Shifting Sands MMP played

Shifting Sands a card driven game by MMP played with my Dad last night. We played the full campaign.
Good game although it has a few wrinkles from other CDGs that we kept forgetting at times main one being that when in Limited Supply (ie most of the time) it costs 1 Op per unit to Activate for Combat but not for Movement.
We both spent OPs needlessly to move stacks for which 1 OP would have been sufficient.
This slowed my British onslaught against the hapless Italians in 1940/41 a good deal.
However we caught on later.
British could have won an auto victory by taking Tripoli but I decided to try the Torch landings which cost me the game as Germans got some lucky rolls in Tunisia and I could not get enough stuff close to Tunis to evict the 15th Panzer and supports from it.
Good fun game playable in an evening which is always a bonus.

More Vassal action in North Africa and now Europe

Just fiinshed today a Vassal game of Shifting Sands with Norman.
A close run thing in the end but with Norman victorious by having minimum 6VP needed, which is just reward for gentlemany conduct earlier.
After a ropey with start with rules (mainly by yours truly) we got this game going well and very enjoyable it was too.
That wonderful thing hindsight instucts that I needed (in this particular scenario at least) to be more aggressive with DAK in N.Africa as Brits have fairly easy time in Near East and East Africa claiming several of the Victory Locations there.
Should have tried for Tobruk earlier I suspect so as to put pressure on Mersa Mutrah and force Norman to take actions in this area as each taken there is one less in other theatres too.
Rommels positive combat shift of 2 columns when attacking with German units is very powerful.
British use of Malta Convoys cards also pwerful as it reduced Axis hand by 2 cards limiting scope for Operations for at least two turns.




End game

Hoping Norman is up for another Vassal game but of what it will not too sure (Fast Action Battle: The Bulge or Kingdom Of Heaven or ?)

 Also just started a game of Barbarossa To Berlin WW2 on Vassal/ACTS against a Canadian bloke Greig.
I am playing as Soviets in this one.
We are just onto second turn after Greig unleashed Barbarossa and made some decent gains.
I have just brought some much needed Ivan reinforcements on hoping to stem the Fascist tide, we shall see..........................











Red front pierced by Barbarossa onslaught

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

Shifting Sands: Tobruk falls to the Afrika Korps

Playing a Pbem of Shifting Sands: The Campaign for North Africa 1940-1943 board wargame via Vassal with Norman and felt I had to report (ie rub it in) success by the Afrika Korps in taking the port of Tobruk from the Englanders in Winter 1941/42 !!
At second time of asking of course (I attacked in 1941 but was repulsed) and succeded due to Luftwaffe support the timely arrival of a Panzer Battlegroup and a damn fine roll (5 with +1 for flyboys) versus a bloody poor roll (1) by Churchills lot (rolls done by Norman).
However part of reason for gloat is that I fear the success will be fleeting as British are lined up in some strength along Eygptian border ready for a concerted push west methinks.
Will be interesting to see if Norman has cards in his hand (due to Malta convoys he has a 9 card hand to my mere 6) to exploit opportunity my bold success has presented.
I love these CDG type games for just this sort of narrative produced and inherent unpredictability.






Tobruk ist gefallen

PS I really ought to note that Norman generously pointed out a game losing flaw in my previous turn when I had left Tripoli ungarrisoned which dastardly French in Chad could have entered thereby putting every single Axis unit in North Africa out of supply and subject therefore to elimination at turn end !!!! I gave him a 'free' Victory Point but still a very gentlemanly move on his part.

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.

Conflict Of Heroes online PC game tournament game and Shifting Sands Pbem

Played first game in an online tournament of Conflict Of Heroes: Awakening The Bear PC game tonight.
Played a very nice chap called Herve from Luxembourg and a very good game it was too.
We played a scenario called Crossfire which is new to the PC version and was totally new to me as I decided not to view/test the scenario beforehand as more fun that way.
I was Germans in a 1941 setting with a very Infantry few units and a single mortar initially but receiving reserves of more Infantry 2 x 38T and 2 PzIIIH plus a very nasty MG42 HMG unit.
Usual hordes of Russians back by artillery a couple of BT7 and T26 tanks and a beast in a T34A. 
Essentially a fight for a village in a valley and a fairly close run thing it was too.
Artillery on both sides was potent killing 6 units apiece and turning the landscape into moon surface in short order !!
My HMG was top dog in killing stakes with 3 kills followed by the T34 with 2 kills.
I managed to take 1 victory hex but could make no headway against the others.
The Russians ran out 19:16 winners over the 6 turns game.
I had forgotten how slick and enjoyable the COH system is and found the PC version quite well produced and compatible with boardgame experience of course playing a lot quicker.
It was a real time online game and my first with the game and also with Skype for chat/waffling (just as well Herve has perfect English as my French is non exsistant).
I 'borrowed' an old microphone headset from my sons room which worked fine if a little sore on ears as cushioning long gone.
I hope to play second game of my first round match-ups next weekend.
Am playing as part of a team and thankfully the tourney is strictly just for fun and crowing rights and a great way to learn the PC game.

Only one screenshot from post game (as I forget to paste captures as I went along)

 As you can see I prefer the board game style counters to 3D icon options (even though I have take screen shot at lower angle than I would play game). Note the extensive artillery damage on show !

 

Also started (has been a great weekends wargaming) a new Pbem game via Vassal with Norman of Shifting Sands North African Campaign game. Norman has picked the Allies in the Sonnenblume scenario which starts in Spring 1941 and our first exchange of files just completed. I enjoyed this game solo and expect it to be great versus a real opponent especially as its a derivative of the excellent Paths Of Glory game.

Shifting Sands another game hits the table.........

Obtained another board wargame from EBay (a very dangerous place for me to frequent !!) entitled 'Shifting Sands The Campaign For North Africa 1940-1943' from MMP.
A clear derivative of Paths Of Glory/Barbarossa To Berlin using essentially the exact same card driven system and point to point map.
Units are still big and small but now Divisions and Battlegroups rather than Armies and Corps.
Besides the usual special rules for various events/locations this makes learning the game rather easy and plying it similarly smooth.
Have played through first two turns (having this Public Holiday off) and enjoyable stuff so far.
Despite being primarily about the Desert War the game also covers Near East and East Africa (as sub-maps) which whilst side-shows as such can influence events in North Africa (mainly affecting reserves).
Cards decks are split into Axis and Allied and into 1940/1941/1942 with all the events one would expect for this theater of war (Rommel appears in 1941 up until then its the Italians only)
Much lower unit density than the other two games should make this one much quicker to play.
Of course I had planned to start a bit of figure painting today after a long hiatus (close to a year) with some Old Glory Prussian Napoleonic Grenadiers calling to me but they were shouted down by this one !

Overview

The cards decks 

The Near East and East Africa sub-map areas

Allied 1940 cards 

Axis 1940 counterparts