Memoir '44 - Sidi Rezegh Airfield Battle Report - 6 x 6 Game Challenge

I pulled out my Mediterranean Expansion for another game of Memoir '44.  I played the Sidi Rezegh Airfield scenario and I took control of the British forces.

This scenario is most comprised of armor units and played very quickly.  I had a bit of a challenge with this one and was defeated pretty quickly.  The great thing with this game is that I can reset the scenario and replay it again.

I'm not sure if I'm making bad plays of if I'm just unlucky.  Either way, the games are fun and I will continue to play this game.

Kings of War (6mm) Battle Report - Dwarves vs Goblins - 750 point Kill

I played another game of Kings of War for my 6 x 6 Game Challenge.  I used my Epic 40K models again for this game; Dwarves (Imperial Guard) vs Goblins (Orks/Chaos).

Each army was 750 points and I played on my 2' x 2' game board.  All measurements are in centimeters for these small scale games.

As I was typing up this blog post and putting together the army lists below, I realized that I shorted the Dwarf army by 90 points.  The units in the game only add up to 660 points.  So while the dwarven army lost this game, they did pretty good for being 90 points short.

Dwarf Army - 660 points

Ironwatch Rifle Regiment          155 points
Ironwatch Rifle Regiment          155 points
Ironwatch Rifle Regiment          155 points
Ironbelcher Cannon                    110 points
Ironbelcher Organ Gun               85 points

Goblin Army - 750 points

Troll Bruiser                               125 points
Troll Regiment                           125 points
Troll Regiment                           125 points
Troll Regiment                           125 points
Troll Regiment                           125 points
Troll Regiment                           125 points

I messed up on the army list and stats for the dwarf army.  I feel like though they lost, there is an asterisks next to this game.  I will need to replay this and see how it turns out with the correct rules and full points.

Memoir '44 - Operation Cobra Battle Report - 6 x 6 Game Challenge

I sat down and tried my hand at a solo play through of the Operation Cobra scenario.

I took command of the Allied forces.  I made some not so great choice for myself and paid the price for them.  The enemy also had some pretty good rolls.  I will definitely be playing more scenarios solo.

For solo play, I use a pretty simple process that I've stolen from others.

• Remove the Ambush card from the deck.  
• Chose the side that you will play in the scenario.
• Set up the board as normal and deal yourself the appropriate number of command cards.
• The enemy doesn't get a hand of cards.  Instead, on their turn draw a number of cards based upon the number they would normally have for the scenario (see below) and play the best card.
• 5 or less command cards - draw 2 cards.
• 6 or more command cards - draw 3 cards.
• If a recon card is used that normally allows you to draw 2 cards and choose one to add to your hand, then I will draw an additional card for the enemy on their next turn.

This isn't a prefect system, but it works well enough and you will find that the enemy is a pretty challenging opponent.

Kings of War (6mm) Battle Report - Kingdom of Men vs Goblins - 750 point Dominate

I put together another Kings of War game using my Epic 40k models.  This time, I took my Kingdom of Men (Space Marines) and faced them off against a Goblin army (Orcs/Chaos) composed of only trolls.

Both armies were 750 points so I played on a 2' x 2' board.  I changed all measurements to centimeters.

Kingdom of Men - 750 Points

Standard Bearer on Horse                  65 points
Standard Bearer on Horse                  65 points
Charioteers Regiment                        115 points
Charioteers Regiment                        115 points
Knight Regiment                               195 points
Knight Regiment                               195 points

Goblins - 750 Points

Troll Bruiser                                       125 points
Troll Regiment                                   125 points
Troll Regiment                                   125 points
Troll Regiment                                   125 points
Troll Regiment                                   125 points
Troll Regiment                                   125 points

I thought the Trolls were done for pretty early, but they held on and managed to end the game in a tie.

I will be trying out more army lists and playing more games in the future.

Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear - Solo Play Through 3 - Partisans

I played my third game of Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear for my 6 x 6 game challenge. 

This time I played the first scenario from the core box, but I used fan made Unit Spent Counters.  These replace the normal action point mechanic in the game and add a little unpredictability to units being spent.

The Unit Spent Counters were created by Kevin Kitchens and are available on BGG here. 

The Russian forces have a distinct advantage in this scenario, but it is still fun to play and does a good job of teaching the basic mechanics of the game.

Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear - Solo Play Through 2 - Tank Hunter

I sat down for another game of Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear.  I played the second scenario from the solo expansion; Tank Hunter.

This scenario is very challenging and I have yet to beat it.  I did actually manage to kill a tank this time, but still didn't manage a win.

