 81mm mortars and heavy machine guns. For the most part, I really don't like assembling and basing these kinds of units. For me, working with fiddly bits turn quite annoying, although I think it has given rise to some creative thinking (at least for me). 

With the mortars, I just decided to put down a layer of wood glue to prop up the mortar tube/base and the - well, the name escapes me now - bit for adjusting angle of fire. Afterward, I glued the pieces together, although I can see that they did not all necessary join where they ought to. Still, they are one piece, upright, and my mistakes can be hidden with a little lichen. 

The machine guns (not pictured) turned out easier than I thought. The little hand drill really did the trick for placing the gun on the tripod/figure base. Seems like I couldn't find enough loaders for my gunners (I imagine they will show up in a group of German grenadiers at some later point in time), so I may have to do some more illusions with other crewmen and lichen. More on my glorious misadventures later.

Wargames Illustrated 278 (A Short Review)

I finally got my hands on WI 278. I was quite pleased with it. As mentioned in the short preview post some time back, the 'Sengoku Showdown' makes for good - and exciting - reading.

First off, I do want to thank Dan and Dave for making 'Wargaming The Armies of Carthage' look so good and for some solid editorial guidance. I hope to do some more of these kinds of articles for popular armies of the ancient world. If you are familiar with either of the Roman Army wargaming articles, expect to see more emphasis on gaming with this one. 


'Legends of the Rising Sun' was pretty cool. The concept is based on Warhammer Historicals' 'Legends of the West' and 'Legends of the High Seas', but in medieval Japan. Warbands/gangs of samurai, monks, ninjas, and others can duke it out. It looks like an exciting game, and here is some online bits for the game at the WI site: rules and an article on 17th Century street gangs of Japan.


There is also a great article on scratch-building North African desert village buildings. 


Another favorite piece is by Barry Hilton, giving his report on Historicon and discussing the differences between the US and UK historical gaming scenes. I believe he nailed the American attitude towards gaming conventions on the head. 


I haven't had a chance to read the 'Fleet of Battle' rules in the magazine yet, but it is one of the main draws for me. A good set of naval rules is just about required if you want to game the First Punic War. I may have to pull out my ancient copy of Hasbro's Conquest of Empire and see if I can draft its galleys into service. 


OK - there's more, but I haven't fully explored the whole issue yet. Even so, I'd call this issue a winner.
 

Crossfire by Arty Conliffe

I enjoyed playing Arty Conliffe's Crossfire game of World War II company-level combat back in the 90s. It had some interesting mechanics - it used no measurements (all weapon fire was assumed to be able to reach across the table) and no regular turn-based movement. The game's ebb and flow centered on whether or not the phasing player's troops could continue successful actions, such as moving without getting pinned or destroyed or firing weapons until missing. 

However, I ended up spending my WWII gaming time with Easy Eight's Battleground World War II, and let this game sit on the wayside. Once I finish my US support troops for FOW, I think I will draft them for a game of Crossfire now and then. 


According to the Crossfire website, a new or revised edition is in the works. It looks like it will address (among other things) the game's one true let-down: vehicle combat. Whereas all the infantry stands represented individual squads, heavy weapons, and commanders, the vehicle models represented about 5 vehicles. Visually, this just seemed awkward. From a gaming perspective - well, it just seemed wrong and out of balance.

FOW Project: 251/9 Cs & Flakpanzers

Back in December I got a chance to do a little work on my rather extended FOW Summer Project. The 251/9Cs are about ready for action. I need to add a crewman or commander or something to at least one of the vehicles. 

The Flakpanzers need a bit more work. I have done some work on the gun mount - which I still think is missing part of a gun shield, but I think I can draft a piece of thin card for the job. The most significant thing I did is get a nice basecoat on the AA vehicles. I started with Testors' 'Africa Mustard' spray paint - and it looks very much like a spicy brown mustard. On top of that I sprayed that last bit of Tamiya (can't recall the actual name, but looked like a good dunkengelb to me), and it really seemed to work well.  

