More Wargaming Christmas goodness

Couple more Wargames made or making their Merry way to Steiners' bunker. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year.

PC version of the excellent Conflict Of Heroes board wargame (digital download)

A Victory Denied game ordered (expect wont be posted until New Year)

Incoming for Christmas

Couple of games inbound for Christmas at chez Steiner:


Like the look of this one (despite the lack of AFVs) with what looks to be almost a hybrid of Up Front and Squad Leader. Not hard to pick this one out under the tree as nice deep box !

Got this one already on iPad and jolly nice it is too

And a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all

IABSM rules a proper try out

A day off !!!! so managed to get a game in with Stephen playing IABSM with the scenario I had set up on my table (seems to have been there for ages).
I took German defenders and re-jigged my defensive set up slightly (and mistakenly as it turned out).
Stephen took the British attackers.
Good game with a good try out of the various game mechanisms and systems.
We struggled a bit understanding some of the concepts around use of Blinds and Big Men but once we got it into our tiny brains it all flowed fine.
Neither of us having had time to fully read the rules not the most helpful situation of course !
Couple of minor rules issues need resolved such as whether units under Indirect HE fire count the Dense Target factor if applicable (ie units within 2" of each other) or whether this only applies to Direct Fire (which rules seem to imply).
Also biggest mistake was in how we made defenders deploy in relation to Blinds.
I read rules that a Platoon (of 3 x 8 man sections/squads) can only deploy on Blind and up to 2" from it which basically meant with 3 sections they had to be a maximum of 2 wide with third as 'second rank'. This was fine for deploying the attackers but a major crimp on defenders.
Using this for defense also meant a Spot revealed all three sections even those out of line of sight to rear. We now believe that as defenders in terrain are actually 'Hidden Units' rather than strictly blinds they can be deployed separately if desired (I drew positions on a map anyhow).
This would have made defense much more flexible and provided less targets for the roaming British Armour.
IABSM one of those sets that one really needs to play a few times to get to grips with but one I like  as it has that chaos factor via the card play that I enjoy.
If you don't like the possible frustrations of having a unit not activate every turn or a key card fail to turn up before turn ending 'Tea Break' card appears then not a set for you but I like this as it builds a nice 'narrative' style of play to games.

British advance

German Platoon deploys (note in depth as per Blinds size)

British Platoon caught in Mortar Barrage

Battle of the Bulge board Wargame

It being 16th of December it seemed appropriate to play a Bulge game at my fathers and so I dug out the low complexity Battle of the Bulge from Smithsonian Series by Avalon Hill (RIP).
A jolly good game it turned out to be too. Low complexity but a decent simulation. Only the rather generous Supply tracing paths and risk free Attacks (only defender can suffer hits) detracted from it.
Dad took Germans (just for a change) and done well on his left flank pushing through Bastogne and towards Marche but was stymied on his right and Center and then caught on his left by a deluge of US reserves. He then pulled back once his fuel reserves became depleted (he maybe adopted a strategy of advancing on too broad a front) as rather costly once Germans get across half way point of board.
We finished on 28th December turn with German pushed back almost to start line, holding only two objectives and with mounting losses. A US win but it looked dodgy for a spell.
Nice run out for one of my older and neglected games.

IABSM a very brief attempt to play game

After a period of truly awful shifts (I have not 'endured' such since mid 90's) here in NI I managed to get a day off and to shoe in a brief (very ie about 1 hour) solo play of the IABSM scenario I have had set up.
Played a few turns getting British onto table via their 'Blinds' (very nice system this) and with a couple of ineffectual opening volleys at each other.
Pak 40 managed to miss Sherman in front of it but has given away its position !
Finding the rules quick intuitive once things get going and of course I like the card based play sequence and its inherent unpredictability.
I do see that I could do with labelling each 'Big Man' as hard to remember who is who in the heat of things.
Same probably desirable for individual Platoons.
I have used several small dice in 'frames' I got awhile back to mark Big Man values.
Hoping to get another go tomorrow and try the Direct and Indirect HE rules as well as the AFV and Close Combat rules.