I'll need to try some different tactics next time.

Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear - Solo Play Through 1 - Search and Destroy

Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear is one of my favorite games.  I have not played it as much as I would like, but it is a fantastic games.  I decided to play this game as part of my 6 x 6 Game Challenge so that I can get a few more games played.

I used the solo expansion for this game and played the Solo Mission 1 - Search and Destroy.

This game is full of difficult decisions.  The player constantly has several options and you have to pick one.  This means that you might miss the opportunity to do something else.

The game was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to getting more games played as I work through the game challenge.

Kings of War (6mm) Battle Report - Kingdoms of Men vs Orcs - 800 Points Kill!

I thought I would try something a little different for another game of Kings of War for my 6 x 6 Game Challenge.  For this game, I pulled out some of my Epic 40K models and put together a couple of armies; Kingdoms of Men (Space Marines) and Orcs (Orcs).

I scaled down the normal table size to a 3' x 2' table and worked up some 800 point armies.  I didn't spend a lot of time on building the armies as I was just checking to see how the game would work in this scale.

Kings of War is pretty abstract so I thought this might let me make use of my collection of Epic 40K models.

Kingdoms of Men - 790 points

Hero                                            50 points
Foot Guard Regiment               135 points
Foot Guard Regiment               135 points
Arquebusiers Regiment            135 points
Knight Troop                            125 points
Beast of War                             210 points

Orcs - 790 points

Greatax Regiment                      145 points
Greatax Regiment                      145 points
Goar Chariots Regiment            140 points
Fight Wagons Regiment            170 points
Giant                                          190 points

The Kingdoms of Men got lucky early and routed the Fight Wagon Regiment after doing some damage via shooting.  Once the orcs reached melee range, things started to go down hill for the Kingdom of Men.  Though in the end, the Orcs couldn't do enough damage and the Kingdom ended up winning the battle.

It was a fun game and fits well on a small board.  I think I will be playing more games in this scale with my Epic 40k models.  I have several factions and will be able to try out a variety of lists .

There isn't any hidden info in KoW so it works well as a solo game.

Round of Fire - Play Through 1

Round of Fire is a game that is currently in development.  I have been given the opportunity to help a little with play testing the game.

The game does not have a specific period or genre attached to it, so you can play the game with lots of different models: Old West, Pulp, WW2, Sci-Fi, etc.  I'm not sure how well it would work with a fantasy setting, but you never know.

After a read through of the rules, I generally like what I see.  There are some interesting mechanics and I was very interested in the activation mechanic.

Each unit has a token on the turn wheel.  When a unit activates, it progresses on the turn wheel a number of "steps" based upon the action it has taken.  A walk (moving 2 grid spaces) costs 3 steps for most units, while a run (moving 3 grid spaces) costs 5 steps for most units.  Shooting costs 3 steps for an Elite fireteam, but costs 5 steps for a Regular fireteam.

I like how this sounded and found it to work well in the game as well.  I liked the idea that if you are taking quick actions, or are well trained, you can act more often than a team that is doing a more complicated/lengthy action.

The game also allows for use of suppressing fire to push units along the activation wheel.  With this action you can delay an enemy unit's activation.  This adds some interesting tactical choices and means that sometimes you will be shooting at another unit without the chance of killing anyone, but it still has a useful purpose.

After playing the game, I am not impressed with the combat mechanic.  It seems to be more complicated than it needs to be, but this is just my first game.  Your fire is based on the weapon you are equipped with the range to the target and if there is any cover.  That is straight forward enough, but then target gets a save and that is where the process starts to break down.  The target gets to roll 1 die for each hit made on them, but then can add dice for their toughness value as well as dice for their armor, but then the Armor Penetration of the weapon reduced the dice added from the armor.  A 5+ on each dice is needed to shrug off the hit.  In my game, almost every model had the same weapon (aside from a few machine guns, that didn't get to fired much) so it wasn't that difficult to keep track of this, but if you have a wide variety of equipment (and the game has a pretty wide variety of equipment available) this could become much more cumbersome.  If the models doesn't save from the hits, then they are wounded.  However, you have to calculate of how wounded they are so you can see their status from the fire.  When a model is knocked out, he can be killed, bleeding, or unconcious.  So know you take 3 die and add dice based on the models toughness, but you reduce that pool based on any excess wounds received by the model.  So if he failed to save 2 wounds and only had 1 wound to start with, he has taken 1 excess wound so reduced his dice pool by one.  You roll those dice and based on how many successes you get, you determine the level of injury.