Recently, I finally made the plunge to build my US support platoons - HMGs and 81mm mortars. More on them in a later blog.

More Memoir 44 for The Great War: Middle East

HaT's box art for WWI Turkish Infantry

In the last blog of tweaks for converting Memoir 44 rules into a  World War I game, I should have mentioned something rather obvious - the need for small markers (chits, dice, etc) to show unit suppression. The concept of suppression is about the only thing that is outside of normal gameplay for Memoir 44.

Now onto today's subject of differentiating between British/Commonwealth and Ottoman Turkish forces using Great War Memoir.

I think the basic premise is to assume that an infantry unit represents a company or two, meaning a battalion should have 1-4 units, with 2-3 seeming most likely.

The Turks 
I would recommend 2 units of 5 figures to represent a Turk battalion for the early war period, when they employed massed attacks. They are a little more hardy with 5 figures, but they lack maneuverability. 

I think the Turks also should get to re-roll 1 miss in close combat. This could represent their numbers and their front-rank bomb-throwers. 


The British
I would give the British battalions 3 units of 4 figures. 

British Regulars might should merit a chance to re-roll 1 miss in ranged combat, based on their high marksmanship and their Short Magazine Lee-Enfields. I would probably not assign this bonus to the Territorials equipped with the older, longer Lee-Enfields, nor to untried New Army units. 


The ANZACs ought to be tough, but not complete supermen. I'd say they might rate the same as Turks in close combat.


The French
What about the French and their colonial troops? Well, I have a few thoughts on them as well and will review them later on the blog. 

Memoir 44 for The Great War

I've been researching Britain's 'Other Theaters' of the Great War recently, especially in the Middle East. Along with the period itself, I have been researching some popular World War I games and working on ideas for converting other rules.

I think Memoir 44 has some potential here, especially if the scenario design goes beyond breaking the enemy army. Objectives and uneven casualty scoring should go a ways toward encouraging offensive and defensive play (although even the defender needs some maneuver options - ie. reserves, counter attacks, etc.).

So, here's some ideas I that I will playtest - some are applicable to the early war (1914-1915), some are particular to British/Commonwealth and Ottoman forces.  


Machine Guns: 
Typically a battalion asset (ie a section of 2-4 guns to support four rifle companies). I'm thinking 3 attack dice with rifle range or rifle range +1 hex. Machine guns get a free attack anytime a card specifically activated their section of the battlefield (Left, Center, or Right) - ie. they don't count toward units activated per the command card. They may receive orders applicable to artillery (there may be some artillery cards that just won't work with this). Machine gun sections should have two hits. I would put them under the same kind of movement/attack restrictions of artillery units, except in regards to line of sight (LOS).


Dice Results:


Grenade: Equals suppression, which requires the owning player to treat the suppressed unit as two units for the purpose of activating. Suppressed units cannot move and they may only have one attack dice. Grenades  equal hits if unit is already suppressed. 


Flag (Retreat): Retreats supersede suppression. If an infantry unit takes a flag (retreat), a grenade (suppression), and a hit, resolve as follows: remove one figure for hit; retreat unit one space; unit suppressed. 


Tank: Tank results equal well-placed bombardments or infiltrations that nullify terrain advantages for that attack roll. No actual damage to the defending unit, but this will help out when the terrain allows the defender to ignore some results. Not much help if the terrain only reduces the number of attack dice.  

I will do particulars for the British/Commonwealth and Ottoman troops in a following blog. I'll say right here that these two opponents should not play interchangeably in the game - some tweaks to dice results and card play should capture some of the early war potential for these armies.

Battle Cry 150th Civil War Anniversary Edition

Wizards of the Coast recently released a revised edition of Richard Borg's Battle Cry to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. 

I stumbled across this game today and caught it on sale and had to get a copy. Lots of new artwork on the box, rulebook, map board, and terrain tiles. The map and terrain colors are washed out and look more natural. Don't get me wrong - I thought the old version looked good.

