JULY GAME NIGHT

 

Things getting under way during the July Game Night. 

Greetings, dear reader(s). This won't be much more than a snapshot post, but hopefully still worth a visit.  Our club recently convened for our monthly game night (July).  Despite it being the middle of the summer, when attendance can be light given that a portion of regulars are away on holiday/vacation and other seasonal engagements, the turn out was quite robust: 23 in attendance.  Our game nights consist of 3 games, normally understood to be designed for 6 players with the flexibility to go up or down by 2.  We also generally have a "overflow" game in the wings--ready-made and quick to set up in case turnout exceeds seats. In this case, we had 3 fully supported games and no need to pull out the contingency game. Here is what was on offer:

Battle of Groveton, 1862 

AJ (end of table in black t-shirt) briefing players on his 15mm ACW Battle of Groveton game using his popular Electronic Brigadier system, which he's successfully expanded in the last year from its origins in 28mm American Rev. to 15mm ACW.  AJ 3D printed the extensive linear fences seen in this layout.

Battle of Cape Matapan, 1941

Phil (standing, white beard, black t-shirt and Boston Red Sox baseball cap) briefing players on his Axis and Allies War at Sea game.

   

Battle of Luneville, 1944

Rob (yellow cap) briefing players at the start of his 28mm Iron Cross WWII game. Rob is one of the group's 3D printing pioneers, and his games feature custom buildings and other features that he has researched and produced (like a V2 launching site, complete with rocket, for a previous game). 

  

I arrived early, visited with everyone, then when I saw that nobody needed me to fill a seat to float their game, I helped to facilitate AJ's game until the players were in the swing things and then did a few turns around the room watching the other games before heading home at around 9 pm --which was just right for my Friday night.  

Exclesior!
 

FRONTIER BATTLE 1866: REDUX

 

Austrian Cuirassiers Moving Up Past the Division Command Post

Greetings, dear reader(s).  Renewed interest in these parts for gaming the Post Napoleonic (pre-20th Cent) period has prompted me to pull out my other rules set, my Volley and Bayonet (Battalion Level) Post-Napoleonic variant. Full details and notes on this variant (mutation?) can be found on the 19th Century Volley and Bayonet Resource Page.  This is the system that pre-dates my Chocolate Box Wars (CBW) rules system. There are two versions of this VnB variant, one that uses single stand units and one that uses two-stand units--the latter being interoperable with the basing and unit conventions of Chocolate Box Wars. This was the two-stand variant, done in part to show players who had CBW armies another use for their collections--and just to have another game. As usual, in this post, you may clix pix for BIG PIX.

This was a four player game representative of the so called frontier clashes of the 1866 campaign. The lead division of a Prussians force is emerging from a gap in the mountains in order to deploy and facilitate the advance of the rest of the force, and an Austrian division (two brigades: the Austrians didn't actually have "divisions") is arriving along converging paths to try and push them back and guard the gap. This game was a replay, the scenario details being available in the April 6, 2022 post. 

Each brigade had two regiments plus brigade units.  The lead regiments started on-table, with the second regiments arriving on turn two. In the case of the lead regiments (examples above), I made them "advance guard" like, adding a few non standard elements to the regimental structure (cavalry squadron, jager half battalion, and in the case of the Austrians, a grenzer battalion--a bit of variety and they just looked good). I also wanted to have a good mix of unit types in the game to familiarize players with the range of units and special abilities in the system. 

Side set-up counter with follow on elements organized 

Prussian reinforcements (left) and Austrian (right): two follow on regiments (one per brigade), each in its own box. The follow on regiments were organized per base historical tenets (3 infantry battalions plus a supporting half battalion of jagers). 

In addition, each side had divisional units that would arrive on turn 3: An artillery battery and cuirassier regiment (for both), and a grenadier battalion for the Prussians and a volunteer Freiwilliger Jager battalion for the Austrians. 

Each of the players had a side table with player reference, OOB, markers, dice, measuring device, and doggie treats (to keep the pups happy during the game). Above right: my game referee station ready to go at the end of the table: my high chair, my own small table with references, and other game detritus within reach on the cabinet. 

A few handy reference cards are placed on the table to help players with unit special effects and the game is afoot. 

