Several board wargames dabbled with..............

 Been a quiet sort of week gaming wise but did manage to get a few board wargames to table top to muck about with solo fashion.

First up was Paths of Glory a game I have neglected and trying to re-learn

Then it was No Retreat! The Russian Front 

And last but by no means least Colonial Twilight

Vassal Pbem two different games but similar outlook pour moi

Couple of screenshots from Vassal games I have ongoing at present

First up Barbarossa To Berlin (I love this game even though I truly suck at it) in an Online tournament I joined at last minute to make up numbers (never a truer word typed !). Playing against a US bloke called Marc and getting fairly drubbed by his Nazi onslaught.

Just about to start Fall (ie Autumn) 41 turn and already Stalin is dead and Moscow under Swastika. Ivans holding on grimly with Axis only 4 Victory Points from auto win.

Next up a game of Paths Of Glory against frequent opponent Mike, and things looking rather grim for Allies here to (I just managed to avoid a Central Powers auto win 2 turns ago) on the Western Front with Hun right up to Paris. 

At least this one is going the course as we into Winter 1917/18.

Vassal PBEM games status

Few pics from ongoing Vassal (and ACTs) games I am currently playing via PBEM.

Playing third game of this versus Greig with me as Axis this time, as I wanted to the 'Von Paulus Pause' card.


















Situation in on the Ost front early 1942 with limited gains for Germans

Western Desert with Rommels Panzer Armee Afrika about to attack the Desert Army

On very last card play of this one against Mike which has been hugely enjoyable with swings of fortune abounding.
Going to end up a hard fought draw.
















Overall situation with only last Catholic card to be played

Swedes last Protestant force left and having taken Austria and devastated Bavaria

Tilly with last Catholic force (still Spainish armies in their zone) clawing back lands from Protestants in Germany.

The score with only one more card to play (Catholics likely to bring score up to 15 max) so a draw.

Another against Mike wherein the British have just gotten back into fray on Western Front having been ousted entirely earlier !
















Overall view of situation on mainland Europe

The Western Front with French weakened and British resurgent but Germans in strong posistion. Italians in dire straits too.

The Eastern theatre pretty much stalemated

Vassal games update and another new arrival !

Several (well four) games ongoing at present using Vassal (and ACTs for couple).

First up WW2 Barbarossa To Berlin against Greig.
My Easrern Front holding up ok thus far against Nazis with Reds getting some Armoured and Siberian Corps into play.
However I boobed big style in North Africa moving Desert Army too far forward which alloewd a Panzer Corps to slip around behind me taking Alexandria, Cairo and Suez !!! worse still British forces in Eqypt cut off and about to wither on the vine.
Did however manage to Launch Torch invasion so now Tunis in allied hand and still able to contest North African theatre.

Next its Thirty Years War again Mike wherein my Protestant forces are grimly hanging on in face of superior Catholic and Imperial Forces. Badly need Sweden and Mr Adolphus to join in the fray.









Protestant holding Northern Germany but have lost gains in Southern regions.

Next its Paths Of Glory again against Mike.
We have both traded blows on Western Front as things have sort of stalemated in the East.
Allied Powers have assimilated Mid and Late War decks whilst Central Powers still not availing of Late War cards (ie not enough War Status accumulated yet).
Several bloody encounters at Liege bewteen British and Germans with it changing hands several times now.
We are just beginning Winter 1916 period.





Situation in the East

And in the West (far from being all quiet !)

Finally I have just started another game with Norman who chose KingDom Of Heaven The Crusader States with opening First Crusade scenario.
I am leading Holders of the  Holy Lance (and hopefully Holy Hand Grenade !) into the East to try to establish Outremer.
Attrition has bitten already with several losses to my horde after leaving flesh pots of Constantinople and marching into Asia Minor.

And finally this game arrived today !

Not strictly a 'Wargame' more a Conflict based game but one that intrigues and certainly garners rave reviews. I ordered this via Amazon for reasonable £37 and was expecting the 2009 version as pictured however very pleasently surprised to receive brand new 2012 Deluxe Version (2009 version essentially same anyhow I believe).
Yet more time required for rule learning & game playing !!!!

More Vassal play

Couple more turns played of Vassal games






Last Vassal related post one chap asked if I could update on progress of British on Western Front in Paths Of Glory.
Am glad to report that three British Armies attacked Hun at Liege giving him a damn good bloody nose and re-taking the city.

In Western Desert theatre of Shifting Sands the DAK has advanced into Egypt after cowardly Englanders retreated (a strategic withdrawal Norman advises) out of harms way.
Churchill will be most displeased unless the pseudo Auckinleck has a cunning plan or trap afoot !?

DAK on border poised to assault

And now into Egypt with Bardia now in their possession

Vassal Pbem games ongoing

Couple of screenshots from Pbem Vassal games I have onging at present.
Vassal is great way to play board style wargames over internet via Pbem.
I took a while to get used to its system but find it very enjoyable now.
Still prefer physical gameplay (I sometimes miss units in Vassal compared to real three dimensional counters) but as needs must.



Thirty Years War game by GMT just started vs Mike Ketterman from USA
Mike is Cathloics and I the 'Prods'

Protestants under Mansfeld put pressure on Elector of Saxony

Paths Of Glory by GMT also versus Mike (we are well into this one now)
Mike is Central Powers (ie the baddies) and Allies under my whims 

Shifting Sands by MMP vs Norman Johnston (ex pat Ulsterman in Merry ole England) we are nearing end of the short Sonneblumme scenario in this. Norman is leading the Allies in this one as I try to emulate Herr Rommel and his mates.

Paths Of Glory another game

Had another bash at the excellent Paths Of Glory board wargame with my Dad last night and again a very enjoyable game (with only a couple of minor and easily fixed brain-barfs this time !!)
We managed to play to end of 1916 and had both progressed to Limited and Total War decks.
The Germans on Western Front were in a few diffs with British offensive gaining ground (a sort of successful Somme) and couple of German armies permanently eliminated due to lack of retreat space.
To be fair to the Kaiser (ie my Dad) he did attack relentlessly on this front trying to break through (Verdun and Brussels changed hands several times) no boring pulling back to Rhine forts.
Dastardly Hun played 'French Mutiny' card which hampers offensive French action (-1VP if they attack) until Yanks appear and we were some measure short of that possibility.
On Eastern Front Russians were pretty much holding their own after a couple of poor German and Austro-Hungarian offensives and likelihood of Bolshevik Revolution taking Russia out of game seemed remote.
Italians in the fray and did draw off some Central Powers units but they are pretty weak of themselves.
As with all our plays of this game not much action in Near East or with Turkey or Balkan Powers as there always just seems to be something more important to do in major theaters of the war.
We both really like this game which despite its similarity to other CDG types just has that unfathomable 'something' that makes it stand out from the crowd.
Hard to put finger (or any other anatomical appendage) on just what the 'something' is but its there and in spades.

Initial set-up

Kaiser launches attack in West

Initial Hun gains but the troops in Antwerp were later destroyed (its a dodgy area to try to hold/garrison) in British Offensive in 1916. 

The Eastern Front with no Tannenberg to speak of