Another bonus - the game includes a Jackson campaign and 13 new scenarios in addition to the now "classic" scenarios. There's a lot of 1861 battles and some more western theater scenarios. Another plus - they changed 'The Battle of Chickamunga' to 'The Battle of Chickamauga'. I always wondered how that one slipped by the editor. 

I copied the scenario lists from Board Game Geek's page on the Battle Cry 150th Civil War Anniversary Edition and posted them below:


Classic Battle Cry Battles

* First Bull Run--21st July, 1861
* Pea Ridge--7th March, 1862
* Kernstown--23rd March, 1862
* Shiloh--6th April, 1862
* Gaines Mill--27th June, 1862
* Brawner's Farm--28th August, 1862
* Antietam--17th September, 1862
* Fredericksburg--13th December, 1862
* Murfreesboro--31st December, 1862
* Gettysburg--2nd July, 1863
* Gettysburg--3rd July, 1863
* Chickamauga--20th September, 1863
* New Market--15th May, 1864
* New Hope Church--25th May, 1864

Jackson Campaign

* McDowell, Virginia - May 8 1862
* Winchester, Virginia - May 25 1862
* Cedar Mountain, Virginia - August 9 1862

150th Civil War Anniversary Edition Battles

* Falling Waters, West Virginia - July 2, 1861
* Wilson's Creek, Missouri (Bloody Hill) - August 10 1861
* Greenbrier River, West Virginia - October 3 1861
* Belmont, Missouri - November 7 1861
* Dranesville, Virginia - December 20 1861
* Fort Donelson, Tennessee (Confederate Breakout) - February 15 1862
* Little Sugar Creek, Arkansas - February 17 1862
* Williamsburg, Virginia (North of Fort Magruder) - May 5 1862
* Oak Grove, Virginia - June 25 1862
* Richmond, Kentucky (Union Final Position) - August 30 1862
* Ox Hill, Virginia - September 1 1862
* Perryville, Kentucky - October 8 1862
* Prarie Grove, Arkansas - December 7 1862

World War II Skirmish Games

I was a big fan of Easy Eight's Battleground World War II that came out in 1997. It was a fun skirmish game that used the d20 and a card activation mechanic. It had a lot of detail. In short, a miniature got to take two actions (move, shoot, etc) and a typical scenario probably matched two platoons against each other. The game could handle a few vehicles on the table as well. Vehicle combat wasn't overly complicated, despite the vehicle hit charts.  In fact, I don't think the indirect fire rules for off-board artillery were too bad either.


I never played the game with 28mm figures, but I purchased a few on the cheap a couple of years ago in the hopes of trying out the game with some tweaks to the ranged combat mechanics. After all the years spent absorbing the D&D d20 system, I think there may be a better way to do what Easy Eight had in mind. 

Warlord Games has recently released Operation Squad: World War Two.  I am curious to see what the authors have come up for the period. The 46-page softcover appears to be limited to infantry battles and combat seems to revolve around the addition or subtraction of d6s. 


Between the two game systems, with maybe a healthy dose of stolen ideas from Crossfire (Arty Conliffe's company-level WW2 game) and Flames of War, I may get those 28mm WW2 figures painted and on the tabletop in 2011.

Welcome to Scrape

Dungeon Magazine #16 (going all the way back to early 1989) has one of best adventures you will find in that magazine in the last days of 1st Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Technically, 2nd Edition had already been released, but I believe the 1st Edition adventures appeared for several of the bi-monthly issues afterward. The game editions were close enough that a little conversion wasn't too much work. But I digress...

So, what was so great about this particular issue? In a word: Vesicant. That's the name of the adventure and the name of its main villain, a young green dragon with a penchant for magic items and an alliance with Scrape, a town of pirates (human, orc, and goblin). That's her on the cover (right), with the magic wand and the arcane blast of some kind. She was small, clever, and vicious. Vesicant relied on tricks and good tactics to take on the 4th-7th level characters that sought her doom. The idea was that if the dragon was removed, the pirates would be easier to handle.

