Fistful of Lead: Starfighters! - First Game

I finally find myself in the same country as my figures for a wee while, so I thought I should do something with them. I recently bought Fistful of Lead: Starfighters! on Wargamevault and thought it looked like good clean fun. So, I read the rules, which was a novel thing to do before a game and then I created data cards for some of my Brigade Models starfighters based on their stats in Squadron Commander: Reheat. I thought this would prevent me from creating near identical starfighters for both sides. I set up a standard encounter battle between the Bwendi Aerospace Patrol and an Albion flight. As anyone who has read this blog will know, the poor Bwendi Republic is constantly having to deal with incursions by the evil Kingdom of Albion, who are so ill-mannered that they do not use saucers with their cups, but drink their tea from mugs instead. What is worse, those mugs often feature decoration in the form of scurrilous propaganda and libel against our glorious president for life Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus LVII.

The Bwendi force defending near space over Ztumsia Nova comprised four light but agile fighters perfectly optimised for dogfighting. Although comparatively lightly armed, these nimble craft were expected to be able to outmanoeuvre the three heavier Albion medium fighters with their much heavier payloads and greater armour.

The Bwendi flight comprised two lead pilots and their wingmen. Flight Officer Bravo Zulu of Pigeon Squadron was an ace with years of experience behind him. The rest of his flight were well trained regulars with some experience of mixing it up with the Albion spaceforce.

The Albion flight comprised three medium fighters led by a spaceforce regular, but one of their wingmen was a rookie.

The game was a fairly simple exercise in learning the rules, so I did not try to do anything fancy with the scenario or asteroid terrain or anything like that. In Fistful of Lead: Starfighters! initiative is determined by playing cards. Each player gets one card per starfighter and the initiative ranks are counted down from kings to twos (aces are wild). When the countdown reaches a card you have, you must play it, assign it to a starfighter and act with that starfighter.

Three Albion medium fighters (top) approach four Bwendi light fighters (bottom). The pale squares are missile markers heading towards the Albion fighters. Apologies for the washed out photo taken with my ancient phone.

The Albion pilots got the bounce on the Bwendi pilots and opened up their throttles to get into range, but failed to do so on the first turn. This brought the Albion force close enough for the Bwendi ships to manoeuvre into range and launch a salvo of missiles at their enemies. After that, the Bwendi starfighters consistently got the initiative. The Albion starfighters were able to shoot some of the incoming missiles, but they lost two of their ships in the process, barely getting a shot off thanks to superior Bwendi technology and shoddy maintenance by the Albion Erks (ground crew). Unfeasibly high damage dice rolls and failed shields rolls meant that the Albion force was quickly reduced to just the rookie remaining.

The rookie launched a full salvo of missiles at Flight Officer Bravo Zulu, who was unable to evade and had to eject just as the missiles reduced their craft to its component elements. The remaining Bwendi pilots turned their blasters on the rookie immediately and blew it apart. Once more, superior Bwendi technology and piloting ensured victory for the BAP pilots, and a Search and Rescue ship was able to recover Bravo Zulu in their escape pod. They live to fight another time.

I enjoyed this quick solo playthrough. I think there is a good game here. It has no pretensions of being anything other than Hollywood and that suits me nicely right now. I look forward to the time I can go head to head with a human opponent though. In the meantime, I shall have to look to the scenarios in the game and think up some simple way of randomising slightly how pilots act based on their circumstances.

BwendTV Tuesday Tussle - Gaslands AAR

Steve and I tried Gaslands for the first time this Tuesday. I think we mostly got the rules right, but more importantly we had a great time. The game played more slowly than expected. I imagine it will go more quickly now that we understand the rules better, and we need to add the skid dice table to the quick reference sheet, because neither of us has the skid dice that you can buy for it. As someone who played Car Wars to bits back in the eighties and early nineties, I found this a real pleasure to play. There was a good hit of nostalgia combined with a simpler game system: I was starting to find the Car Wars activation system a bit too detailed towards the end. This definitely scratches that itch.

Welcome to the Gladiolus Arena for our Tuesday Tussle. Today's match is a Death Race between the Gladcorp sponsored Team Ztum and the Albion Car and Motor Engineers Corporation sponsored Z-Cars. The teams must race in a figure-eight, passing through each gate in turn, before completing the course by crossing the start line again. The racers must pass Gate 1 before their weapons activate, and then it will be a free-for-all and may victory go to the swiftest and deadliest.

Here we are at the start line. Team Ztum has won the coin toss and taken pole position, choosing the inside line. ACME Corporation has occupied the outside line, perhaps hoping that their trike can take off quickly ahead of the slower cars.

In pole position is Helicopter 'Corners' Cutter in the Black Mamba. This sleek sports car features a turreted heavy machine-gun and will be relying on its driver's skill to keep it out of trouble. Behind the Black Mamba is Gurek 'Spin Doctor' Assigo in The Purple Peril, with forward-mounted heavy machine-guns, nitrous injection, and a nasty mine-dropper surprise in its tail end. The ACME Corporation has refused to reveal the names of its drivers or even the details of its vehicle designs, as is typical for any Albion enterprise. No doubt they are up to some trickery.

 Now to the start. RED LIGHT, RED LIGHT, RED LIGHT, RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT. AND THEY'RE OFF!

'Corners' immediately shows her true colours and practically spins the Black Mamba on the spot, heavily damaging the trike. You can almost hear the ACME driver swearing over the roar of the engines.

Unfortunately, as the trike breaks away 'Corners' is immediately rammed by the car behind the trike. The Black Mamba is heavily damaged and you can see panels falling away. Meanwhile the Purple Peril spins out of the starting gate, while the other ACME car seems not to have realised that the starting gate is lines by heavy Gladcrete(tm) walls.

The Black Mamba seems to have stalled on the start line after that smash, and The Purple Peril has spun around after driving through and writing off the trike. The trike's driver is able to hobble to the Porta-Potty near the crash site where they must wait until the end of the race now.

As the start line chaos shakes out, the two ACME cars form a line and head for the first gate with the Purple Peril in close pursuit. The Black Mamba is really having a hard time catching up though.

As they roar up through the gears, ACME hits the gate first but sideways, closely followed by The Purple Peril. Their guns are now active.

Through the gate, the cars turn, and The Purple Peril uses its nitrous injection to tear ahead of the field. Sliding sideways around the corner it rights itself and races over the second gate in fourth gear, and leaving a nasty surprise for the first car to cross the gate.

A brief spat between ACME and The Black Mamba sees the heavily damaged sports car wrecked, but not before tearing panels off the ACME car with its machine-gun. The Purple Peril races on ahead unchallenged as the ACME drivers try to hit the second gate.