The Prussians (left), AJ (foreground) and Bob, pushing their lead regiments forward while the Austrians (Charlie, right) look on. Robert, the other Austrian player, is out of picture to the right: unfortunately, I didn't get any shots of him, so he will remain a man of mystery. 

A collection of shots showing the battle developing, with moves and counter moves. 

The heart of the action: both sides have moved up and you can see two opposing lines ranged against each other, with a cavalry clash picking up steam in the foreground. Characteristic for its time, units were committed and mutually ground each other up along this line. 

Eventually, Bob (on the Prussian left) managed to push around the Austrian right flank, forcing the line back here. And out on the other wing, after much back and forth, the Prussian cavalry prevailed against the Austrian horse, forcing the Austrian left wing back. Meanwhile, in the center, both sides were still hammering away, with losses mounting for both battle lines. The Austrians, after several promising assaults that came close to breaking the line, got turned back, and were starting to get the worst of it. 

Austrian Brigade Commander and his trusty revolver, momentarily the only thing holding a gap in the line. 

And so, at that point, we called it a Prussian victory. It was not a romp, though. The game was not decided early on, and we had a full day of gaming, starting at 10:00 a.m., breaking for lunch, and then wrapping up at around 3 p.m.  

Final shot of the table after the fact (cleaned up). 

It was good to get a game on the table again at my place after a long hiatus.  It was well received, and everyone had a good time. At least one player has been looking for a system to use with a Franco Prussian collection of his, and he will be adapting this for that purpose, so we have more to look forward to. I will add a final note: although this is a very modified version, this is still a game system rooted in the Volley and Bayonet model--a school of rules employing the much maligned (nowadays) "Igo Ugo" structure, the criticisms of which I find much more a matter of fashion than substance. This game (and all others like it I've played or facilitated) developed along what I would call authentic lines, which is the mark I use to determine whether a rules set is viable or not, and the players said that it was both an enjoyable and satisfying game experience, which is the most important metric.

Excelsior!

OF BROKEN FINGERS and ABSENT FRIENDS: A NON-UPDATE

 

Whacked finger in splint.

Having announced my return to blogging after a lull, and currently in a subsequent lull, I thought I should provide an update of some sort just to show that I've not yet tossed in the towel on blogging.  Generally, I like to keep this blog about the hobby and hobby related items, and so don't drop anything here unless it's "on topic." Unfortunately, circumstances of late have conspired to keep me from posting much (both figuratively and literally...see above digit in splint). So this will be a wordy, image-poor, update. 

It has been a busy time, hobby wise, for the last few months, but they have been consumed with long term projects that have not been suited to multiple posts. Specifically, organizing and running our recent club game day and before that, planning for and running games at the Mayhem Convention. 

One thing I haven't brought into this blog is the fact that one of the members of our gaming club, a close friend and a central fixture in all of our club events, passed away quite suddenly last fall. Although none of us is getting any younger, and we have witnessed the passing of some of our comrades, his loss was a punch in the gut to us all, and we're still collectively dealing with it. His widow got in touch with a fellow club member afterwards, at a loss over what to do with his collection, and for the last few months he and I have been coordinating the effort to inventory and organize his collection, arranging for a take-away day at the end of May. This turned out to be a successful operation: the club members came together and cleared out the lot, helping his widow move on and providing closure for us as well. And no less so for me, personally. It was the last, and most fraught, of the major projects that I had been dealing with. With the closure came a sense of being able to move on, hobby wise, again...

...and so it was until I managed to slam the car door on my finger (the weekend of the take-away, no less--how's that for timing?). Now, as the picture shows, I've beaten up the digits of that hand plenty over the years (fooling around in and around armored vehicles during an Army career has provided plenty of opportunities), but I must say that this was a new one: breaking the tip of the middle finger of the right hand (my dominant hand). In all the previous instances where I've whacked digits, I I've been able to compensate, but there is virtually no functionality, I found, that does not involve the tip of the middle finger. 

Happily, it has been almost two weeks since the injury, and although still on the mend, I can remove the splint and do things that were out of the question until recently, like tying my own shoes, writing checks, and keyboarding....

...and on that note, I think I'll bring this bit of keyboarding to a conclusion. So that's what's been (not) going on 'round here. 

Excelsior!