That was another selling point, by the way - the lovely "mid-level" aspect of the adventure. It's when characters are strong enough to take on tougher monsters, but they cannot ignore the low-level monsters either. Once the characters got to 10th level or so, the low-level monsters just weren't challenging anymore - and you lose some taste to the game. 


Of course, Scrape was a great place to have a lot of role-playing with cloak & dagger perspectives. Without Scrape, the adventure just would not have made such an impression on me. An engaging urban environ that invites the characters to explore, talk, and fight with its inhabitants is always a plus - and Scrape was one of the best places for that.

The heroes just couldn't storm the town, they had to gather info from the port's power brokers so they pick up enough clues to find the dragon's hidden lair in the hills. The human, orcish, and goblin quarters of the town were fleshed out. There was a lot of follow-up adventures to be had in Scrape if you wanted to play them. Hooks were all over the place - the removal of Scrape's tyrant, the half-orc warlord Yorin and his ogre bodyguards could result in a civil war between the town's factions; the appearance of a duergar slaver indicated some trade relations with the Underdark; and a pair of evil elven mercenaries could have meant anything. 


In some ways, Scrape could have worked well as the larger environs of the classic D&D module A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity. I actually used Scrape as part of the Slave Lords' network of outposts. 


Much like I reminisce that Dragon #63 was an epiphany of my early gaming days, this magazine did much the same for me when I rediscovered my love for the game after a few years of hiatus.

British Army on the Eastern Fronts - World War I

I have been researching the British Empire's eastern conflicts of World War I/post-World War I. It has long been a favorite of mine, despite a lack of dedicated reading on my part. I am debating whether or not to explore Britain's 'Other Fronts' on the tabletop, especially in light of the ANZACs and Turks you can get these days: Gripping Beast offshoot, The Woodbine Design Company, offers WW I in the East range in 28mm, and HaT Industrie offers a good range in 1/72 scale plastic. 

I recently purchased Osprey's The British Army in World War I (3) - The Eastern Fronts (MAA 406), written and illustrated by Mike Chappell. Lots of good info on the campaigns from the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa, and Russia - and they give a lot of flavorful starting points for scenario or campaign designs. Of course, the book is great for working out the kind of figures one might need. I was pleased to see the typical early war 'ANZAC look' - felt hats, with or without shorts - had applicability beyond the Australians. Maybe the biggest thing to consider might be whether or not your tabletop British/Commonwealth/Dominion troops have newer/older equipment and weapons. I highly recommend this title.

Warlord Games to Release Ancients Ruleset

So it seems that Warlord Games is going to publish a ruleset for Ancients with Rick Priestley. Follow the link to check out some very cool pics of Middle Imperial Romans battling Sassanid Persians, painted by Dr. Phil Hendry. 

I don't know if the ruleset will use core mechanics from Black Powder, but I could see some ideas making the fit. I've already thought about how Black Powder (see right) might be a good way to wargame the Warring States of Japan, a period that normally fits in with medieval rules. A game system that focuses a bit more on melee that offers the kind of template-tweaks found in Black Powder might be a good way to approach the 'millennial system' (ie. Biblical to early Medieval) Warlord has planned.


While I cannot say that rules that cover everything from the age of chariots to the Hundred Years War are ideal, realistic, etc., I don't necessarily assume they are bad or not fun. I think there's a number of things that make a particular period or army distinct from others, and some of them probably get a glossing over. I review this kind of thing fairly often in Wargames Illustrated, and sometimes you just have to pick the game that best translates historical evidence (or even literary evidence) to your taste and understanding. Anyway, I'm curious what Warlord will come up with.
 

Black Powder: ACW

We played Black Powder using the Battle Cry game (hexboard terrain and plastic figures) and it seemed to go well. As much as it would have been nice to have seen a 4' x 8' table with about 200-250 figures per side, this was not a bad way to get our heads around the game mechanics.