They manage to hit the second gate as The Purple Peril crosses the third gate, but one of the ACME cars triggers the mines and is blown to bits.

With a clear field ahead of him, 'Spin Doctor' Assigo pilots The Purple Peril over the finish line to win the race, followed a long way behind by the one remaining ACME car.

Stay tuned for more auto mayhem with Amateur Night Action only on BwendTV.

I can't remember the last time we  laughed so much at the antics of our miniature alter-egos. Or, for that matter, worried so little about the outcome. Every spin, slide and even wreck was a cause for much hilarity. I'm looking forward to playing Gaslands again and trying a mini-series. I think we are going to have to come up with an experience system for our drivers though. The campaign system in the rules is ok, but it's not personal enough for our tastes. I really loved the corporate Car Wars campaign, and would like to see something like that where drivers gain experience while the team wins money, so you could have separate drivers and team championships.

Gladtown: 15mm sci-fi terrain pics

In this post:
Buildings and billboards: Mad Mecha Guy
Street furniture: Brigade Models
Mushrooms: unknown (they were a gift)
Battle mat: Dave Graffam

Crikey, I found the enthusiasm to do some painting this last week and a bit! After all my talk of ennui and an 18 month dry spell with no painting, I finally got it together to do some. Two things have grabbed my attention recently. One is my 15mm sci-fi terrain. I still can't bring myself to paint actual 15mm figures, but I did slop some paint on some of my Mad Mecha Guy buildings and print out posters for the MMG billboards. There's a lot more I could and want to do to enhance these buildings, but I'm just happy to have more of them coloured in right now. Once the rest are done, I shall go back and add graffiti, signs and other bits and pieces to improve the look.

Ages ago, I bought the pdf of Dave Graffam's Cobblestone Streets battle mat. It comes as a pdf including a file breaking the map up into A4 sheets for printing. I started printing it out and mounting each sheet separately on mountboard. They are not geomorphic so I am stuck with the standard layout, but that is fine. The advantage of printing this way is that I can easily stack the tiles, stick them in a box file and store them away. I can also lay out only those tiles I need.

My sci-fi faction is the Bwendi, a former African republic that models itself on a caricature of the British Empire. It's mortal enemy is the nation of Albion, descendants of the English whose warped perception of what it means to be English means that there can never be peace between Bwendi (the righteous guardians of fair play and cricket) and (perfidious) Albion. As part of that, I started wondering of Bwendi might not seek to make their towns more Olde Englishe. What better way to do that than to have cobbled streets? So, the Dave Graffam battle mat may well be used as the base for a Bwendi town. The cobbles are unlikely to have much effect on game play with all the grav vehicles kicking around, and they look nice, according to President for life Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus XLVI. I hear that Gladcorp is planning to introduce fog generators in some city centres for a more authentic experience too.

The battle mat is sized for 28mm figures but I have printed it out at 100% and it seems ok for my 15mm figures. The roads are no wider than 100mm which is pretty much what I want, but they lack pavements. I'm undecided about this. Many places I have visited have limited or no pavements, so perhaps this works ok, especially with the perspective that Bwendi is a (darkly humorous) banana republic on a distant colony world, but maybe I need to make some pavements to put around the buildings. I must think on this.

Musings aside, I am really quite happy with the visual effect of the buildings on the Dave Graffam mat. I've been dithering for ages about what sort of base mat to use with the Bwendi stuff, and have printed up a bunch of roads from WWG's Streets of Mayhem set that I have used previously to form towns, but I think the olde worlde aesthetic may well work better for my vision of the Bwendi. We can leave the future, urban dystopia for Albion. After all, they do it so much better.

The other thing that has grabbed my attention recently is my ongoing 6mm WW2 Western Desert project. This project has been ongoing since Miniature Wargames published an orbat and campaign for Operation Brevity in the 90s. I painted up that orbat but became obsessed with checking it against the sources, and quickly realised that it was only a very rough approximation of what was actually present on the field of battle. That led to analysis paralysis and the project stalled. Since getting the Benghazi Handicap sourcebook for Command Decision: Test of Battle, I have been more enthused, but not enough to pick up a brush until this weekend. Once I have some of it completed, I shall start posting photos of that too.

GZG Heavy Grav Command Vehicle

It's been ages since I painted anything for one of my 15mm sci-fi forces. Actually, it's been ages since I painted much of anything really, so it was a bit of fun to dig this out over the weekend and finish it off. It had been languishing part-painted on the painting desk for ages and I had to dust it first. Still, I am happy with the final version. It is the command APC for my Laserburn Imperial force. Now I need to get on with painting the rest of the transports for the Laserburn Imperial assault force.

I can't wait to see this chap perform its first orbital insertion

 While painting the APC, I also started thinking about flight stands for them. I had a length of 15mm acrylic rod, some 12mm rare earth magnets and some 15mm washers, so I decided to experiment. This is my first flight stand and I am very happy with it. The vehicle sits comfortably and securely on top. There is little lateral shift even on steep terrain. The magnetic flight stand should mean that I need fewer of them and that my AFVs are easier to store. Time to retrofit washers to the Bwendi tanks too.

An Analysis of Bwendi Military Forces on Beltene

Crikey, my last post on here was in May. That is months ago. Well, I guess I have been busy and we have not been gaming much lately, but that is still a pretty poor show on my part. Inspired by a post on Waystar High Port about the Imperial army in the sectors that he is building, I started to think what forces would be available to Steve and I in our quest for domination of Beltene. I have dealt previously (here, here and here) with lower level forces for the Bwendi, so this post makes a start on the larger formations available.

The first port of call was JTAS 10 as seen in kobold's post. I decided to use the table as written. So, we have a balkanised world with UWP: B 866673-9 Ag Ni Ri G630 Na. Tech Level is 9 and the Population is 6. This gives 15 battalions available on the world. Striker identifies battalions as approximately 500 people, so that means that of the six million inhabitants on this planet, 7500 are in the army. That does not sound like very large armies at all, when they have to be divided between two sides.

Striker II offers some additional thoughts on what is available: approximately 1% of a warlike population. Yes, both Bwendi and Albion count as warlike: the former because it is forced to defend itself against the latter all the time; the latter because it is always attacking the former. Using this figure, we see that about 60000 people are in the armed forces. Beltene has a high hydrographic percentage, so we shall use the highest figure suggested of 10% of the available forces being in the wet navy. Striker II suggests 20% to 30% in the air forces, which will include orbital and space operations in our case. Let's go with 25%. The remainder are in the army. Our force breakdown now looks like this:

• Navy: 6000 personnel;
• Aerospace Forces: 15000 personnel; and
• Army: 39000 personnel.