These different levels affect the victory points for different factions (which is interesting and adds some character and variation to the different factions) but adds another level of rolling to each round of combat.

I'm not sure how to simplify the process and I will try to think of something to offer to the designers, but at this point, it just feels cumbersome and I would like to see a more streamlined process.

Overall, I did enjoy the game and think there are some very cool things going on in these rules.  I look forward to trying out the different factions to see how they work and using a bigger variety of troops and specialists.

The Reticulans took command of this battle field.  They eliminated all but one model of the Earth Alliance forces and managed to take control of most of the objectives.  They did all this with only the loss of a few soldiers.  The Earth Alliance will need to rethink their troop selection and equipment before the next engagement.

Airfix Battles: An Introductory Game - Solo Battle Report 1

I had the chance to play a few games of a recent addition to my game collection recently, Airfix Battles: An Introductory Game.

As the name says, this is an introductory game and has fairly simple mechanics.  However, the game still offers some challenging decisions for the players.

The box comes with rules and scenarios, two double sided grid-based maps, dice, a deck of command cards, a deck of unit cards, and card board tokens to represent your troops.  They suggest you replace the tokens with Airfix models, but you can use any models you have, or just use the tokens provided.

I've made use of some Battlefront models that I already have painted for my Americans, and am using some 15mm robotic forces to stand in for the German forces.

This game uses a deck of command cards that offer special actions the players can make use of, interrupts so you can react to the enemies actions, or the cards can be used as a basic move, shoot or reinforce if you don't want to use the special action.  These add a degree of "fog of war" in that you don't know what you are going to be able to pull off from turn to turn.

The rule book includes solo rules with an AI that uses the cards drawn to dictate its actions.  I have found it enjoyable to play against and look forward to playing more games.

The Game: Are you ready to play? - a review

While we aren't totally settled into the new house yet, I've started unpacking my game supplies and games and came across my copy of The Game: Are you ready to play? published by IDW Games.  This is probably the worst name ever for a game.  Good luck finding it with an internet search.  If you try I suggest adding "Spiel" to the search, that helped me.

The theme of this game is very thin, but the back of the box says that the only way for you and your friends to survive is to successfully play the game.  In my mind, I picture a scene from the movie Saw; me and the other players are trapped inside some run down house and this game is sitting on a card table in the middle of the room.  This is, of course, just in my head, but hey, whatever works.

Artwork

There is very little art in the box.  The rules are a 1/3 page with mostly text.  The cards look decent, but they are all the same.  They kind of have a creepy vibe, which fits with my Saw idea.  I'm good with the art that is there and I'm glad the numbers on the cards are easy to see and read as they are important to the game mechanics.

Component Quality

This game uses a deck of cards numbered from 2-99 and 4 discard pile cards; 2 counting up from 1 and 2 counting down from 100.  The cards are of decent quality.  I would suggest sleeves if you plan to play this much and I'm guessing that after one game, you will plan to play more.
The box is sturdy enough, but the cards will not fit in it once they are sleeved.

Game Play

The goal of the game is to play all of the cards 2-99 onto the 4 discard piles.  However, you must play the cards in descending order on the 100 down cards and in ascending order on the 1 up cards.  Simple, right....  And frustrating...  And fun... And challenging...

You can not share specific information about the cards in your hand with other players.  You can offer general info.

Each player gets a hand of cards (hand size varies depending on the number of players).  Players collectively decide who should go first, then play moves clockwise around the table.  On your turn, you must play 2 cards from your hand, but can play more than that if you want, then draw back up to your starting hand size.  This gets challenging when you start the game with only cards from the middle (30-70).

The one thing that keeps this from being impossible is that you can play a card that is exactly 10 higher/lower than the top card on that card to move the deck back.  For example, if the face up card on a 100 down discard pile is 54 and I have 64 in my hand, I can play it even though it is a higher card.  If I also have a 74 I can jump the pile back 20 numbers.  Not likely, but possible.

Solo Game Play

This game works for 1-5 players.  I've played it both solo and multi-player.  The rules are the same for solo as for multi-player except, in the solo game you get 8 cards in your hand.  My best score solo so far is 23 cards left.  Not very good.  We got a score of 7 in a 4 player game.  The rules say ending with only 10 cards left to play is a great score.

Overall Thoughts

I was kind of surprised by this game.  I found it to be extremely enjoyable.  I want to play it again...  Right now... While I'm typing this, I'm wondering why I'm not playing The Game.  As I play it, I realize I should have done my last play differently and it stresses me out that it might mean someone's life (maybe my own) because I made a mistake.  (not really, of course)

It doesn't look like much and the theme is pretty light.  My imagination helps, but if you don't add that element, then there isn't much theme there.  In the end it is a very abstract, puzzle game.  I like abstract and puzzle, so good for me, but not everyone falls into that category.

