Combat Commander a double solo outing

Played two scenarios of Combat Commander in solo mode today.

Both from original set ‘Hedgerow Hell’ and ‘Bonfire of the NKVD’.

Two very fun scenarios that even in solo mode ended up very close run affairs.

Such a great game.

No Retreat! The Russian Front- solo play

Got one of my many neglected board wargames to the table albeit in solo mode and a very enjoyable outing it was.

Such a clever game this allowing one to game the massive Eastern Front campaign in such a playable fashion whilst retaining a great feel of the epic scope of the struggle.

Even played solo (I didn't use the solo specific card deck) this is a fun game.

Germans failed to crush Soviets in 1941 and then saw the Russian juggernaut gather steam from late 1942 onward, I ended the game just as 1945 was about to start with Soviets already with a foothold in the Reich.

Combat Commander - Father vs son

Played a game of CC Europe with son today using the Commando School scenario from original game set. I played as Russian defenders against Germans.

Great game with this ever excellent board wargame. 

Things swung to and fro with usual excitement engendered by random events and card play.

Germans simply ran out of time as game ended on first sudden death roll just as they were putting pressure on main building objective, this gave Russians a VP win.

Barbarossa To Berlin - solo play

Got Barbarossa To Berlin board wargame to table for short solo session.

Been awhile since I have had a board game in action and very enjoyable this was too even if only solo mode.

This game really does show just how preeminent the Eastern Front was compared to the sideshow that is the North African theatre (but a possible drain on resources) and even when Western Front is opened in Italy and France the main area of pain or gain for Whermacht is definitely Russia.

I only played until Total War started and Germans up against it due to insufficient VPs gathered in Russia and think the would have been hard pressed had I continued to bitter end.

Moscow was threatened but Panzer Armies failed to take it and then suffered losses to Panzers (a real hurt to German cause), Leningrad also held out and Germans never really got further than Kharkov before having to shore up a collapsing line.

Heatwave board wargames

Managed to get a couple of board wargames in with my son Steven who is 'home' from England for 10 days (not seen him since late 2019 due to travel restrictions) and who brought a incredibly hot heatwave with him (several record temperatures recorded for N.I.).

Had planned a couple of figure games but room just too hot and sticky.

First up was the excellent COIN game 'Colonial Twilight' with Steven as Insurgent FLN and I as Government (French) playing the Full length scenario.

This proved to be a very close game, in fact a draw with us both scoring zero !

Then later a Combat Commander scenario with Steven choosing Russians (do not recall scenario title) defending in 1941 against Germans.

Another close game, but a run of Time Checks saw the game slip from Germans as time ran out before they could invest the last objective (which has large VP count)

Great to get some quality time with son after so long and with two fine games played.

Treading water..........

Not much wargaming action this month, as feel like I am treading water (actually more like treacle) awaiting lockdown restrictions to ease here in NI sufficiently to allow face to face gaming again (last game was back in early October !).

Just about managed a couple of COIN games solo play and of course ordered a couple of new  rule sets.

Fire In The Lake

Colonial Twilight

New edition due anytime soon (by end of April ?)

This one on pre-order a big battle set from Osprey

Division sized set from author of Honours of War (SYW Set)

Vassal - Combat Commander scenario completed

Another online Vassal session with Mike today completing our game of 'Hedgerows and Hand Grenades' scenario.

Game ended as a German (Mike) win over USA (moi) on second Sudden Death roll with 9 Victory Points.

Great to get a 'proper' game in during continuing lockdown and Combat Commander a super game to play via Vassal.

We are hoping to give No Retreat! The Russian Front an outing next.

The game board positions at end

 

Vassal - Combat Commander online and A Victory Lost Pbem

Another online Vassal session with Mike L today utilising the ever excellent Combat Commander.

We started scenario two 'Hedges and Handgrenades' with Mike as Germans defending in Normandy bocage against my US attackers.

I have 105mm Artillery support which has been both a blessing and a curse here, having hit Germans initially it has since blasted my own units die to the very limited lines of sight here in the bocage.

US hampered a bit by a lack of Move cards and costly terrain to move across, so seem to be stuttering forwards.

Thankfully I have managed to avoid the two German MG42s thus far but it cannot last.

Game not finished so saved to complete another day.

Also started a PBEM game with Mike K of A Victory Lost a game I have had for years but never got to the table, so great to give it a try on Vassal.

I am the Soviets in the Ukraine region just after Stalingrad trying to push West with Mike in charge of Axis forces trying to stem tide and possibly conduct Manstein's famous 'Backhand Blow' (assuming I take Kharkov and environs that is !)

A fairly low complexity game but so far slick and interesting with a Chit Pull system but with a few quirks in that both sides only get a limited number of Chits per turn (although Stavka chit allows all In Command Soviet forces to activate).

Not sure on overall strategy, beyond 'take the cities' (that is where VPs are) but fun so far although very early days as still only on 2nd Chit of Turn 1. 

Combat Commander - Vassal game

Managed an online Vassal game of Combat Commander with Mike today (using Discord for voice interaction).