Focusing on the army, Striker II offers a standard division equivalent of 20000 personnel, so let's count the army total as two division equivalents. A division equivalent includes 10 manoeuvre or combat battalions of 500 personnel each, 10 support battalions of 500 personnel each and 10000 personnel in the infrastructure behind these units. This means that there are 10000 front-line troops on Beltene, which is slightly higher than the JTAS figure gives, but I am happy to go with it, because it suits how I envisage the state of Beltene with all that Albion aggression going on. So, what does this mean for the Bwendi?

We divide the numbers in half to give the personnel available to each side. Both nations have 30500 personnel involved in their armed forces (rounding up to make the numbers work the way I want. I'll just increase the population to suit later.). I don't know how Steve will want to break his forces down, but I am happy to go with percentages like those given in Striker II.

The Bwendi Navy

It has 3000 personnel, of whom about half will be infrastructure and one quarter will be support troops running cargo and supply vessels. That leaves a front-line force of 750 personnel for me to crew ships with. That is about enough to crew a WW2 light cruiser. I don't envisage traditional capital ships as part of the world's background, because technology changes mean that smaller ships can pack a higher punch. Also, the action is all focused around the one land mass so far, which means that sea-going vessels are not entirely necessary. Additionally, aerospace forces would probably make them too vulnerable, so the navy will consist of smaller vessels equivalent to modern guided missile destroyers and fast attack craft. With the number of crew available, I imagine that the navy will have two to four destroyers (each with a crew of 100 to 150 personnel) and maybe a dozen fast attack craft (each with a crew of 25 to 30 personnel). I need to look at what inspiration and models are available to make a final decision on this though. Still, it will be fun to bombard Avalondon from sea once we get a proper war going on Beltene.

The Bwendi Aerospace Patrol

The BAP has 7500 personnel, of whom 1500 are frontline crew. These are divided between the crews of pure aircraft, space fighters and bombers, and system defence craft. I need to start designing craft to work out what is available in total.

The Bwendi Republican Army

This consists of 20000 personnel, of whom 5000 are front-line troops. Striker II offers percentages for troop morale and equipment quality. Using these, I can expect that I shall have:

• 2000 experienced (i.e. regular) troops;
• 2500 veteran troops; and
• 500 elite troops.

I can also expect to have:

• 2000 poorly-equipped troops;
• 2500 averagely-equipped troops; and
• 500 well-equipped troops.

I shall give the best equipment to the best-trained troops. The backbone of the army is the veteran troops with extensive combat experience in the many brushfire wars of Beltene. These are the armoured infantry of the regular army. A Bwendi armoured infantry company consists of 149 troops, so a battalion of three companies will have 447 troops and will need a battalion command unit. I shall also allow for battalion-level weapons teams of unspecified type (at least until I find some models I really like) and add a Scout platoon of three scout teams (total of 18 troops). The battalion troops will also need some heavier EW/ECW troops. Based on the standard AFV, each section will have no more than nine troops plus the AFV crew of two. The weapons teams will probably be three or four crew per weapon. Assuming towed weapons with indirect fire capability, I shall allow for a battery of three, each with its own transport AFV. The final battalion consists of:

• 1 Battalion Command Section (6 troops, 1 AFV)
• 1 Battalion Communications and Electronic Warfare Team (8 troops, 2 AFVs)
• 1 Battalion Heavy Support Battery (18 troops, 3 AFVs, 3 heavy support weapons)
• 1 Scout Platoon (18 troops, 9 scout vehicles)
• 3 Armoured Infantry Companies (447 troops, 52 AFVs)

That's 497 troops, which fits well with the Striker II numbers. A regiment will then have three battalions, being around 1500 troops with the regimental command unit. As you can see, I am short one battalion to produce two regiments, so I shall include in one of the regiments a battalion of experienced troops with poorer equipment. These are the newer recruits. Having a percentage of the regular army with poor equipment indicates that a percentage of their transport vehicles may be in for repair or have been knocked out and not replaced yet.

A tank battalion will consist of three tank companies, each with three tank platoons and an armoured scout platoon. The basic tank platoon has 8 tanks with a total of 31 crew. The company command consists of a command tank and an armoured communications vehicle (2 vehicles, 7 crew), bringing the company size to 100 crew. The armoured scout platoon consists of 3 scout troops each with 3 light tanks (9 light tanks, 27 crew). The battalion probably needs a heavy weapons platoon. I like the idea of an MLRS system, so we shall have a battery of three of those (3 vehicles, 12 crew, and now I know what my next purchase from GZG will be!). Battalion command will consist of a command tank and a communications vehicle just like the company command. The battalion will consist of:

• 1 Battalion Command Troop (2 vehicles, 7 crew);
• 1 Battalion Heavy Support Battery (3 vehicles, 12 crew)
• 1 Armoured Scout Platoon (9 tanks, 27 crew)
• 3 Tank Companies (26 tanks, 300 crew)

That gives me a well-equipped battalion consisting of 346 crew, leaving me space for adding an airmobile elite company of around 100 troops and a small commando force.

The remaining 1500 troops are members of the Bwendi Uniform Militia Regiments. BUM units are generally organised on a local level with the number of platoons present being determined by the local population rather than military necessity. Their role is usually local defence but the overall nominal organisation of the BUM battalion is as follows:

• 1 Battalion Command Section (5 personnel)
• 3 Infantry Companies (285 personnel)

A regiment consists of 3 battalions with a regimental command section of 5 men for a total of 870 personnel. The astute will notice that the militia regiment numbers exceed the total available personnel. Most militia units are below strength so the total strength of both regiments is approximately 1500 personnel. Heavy support for the militia is provided by the regular army and transport generally consists of whatever is available in the local area, although a pool of army trucks is available in some areas. It is not unknown for some BUMs to drive their section into battle in their own personal vehicles.

So, now I know that the Bwendi army consists of:

• 2 understrength Militia Regiments;
• 2 Armoured Infantry Regiments;
• 1 Tank Battalion;
• 1 Airmobile Company; and
• 1 Special Forces Commando.

Using all this in games

The following ideas are ways to incorporate the above meanderings into scenario design and game play. They have not been tested and are likely to change as I develop the army further.

At the start of the game, assemble a full strength force of the appropriate type as determined by the scenario, and then dice according to type using the numbers outlined below to see what quality the troops are and what equipment is available or missing.

Armoured Infantry:

Dice for all vehicles using 1d6. On a 6, the vehicle is not available.

Troop Quality (1d10):

1-2 Experienced

3-9 Veteran

10 Elite

Militia Infantry:

Dice for each figure/stand (depending on rules in use) using 1d10. On an 8 or 9, that figure/stand is not available for the current battle.

Dice for each section using 1d6. On a 6, enough vehicles are available to carry that section, otherwise it walks.