British advance on the Blinds

And start to be spotted by hidden (ie also technically on Blinds) Germans

British Squadron revealed

IABSM German defence set up

Placed German defenders in defensive positions on table tonight ready to do battle at later stage
Nothing fancy simply a forward defence along wood edge with Pak 40 and Mortar Observer fairly central.
British armour cannot enter the forward wooded area (others are orchards).
Several squads dug-in and some Panzershreck teams in support.
One squad in each of the 'mdf' houses.
Brits come on top right corner (on blinds).

Now I just need to read the rules !!

And their British opponents awaiting

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

Table set-up for IABSM scenario

Set -up table for a test game with 'I Ain't Been Shot Mum' rules the latest version which I have had since publication last year and not yet used !! Using the 'Galamanche' Normandy scenario from within the book.
Hope to report soon on how I found the game/rules (hopefully with a live opponent but if not solo version).
I may time permitting try same set-up with ciuple of other rulesets (Fireball Forward and KG Normandy and ?)
Also its an excuse to use my newly acquired MDF buildings too :-)





Pics of table (some 'glamourized') from German defenders end, with Brits due arrive from top Cornfield area. Mix of orchards. woods, stout buildings and low hedges.

No Retreat The Russian Front Vassal game ends

Finished my online Vassal game with Daniel last night ending in abject and total defeat for my Germans.
Disastrous run of Exchange results over several turns saw the Whermacht bled white throughout 1942 and into 1943 with result that when initiative shifted to Soviets on Turn 12 (ie March-April 1943) they had well exceeded the auto-victory level required.
Tough for Germans if they take such losses as too expensive to restore units and very hard to trade real estate for time as recapture of cities simply increases Russian VP levels.
I guess the title of game says it all with Hitler style hold fast orders being the only real option.
Both myself and Daniel had not progressed this far in a game before so interesting to see how it played out when Ivans start churning out upgraded units and Huns get thin on the ground.
Great fun as always with this very playable game (works well in real time on Vassal as game can be saved between sessions but dont think its really viable via Pbem as too many interrupt type cards for both sides).

Endgame - note the amount of upgraded Ivan units (red counters) and the Hun losses in Destroyed box to right plus number of on map units reduced (ie flipped)

Same screenshot from within Vassal

Awards Season

Have been very kindly 'nominated' for this Leibster Award (no idea what it is though ?) by two jolly nice blokes Big Lee of BLMA (http://www.blmablog.com/) and Ian from The Blog With No Name    (http://walladvantage2.blogspot.co.uk/). Thanks chaps and glad you enjoy my ramblings.

So I include the 'rules' :-

The rules of the Leibster Blog Award very simple:

1. Copy and paste the award on your Blog linking it to the blogger who has given it to you.
2. Pass the award to your top 5 favorite Blogs with fewer than 200 followers by leaving a comment on one of their posts to notify them that they have won the award 
3. List your nominations (complete with links) on your own Blog.
4. Sit back and bask in that warm fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing that you have just made someone's day!

And my nominations (this proved much harder than I thought with the less than 200 proviso and so many favoured and visited blogs !!!). So apologies to anyone I don't mention tis not a slight.

1. http://napoleonicsinminiature.blogspot.co.uk/ Paul Alba excellent blog with some very nice painted AB Napoleonic figures

2. http://pcjohnstone.wordpress.com/ Norman Johnstone blog a Vassal opponent and throughly nice egg. Nice mix of board and miniatures games. 

3. http://wargamesandstuff.blogspot.co.uk/ Brent Oman (author of Piquet Field Of Battle rules) another blog with mouthwatering paint jobs and since I love the Piquet family of rules its a no-brainer. (dont know why a bloke in Denver Colarado USofA has a .co.uk tag !?)

4, http://garagegamer.blogspot.co.uk/ Garage Gamer with some of biggest Napoleonics games I have seen. Sort of Wargames Holiday Centre in his own gaff !! Sod !! :-)

5. http://blundersonthedanube.blogspot.co.uk/ Gonsalvo Blunders On Danube blog another Piquet-centric site but  with loads of information and lots of scenario ideas. 

I could have easily listed another 10 or more blogs