Bolt Action: Germans in the Far East

After much discussion about playing Bolt Action again, Steven and I finally coordinated our schedules to get a game in. I wanted to keep it small and relatively simple to try to ease back in and to get more of a tactical, squad on squad level of action since we (myself especially) have been playing a lot more skirmish type games of late. We played with a little more than 500 points each. We also used the Bolt Action Alliance rules. MMGs are so much nicer with 6 shots. If you haven't tried it yet, do so next game.

The scenario ended up being Top Secret which I think worked well with setting up a back story, but it's still Top Secret (the FAQ helps it a bit). In this case, we'll say these were German Kriegsmarine who arrived by U-boat to obtain information on a Japanese super weapon. US Intelligence caught wind of this rendezvous and sent in the Marines.

The USMC took advantage of their movement and fire ability to gain early ground while also putting out some pins. The German bike and MMG (6 and 7 shots, respectively) started dishing out pins of their own. At the start of Turn 3, two USMC squads (one an engineer squad w/FT) were within a few inches of the objective, but had a couple pins each. The initial die pull would be crucial as the engineer flamethrower was within striking distance of the German squad in the rubbled building. The USMC die is drawn, but the unit fails its Morale Test. The second squad eventually lost its NCO and picked up another pin. They weren't moving either. So finally he 2nd Lt decides to lead the way and charges out onto the objective, killing a German in the process. However, the German Leutnant has yet to go and does a move and fire of his own and kills the 2nd Lt... Corpsman!... But he's out of range.

From here it's a lot of exchanging pins and casualties. The Corpsman did save a few which was an added bonus. However, where he shined was on Turn 5. The German squad  had the objective and was within running distance of the board edge. They had one pin on them. Last activation of the turn is the Corpsman. I initially advance him to be between my two squads when Steven stops me and says you need to run him up to shoot next turn. But it's the Corpsman, I say. Well he has a pistol doesn't he, he asks. Well, sure, but... Back and forth a bit and finally I play along. The Corpsman moves up. Turn 6. USMC die is pulled. Corpsman activates and fires at the squad with the objective. He lands a hit at point blank range. 2 pins now. German die is pulled. The German unit fails its Order Test by 1. It's a Draw. Corpsman saves the day!

He did get shot later that turn by a sniper. The Medal of Honor ceremony will be held Friday.

Mid Year Review

Here we are in early August; seven months now behind us in 2015. I was instant messaging a fellow gamer the other day and we were joking about our backlog of miniatures to assemble/paint/get to the table. It made me think back to the end of 2014, just before New Year's, when I had compiled a list somewhere of my top 10 things to do in 2015. For the life of ke, I couldn't remember where I had placed this list electronically.

 

Well, I managed to find said list, buried in a comment on Facebook in our local historical gaming group. I don't recall if this was meant to be an ordered top 10, or just a list of 10. In any case, here it is... or was:

 

If I had to put my huge laundry list of unfinished projects/things I'd like to do in 2015 into a list of 10, I imagine it would look something like this:

1. 15mm Polish 1st Armored

2. Play Battlegroup

3. Blitzkrieg Germans (for Historicon BA tournament)

4. Attend Historicon

5. Warsaw Rising figures (28mm)

6. Attend more local events; in paricular Catawba Military Gaming Society events

7. At least assemble the moderns to get some walk throughs done on some of the available rulesets

8. Japanese and/or USMC (28mm)

9. Pacific terrain

10. Campaign something - BA, CoC, Battlegroup, something. PTO, Normandy, Blitzkrieg,  something.

 

Seven months later, here is my situation report:

1. I did start working on #1. I have a handful of Sherman Vs, a Firefly, a Crusader II AA, a Sherman ARV recovery vehicle, three Bren Carriers, and 30 infantry - all in various stages of completion.
2. I did get to play two games of BattleGroup at Historicon. I would like to play some more, but part of that relies on making more progress on #1. We do have a BattleGroup Kursk game planned, which of course does not require any of my Brits modeled as Polish.
3. The Blitzkrieg Germans aren't moving lightning fast off the hobby table. I did get the vehicles assembled and even used them in a local game, but I never did get them ready in time for Historicon. In hindsight, I may have faired a little better in the tournament if I had.
4. I was fortunate to attend Historicon for the second year in a row. I'm hoping that trend continues.
5. I've really been slacking on #5. It remains high on my want list; however, finding time with all of the others things has been hard. A part of the lack of motivation may also come from the lack of Bolt Action games I've played this year. I imagine they will go hand in hand - if I get the partisans further along, I would be more likely to get in a game of BA.
6. I'm 0 for 7 on this one as I've not attended a single monthly meet up.
7. #7 is going well and there has been a strong push on the Skirmish Sangin front of late. Even earlier in the year, I managed to finish up what insurgents I have and we played some Flying Lead, Hearts & Minds.
8. I did at least get most of my USMC done for #8. There are still a few vehicles left to do and possibly some more plastic figures, but I did compile a list and completed the modeling, painting and basing for it. The Japanese on the other hand... Only a few plastic figures have been assembled, and even then, I don't know to what level of completeness.
9. I have started on #9, but haven't followed through yet to have a complete (or even a partial) game board.
10. Sad to report that I have not participated in any campaign games to date. There are some campaign rules in Skirmish Sangin's Despatches No. 1, so perhaps that will see the light of day.

So there you have it. The list of goals set out at the start of the year and where I stand to date. If you find yourself struggling to complete your own laundry list of tasks, I highly recommend making a list. I had not gone back to it at all in those seven months, but as you can see, just writing something down can have a lasting effect and may help you stay the course.

 

 

Historicon Wrap-up (Exhibit Hall walk through)

 Walking through the Exhibit Hall...

Impressive board for the Normandy invasion. I am still not sure how they interact with the center of the board.

 

BattleGroup open gaming

Miniature Building Authority's modern board - used for several games. This one was a zombie apocalypse game. It looked like fun and talking with a friend who was playing in it, he agreed.

 

A Pacific board worthy of fighting over.

Skirmish Sangin set up on the MBA board. Colin Phillips, the game's designer, was in the States to GM. I had already committed to another 7pm game, so I was unable to sit in on this one. A gaming partner did register for this one and he said it was good. One step closer to getting Sangin on the table in Charlotte.

 

Not something you see everyday... Well, not something you see at every Historicon. Saw this running between the Sangin table and my 7pm BattleGroup game. It was "The Sound of Music" done as a miniatures game. Hat tip to these guys for going all out.