Troop Quality (1d10):

1-8 Experienced

9-10 Veteran

Tank Units:

Troop Quality (1d10):

1 Experienced

2-7 Veteran

8-10 Elite

Airmobile:

Always have transport.

Troop Quality (1d10):

1-6 Veteran

7-10 Elite

Special Forces:

Always have transport if needed.

Always Elite

Moping Family Pleads For Return Of Missing Moping

The Bwendi Bugle

06 April 2313 Standard Reckoning

Moping Family Pleads For Return Of Missing Moping

A publicity still from 'Moping Goes Over The Top'

The family of Bernard Moping, renowned General Sir Laurence Llewellyn-Boleyn impersonator, has issued an appeal for information regarding his whereabouts. Moping, 48, is best known for his series of comedy sketches that satirised General Sir Laurence Llewellyn-Boleyn, the best known of which was 'Moping in the Trenches'. This bittersweet comedy followed the misadventures of General Larry Currant-Bun in the last great war between Albion and Bwendi and was watched by millions.

It was rumoured that Moping had also undertaken secret impersonations on behalf of General Boleyn, such as attending his children's school plays, and other similarly hazardous endeavours. Nothing was ever proven.

Mr Moping's family is distraught at his disappearance. They say that he has never done anything like this before, and that he would never miss pork chop night voluntarily.

If you have seen Mr Moping, please report all sightings to your nearest police station. His family has offered a reward of £50 6s 10d for information leading to his return.

You can watch a Moping marathon on Buglevision Channel 43 from Mondaeg starting at 8am.

Dalliance Boleyn Returns From Antarctic!

The Bwendi Bugle

05 April 2313 Standard Reckoning

Dalliance Boleyn Returns From Antarctic!

General Sir Dalliance Llewellyn-Boleyn has returned from an expedition to the Antarctic Reaches of Beltene. Sir Dalliance was thought lost ten years ago when the remains of his survey vehicle were identified by satellite. His entire survey team was lost with him. Late last night Sir Dalliance was brought to shore by a fishing vessel that had happened upon him. He was floating on the sea in a Threnody-hide coracle fifty miles from the coast of Birmingusalem.

The tale of Sir Dalliance's survival is a truly remarkable one. As the survey team travelled southwards, they encountered an injured Threnody. Sir Dalliance insisted that the team stop and tend to its wounds before continuing onwards. Only a few days later the survey vehicle plunged into an unseen crevasse. The radio equipment was damaged and the GPS systems were destroyed by the crash. The team were able to haul the vehicle out of the crevasse and turn around for home, but the damage was too severe. It broke down two days later and they could not restart it. Sir Dalliance set out on his own to try to get help, while the team stayed with the vehicle and its supplies. Two days after setting out Sir Dalliance collapsed. When he became conscious again, he was surrounded by Threnodies. Their warmth had saved his life. The Threnody he had saved was part of the herd that saved him. They nursed him back to health on a diet of Threnody milk and he remained with them until tragedy struck six months ago.

The herd was suddenly annihilated by a rabid Campanicule, which killed every animal in the herd. Sir Dalliance had answered the call of nature and was hidden when the Campanicule, a creature that sports iron-hard, 30cm long claws and razor-sharp teeth, slaughtered the Threnodies before charging off into the sea to die. The Campanicule was apparently suffering from a degenerative disease that caused it to become even more erratic and vicious than normal.

Making a coracle from the hides of the Threnody that saved him, Sir Dalliance prepared a boatload of smoked Threnody and set sail northwards. By sheerest luck he survived and was picked up by the fishing vessel.

Sir Dalliance has announced his regret at his twin brother's unfortunate actions and subsequent demise, but has declared his intent to continue where his brother left off in the Albion military.

Buglevision Channel 2 will broadcast a documentary about this amazing tale of survival on Satordaeg evening at 8pm.

General Sir Laurence Llewellyn-Boleyn Escapes

The Bwendi Bugle

04 April 2313 Standard Reckoning

Imprisoned Boleyn Escapes

General Sir Laurence Llewellyn-Boleyn returned to the Albion capital, Avalondon, yesterday following a fraught high tea with our glorious leader Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus. The General's role in the recent atrocity at Cumknocking-on-the-Piddle remains unclear but prisoners taken during the battle have indicated that the General may have instigated it.

Upon his return to Albion the General was immediately imprisoned in the Tower as reparation by the Albion government for the atrocity. The King of Albion declared that he was particularly concerned about the actions of rogue elements in his nation creating friction between the two nations and swore eternal friendship with the Colonel.

Yesterday evening, General Boleyn escaped from the Tower by diving into the waters of the River Thyme, which pass beneath its walls. He appears to have perished in the water, mauled by a Beltene Hyperkarp. The remains of his body washed up downstream and were only identified by a distinctive tattoo of a yellow thistle on his right thigh. Police are treating his death as natural causes.

Albion sends PIMMS to Pyntagahl - Tomorrow's War AAR

The Bwendi Bugle

03 April 2313 Standard Reckoning

Albion PIMMS in Pyntagahl Atrocity

Yesterday the survey station at Cumknocking-on-the-Piddle was destroyed by the Pyntagahl Irregular Mobile Militia Service. PIMMS is an Albion-sponsored terrorist organisation, whose goal is to force the Bwendi nation to kowtow to Albion imperialist ambitions. The PIMMS insurgents attacked the town and then waited to ambush the elements of the 23rd Fast Reaction Team that were sent to deal with the problem.

Cumknocking-on-the-Piddle yesterday. PIMMS militia lurk behind the buildings on the left while elements of 23rd FaRT perform a pincer movement to turn the tables on the PIMMS.

A reduced platoon from 23rd FaRT advanced on the village, performing a pincer movement that left the PIMMS nowhere to run. Taking them under fire, they killed some and wounded many more in a fierce firefight that fortunately resulted in only a small number of Bwendi wounded and no dead.

PIMMS reinforcements

As the battle progressed more PIMMS militia joined the fight, but the combination of poor visibility due to a freak dust storm and the better training of the 23rd FaRT soldiers soon cut them down to size. Once the initial attack had been blunted, the Bwendi force was able to advance through the village, securing many prisoners and draining PIMMS of the will to fight. By the end of the engagement, the PIMMS were routed and the village was secure once more. Twenty prisoners were taken. See them interviewed tonight on Tonight with Trebor McDonut, only on Buglevision Channel 3 along with a dynamic computer-generated re-creation of the battle.

How our heroes defeated the PIMMS

It comes as no surprise to learn that General Sir Laurence-Llewellyn Boleyn, noted Albion hunter and warmonger, has been in the same area for the past week apparently hunting Spine Mountain Frecklepusses. Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus has asked General Boleyn to high tea this afternoon to discuss the diplomatic ramifications of this latest attack. We cannot but hope that the General will lose his head when he returns to Albion following this military failure.