Mike new to system and Vassal version so I selected the introductory scenario 'Fat Lipki' as very basic forces and no special rules or units to get 'feet wet'.

I took Germans and Mike the Soviets.

Maybe not the best CC scenario but it was still very fun (so great to interact in real time with another player even online !!) with Germans gaining a 105mm Artillery Radio (which done a lot of damage to Soviets) and usual heady mix of Snipers, Blazes and great or awful hands of cards and rolls/outcomes.

Germans won after sudden death roll by Victory Points level, but that was not the point of the exercise as we both learnt the nuances of using Vassal (worked very well). 

Hopefully a few more games in pipeline to ease this current Lockdown which personally I am finding much more tedious than last having kind of lost mojo for miniatures games against myself.

However thankfully none of my family or circle of friends have suffered from Covid and hope that remains the case.

The situation at end of game 

The Dark Valley - end of a truly epic PBEM game

Just completed The Dark Valley Vassal game I have been playing PBEM since July 2014 (with one or two extended breaks) with Mike in Canada !!!!!!!!!!!.

We stopped at end of February 1945 as just no way Soviets going to make enough gains to affect the Victory Level (German Minor Win).

Enjoyed the game via Vassal but not sure what I think of it overall as an East Front game.

Complexity is low in terms of pure game mechanics (made larger by sheer numbers of units/scope) but I found it lacking dynamism.

Never felt in Barbarossa phase that Soviet lines would ever break or that any large encirclements/pockets would occur or that any real threat to Moscow or Leningrad never mind Rostov or far flung Stalingrad, although Mike may have been playing conservatively ?

Only Minsk, Kiev, Kharkov (recaptured) and the Crimea fell with Germans retaining Ukraine and most of White Russia along with Sevastapol at end.

Very seldom after 1941 did we have any units Out Of Supply/Communications as solid unbroken lines, meaning the Logistics chit rarely had any effect.

Cannot say we played optimally (certainly my first go with game) but never seemed that either of us could make any truly significant breakthroughs when attacking to really trouble the enemy.

Certainly once Soviets went onto Strategic Offensive they had a torrid time trying to grind the enemy and Mike was able to retire onto river defensive lines (not sure Herr Hitler would have approved) that proved impossible to breach (the Soviet Combat Results table is rather unkind).

From 1944 onward it seemed more of a WW1 Western Front style affair.

Certainly the biggest game I have ever attempted (a mini-monster) and one I would simply not get to the table for more than a brief session so Vassal a great way to actually play.

Overall view of the front at end of Feb 1945  

The northern zone

And the southern zone

Combat Commander - solo session

Had a short solo (just for a change) bash with Combat Commander today.

Felt I needed a quick outing to keep my hand in (as we say locally) as seems ages since I played this excellent game face to face (not since early March last year !) and several months since I played via Vassal either.

Set up the second original scenario 'Bloody Bocage' with Yanks facing Krauts in the....er....bocage.

Whilst not idly suited to solo play this is still a great experience and thankfully the rules are still lodged firmly in the old grey(ing) matter.

The rules overall by the late Chad Jensen are still for me one of the most well written sets I have ever encountered

Just such a fun game system and despite its apparently endless randomness it still has the feel of a proper plausible simulation of low level tactical action, just so much narrative is generated by the card play system and not a dice in sight.

Must give the Great War version another run out.

Three influential wargaming books

For likely my last post of this (relentlessly crap) year I have jumped on board a nice diverting little ditty circulating on Blogs wherein one highlights three books that have influenced your wargaming initially and/or over the years.

Certainly before I was playing in a Wellsian 'chuck stuff to hit' style on the floor with all sorts of Airfix figures and kits.

First up has to be my very first set of 'proper' wargame rules Operation Warboard which I obtained as a 12 year back in the day (ie 1976) and which very much set me on the course of the bottomless pit of miniature wargames.

Have re-read several times and it still has a great set of playable old school core rules and background info. 

Lots of stuff about converting Airfix (and other) plastic figures kits due to limits of availability and most of the photos of games by author and his son used unpainted figures and vehicles with very basic terrain pieces (including chalked on roads/rivers) compared to todays items !

Second on my list is not strictly a single volume but the magazine Battle.

I discovered this excellent mag around 1977, before it was amalgamated into Military Modelling (another contender) and it broadened my horizons beyond WW2 and 20mm plastics.

Eye watering pics of colourful metal figures from all periods just blew my impressionable tiny mind.

Last but not least it has to be the Piquet series of rules (that lead directly to my favourite Field of Battle and suchlike) that showed me a much more open and flavoursome style of wargaming compared to the more traditional and somewhat staid types.

Bit of a 'love 'em or hate 'em' set but just such a breath of fresh air and very much a style of game I found myself increasingly drawn too.

There are several others I could have picked that will now get an honourable mention and that is not even considering any historical reference books, movies or indeed board wargames, many of which greatly influenced my wargaming choices and playing time and expenditure over the years.

In no particular order of merit but are all sets that got me into new periods or types of play: