9th July Games

 Numbers are down slightly due to holidays and Big Fat Greek Wedding invites (Hi Nick!), but we ran two games last night. The Steves played BattleTech with a couple of light mechs, as the rest of us were playing a Lord of the Rings skirmish game. Paul and I led the Men of Rohan against a force of Goblins and Uruk-Hai (led by Andy P and Mark) that were attempting to pass through a defile which the Rohirrim were tasked with defending. Paul's infantry held the ground against the Goblins, while I led the horsemen of Rohan against the Uruk-Hai. 

I will admit that I'm not especially used to the LoTR rules systems, but it seemed that even with the ground not favouring cavalry I should be able to attrite the Uruk-Hai in melee (mounted against infantry, d'ye see). There was attrition - but involved the Rohirrim being cut to shreds........... three made it out. Paul's infantry were suffering badly as well, so the honours went to the forces of Mordor. In case you were wondering why no cloth was in use, this was due to a logistical error. I have therefore christened the action as the Battle of Bare Boards. 

Next week, another Lord of The Rings game is planned and I've planned to offer another Angels 20 game.

See yer soon,

Neil  

2rnd July Games

 Considerably more comfortable yesterday evening with a change in the weather; Steve S ran the planned Aliens games for Steve H, Eddie, Nigel, Mark, Paul and Andy P, while I laid on the Napoleonic Travel battle game for Nick. Dave C was invited to join in but had to leave.

I kept an eye on the Aliens game, and can confirm that all of the Sulaco's crew (together with Newt) made it off planet before the Big Bang. For my part, Nick and I swapped sides and he took the British while I ran the French this time. Nick had to depart before a full result could be obtained, but I had been able to knock out most of the British cavalry and threatened their left flank badly. Kapok 'smoke' added for effect.

Next week, plans for a BattleTech game are afoot, and I'll bring the Travel Battle again, hopefully with a completed Prussian force to try out.

See yer soon,

Neil

25th June Games

It was another hot and sticky night, but we still managed to run two games yesterday evening. Dave K, Mark, Steve S and Andy P ran a Carnevale game, which was affected by a shortage of figures but still went ahead. I gather there was a spirited discussion over rules interpretation at some point.............

Using the tables available in our other room, I ran a further Angels 20 game for the benefit of Eddie, Nigel, Paul and Steve H. This time we went with a Pacific theme, pitching two F4 Corsairs against a selection of Japanese fighters. There was clear evidence that US fighter development was ahead of the Japanese by the latter part of the war, as all three aircraft were despatched without damage or loss to the US. Bit one sided but enjoyed by all, a further useful test of the game as a possible show participation game next year.

Next week I'll bring the Napoleonic Travel Battle game; there is an Aliens game planned plus other entertainments to be confirmed.

See yer soon,

Neil

18th June Games

It was a hot and sticky night last night, but we still had two games on the go. Steves S & H, Mark and Andy P played Pandemic; in three games I believe the lurgi won every time. 

I ran my WW2 air combat game Angels 20 for the benefit of Nigel, Nick and Eddie, the latter two who had never played the game before. I therefore ran my 'training' mission , where Nigel flew a French Dewoitine 520 against two RAF P-40 Tomahawks based on an actual combat over Syria in 1941/2. This went well enough that the P-40's were able to shoot down the Dewoitine when Nick and Eddie had an idea how the rules worked. I ran a second game for Nigel and Eddie who then flew a Focke Wulf 190 against a Russian La-5N, as I've found these are pretty evenly matched. Eddie conceded when his aircraft was damaged to an extent that he would have had to bail out.

Next week, I'll run Angels 20 again as requested, other ideas are in preparation.

See yer soon,

Neil  

11th June Games

Steve H (now more or less recovered from his lurgi) and I ran a final test game of TANKS in Normandy prior to the game's premiere at Broadside this Saturday. Steve S, Mark, Eddie and Andy P ran the Sherman troop while Nigel assisted Steve H and I with the handling of the German forces as they appeared. The British ran out winners with no losses and knocked out one Pzkpfw IV and two anti tank guns. The one great change was to set a twelve move time limit for the British to exit the table, which they achieved with time to spare. 

Hopefully all will go well on Saturday; I'll run Angels 20 on Wednesday evening for those interested.

See yer soon,

Neil   

4th June Games

A bit thin on the ground due to sickness (get well soon, Steve H) but sufficient on hand to run Mark's planned SWAT game as there wasn't enough of us to play Angels 20 as well. Dave K, Eddie, Andy P, Nigel, Steve S and myself were tasked with rescuing a scientist from assorted baddies, download his research and destroy the computers used to hold same. We commenced dealing with the bad guys with the usual terminal methods, rescued the scientist and his research and still had time for tea and medals. Thanks to Mark for a most entertaining game (craic supplied by those present).

Next week I intend to run a final test game for TANKS in Normandy before we take the game to Broadside on the 14th. Any assistance from those attending will be appreciated.

See yer soon,

Neil   

28th May Games

Various people absent, but we had the welcome return of Bob P, who has been absent for some time and was invited to attend by Andy P (no relation). Andy ran a Wild West themed Zombiecide game, while Nick and I gave a run out for my long delayed Travel Battle game.

This was originally devised by Mike Perry for use on long journeys, but was developed for the market and released in 2017. The game comes with two boards and sufficient generic Napoleonic figures for two armies, which fight using a simple but effective set of rules. I took the British and Nick took the French (figures are 8mm high but clearly identifiable) and we set to. Suffice to say that since we were both using my dice, for once they took my part and Nick conceded with most of his forces lost.

Next week, I've offered to run an Angels 20 game, and Mark is running a SWAT game.

See yer soon,

Neil