Board Wargame catch up

Couple of board wargames played this week including one with my Dad (so glad to get back to playing with him)

First up I had Breakthrough Cambrai on table as being a Area-Impulse type it is fairly solo friendly.
Only played a couple of turns but great system and interesting subject.

Then it was Great War Commander playing first couple of scenarios to refresh rules in my head.
Such a superb system (Chad Jensen such a loss) and very nice graphics in this one, a bit less functional than WWII version but the Gallic flair shines.

Then a couple of games with Dad of Battle For Stalingrad an abstract but fun card game.
Does seem very tough for Germans at first blush but certain there is a strategy to make them viable just not found it yet.

New acquisition Great War Commander: The British Expeditionary Force

Expansion to base game Great War Commander arrived.

Some great looking scenarios including several 1914 period in Mons area.

Great War Commander - in the trenches

Another couple of scenarios played with GWC, well three actually but I forgot to take pics of first encounter !

Late war stuff now with French attacking entrenched Germans, with their lumbering tanks in tow, heavy bombardments and lots of trenches, foxholes, barbed wire, shellholes and MG nests

Great stuff once more with this excellent game.

Great War Commander - two Verdun scenarios played

Another session with this excellent game with my Dad.

Two meat grinding scenarios set around Verdun one in a wooded winter landscape (late 1915) the other on a 'moonscape' hilly area (early 1916)

Both large (by CC standards) scenarios with 12+ units each time.

Firmly into the era of trench warfare and artillery pounding and indeed the later scenario introduced us to despicable gas warfare (a lingering suppression effect) and flamethrowers.

Both scenarios had some German Guard troops who have high morale making them hard to Break and Destroy.

In addition to gas we realised we had been underestimating the power of the new Offensive order in that I had misread that it was 2 units that it activated, but this is not the case as it allows a single leader (of any rank or rating) to activate (to move and then fire) any chain of adjacent unbroken units in a 'human wave' style attack very reminiscent of 'All Quiet On The Western Front'.

I managed to win both scenarios with defending French but both were close run affairs with the Time Track 'Sudden Death' being my friend.

Great game and no 'bad' rolls to plague me as no feckin' dice to hate me !!

Staying with the Combat Commander theme I purchased this Battle Pack (only one I do not have), not a big fan of 'fantasy/alternative history' backgrounds but expect the scenarios will be fine.

Great War Commander scenario played

Played another scenario from the excellent Great War Commander this time set in 1915 near Vimy Ridge with French attacking entrenched Germans.

Several new rules used in this one including a cratered landscape of shellholes, improved air power, creeping and standing barrages and of course trench lines.
A real meat grinder of a scenario this one with French breaking the German trench line but suffering whilst trying to take an objective hex.
Great stuff once more.

Great War Commander - three scenarios played in anger.................

Game with GWC with my Dad and we managed to play through the first three scenarios.
All are set in 1914 pitting the Germans (Dad) against French (Moi).

French trounced in first scenario as with new Cohesion rule (units are usually Suppressed if out of command range) they were too slow to group from their initial set up dispersal.

Second scenario saw French triumphant despite their artillery support being spectacularly ineffective (I could not even hit with Observer at 2 hexes !!) but putting the Boche to flight at bayonet point (French seem to have several melee enhancement Actions in their deck).

Third scenario saw a large French force attack Boche in a Chateau and village.
This one went down to the wire with French narrowly winning (by 2 VP) only after luckily taking the Chateau just before German reserve unit could occupy a vacated Pillbox in last hex.

Great version of the original system with only a few rules extras to bring WW1 flavour and we have not yet got to the trenches or tank scenarios.

Hopefully the expansion with British etc will not be far off ?

Great War Commander a solo try

Had a solo try with recently acquired Great War Commander board wargame.

Very nice indeed it was too despite the lack of British in initial release (German, French and johnny come lately Yanks are featured).

Same essential card based system as original Combat Commander but with a number of additions, such as units (re-branded as Formations) are now Platoons rather than Squads, several new terrain types including, of course, shellholes, trenches, nasty gas barrages and such like.

Lots of new actions and orders including the ability of a leader to activate sub-ordinates within his command range which combined with a new order such as Offensive can generate a sort of human wave (but with shooting) very WW1 in feel.

Artillery is handled slightly differently with each side having a 'free' FAO (if combined with a Telephone) on map edge in addition to using leaders and these can be standing (fire markers remain) or creeping (markers move 1 hex) barrages and any terrain can be changed to Shellholes if attack total is 18+.

Also a new mini-deck of 9 Strategy Cards per side with some one off actions or fire supplementing.

One change I struggled to remember is that at the end of each players turn you check unit Cohesion and any units out of command (barring one or two exceptions) are marked as Suppressed.

Air power is included (a variation of the CC Pacfic system) being able to strafe or bomb along a hex row.

Tanks are also now 'proper' pieces with several specific rules.

The maps and counters are excellent with the maps being more colourful than standard CC types (French flair) but marginally less clear on occasion.

All in all an excellent game (by Hexasim) that I look forward to trying in anger.

Combat Commander takes the field again

Been a bloody awful month for wargaming overall (roll on retirement in July !) but managed a set of three games of Combat Commander tonight with my Dad.
The scenarios were from a set of WBC 2009 Tournament games.
First up saw my Dad with Germans as usual in Normandy against Yanks.
A narrow win for the Germans as Sudden Death saw game end with 2 German VPs mainly due to relentless Time triggers.
Second game had some Elite Ivans against his Nazis in Germany 1945 with Fascists hampered by a 2 Action hand.
Judicious (and somewhat lucky) use of Smoke Grenades saw Ivan Assault units thump into a building defended with Bunkers with Satchel Charges and Flamethrowers chewing up SS and lesser defenders for an easy Russian win.
Last game had French in 1940 facing Teds again.
Bloody French hand discard of one is very frustrating and the Germans were able to pick of a key VP location early on and again a quick march to Sudden Death roll saw them win.
Great stuff with a great game.

I also took plunge on latest iteration of the Combat Commander system
Great War Commander and look forward to its arrival despite the lack of British in initial release !!!