I was able to play through an initial version of the scenario I'll be using when I host my game club in March. The scenario pits a large US Tank force (roughly 2,500 points) vs a defending German force (1,500 points on the table with 750pts in reinforcements). The game featured some variable events and was designed to help me both re-learn the rules and begin to balance the game for my club event. The picture to the left shows the start of the game with the US force entering the table via the road with the objective of seizing the towns and exiting the map. The US force consisted of:
1 Tank Co (17 Shermans)
1 Armored Infantry Platoon
1 Tank Destroyer Section
1 Ranger Platoon (variable entry along the left side of the board
1 Armored Car Platoon
The defending German force was made up of 2 platoons of FJGs*, a FJG* machine gun section, 2 Panthers, 3 Stugs, 2 Armored Cars, a self-propelled artillery section and a HQ platoon. The off-board reinforcements consisted of 2 Tigers and an Armored Infantry platoon.
* Fallschirmajager
The Scenario is loosely based on the Barkman's Corner scenario that's published in the Cobra campaign book. We were able to get about 10 turns in before calling it a game and I think we didn't mangle the rules too badly other than confusing some of the finer aspects of firepower tests. It was a very fun game which ended up being a draw.
To the left you can see the battle lines at the end of the game. The US (played by Ernie) had destroyed one of the paratroop platoons and was about to overwhelm the second one, but had lost 11 out of 19 tanks in the process. German tank loses were at a similar 50% level as 2 stugs, a panther and both armored cars were put out of action. Perhaps the high point of the game was the loss of the Panther (in the lower right of the picture) which was dispatched by a lowly M8 armored car's 37mm gun that had managed to get behind it. Oh the shame....
I also learned to fear US bazooka's as they put the hurt on my assault guns.
The last picture shows the ending battlefield from the US side. The US ranger platoon managed to seize the casino on the hill but was being threatened by the armored infantry company.
All-in-all it was a great game and a good chance the re-learn the rules. One drawback of the FOW system is that there are lot's of tables for unit stats. At Ernie's suggestion, I will be making some summary tables for each player that represent his forces to try and reduce the page flipping. Hopefully I'll also have a bit better understanding of the rules next time also. Still it was a fun time
4 comments:
looks like you had an awesome game and the new buildings look great
Agreed - the scenery looks fantastic. I've never played WW2 wargames but they look a lot of fun!
WW2 games are a nice change of pace - their fun and have a lot more movement than Napoleonics. I do have a tendency to go "rrrrrrr" when moving tanks and make machine gun noises when shooting. It can be a put off-putting to opponents but it's something I've done since I was three!
WW2 games do require the right movie in the background - for this event it was "A Bridge to Far" and "The Eagle has Landed"
Had to laugh when you mentioned doing the noises. It must be a wargamers affliction for us older gentlemen. The mob I game with let 'er rip with a cacophony of sounds mimicking various explosive qualities - some of them are even to do with the game on the table!
Great looking table and your scenery really looks the business - looks like you have a great game too.
Cheers,
Doc
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