Commentary
This was our first try with irregular troops. Steve wanted to use his Rebel Minis Sahadeen, so we set to with little knowledge of the rules but a will to muddle through. I think we mostly got it right, but there seemed to be holes in the rules that careful re-reading may plug.

We used the campaign rules to set up the scenario. My mission was to hold an objective on the enemy side of the table at game end with no enemy near it. I cleared out one objective by mid-game but forgot my mission and got caught up in capturing Steve's troops, so I did not complete my mission on a technicality. Note to self: remain aware of the mission at all times. I wonder how many times I have said that to myself and still failed to do so?

Steve's goal was to stop me achieving my mission. He succeeded in this because I moved my troops away from the objective marker. Looking at the board at the end of the game, it was clear that his troops had lost the fight and that I controlled the whole of the area around the objective marker, but the rules are clear about how you measure victory. O me miserum!

For once, my casualties were minimal, which was nice. I did kill two of Steve's leaders, which lost him victory points. Again, I did not check what Steve needed to do to gain victory points, else I would have played the game differently. That's another lesson learnt/reinforced. Check what the other side scores points for.

So, as a result of my failure to pay attention, I finished the game on -3 points (3 wounded soldiers) while Steve finished on +13 (my failure to fulfil the victory conditions precisely - 2 dead leaders). A decisive victory to Steve. Hmm ...

Our next step is to play a tank action scenario from the rulebook to learn the vehicle rules fully. After that we shall move through the rest of the scenarios in the book, or we shall start a mini-campaign using the rules that we have been using to set up these scenarios.

Welcome to Beltene - Your Settlement Orientation Guide

The Beltene Union Settlement Trust Incorporated is pleased to welcome you to Beltene. If you check your viewscreens, you will see Beltene shown with a marker to indicate the initial settlement area.

Our surveyors have identified highly valuable resources that will ensure that all settlers will profit from this settlement package. They assure us that Beltene is as close to paradise as it is possible to get. The main chosen settlement locations of Avalondon and Landfall City lie within warm temperate zones for your increased comfort as well as being close to the main resource sites. Gravity is Terra Normal. Better yet, most of the wildlife will not be trying to kill you and there are no known native sentients to concern you. Please consult the maps on your tablet displays for further information about the planet.

The highlighted area on the world map identifies the main settlement area. Touch your screens in that area for a close-up. Avalondon will be the headquarters of the Albion Collective, whose main function will be harvesting the resources of the sea within their area. Landfall City will be the headquarters of the Bwendi Syndicate, whose main function will involve mining the spinal hills on BUST Inc Island, as we have chosen to name the main settlement landmass.

We shall shortly upload more detailed maps for you to peruse as we arrange for all settlers to be transported to their chosen settlement sites. Please be patient and use this time to learn more about this amazing world. We look forward to working with you in these exciting times. We are at the cutting edge of frontier exploration and you, the settlers, are the backbone of this effort. Thank you.

Scouts Out - Tomorrow's War AAR

The Bwendi Bugle

27th March 2313 Standard Reckoning

Scout Camp Terror

A fun week away at Camp Crystal Lake turned to terror for young scouts this week. An Albion Defence Force special forces platoon descended on the camp, where young Bwendi were learning how to tie knots and earning their woodcraft badges. The ADF shot up the camp, killed two of the young scouts and kidnapped 14 others along with 3 the scout leaders. They left the rest of the scout leaders wounded on the ground at the camp together with several of the scouts. In response to this outrage, Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus has ordered the Bwendi Army to block access across the land bridge to Beltene Starport to deny the Albion monsters any external support. The blockade will be removed when the Albion government returns the kidnapped youths and formally makes restitution to the families of the slain.

Camp Crystal Lake
Bwendi scouts may be seen in woods at bottom left and at top centre. A troop is also pinned in the ruined building in the centre of the hill. Bwendi scout leaders are present in the woods at top centre and in the tree at bottom right (sniper team in the tree) Albion terrorists lie wounded in front of the building (circular green bases) as the scouts use every trick they have to defend themselves

Our thoughts are with the families of the slain. The names of Carmen Fandango and Kanye C. Mekebab join others on the Wall of Heroes. Their heroism in the face of this vicious onslaught is an object lesson to us all. Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus announced yesterday, "Their names shall live on in our hearts and their deeds shall stir our souls. As the leaping savannah frog they leapt. They sought the stars and only the acts of vicious Albion curmudgeons prevented them from achieving their dreams. We shall realise their dreams for them. Woe to the nation of Albion if it seeks to stand in our way."

Commentary
So, I decided to field a militia platoon (d6 quality, d10 morale) for a change. They had no armour but I made the fire teams larger (6 figures each) to compensate. This was clearly not enough. Steve fielded Albion regulars (d8/d10) and chose to group them as full squads instead of as fireteams, giving him massively more firepower at the expense of flexibility. We both got 7 points to spend on additional troops. I bought a sniper team and a regular Bwendi section (both d8/d10). Steve bought a special forces section (d10/d12).

We both rolled the same mission: Break Contact. This meant that we both started at the centre line of the table and had to get half of our forces off our own table edge. We both drew Fog of War cards at the start. I got one that affected Steve's off-board artillery (he had none). He got 'This won't play well on the holovids' and lost several victory points at the outset because of some perceived atrocity committed by his troops. That's why I chose to represent my force as peaceful scouts on a camp.

Tactically I made a huge mistake in engaging Steve's force. I won the initiative and my central militia section was able to retreat after shooting at some of Steve's troops but before they could shoot back. This put me in a great position for getting most of my troops off the table very quickly. All my troops that were in buildings or woods started hidden so he had to spot me before shooting at me. I should have taken advantage of that to get out of there and claim a draw. Instead I lost track of my main objective and shot at Steve with other units, thus causing him to shoot back. His dice were smoking hot and I lost two entire fire teams to two rounds of fire. More fool me for starting by shooting at him. My sniper proved his worth though. Using a laser rifle (suppressed weapon) he was able to pick off Steve's medic and a few other troops, which could have given me the win had I been sensible.

So, what have I learnt from this game?

