MORE IMPULSE BUYS.

Real life both social and work has meant few chances to post recently. I will try to post over the next few days. 

 

              I saw these in the local WH Smith and, of course, could not resist.

The Lancaster is 1:144 and is a B1 with a Tallboy. The models in this series will be 1:144 and 1:200. The 1:144 might fit in with the Wings of War fighters that I have. The next model will be the Junkers Ju290.
The Military Vehicles series is interesting. The scale is 1:72 which will fit in with some of my wargames projects. The M35 gun truck is a model with potential for conflicts in the 1960s and1970s. However, these models are really intended as models and appear to be a bit fragile for gaming use, well the M35 is: I have already had to glue one of the machine guns back on. Photos in a future post. 

XMAS HAUL.

The festive season means an enforced break from regular games nights. However, that doesn't mean there is nothing to do.  Here are a selection of the gaming related gifts that I got for Xmas.

 Some nice additions to my collection of Last Night on Earth. Thanks to Neil and my mum.

 Some 28mm French marines for use in WW1 and inter war games from Rick.

A nice card game, which can be called into action quickly, from David.

Painting some figures for our upcoming In Her Majesty's Name project is taking up most of my spare time..

SQUIRREL TWO.

In a previous post, I showed some grainy shots of one of the greys rushing along a wall at the rear of my mum's care home. This past Sunday, we had a great view of a mad half hour of activiy by two grey squirrels.

        While one squirrel races along the wall, the other is atop the telegraph pole.

     One has a dig at the roots of a plant.

 One rushes along the wall while the other rushes about the garden.

Finding nothing to eat, it jumps back onto the wall and races back to it's tree.


Apologies for the standard of photography.

COMMANDS & COLORS CAMPAIGN GAME PART 2.

The second game of our continuing Commands & Colors campaign involved a Roman force, reorganising in Gaul, following their failure to land in Britannia. They are attacked by a force of opportunistic force of Belgae.

 The initial dispositions. The Romans have a part their force encamped behind ramparts.

 The Roman cavalry are driven from the flank by the Belgae light horse, effectively taking them out of the game.

The early moves, as the Romans try to shorten their front in the face of the Belgae attack.

The Belgae light troops try to pin down the Romans to allow the main body of warbands to get into position to attack.

The Romans leave the camp and advance to contact. They drive back the light troops and contact some of the warband in the centre.

On the Roman right flank, a unit under attack by two warbands destroys one by using first strike. Then in their own turn, they use clash of shields, which gives two extra attack dice, to destroy the other warband and save the flank.

The clash begins in the centre. Warband exchanges casualties with legion.

The fighting intensifies in the centre with the Romans fighting their way forward.

 

The Begae chariots make a hole in the Roman line.

The battle in the forrest intensifies. Both sides lose units. The Belgae have reached 6 banners. The Romans have a chance to tie if they can destroy two units in their last turn.

Despite a brave effort by a unit of bows, destroying a weakened warband, the Romans lost by 6 banners to 5.

This loss means that the Romans have been recalled to deal with a rebellion in central Gaul. Only once they have beaten the rebels can they return to the coast to try to get to Britannia.

 

It was good to be able to get two games in in an evening. Playing linked battles is preferrable to random games. You get the feeling of something at stake if you lose. Ultimate victory will be determined by the Romans taking all the areas of Britannia. If they are pushed back to Rome, then civilisation never happens!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to everybody!

    Not the scene just now, but as it was at 1100 yesterday for about 20 minutes.

 Enjoy the day, whether celebrating or not. Reflect on your place in the world and take a chance to appreciate the things that really matter when looking at what is going on around the world.

THURSDAY GAME : BURN THE HOUSE DOWN.

Last Thursday's game was a game of Last Night On Earth. We used the original game with the Growing Hunger and Hero Pack 1 expansions added in. The scenario was 'Burn 'Em Out' , where the heroes have to find gasoline and an ignition source, then burn down the manor house (and it's four extra spawning pits). Rick controlled the Zombies and Aidan and I, the heroes.  

The initial set up. Sheriff Anderson in the Police Station, Father Joseph in the Church, Amanda in the High School and Sam in the Gas Station (he started in a random building).

The heroes did not have much luck in the early game. Searching for gasoline proved fruitless. The Zombies were well marshalled and very soon Amanda became the first Zombie Hero. She was replaced by Victor the escaped prisoner.

Victor is found in the High School by Father Joseph, who very soon after, became the second Zombie Hero. To be replaced by Detective Winters. 

Finally, Sheriff Anderson found some gasoline and wasted no time in making a beeline for the Manor house.

He doused one of the four spawning pits and returned to the Gas Station to take advantage of the fact that Rick had exposed two more gasoline counters whilst playing cards to run down the hero deck.

The heroes congregated at the gas station to use the building's special rule of being able to pick up a gasoline counter from the discard pile. Unfortunately, it brought the zombies. The red zombie is a grave dead zombie. These are 7 one shot zombies. All have the same random special power. On this occasion, when a hero was wounded, on a 5 or 6 he instantly became a zombie hero. Sadly, Sam succumbed to this.  

The heroes desperately tried to get to the manor house with two more lots of gasoline. However, Detective Winters was overwhelmed and became the fourth hero to die. Thus Rick was triumphant.

It was another good game. The extra expansions gave lots more options. Rick managed to play a couple of killer combinations that stalled the heroes. I misunderstood the true cabablities of gasoline and discouraged Aidan from taking actions that would have helped. You live and learn...er.

WHAT OTHERS DO.

Whilst delivering xmas gifts today, I noticed that my friend Iain, a lifelong aero modeller, had reorganised  some of his collection of completed kits. He had used an old bookcase. Simple but effective.

 Not had a lot of time to post this week. Real life and xmas parties got in the way. Hope to get a few posts out over xmas.

COMMANDS & COLORS: CAMPAIGN BATTLES PART 1.

For our Thursday game this week, Rick elected to revisit an earlier campaign, more accurately a linked series of battles, which we started earlier in the year.

The campaign started when Aidan and I controlled two Roman armies invading Britannia. we each played a scenario against an army of Britons. Aidan lost and his next game would take place in Gaul. I won so the first scenario we played was further into Britannia. 

 

Rick came up with a scenario based on Issus.The Britons were deployed with the Romans having a choice of deployment areas marked by the poker chips.

My view of the deployment zone and terrain on this 6' x 4' table.

My Romans deployed.

Early moves. The Roman auxila and lights move to disrupt the British warbands crossing the river. The British lights pick at the Roman flank from the high ground.

The first attack by the Britons is destroyed by the auxila.

The Briton barbarian chariots catch the Roman cavalry at rest and destroy the unit.

Behind the chariot attack, a unit of Roman medium infantry forces back a warband and then turns on the chariots, forcing them to retreat, before being forced to flee themselves.

The chariots came back to finish them off.

 

On the right flank, the British warbands attack.

 

The fight goes back and forth, with the Romans losing two units.This leaves the right flank threatened.

In the centre, the British warbands overwhelmed the Romans and their recently recruited local allies.
 At this point it was clear that the Romans would have to retreat to reorganise and reinforce nearer their landing beaches (the next scenario will be in a coastal area).

The result: 6 banners to 2.
A really exciting game, with lots going on all over the table. We managed a second game, which will form the basis of a second post.