Field Of Battle 3 - solo Napoleonic game and A Distant Plain (Pictatstic)

No scheduled game with Stephen this week (as I had to take parent to hospital appointment) but did manage to get a FOB3 solo game on table as I wanted to test a possible change to Attack Column.

In standard FOB Attack Column gets an UP1 whenever it fights in melee but am not sure that this would be supported by history so was testing cutting this UP1.

I have already made Attack Columns Down 2 rather than Down 1 for shooting but left melee untouched.

My thinking is that the Attack Column maneuvers a tad quicker (moves 8" whilst I give Line 6") and versus a Line it can get 2 on 1 (which is Down 1 for the Line being outnumbered) and if initiating the combat its gets Up1 as standard, so essentially a difference of 2 dice types (rather than 3 as written) just not sure the extra UP1 purely for being Attack Column is warranted ? but conversely do not want to make the formation too weak.

It worked fine in test game and think I will retain the amendment, but (as ever) might consider giving the Up1 versus Towns or Fortifications, will need a few games to see if too weakened.

Game was using Markkleeberg scenario I used as manageable numbers of units.

I actually started the game with Battle Command but find this bit harder to solo (keep getting confused as to which side is 'on' and what Action each command entitled to) so quickly reset and used my trusty and favoured FOB3 which I can solo with no problem.

Loads of pics showing various stages of game which the Allies won after crushing French left 

Also earlier in week I set up and completed a solo game of A Distant Plain which was thoroughly enjoyable even in 'lonely pint'/schizo mode with Government winning (although I did underplay the Taliban)

Ulster Wargames Society - Combat HQ game and several others

 

Very busy club meeting today (pretty close to capacity !) and Mike put on another very enjoyable WW2 game using Combat HQ rules.

Game was in 15mm (using Mike and Bryns excellent toys) and a scenario set on Eastern Front in 1941 with Bryn, Simon and Adam commanding Germans with Mike, Stephen and I as Russians.

Ivans where defending a couple of villages and river crossings against a larger and superior force (at least in terms of morale and orders) making hard for Ivans to realistically win but great fun delaying and harassing the Nazis it was.

I ended up facing Simon and Adam on our right wing with guts of a Regiment of infantry backed by couple of PzJager1 and a PzII along with a very nasty little 75mm Inf Gun. 

I had an Infantry Battalion with a 45mm ATG and 2 x T28C 'Land Battleships' and they sort of lived up to that name.

Stephen faced Bryn on our left who had bulk of Nazi armour (PzIII, Pz38T and StugB ?) with another Soviet Infantry Battalion and 3 x T26 'Coffins for 5 brothers' (of which 2 managed to survive game !) with support of a Company of Flamethrowers equipped Pioneers.

Mike as CinC held our reserve off-table being 2 xT34/40 and another Infantry Battalion along with Brigade artillery support (Battery of 76mm), the Nazis also had off table artillery and a couple of Stuka sorties.

At end Soviet morale was broken but we had defended the river crossing whilst losing the villages.

Great game with an interesting set of rules, some of the unit stats/abilities raise an odd eyebrow (the IG and the T28s seemed surprisingly powerful) but it works well overall within a playable framework.

Bridge and village I was trying to defend (the railway crossing was unusable) with village firmly in Hun hands by this stage

My T28s are just out of shot behind river and have forced Nazis to hide behind buildings and woods shy of the bridge

Some of Bryns Panzer force (playing cards are Blinds for unseen formations)

More Panzers in action

Overview from Ivan right 

Deluge of Nazi infantry assaulting my posistions

Mike has deployed Ivan reserve with T34s advancing to support Stephens last stand in village

Blaze of gunfire on left (yellow markers are Suppressions)

Germans obliterate Ivans in village

There were several other games ongoing at club and I only got very brief look at those during quick lunch break and as ever no idea how they turned out ?

I believe we had 27 people involved in playing games which is possibly a record ?. 

My pics mostly poor as rush job

A Middle Earth Battlegame with Keith, Tony and David S (burn the heretics !!) with very nice figures. Have not seen Keith in years so nice to catch up. 

A dark age/late Roman game using a variant of Dux Bellorum (or was it Dux Britannium ?) with super 28mm from Adam S and Dave P.

English Civil War game using Pike & Shotte run by Billy (who seems to have gotten sponsorship from Coca Cola) with Jeremy and Dave B & T

Seven Days to the Rhine game with 20mm kit and terrain from Chris (this had several players but I lost track of whom although Andy was certainly involved)

Also game with Phil and Leslie that I did not get not get any pics off (sorry chaps just too busy) but think was with Gangs Of Rome ?

Borrowed image of proceedings as tables being set up and not all players having arrived