Various games from King Con VIII

King Con VIII has come and gone so I wanted to get the last batches of pics up for people to reminisce and enjoy. Various games in this group.

Iuka, using The Rules Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned. Nice set up though.

The Federals block the road, taking the high ground closest to the Meeting House.

Johnny Reb also grabs a hill as dusk is falling.

This is just a great shot from an old camera. The Super Macro still does these guys justice,

Another good shot but for the floating roads. I really need to find decent roads that conform to terrain. Anyone know any?

Taking cover behind a stone wall.

Awaiting the Confederate onslaught that never came!

Wait, is that a hit? Did we do that right? The rule book says we did but the reference sheet says we didn't. Is that one hit? Or three? How many dice do I roll, wait, do I need orders to do that? Why is this chart different from what the rules say?

We got our orders, that's all I know. Just keep playing and I'm sure it will start to make sense once we get a turn or two in.

Can we see them? Why don't fences provide cover but walls do? How come there wasn't any Opportunity Fire on turn one? The rules are *where*? In a caption of an example and not in the body of the rules???

The perfect ending for The Rules Whose Name Shall Not Be Mentioned.

Sure looked pretty. Lesson learned: stick to Regimental Fire & Fury. Next time we'll play the game with real rules.

Also played some BattleTech. Alpha Strike maybe? I'm not sure but the rules are pretty fucking cool. My brother Chris set this up for me and JB and we played three way.

I'm not sure what happened or who was who or what robot is what. Just enjoy cool pics of Battle mechs that Chris painted.

I know I didn't win but I also know it was a heckuva lot of fun.

Finished the weekend with a game of Star Wars Legions put on by Natbud. I always wanted to play this game but shied away for two main reasons: one, the cost. I don't need another game where no matter how many units you buy, you still need one more! Second, I thought all the cards and markers were a bit off putting. I didn't want to have all that stuff to worry about.

Turns out I needn't have worried about the latter concern. The game is so intuitive that the cards were very easily assimilated into the fluidity of each turn. Surprising how little they affected or slowed down things.

The bad guys. Nicely Painted by Nat.

I hate these guys but aren't they pretty?

Everybody knows Storm Troopers can't hit anything.

Chewbacca's kill shit. They were tough.

Uh oh, the appearance of Darth Hoag ended any chance of the Good Guys getting away with a victory.

A final shot. That Green thing ate Luke but not before he wiped out an entire unit. It was actually very cinematic and I have never said that about any game, ever. The way he used all his skills and bonuses, you could actually imagine him charging in and sound of his light saber as he cut down an entire elite unit.

I like the game very much. As long as Nat keeps buying and painting the dudes, I'll keep playing.

Well, that's it for this year.. Hope you had some fun.

 

See you at the Circus.

Not *that* circus, you clown; the Circus Minimus!

Check out a few shots from our recent playing of Circus Minimus using 10mm (I think) miniatures.

Please look at these miniatures; each painted by my friend Roy Bartoo. Not only did he make each unique and individual, but he made a miniature of each 'counter' needed by each team; the dragged driver, the running driver, the flipped chariot (always needed when I play), and the dead guy. (Also required when I play.) They are exquisitely done by any criteria. Just enjoy the pictures. The game was so much fun, I forgot to take many.

Incredible.

The race is on! We head down the first straightaway. Note the rats on the red chariot on the inside. This is the personal motif of the esteemed Mr. Bartoo.

Whip it good!

Crazy beautiful game... but you know, I doubt Roy has the skill to make a scale spina that would look as good as those chariots.

The first turn! Chariots are fishtailing all over the place..

S-L-O-W-L-Y this time.

Anything but a 1. Almost made a complete lap this time. I'm getting better.

In the end, young Tristanicus Brooklyn wore the laurels and received the adoration of the people as he waved across the finish line. Shoulda bought whores for him last night, dammit.

 

Monte Cassino. Sort of.

At our recent King Con (VIII) get-together, we played a good game (or two) of modified Bolt Action inspired by the fighting around the monastery at Monte Cassino.

Modified in that we play scenarios and not tournaments, so we don't adhere to all the rules as written. Some examples include letting vehicles move up to their movement allowance in any direction they want to go, none of the nonsense associated with turning as per the rules. We also allow 'hidden' units to actually be hidden, recorded on a map and not revealed until they move or shoot, or the enemy gets close (24 inches for infantry, 12 for vehicles.) We also 'assign' the medic to a squad of the player's choice, usually the unit at the tip of the spear. There are other rules we modify, but you get the gist.

So we ended up playing the scenario twice so eight guys got to play. And don't get your panties in a bunch; I KNOW the 8th Indian didn't face off against the Fallschirmjaegers, the latter were one village over fighting the Poles. But I like the models and wanted to use them. After all, the scenario was 'inspired' by the action, not meant to duplicate it. Deal with it.

The pics are a mix from the two games if things seem a bit disjointed.

The village with their church on a hill in the center. It was a meeting engagement with points awarded for each enemy unit KIA'ed. Instant victory for either side if they controlled the church at game end. (No infantry units within 3".) The ground was rough and full of crags. Plenty of terrain to advance in cover. 6 turns.

Here is the centerpiece of the entire weekend. My brother Tony's first attempt at a piece of terrain was this gorgeous church complete with frescoes! Just look at it! Beautiful.

Indians storm the hill.

And the FJ come in from the other side, supported by a Hetzer.

German grenadiers advance into the rubble while the FJ MMG team finds a spot to cover the church in the ruins of the village.

Leaving the cover of that part of the village behind them, the Indians went straight for the church.

The Indians were aided by Canadian armor. The M4 took a side route in the first game and got lost, never showing up. It ended up being costly.

The obligatory British artillery barrage. Unfortunately for them, the Germans scattered and it had little to no effect.

Another belt Dieter! Hurry!

I put those tiny fucking decals on those helmets. Say something nice.

A squad enters in the rubble while another crosses the tessellated floor. 

This is what happens when Germans see Allied armor.

Can AFV's sneak? In the first game, a crazed PIAT crew ran into the open and offed it at long range. Hetzer shmetzer.

Casualties mount as the Germans force their way onto the hill. There will be no instant victory today!

These guys thinking the same thing.

More of a end run this time around.

I  love these models.

Indians hunkering down in the rubble while a mortar lobs shells at them. Each side had a medium mortar and spotter and in two combined games, each firing almost every turn, there wasn't a single hit from either mortar. No one fired smoke either.

Another shot of the chiesa! Look at that fucking thing.

Doing their job. And in short pants too! The fighting was furious.

The grenadiers assault the church. Another mortar shot falls harmlessly behind them. In the way, way back, you can see the PaK40. I really, really like that model.

The artillery barrage didn't do much in the second game either. The unit in front is pinned like a prom corsage.

It was bloody all around. Both sides collecting multiple pins over and over again. Yet many of the morale checks were passed regardless, and both sides just kept pushing towards their objectives. Very cool to watch actually.

Boom goes the dynamite. These guys had quite the gun duel but the Firefly just couldn't take out the MkIV. They did not a track off though. Something nice to add in the letter home to their parents, I guess.

Both games ended in German victories on points and both were very close 4-3 and 5-4. If the Sherman had shown up, and assuming it survived, the first game would have been a draw. But, having got lost, it counted as destroyed.

Our group likes the game for it's simplicity, it's intuitiveness and consistent results. There's a lot of World War 2 in the game. Is it a simulation? Of course not, no game is, but it sure looks cool and gives us the chance to play with our toy soldiers.

The End.