I still think it is a fun game that people will like.  I would suggest you try this game out.  It plays quickly.  It is easy to teach.  It is engaging.  There isn't much time between players turns and you need to pay attention to what people are playing so you can make good plays and maybe be able to make use of the 10 back rule.

Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! - Game Review

I picked up a copy of Conflict of Heroes:  Awakening the Bear! 2nd edition a while ago.  It has sat on my shelf for some time.  I decided to pull it down and read through the rules.  I liked what I read and watched a few YouTube videos on the rules.  I was a little worried about this game being a bit heavy, but I think it is a pretty intuitive rule system.  I have played it mostly solo (not with the solo expansion) controlling both sides myself.

This game takes Operation Barbarossa and puts it on the table where players take control of squads and tanks to resolve tactical situations faced during WWII.

This game is highly ranked on BGG (19th War Game) and well respected by many of the reviewers that I enjoy; Derek Case from SingleHandedWarfare and Bart "The Chief" from The Dice Tower.

Games last between 1-2 hours depending on the scenario played.

Artwork
All of the artwork in this game is top notch.  The map boards look fantastic.  The tokens look great with all the pertinent information being easy to read.  My only complaint about the layout is that I would reverse the front and flank armor values.

Component Quality
Everything in this game is top notch.  All the tokens are printed well and punched out well.  The maps are very nice and, as stated earlier, look great.

Game Play
Each mission offers a different challenge and troops types to engage in the battle.  There is a specific objective to accomplish and details on how each force earns victory points.

Players take turn activating units to move them across the board or shoot at each other in an effort to accomplish the mission's goals.

A player can complete a single action on their turn.  This can be moving a single unit, shooting with a single unit or using a group activation to have multiple units move together.

When a player activates a unit he gets 7 action points (or a random number as an optional rule) to use on that units actions.  There is also the opportunity for shared actions, or group actions that allow more units to activate at the same time.

Players can use opportunity fire to react to the enemy by firing with an unactivated unit and then immediately flipping that unit to its spent side.

In addition, players have Command Action Points (dictated by the scenario) that they can use throughout their turn (and can even be used on spent units).  As a player loses units, they get fewer Command Action Points in future turns.

The activation system really forces players to think about what they are doing because you might have several things that you want to do, but you are limited in what you can do.  The decisions in this game matter and sometimes you can't always do everything you want.

Expansions
This game has several expansions.  Some are expansions from the first edition and others from the 2nd edition.  More are in the works as well.

The big one that I was most excited about was the Solo Expansion.  This has a variety of scenarios and AI cards that allow the players to fight solo battles where the enemy really fights back.  The battles are very challenging and you will need to use your wits to accomplish the mission in these battles.

The next expansion that has intrigued me is the Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear - Firefight Generator Expansion.  This expansion allows players to build scenarios using a deck of cards.  The cards are used to determine units, victory point conditions, weather, etc for each side.  The players take turns going back and forth with selections so you can react to what your opponent is doing.  This expansion allows you to create an enormous variety of scenarios to play.  The great thing is that this expansion also works with the Solo Expansion.

Overall Thoughts
I think I found a new favorite board game...

This game is challenging, but I have loved every minute of it so far.  The decision points are constant and I love that to do one thing you may be giving up the opportunity to do something else.  There is a level of detail in this game that won't be to everyone's liking, but I am very pleased to have this on my shelf.

100 Swords - Game Review

I got another one of the games I backed on Kickstarter recently.  This time it was 100 Swords published by Laboratory Games.  It is described as a micro deck-building game.  My pledge to the Kickstarter project got me 2 game decks and 4 Dungeon Builder sets.

The idea behind the game is that you and your opponent (an imagined opponent if you are playing solo) are exploring a dungeon in an effort to find the most treasure.  The things you find in the dungeon are pretty much all worth something.  Some items are acquired by spending energy and others you have to fight to win their treasure.  The items that cost energy end up in your deck and help you to better explore the dungeon.  Defeated monsters just end up in your treasure pile to be added up at the end of the game.  A game plays in about 20-30 minutes.

Artwork
I am not real picky when it comes to art.  The art in this game looks fun if maybe a little simple, but it fits the theme and depth of the game.

Component Quality
This game only uses cards.  The cards are of decent thickness and are printed well.  The images are clearly defined and I haven't noticed any bleeding of the colors.