1. Well, I thought it would be fun to field militia. It was, but in a frustrating way, because they were too easy to take down. For militia to be useful, I really need to focus on the mission and just achieve my objective. I need to avoid contact with regular troops while using militia and accept that a draw is really a victory under those circumstances.
2. Using the campaign rules, both sides should start from the same baseline quality and morale, unless we use the points system. I shall try costing up both sides to see what the points system suggests as a balanced start.
3. The 'hidden' rules are not that difficult and added a new edge to the game, which was fun. Likewise, the sniper team was interesting to deploy. It lasted longer than I expected.
4. I need to throw Steve's dice into the Humber! His dice-rolling was unfeasibly high last night. I mean regularly getting a 90% hit rate with a 50% or 60% chance of success and most of those hits being at the high end of the range too. I lost three fire teams in their entirety to his dice in single rounds of fire. Bah! Those die are going in the river next time Steve leaves them unattended!! ;-)

Perfidious Albion Once More (Tomorrow's War AAR)

The Bwendi Bugle

19th March 2313 Standard Reckoning

Perfidious Albion Attacks Aid Station

Once more Albion has struck at the institutions that are the envy of civilised planets everywhere. This time their assault was on the Rocktoad Aid Station in Pyntagahl province. A company of Albion regulars reinforced by a Special Forces Team attacked the aid station in the early hours of Tiwsdaeg evening. Bwendi Republican Army forces were on manoeuvres in the area but were hampered by their Biochem protection gear. They were training to operate in the event of a probable Albion gas attack. It is known that Albion has large stockpiles of chemical agents ready for deployment against the peaceful Bwendi people.

A Bwendi newscopter supplied this view of the BRA platoon advancing with a Callixus IFV in support

As our heroic soldiers advanced in their bulky biochem gear, they suddenly came face to face with an entire company of Albion soldiers.

Albion soldiers (left) occupy firing positions to ambush the Bwendi (right). In the far distance (centre back), an Albion special forces squad can be seen cowering before the Bwendi might

The firefight was short and desperate. Bwendi fire caused an unknown number of casualties, but the Albion curs left 2 dead and 5 wounded behind to be captured. Two of their special forces soldiers were unwounded but surrendered as fast as they could. Of the 21 Bwendi soldiers involved in this fight, 6 were killed and 6 were wounded. The roll of honour for the dead now adds these brave soldiers to the Wall of Heroes in Landfall City:

1. Corporal Airport Carruthers-Smythe
2. Lance Corporal John Jones
3. Private Riley Carpark
4. Private Fabienne D'Iscard
5. Private Seamus Besworth
6. Private Cedric Carpongo

Their sacrifice was not in vain, for the Albion forces might have escaped with more valuable medical equipment and supplies than they did. As it was, they were able to steal one of the aid station's Machine That Goes Ping Mk.1 before they were driven off at great cost by our heroic Bwendi soldiers.

Commentary
This was another game that we set up using the TW campaign system but on a 2'x3' table this time, because we felt that 4'x3' was too large last time. I chose to try using multi-based figures for this game. It worked very well and meant that I could keep my troops together easily. The large bases also provided a useful platform for wounded markers, making it easier to move my fireteams. I chose not to use individually-based figures to make change in this game, but I might do that in the future.

I rolled high for momentum points and scored 8, which gave me the opportunity to buy an IFV to support my troops and an additional fire team. This is the first time we have used vehicles and it was not problematic at all. Steve's only comment on the vehicle was "Next time I should try attacking it." The IFV actually saved the day for me, because I chose to draw a Fog of War card at the start of the game and got gas. No, not that sort. The card is called 'Gas Gas Gas'. My troops deployed in biochem gear, which reduced their troop quality by 1, from d8 to d6. You should have heard me whinging about this during the game! Rolling d6 versus d8 in TW makes quite a difference. The IFV was unaffected by the gas so it rolled normally, which saved my bacon, because it was able to wipe out two fire teams of Albion troops. Steve really needed to get his RPGs into the game against it, but he chose to withdraw his troops as fast as he could once the special forces got close enough to the objective for him to score the victory points for his mission.

Steve's mission was Snatch and Grab, which involved getting a unit to within 3" of an objective marker on my side of the table and then getting some troops off the table. It does not state that the troops leaving the table have to be the same ones as the troops that get to the objective. Presumably that means that the spotters radio the results to their compatriots. Once he had achieved this objective, Steve skedaddled pretty sharpish. This was in turn 3.

My mission was to occupy an objective on Steve's side of the table and ensure that there were no enemy troops within 5" of it at the end of the game. Steve basically handed success in this mission to me by skedaddling so early on. I had at least 2 turns to complete my objective, so I scored a victory on that account too. Had Steve held his positions to the end of the game, he might have scored a full victory.

When Steve's troops left the table, they also left 9 unchecked casualties on the table, so my lot were able to secure them. I scored 7 prisoners of war and found 2 dead bodies.

My own casualties were all victims of my rubbish dice rolling. I managed to roll 3 ones on one first aid check and wound up with an entire fire team that was dead. This seems to be par for the course for me. Still, my troops held the battlefield and saw off the cowardly Albion curs.

The Final Tally
Me: -3 victory points
Steve: -10 victory points
We both achieved our objectives so we both won, but our casualties ensured that in fact we both lost too. I lost a little bit less than Steve though!

Some additional thoughts and a whinge
Tomorrow's War works for us, despite the fact that we keep getting things wrong with the rules! It works really well for 'realistic' science-fiction warfare. We have enjoyed every game so far and the rules have given me plenty of opportunity to complain about my dice-rolling, which is all to the good. Most of the rules are straight-forward and easily applied when you remember them and the game flows well. The biggest problem is in keeping the reaction rules straight. That section of the rulebook is not well written and I have trawled the forum for answers. I think I have it now but have asked for clarification on the forum. This brings me to my whinge.

We changed the table size for this game because we felt it was too large last time. I did ask on the Ambush Alley forum about table size for the campaign games after the last game but received no response. I have asked other questions on there and have been roundly ignored by the authors. I find this very frustrating, because I want to get to grips with the rules properly and I see that some people get their questions answered while others do not. Perhaps my questions are stupid or obvious. If so, a simple page reference would suffice as answer. Either way, I hold out little hope of an answer to my latest questions.

EDIT: My latest questions have just had an answer, so that is positive and better than my previous attempts did. Perhaps they were just having an off day before?

The Bwendi Republican Army in the 24th Century

We've been playing Tomorrow's War lately. We have decided to spend some time playing these rules and learning them properly. As I wrote in the last post, TW is not the easiest rules set for me to read. However, the last game went very smoothly indeed, so clearly they are easier to play once the rules have been read once. Perhaps the difficult reading forces them to be mentally ingested and digested properly. Who knows? Anyway, the battle report for this game (with comments on the campaign rules included with TW) has been posted, but today's post is about the background and organisation of my troops, the Bwendi Republican Army. I plan to add the local militias, the Bwendi Uniform Militia Companies, when I have worked out what they have and how they should be organised. I have figures painted for them, but probably not a full platoon yet. I really should check. So, back on topic ...

Background to our games
For our sci-fi games we are planning on playing both platoon level and company level military actions, as well as some character-driven skirmishes. These will all be set in the Traveller universe but starting in the 24th century with lower tech level troops (about TL8 or 9 for the Traveller buffs). Our nations occupy the planet of Beltene in the Reaver's Deep sector, which is technically the back end of nowhere at this time. Supplies come in from outside, but it is not worth the cost to merchant shipping concerns to send the latest technology out that way. The goal is to run our nations using one of the Traveller supplements that allows you to do this (possibly Pocket Empires, but The World Tamer's Handbook has some useful ideas in it too, as does Dynasty from Mongoose). We can then develop our nations in whichever way we think best. Populations will rise, research will be undertaken and developments made that should see us moving from ground vehicles to grav vehicles over time and then on to a mass migration to spinward of the Spinward Marches in time for the Traveller Milieu 0 setting or thereabouts. I just want to place our pocket empires in the position to fight Zhodani and Sword Worlders, as well as making characters from our nations able to take part in the Classic Traveller adventures.

History of Bwendi and the Bwendi Republican Army
The BRA is a force of regular troops. The Bwendi do not practise conscription, so all troops are volunteers. It has existed in one form or another since the unification of Ztumsia on Terra in the mid-1980s under the command of Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus XXIII. Ztumsia was a war-torn central African republic/dictatorship until it was unified by the Bwendi tribe under the Colonel. After that it adopted a British-style democracy ruled by an elected prime minister and his government. Such was the love of the people for the first Colonel, though, that they have always re-elected one of the Colonel's children to this post when the old Colonel is too old to carry on in the role of prime minister. There is also a tradition that each sibling adopts the name Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus upon taking up the reins of power for the first time.

The core of the BRA is the armoured infantry. In the 24th century they wear full ballistic cloth suits with communications arrays in the helmets. Riflemen carry the Gladcorp M23 Assault Rifle and fireteams have either a Gladcorp Model 33A Team Support Weapon or a Gladcorp TAC19 RPG as support weapons. See the TOE page for a full breakdown of the standard Bwendi infantry company.

Armoured support is supplied by the Bwendi Republican Armoured Troops. The standard BRAT platoon of eight tanks divided into a command section and two tank sections is usually subordinated to an infantry battalion or company commander as a support element, although it happens that the tank regiments sometimes operate en masse, especially when pursuing a breakthrough in enemy lines.

Scout teams are a battalion-level asset, although they are often parcelled out as need to the lead companies of the battalion when advancing. Each scout team comprises six men in three Mebebque-class light transports. Scout teams are heavily armed with Gladcorp SN5h Heavy Sniper Rifles and Gladcorp Flash12 Laser Rifles. They function both as snipers and as scouts, using the laser rifles to paint targets for the battalion's heavy assets.

To supplement the BRA, BUM companies were formed in each town. These local militia units train at weekends and also go on a camp once a year for two weeks. They are generally poorly trained overall but morale can be quite high. Numbers in the BUMs can be variable and many are not at full strength. A full-strength company would have 1 officer, 5 NCOs and 24 Troopers organised into three sections, each of 10 men. The officer is attached to one of the sections for combat operations. Armament is Gladcorp M20 Assault Rifles, Gladcorp SM13 SMGs, Gladcorp TAC11 RPGs and Gladcorp FN80 GPMGs. Each section usually has an RPG and a GPMG. Some BUMs are designated Close Assault Companies. BUM CACs are universally armed with SMGs and GPMGs. They also have a higher than usual allocation of grenades. BUMS will usually wear flak vests although not all of them can afford the armour.

Bwendi 2300 - Traveller skirmishing using Tomorrow's War

We're working on learning Tomorrow's War, as the recent battle reports show. We are also setting up to play a campaign set on a world in the Traveller universe (Classic Traveller, of course. I still have my LBBs). As part of this process, I am thinking about Traveller technology and how it fits in Tomorrow's War, so here is some of the background and how it fits together.

Background
The campaign setting is the Classic Traveller universe adapted to include elements of 2300AD. It is set in the non-canon sector of Reaver’s Deep and is designed to remain at a remove from the main empires and worlds of the Traveller universe. The basic campaign only takes place in Beltene system, which is basically the arse end of nowhere. The plan is to have a resource management campaign that will see our nations rising in tech level and provide organic growth that should ensure that our armies end up different in the end.

Campaign home system

System: Beltene

Subsector: Riftrim

Sector: Reaver’s Deep

UWP: 2203 B866675-9 Ag Ni Ri

The colonies of Albion and Ztumsia Nova were founded on Beltene some time back and are now fully established. Both colonies have an avowed love of all things English. Unfortunately both nations interpret what Englishness is differently, which has led to significant problems between the two. While there is some contact with the wider galaxy, there is little to be gained by trade with Beltene, so the planet is mostly left on its own, except for occasional pirate raids and the potential for alien invasion, if I save enough up to buy the GZG crusties to use as Kafers.

Military Technology

The technology available is similar to present day but with enhanced optics, etc. Laser rifles are a relatively recent phenomenon and can be used both as a weapon and for painting targets. The lists below give the stats where necessary of each weapon at the current tech level. They assume that the baseline technology level in Tomorrow's War for our game will be TL1. Where stats are not given, then the standard TW rules apply. These are all draft stats and subject to revision.

When outfitting troops, reference will need to be made to the Traveller books for Traveller tech levels. As a general rule, armies will always have equipment available that belongs to the previous tech level. Equipment from the current tech level is likely to be less common with elite units getting it first. Militia units may well have equipment from two tech levels lower than the current one, depending upon the culture they come from.

Riflemen

• Assault Rifle
• Laser Rifle
• SMG (close assault)
• Pistol (close assault)

Squad Support Weapons

• GPMG with bipod mount (TL1, Lt, AP:1)*
• SAW (TL1, Lt AP:1)
• RPG (TL1, Med, AP:2/AT:2(M))
• RAM Grenade Launcher (TL1, ABW, AP:1/AT:1 (L))

*GPMG is also a medium support weapon when fitted with a tripod.

Medium Support Weapons
These are usually tripod mounted or fitted to vehicles.

• Autocannon (TL1, ABW, Hvy, AP:3)
• GPMG on tripod (TL1, TST, Med, AP:2)
• RAM Auto Grenade Launcher (TL1, ABW, AP:2/AT:2 (L))

I have figures for GMS/L and HAMR gunners and a couple of RAFRAM Mortars, so I need to work those out in Traveller terms too, but I shall save them for when I finalise my platoon organisation.

