May 30th second Midgard Heroic battle game

 

Empire initial deployment

So this was a repeat of the Bloody Beck scenario but with both armies having only 350 points and two players. I had reduced the point total from the earlier game as we only had two players and the games was starting around 5:30-6 pm and we did not want to go too long. That would not be a problem!

Once again Orcs took advantage of the uncontested areas and sent their cavalry charging across the shallow river

Fortunately Empire cavalry had arrived on the table in reserve

In an unexpected move, the Empire sent their hand gunners across the river!

The hand gunners eliminated one skirmish unit, but failed to wound the Orc Army Commander, then the Giant attacked!

May 30th Game day Midgard Heroic battles first of two games

 

Defenders deployment 

So, our recent gameday saw us play two games of Midgard and one game of What a Cowboy! Both Midgard games were the same scenario, The Bloody Beck but with different players and different army values. Game one saw two 450 point armies and four players battle it out while the second game saw two players using two reduced armies of 350 points each.

Orc disposition 

Mad dash across the river!

Midgard AAR May 2nd Game 2

 

The battlelines are drawn

Orc right flank

Orc defenders

Hilltop defenders

Dwarf attackers

Opening moves

Assault on the hill, while Dwarf scouts harass the advancing Orcs

Midgard AAR May 2nd Game 1

 

So, we had a game day this past Saturday, two groups of players two games, same scenario. In game 1 the Dwarfs were the defenders vs a horde of Orcs. The scenario was too eager and both sides were built on 499 points. This time around I created my own army list, I built the Dwarf army inspired by a Roman army, for the Orcs I upgraded their armour and made the odd other tweek. The two army lists can be found here Midgard army lists The battlefield was largely devoid of terrain save for the large hill at on the Dwarf left flank. The scenario called for the deployment of an advance unit of Dwarfs on the hill with the remainder of the Dwarfs deploying to the right of the hill. Starting at the end of turn 2, the top of the hill grants one reputation at the end of each turn to whichever army controlled it.

The Dwarf commander deployed two elite units supported by a formed crossbow unit 

Orcs deployed in force, focused on the hill

Midgard Heroic Battles Solo game AAR

 

Orcs and Dwarves form their battle lines. The Dwarf defenders were in a defensive stance primarily on three hills., while the Orc invaders stacked their centre but also deployed troops on both flanks in an attempt to flank the defenders.

Turn 1

The Orcs had deploy on some hills on their own side of the battlefield. Turn one saw them advance into the grasslands between the two ridges. 

Mounted bows advanced into range to harass the Dwarf left flank 

The Orc centre advanced towards their Dwarf counterparts

On the Orc left flank, two units of Orcs with a Mage try to outflank the Dwarf line

For the most part the dwarf army stayed in place, playing the waiting game. On the dwarf right flank one unit was move off the hill to defend against the Orc flanking march.

What a Tanker meets VSF

British Monitor vs Japanese monitor off in the distance 

This was our second game of What a Tanker! You can find the first game HERE The first game went so quickly we figured we could get another couple of games in, but that was not to be! This time around it was two monitors fighting it out.

Both  had armour/strike 8/6. Both also had slow turrets, with the British also having a turret with a reduced traverse. The British tank also had heavy armour.

The Japanese find cover but are driven back by the British fire.

Turn four sees the Japanese race down the road finding some cover.

Battlefleet Gothic August 23rd

 

Back on the 23rd of August a bunch of us got together for a four player game of Battlefleet Gothic. It was Orks against the Imperium in a 1500 point game. It was the first time a battleship had been used by us for quite some time. It also marked the first appearance of an Ork big ship.

Both fleets lined up along the long edge of the table facing opposite short edges. As a result they both had to maneuver their fleets to bring their weapons to bear. This was a challenge for the Orks with their lesser turns and especially a challenge for their Rok.

All Quiet on the Martian Front Saturday August 30th

 

The battlefield, American deployment zone in the lower left

Martian deployment zones, top left and lower right

Martian forces

American forces

We played the breakout scenario from the rulebook, with around 295 points a side. The Americans started in one corner and had to somehow make it to the opposite corner of the table. The game had a 3 turn minimum with a die roll after the third turn to see if the game comes to an abrupt end. It was a tight fit for the American forces but they needed to force a breakout and had to do it quickly so keeping troops in reserve was counter intuitive.

It was a close game with much carnage on both sides, the Martians lost 5 of 12 tripods while the Americans saw many of their tanks destroyed. The game did end after three turns, which were not nearly enough turns to have given the Americans a chance of winning. Ultimately the forces seemed to be fairly evenly weakened. As the Martian player said if this was a Martian victory, a few more like this and the invasion would be over.

More pictures follow...

AAR Pulp Alley - Vice Alley II, Late night flight

 

 

The Pointes across from Martin airfield

The first game of the new campaign, oddly enough not actually from the Vice Alley book. We went for one from Perilous Island; Last Flight. We simply substituted substituted the location and used cops instead of French troops. Otherwise it fits well with the Vice Alley theme, one faction trying to sneak a star witness out of the city while the other seeks to prevent this from happening.

 

Martin Airfield

China Station campaign - China Station Inferno

 

So, we had a two player game, home brew Mystery League (a duo league) vs The Sons of the Empire league from one of the Pulp Alley books. The Empire league was played by a first time player. Well for a first time player he certainly picked up the rules pretty fast. He made great use of the cards dealt to him even though this was the first time playing with this league he picked up on the nuances of the league.

Fantastic Battles Dwarf vs Goblin April 21 2024

 

Rematch Goblins vs Dwarves

So, with the battlefield still set up, we thought we would have time to play FB and still get in a game of Pulp Ally. However we were delayed in starting the game and just did not have time or the energy for two games. 

This was another stab at a Dwarf army defending against a horde of fast moving Goblins. I acted as ref for the game as neither player was all that familiar with the rules. The armies were 1000 points each and each army had 5 captains, 3 wizards and a Warlord. The dwarven army was made up of my FB purpose based Roman Dwarves (with a couple of WH based hand-gunner units) while the Goblins, for the most part, were on my homemade movement trays.

Fantastic Battles April 04 2024

Deployment after mishap roles. Not much impact on either army, one Dwarf unit suffered -2 Resolve & one wolf rider unit rushed ahead 4BW.

 

Yet another classic match up Dwarf vs Goblin, was played today. This was a game originally planned for last November, but had to be postponed. Thankfully Craig was able to attend this game despite the resurgence of winter! 

Pulp Alley AAR June 11th Trail of Clues

In order to get ready for our new campaign, we figured we should maybe try out the rules again as it has been a long time since we last played this game. Also this game was a way of introducing a new player to the game.

In the trail of clues scenario four plot points are placed 12" in from the corners, then each of the leagues are deployed within 12" of a corner (more than 6" away from a plot point) The major plot point is only placed on the table when one of the leagues has completed a minor plot point. 

 The set up

 

Pulp Alley at OMG April 2nd 2023

 So, first time gaming at the club went well. Two rookies to the game and one old pro. I am not certain if the rookies knew what they were getting into, but they seemed to go with the flow and picked up the rules pretty quickly. I brought 8 leagues with me and allowed the players to choose who to play. We went with a simple scenario, Lost Keys  and after a brief explanation of the rules we had at it.

See the bottom of the post for the league sheets used.

 It was a scatter start so the leagues deployed all over the board and at all heights!