Game Play
Players take turns using their hand of 5 cards to enter the dungeon and look around, fight monsters, or collect items.  At the end of your turn you leave the dungeon.  The fun thing is that just because you saw something in a room doesn't mean your opponent knows what is there.  When you enter a room, unless you encounter a monster or door, or you collect the card, then it stays face down.

Cards from your hand serve 3 functions; you can spend cards as energy to collect items in the dungeon or rent items from the shop, you can use cards to move you through the dungeon, or you can use cards to fight monsters.

Before entering the dungeon on each turn, you can use 1 energy from your hand and the shop to rent an item for the turn.  The available items help in your exploration of the dungeon.

The game ends when the boss monster has been defeated or if there are less than 5 cards in the dungeon and no more in the dungeon's draw deck.  Then both players total the treasure in their deck and treasure pile; the player with the most treasure wins.

Solo Game Play

I have been playing more and more game solo and this game comes with a solo variant built in.  The game doesn't change much for solo play.  After each of your turns, the leftmost and rightmost cards remaining in the dungeon are revealed (if they weren't already) and the high treasure value is collected by the AI.  If the cards have equal values, the player chooses which the AI collects.

The AI doesn't have to pay for any of these cards, it just gets them.  If some expensive cards pop up early if can be hard to win, but it is still a fun challenge to try to get a better treasure horde.

Expansions

The dungeon builder sets offer a different variety of cards and new bosses to offer different challenges.  The Kickstarter came with 4 of these sets.  You can add several at once for longer and more varied games.

Overall Thoughts

This is definitely a filler game.  It has light rules and plays very quickly.  It is a little puzzly in that you need to use your limited hand in the most efficient way if you want to win, but the challenge isn't all that complicated.

I could see the game getting boring after a bit without the dungeon builder sets, but with those, there is quite a bit of variety that can be added.

I have enjoyed playing this game and think it fits well into my collection.  

Airborne Commander - Game Review

I received my copy of Airborne Commander in November.  This is a solo deck building game that I backed through Kickstarter.

I read through the rules and managed to play a few games and thought I would share my thoughts.

The Artwork
The art on the cards is very nice.  I love the look of it and I think it adds a lot to the game.

Component Quality

The game has 2 decks of cards; the Mission deck and the Allied deck.  The Mission deck represent the German forces that your will be facing off against.  The Allied deck represents the American forces that you will be able to use in your attack.

The cards are decent quality and thickness. I had one card that "stuck" to another and is slightly marked, but the rest of the cards look great.

Game Play
The game play is pretty straight forward.

There are 4 enemy cards placed in the battlefield.  These can be terrain cards, objective cards, armor, infantry, or static defenses.

You get a hand of cards that you can assign to battle any or all of the enemy cards.  Instead of using the cards to battle the enemy directly some cards can function in supporting roles by providing suppressing fire, fire support, or recruitment points.

Unlike most deck building games I've played, if you don't use all of the cards in your hand you can keep them and save them for the next turn.  This is an interesting mechanic that can bite you in the butt, but can also open up some interesting options.

To resolve the battle you will compare the attack value versus the defense value of the cards in each battle.  You have to beat the defense of the card with the attack value to kill it.  If your troops are killed, they are removed from your deck, so be careful, you don't want to lose to many of your troops.  You set aside the German cards that you kill and they are worth points at the end of the game.

Any enemy cards you don't defeat are removed from the battlefield (except static defenses that stay on the battlefield) and you get new cards in the next phase

If you decide not to engage any cards in the battlefield, then they run through your lines and cause havoc.  This forces you to add a disorganized card to your deck.  If you get to many of these cards, you will be drawing lots of these into your hand and you won't be able to get much done.

You lose the game in one of two ways:  if all the disorganized cards have been placed into your deck or if there are 4 or more Static Defenses in the battlefield.

You win the game if your reach the end of either the Allied or Mission Deck without losing.  You then determine how well you did by adding up the points you earned for cards you captured or destroyed and subtract for the disorganized cards in your deck.

Overall Thoughts
This is a quick playing game, but it is rather challenging.  I have not quite figured out the right tactics to achieve a victory, but I continue to try.  It is nice that the game plays so quickly because you can play several times in one session.

I have not gone to the web to seek out strategies yet, but I might have to do that soon.

Overall this is a fun game with some interesting options available.  If you are into deck building  or WWII games, you might want to check this one out.

Zombicide: Black Plague - Game Review

I got another game just before Christmas that I backed on Kickstarter.

Zombicide: Black Plague

This is a fantasy themed version of the very popular Zombicide system.