Armour
Traveller armour is not as simple as TW armour. Having looked at attempting to add some chrome, I decided that it was not worth the additional effort for our games, so decided on the following armour availability at each tech level:

TL9 Light Body Armour (TL1, 1d) = cloth / flak / ablat
TL10 Light Body Armour (TL2, 1d)
TL10 Hard Body Armour (TL1, 2d) = combat environment suit
TL11 Light Body Armour (TL3, 1d)
TL11 Hard Body Armour (TL2, 2d) = combat armour
TL12 Hard Body Armour (TL3, 2d)
TL13 Light Powered Armour (TL2, 2d) = battle dress
TL14 Heavy Powered Armour (TL3, 3d)

Armour can incorporate various sensor suites and the grid should be available at all tech levels. Chameleon suits are available at various tech levels too, but I am not sure quite how to incorporate those into TW yet. All of this is still provisional and subject to discussion with Steve, but I reckon it's a good basis for setting up our game.

Curzon's Camp - A Tomorrow's War AAR

The Bwendi Bugle

2nd March 2313 Standard Reckoning

ADF defeated at Curzon's Camp

Another incursion into Pyntagahl province by ADF regular army troops was defeated by a Bwendi Republican Army patrol supported by a small detachment of The Colonel's Own Guard last Wodensdaeg.

BRA troops supported by a COG fireteam advance on the ADF regulars. The landfall monument that is a feature of every Bwendi settlement stands proud on the hill.

In a swift and decisive firefight, the BRA and COG troops advanced rapidly through the logging camp to surround the ADF troops, who were swiftly neutralised and captured. About half of the ADF troops were captured. They claimed to be on a map-reading exercise, but had got lost. When challenged by the BRA patrol, the ADF officers lost control of their troops, who panicked and started shooting, instead of surrendering as ordered. The BRA patrol lost Private Abiola Smith, who was cut down in yet another ADF atrocity. Her family has been informed and the funeral service will be on Freyasdaeg 8th March.

The COG fireteam (left) moves swiftly into the woods, while the BRA patrol provides covering fire. Wounded ADF troopers can be seen left centre of the photograph 

Our reporters were able to obtain the photographs shown here, which demonstrate the skill and training of our heroic BRA and COG troopers. It is reported that the Gladcorp logging crew that lives at Curzon's Camp will be returning there next week to resume logging operations. Colonel Throckmorton P. Gladiolus has stated that he will not permit the ADF to continue these incursions and has written a strong email to the King of Albion, ordering him to desist all military action on Bwendi soil. No response has yet been received.

Figures:

BRA - GZG New Israelis

COGs - CMG Vadorian Assassins

ADF - GZG New Anglian Combine

Wooden Buildings - 4Ground

Solar Arrays and Satellite Dish - GZG

My Forces:

Bwendi Republican Army Section (d8 quality, d10 morale)

1 command fireteam (1 section leader with assault rifle, 1 rifleman and 1 gunner with RPG)

2 fireteams (each with: 1 fireteam leader with assault rifle, 1 rifleman, 1 gunner with SAW)

The Colonel's Own Guard Fireteam (d10 quality, d12 morale)

4 figures armed with assault rifles

All figures are wearing TL2 hard carapace armour

Steve's Forces (d8 quality, d10 morale):

ADF regulars organised into four man fireteams with two fireteams per section.

1 heavy weapons team.

Thoughts and Comments

This was a test game for the Tomorrow's War campaign rules. We each diced for our objectives. Mine was to advance to an objective marker on Steve's side of the table and then return off my board edge with the information obtained by getting there. Steve's objective was to enter my half of the board and stop any of my troops from exiting. Although randomly determined, these dovetailed nicely. We began with two sections each and diced for asset points. I scored enough for a special ops fireteam (the COGs) and an additional fireteam. Steve added a heavy weapons team and possibly something else, but I cannot remember what. We also diced to see if we got any additional figures. I received a medic and Steve received nothing, although he already had an integral medic in his platoon organisation anyway.

Steve's troops mainly clustered in the woods in the centre of the table, but two fireteams moved to a ruined shack on his left flank where an objective marker lay. I advanced one section up the left flank with the COGs team and my additional fireteam. My plan was to engage the bulk of his forces and keep them busy while my other section advanced up the right flank to the wooden shack. This basically worked. As my troops emerged from the woods they were able to win the reaction tests and shoot the ADF first. My dice were on fire and ADF troops dropped like ninepins. On the right flank my lead fireteam took some fire and suffered the only fatality of the game for my side. Their brave action in absorbing that fire permitted the rest of the section to advance and lay down heavy fire on the ADF section, destroying them as a fighting unit. The way was clear to move to the objective and one fireteam advanced into the stream, using it as cover to approach the building safely. At this point the game ended. Technically it was a draw. Steve had not advanced into my side of the table and I had not exited any troops after getting to the objective. However, Steve reckons it was a victory for me because I annihilated his troops with my lucky dice-rolling. I'm happy to take any victory I can! 

So, how do the rules fare with this game? Well, I am pleased to report that the mechanisms of infantry combat are becoming significantly easier for us. We barely had to consult the rules at all and we think we got most things right. My comments about how easy the rules are to read still stand, but the mechanisms are much more intuitive and easy to remember after a few games and the gameplay itself is quite a pleasure now that we have the hang of it. Expect more whinging when we move on to the vehicle rules though! :)

We did use the Fog of War cards, but none of the cards drawn significantly affected game play. Still, there is pleasure to be had from drawing them, knowing that some random chaos could be injected into the game. When we introduce the full range of troops, they are more likely to affect the games. I look forward to that.

The campaign rules seemed to work quite well too, despite my previous comments about how sketchy they are. We worked through them and were able to put the game together easily enough. Where they fall down is in the guidelines for set-up and initial forces. They do not mention how large a table the scenarios were playtested on. We played on a 4' x 3' table and think that was too large. Campaign scenarios are meant to be 5-8 turns long with a random roll to end the game from turn 5 onwards. Even with 8 turns to play, my forces would have struggled to exit the table. The rules make mention of 2' x 2' and 2' x 3' tables so perhaps that is the intended table size, but it is not made clear in the campaign section. Our next campaign scenario will use a 2' x 3' table and we shall see how that goes. The other problem is the initial forces you get. The rules recommend two sections and are purposefully vague, so that you can use whatever you have. That is a good thing, but it does mean that you need some experience of the rules to be able to balance the games properly. I have already designed a platoon structure for my troops, so I just used that, but Steve had to figure his out on the fly at the start of the game, because he has not done so. This involved a certain amount of dithering and thinking. That said, the campaign rules look like a great way for generating quick pick-up scenarios too, so all credit to AAG for that.

I am now looking forward to the next skirmish in wartorn Pyntagahl province. I really should get that Rebel Minis dropship painted for my troops so that they can arrive in style ...