I'm not sure yet what level of command is right for Black Powder in an ACW game, but the rather generic order of battle (general and 'brigade' commanders) gives them some versatility. We tried a scenario and set up straight from the Battle Cry rules: The Battle of Kernstown. This essentially gave the CSA three generals (Jackson as CIC plus two large brigades) and the Union two generals (no CIC and two large brigades). We will handle things differently when we base a game on historical accounts instead of just taking the pieces and deployment from Battle Cry, but it did what we really wanted to do - give us a better feeling for Black Powder.

We thought we should start out each army's infantry regiments in march column, which might have been a bit much considering their proximity. We learned that forcing troops to begin a scenario in march column can be really ugly - it only takes a failed command roll or two to leave them as sitting ducks even for long range fire. This is a very useful thing to keep in mind for certain ambush scenarios.

We used the Black Powder ACW sample scenario stats for our troops - ie. Rifled Muskets for infantry, Skirmish Order for dismounted cavalry, etc. One thing I think that might be worth adding to ACW scenarios for line infantry muskets is the use of First Volley (ie. the first volley is the best and later volleys tend to be less drilled affairs). Black Powder tends to assign that rule to earlier armies, but not ACW. Granted, my research into the period is limited compared to serious students of the period, but this is one of the things that leaps out of historical accounts I've read, lectures I've heard, and discussions I've had.

Another thing worth revisiting is how Black Powder handles woods and the ability of line infantry to traverse it. I think the sample scenario allows line infantry to temporarily assume skirmish order while in woods but resume regular formation upon exiting - I really need to double check that. We used that in our game, but there might be better ways of working this out. Maybe this should come from the terrain side of things - ie. the woods provide cover, slow movement, and block LOS, but they aren't thick enough to force skirmish order (with its inherent combat bonuses and penalties).  Regardless, the game is made for tweaking and I'm sure we'll come up with something that feels historically 'right' that can be played with minimum fuss.

A Bit of Thanks

Thanksgiving Day approaches and I thought I might share a few things with you folks about what I am grateful for in regards to history and gaming. 

I'm grateful for the folks who take the time to read my musings on this blog. I hope you find some value you in what you encounter here. 

Thanks, Chris Perkins!

I'm grateful for the historians, authors, and game designers whose talent and love for their callings really inspired me.

I'm grateful that I have had a chance to explore the world of game design/writing. I'd like to thank a number of editors that have played pivotal roles in this pursuit: Dave Gross, Chris Perkins, Jesse Decker, Mike McArtor, Wes Schneider, Rob Broom, Dan Faulconbridge, and Dave Taylor.

I'm grateful for the generosity and camaraderie of a number of historians, writers, and professional hobbyists: Guy Halsall, Neil Smith, Jim Graham, John Bianchi, Andy Hawes, Shane Grubb, and Heine Baekkelund (RIP).

I'm grateful for all the friends and loved ones that have sat at the gaming table with me through the years. I cherish those times.

Wargames Illustrated 278 (A Small Preview)

WI recently updated their site for the December 2010 issue; check out the preview here. This issue has a lot of samurai, a good dose of the ancient Mediterranean, and the Battle of Bussaco 1810. Of course, the WI website offers a lot of extras to support the magazine content on its home page.

I have not received my copy yet, but in the meantime, I can tell you that I have read a draft on the lead article, 'Sengoku Showdown'. It's a great way to jump into the era of Japan's Warring States - lots of good info and quite a bit of energy in the piece. WI's Dave Taylor asked me if I would be interested in supporting the article with a wargaming section and I jumped at the chance.

If you liked my series on 'Wargaming the Roman Army' (and even if you didn't), then check out my 'Wargaming the Carthaginians' in this issue. Dave and Dan had some good ideas for putting more/different gaming aspects into the article and I was quite happy with how it all turned out.


More later once I've had a chance to get the magazine in my hands.