After a quick brush up on the rules, I set up the introductory scenario and played through it running 4 heroes myself.

The Artwork
The art is a similar style to the other Zombicide games.  Personally I like it, but I've heard that some don't.  The game boards, cards, rule book and models all showcase the same style and I think it gives the game a good feel.

Component Quality
The quality of everything is great.  The models are all well cast and look very nice.  The cardboard is thick and looks very nice.  The tokens are also thick and are well perforated so they punch out well.  The cards aren't the thickest, but they are okay and they look very nice.

Game Play
I have only played through the introductory scenario, so please forgive me if I miss anything.

Each hero gets 3 actions per turn.  There are a number of different things that each action can be used for: movement, attack, search, etc.  A hero must complete all his/her actions before the next hero goes.  After all heroes have acted, the zombies get to act, then you draw zombie reinforcements and then it is the heroes turn again.

There are lots of options and the order that you activate heroes can make a big difference on your tactics and how things play out.

Each scenario has a defined objective for the heroes to win.  There are several scenarios in the book and you will have a lot of good game play straight out of the box.

Overall Thoughts
I don't think this game is much different than the base Zombicide game.  That isn't to say it isn't a fun game.  I like the fantasy theme and I had a good time playing the game and look forward to playing it again. 

I will mostly be playing this as a solo game.  My big complaint for the game is that most of the scenarios want all 6 heroes to be used.  I wish that the game scaled for fewer heroes, but that doesn't really work with this.  I will muscle through this challenge and play through the scenarios.  I'm sure there will also be fan-made scenarios that I will be able to play when I get through the ones in the book.

LaserStorm - AAR 10/4/15

It has taken me a little bit to get this AAR report put together, but I guess it is better late than never.

I played another game of LaserStorm.  This time I used the Eldar and Space Marine stats that I put together using the unit creation rules.

I used a variant on the Introductory scenario.  The forces were not identical and I used 3 objectives instead of 2.  The first force to reach 6 victory points would be declared the winner.

I was in command of both forces, but promise to play each side to the best of my ability.

The Space Marine Forces (1935 points).

Tactical Squads with Rhino Transports x 3
Heavy Weapon Squad
Terminator Squad
Land Speeder Squad
Dreadnought Squad
Predator Squad
Vindicator Squad
Land Raider
Infantry Commanders x 3

The Eldar Forces (1905 points)

Guardian Squad with Falcon Transports x 3
Guardian Squad x 2
Wraithguard Squad
Weapon Platform Squad x 2
Wraithlord Squad
Fire Prism Squad
Firestorm Squad
Infantry Commanders x 3

Both sides set up in spread across the table.

Turn 1

The Marines got a snap action right away and the Predators opened fire on a group of Falcons and scored 3 hits.  All three were destroyed.

The Eldar on the City flank advanced.  Firestorms fired on the Land Speeders but failed to hit.  Fire Prism fire on the Land Raider and destroy it.

The Eldar Fire Prisms snap fire on the Vindicators and miss.

The Marines on the City flank advance.  The Rhinos move forward and the Tactical Squad disembarks while taking shots on the Guardians; killing 2 stands.  The Dreadnoughts fire on the Firestorms destroying 1.  They fail moral and are removed from the battlefield.  The Land Speeders fire on the Heavy Weapon platforms and kill 2.

Tactical Marines in the hills advance and disembark.  The Vindicators move forward and open fire on the Fire Prisms killing all 3.  The Terminators attempt to double and fail their moral and are put in reserve.

Marines in the Center also advance.  The Predators move forward and fire on the Wraithlords killing 2.  Rhinos advance behind the Predators.  Heavy Weapon Squad doubles forward.

Falcons in the hills advance and the guardians deploy.  Falcons fire on the Rhinos and kill all 3.  Guardians fire on Tactical Marines and only hit 1 that saves.  Firestorms are regrouped and they fire on the Heavy Weapon Squad and kill 3 stands.

Both Guardian units in the center advance and fire on the Marine Heavy Weapons Squad, but fail to kill anyone.  Weapons Platforms fire on the Predators score 1 kill.  Wraithlord opens fire on the Predators but miss.

End of Turn 1;  Marines - 2  Eldar - 0

Turn 2

The Wraithguard move further into the city and fire on the Land Speeders, but they make all their saves.  The Guardians move up and also fail to kill any of their targets.  The Heavy Weapons Platforms fire on the Predators, but fail to score any hits as well.

The Guardians in the hills snap fire on the Tactical Squad and kill 1 stand.

The Tactical Squad advances on the Guardians and returns fire killing 4 stands.  The Vindicators fire on the Guardians, but fail to score any hits.

One Guardian squad and Falcons launch an assault on the Tactical Squad holding the objective in the hills and kill of the Marines, but suffer 2 losses.

The other Guardian unit moves forward to get into position to assault the Marine tanks on their next activation.  The Firestorms fired on the Tactical Squad in the city and killed 3 stands.

The Vindicators snap fire on the Firestorms and kill both and 2 Guardian stands.  The remaining Guardians fail their moral test and are removed.

The Heavy Weapon Platforms fire on the Vindicators, but miss with all shots.  The Guardians assault the Vindicators, but the tanks repel the attack, killing all the Guardians.  The Guardians did kill 1 Vindicator in the assault.  The Predators and Vindicators failed moral and were removed from the table.

The Marine forces in the center try to regroup the Terminators, but through some mis-communication the Terminators lose another stand and still aren't able to regroup.  The Tactical Squad claims the objective and opens fire on the Heavy Weapons Platform killing 3.  The Heavy Weapons Squad fires on the Wraithlord and misses.

Wraithguard snap fire on the Land Speeders, but miss with all shots.

The Land Speeders and Rhinos move return fire on the Wraithguard and wipe the unit out.  The Tactical Squad and Dreadnoughts combine fire and kill the remaining Guardians in the City.

End of Turn 2:  Marines - 4  Eldar - 1

Turn 3

Knowing that they need to claim an objective the Guardians in the center make a reactionary move toward the center objective.

The Marines in the city kill the final Eldar forces in the city.

The Marines in the center again attempt to regroup the Terminators and this time they are successful.  They kill off the Guardian squad that was attempting to take the center objective.

A Tactical Squad snap fires on an Eldar Command stand and kill it while the Dreadnoughts move forward.

The Guardians hold their ground in the hills and kill a Marine command stand.  The Falcons move toward the center objective and kill 2 Rhinos and 2 Dreadnoughts.

The Wraithlords assaults the Tactical Squad on the center Objective, but loses the fight to the Marines and fail their save.

End of Turn 3:  Marines - 6  Eldar - 2

Summary

A good game, that was plagued with some bad rolls by the Eldar forces.  With a relatively low moral, I think I need to add additional Command Stands to the Eldar forces.  I also think I need to focus on staying out of lines of fire when possible.

The Marines made a steady advance forward and once they claimed the objectives, were able to hold onto them.  With good saves and moral, the Marines are a stalwart force to face off against.

LaserStorm. 6mm grand warfare. - First play and review

I love new rule sets.  I can't help it.  They always get me excited.  Then I read them and they aren't quite as exciting as I had hoped.

I got a copy of LaserStorm. 6mm grand Warfare from Nordic Weasel Games because I was excited by them.

The author's goals:

• Game play that is simple, without too many fringe cases.
• Play quickly, even with a lot of troops on the table.
• Allow very large amounts of diverse figures on the table at the same time.
• Core mechanics can be condensed to a few pages.
• No markers, counters, templates or other indicators needed.
• No record keeping needed other than your army lists.
• "Blasters and jet Packs" scifi, rather than hard military realism.

This sounded like my kind of game.  Where could I sign up?  When could I get my copy?  

Well the rules were released on WargameVault.com a few days ago, and I went and downloaded a copy right away.  I've been reading through the 92 page book and I was still excited.  The rules seem to hold up to the author's goals.  

Rules Overview

The rules break out each force into 3 battle groups.  All the models in each battle group activate together, one unit at a time.  Activations are handled by a card draw system, so it isn't a strictly IGOUGO, system.  There are some opportunities for reactionary fire/movement, as well.  Movement, fire, and necessary moral is all resolved immediately so there is very little record keeping.

The rules offer a limited selection of pre-made troops and vehicles, but does include information on creating your own units with lots of options.

The rules provide a basic rule set for 6mm combat between reasonably sized forces, but most chapters also provide some variant ideas for different rules so you can tweak the game to your taste and play-style.

As I stated previously, overall, I am impressed with the rules.

Playing a Game

The next step is to try the rules out on the table top.  The author was nice enough to include a training/introductory scenario in the rule book.  The scenario calls for identical forces to face off against each other.  They are trying to acquire 4 points by holding objectives at the end of each turn.  I pulled out my Space Marines and Eldar and selected some models.  

The forces.

2 units of mechanized infantry (4 stands and 2 APC)

2 units of tanks (3 tanks per unit)

2 units of heavy infantry (5 stands per unit)

For the marines, I used regular marines and Rhinos for the mechanized infantry, predators for the tank units, terminators for the heavy infantry units, and Land Raiders and a infantry base with a Rhino for the command vehicles.

Marine Force

For the Eldar, I used Guardians and Falcons for the mechanized infantry, Fire Prisms and Fire Storms for the tank units, Wraithguard and Wraithlords for the heavy infantry, and Wave Serpents for the command vehicles.

Eldar Force

Deployment

Turn 1

The Eldar Fire Prisms and Fire Storms got the first activation of the game.  They advanced and shot at the Marine Predators and killed 1 tank.  The Marines pass their moral.

Fire Storms move up to claim an objective.

Predator destroyed by Fire Storm.

Next the Eldar Wraithguard moved forward.

Next up, the Marine Terminators advanced.

The Eldar got a snap action and used it to move one of the infantry units forward in their Falcons.

The Marines move their infantry forward in their Rhinos, 1 unit disembarks and moves into the building to take the objective.  The other unit fires at the Eldar Falcons and destroys 1.  The 2 Eldar infantry failed their saves and are destroyed.  The unit fails its moral and is moved to reserve.

Next up the Eldar Guardians activates.  The Guardians disembark around the ruins and open fire on the Marines in the ruins.  2 Marine stands are killed, but they pass their moral.

The Eldar get 2 snap actions and use the opportunity to move both Wraithguard units forward.

Finally, the Marine Predators move forward and fire on the Eldar tanks and Guardians.  1 Guardian is kill and 1 tank is destroyed.  The infantry fail moral and are moved to reserve.

At the end of turn 1 the Marines have 1 victory point and the Eldar have 1 victory point.

The Guardians deploy from the Falcons and open fire on the Marines.

The table at the end of Turn 1.

Turn 2

The Eldar tanks get the first activation and move into position around the objective.  They open fire on the Terminators and Predators.  3 Terminator stands and 2 tanks were killed, but both units pass moral.

Next up, the Guardians commander actives, but fails to regroup any units so it moves into the cover of some trees.

The Predators move into the trees to gain some cover and fire on the Eldar tanks.  Both units lose a tank and one of the tank units fails its moral.

The Rhinos deploy the 2 Marine unit into the ruins to strengthen the hold of the objective.  The Rhinos and infantry open fire on the Eldar Wraithguard and kill 3 stands.  The Wraithguard fail their moral.

The Terminators snap fire on the Eldar tanks, but fail to do any damage, but push the tank back 9".

The Wraithguard advance and attack Terminators and kill 1 stand.

The Wraithguard get another snap action and move onto the objective.

The Terminators move forward and open fire on the Wraithguard and kill 2 units and push 2 units back.

At the end of Turn 2 both the Eldar and Marines have 2 victory points.

End of Turn 2

Turn 3

The Predators snap fire on the Wraithguard and kill 1 stand, but they pass their moral.

The Guardians command activates and fail again to regroup anyone.  It takes a shot on the marine infantry, but fail to hit.

The Eldar Tank command unit fails to regroup and its fire is only able to push a Terminator unit back.

The Marine infantry open fire on the Eldar Command vehicles and destroy 1.



The Predators kill another Fire Storm and another Wraithguard stand.  In addition to the destroyed unit, the remaining Wraithguard are pushed back off o the objective.



The Terminators advance onto the objective and open fire on the Eldar command vehicle that is contesting the objective.  They fail to destroy it, but push it back out of range of the objective.

The Marines push the Eldar off the objective and claim it for the win.

End of Turn 3

The game ended at the end of Turn 3 with the Marines earning 4 victory points to the Eldar's 2 victory points.  The Marines got lucky with their Moral rolls and the Eldar were unlucky with theirs.

I think I only made one major mistake during the game, but I made it a couple of times.  When activating a battlegroup, I didn't always roll for regrouping reserves.  I only rolled when the card for the battlegroup that lost the units was activated.  This might have changed the results if the Eldar had been able to get some troops back into the fight, but the way they were rolling, I'm not sure it would have mattered.

Summary

I had a lot of fun with this game.  It played quickly and I only had to look up a few rules during the game.  These forces were identical, but it was still fun.  Using larger forces will add more interesting options to the game.  One core mechanic of the game is your force is divided into 3 parts.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  I am tempted to add a card for each unit and activate the units 1 at a time.  I don't know if this will adversely effect the game, but I think I would like it better.  It could require more moral rolls so that might be something to consider before making the change. 

I look forward to playing a few more games with some more varied army lists.

The only thing that I think is missing is a summary sheet.  There is a summary sheet, but it is missing some of the pertinent info that should be included.