New year's first game

The first game of the year was a second world war game using a set of rules I am working on (in fact I have been working on them for a number of years). The rules are set at a large skirmish type scale with a couple of platoons of infantry per side with support units in the form of armoured vehicles and heavy weapons.

The Germans were defending a village with river crossing and had a platoon of infantry supported by a mortar section and an mg section, two Pz IV, an 88mm A/T gun, and a 37mm A/T gun.

The Allies (American Rangers) had three shermans, a 17pdr A/T gun, two platoons of infantry with an mg section in support.

As the game was an attack on an unknown defence the Germans started the game hidden from view and the Allies cautiosly approached the bridge from the road and the German right flank across country but things soon started to hot up when the Germans opened fire with their mortars and brought their tanks into play but had to wait until the Shermans got a little closer before knocking on out and immobilizing another leaving one lone tank to close the distance before it could do any damage to the panzers.

The german mortars open up on the unsuspecting Allied advance

The Germans bring their tanks into play to counter the advance on the Allied left of the Shermans supporting one of the Ranger platoons

The 88mm was spotted and opened up on a rogue truck approaching the bridge causing a road block there and soon the Americans were hard pressed to take the bridge and pinned down in the German crossfire.

In the centre the truck makes a suicidal rush towards the bridge but is unaware of the 88mm waiting just down the road to welcome it

However, in the meantime, the left flank Ranger squad got pinned down in a patch of rough ground and was supported by some fairly accurate mortar and HE rounds from the shermans onto the infantry on the German right flank.

The Allied right began to crumble as one squad was pinned down not far from some houses occupied by German infantry and soon were whittled down to a couple of men and forced to withdraw but not before their support had pinned the infantry in the houses and an accurately fired mortar round caused serious damage on the occupants of the houses who also had to withdraw but a support section soon re occupied the ground and fired on the Americans advancing over the bridge.

With one of the Shermans brewing up and a second just moments away from being immobilised, the Allied forces are forced to make a tactical withdrawal

Eventually the Americans reached the point of no return and were forced to make a fighting withdrawal but not before giving the Germans a bloody nose.

All in all the game worked reasonably well and all players seemed to enjoy having my rules thrust upon them. The game lasted about 21/2-3 hours which was just right for a club night so I think, with a little tweaking, the rules seem to work but I think a little more playtesting is required after a few tweaks here and there.

The photo above shows a squad of Allied infantry attacking the row of houses on the German's left flank but becoming pinned down under fire from the troops located in the houses. It also gives a good impression of the layout of the village and farm beyond

The map above indicates the playing area, approximately 5'X4' with the Allied deployment zone shown. The Germans were able to use hidden deployment and position their forces anywhere up to the river line from the right hand table edge. The ground was strewn with hedgerows and rough ground to restrict line of sight and provide some cover for the troops on the ground.

Newspaper cutting from the Christmas game

Christmas game 2008-the rules

BRITISH

You are to get to the zariba where your brother officers will welcome you back having collected the Colonel’s Christmas tree. Along your route back you understand there is a stash of gold coins which you must collect as you go. You will make this your present to the Colonel should you get back safely.

Your cavalry and artillery are still at the mission and protected by a zariba.

Can you get the Christmas tree back to safety?



Reaching the zariba

To count as a success, the British need to have at least 25% of their initial forces, or one section at 75% or more of its original strength, within the compound by the end of turn 12.

The British force in this game consists of: 5 sections infantry and one squadron of cavalry with one maxim gun. Three of the sections include an NCO which will represent the player commanding that section. Officers will represent the other players on the table and may command sections, with one being given overall command of the column. The men and NCOs are all armed with the standard Martini- Henry single shot, breech-loading rifle and socket bayonet.

The officers have Webley service revolvers and swords. They are currently somewhat short of ammunition, having been told that further supplies are located at the mission. Each section, commanded by a player, must dice to see how much ammunition they have over 6 rounds, counting the dice score as the number of extra rounds available. Officers are deemed to have pistols and have a full chamber at the start and enough ammunition for one reload (ie. 12 rounds worth of ammunition)





MOVEMENT

British infantry skirmishing
(bases at least one base width apart) 4” + d6”
British infantry formed
(bases touching) 4” + d3”
British infantry formed at the double
(may not double or charge in consecutive
moves; may not double whilst skirmishing) 6” + d3”
British infantry charging into contact
(may not charge or double in consecutive moves) 8” + d3”
British infantry on hill, difficult terrain or in square Half speed + d3”.
Cavalry move normally at 9”+d6
Cavalry charging 12”+d6
Any troops jumping linear obstacle -3” and roll 1D6 per figure
1=fallen, can’t shoot, -2 in melee

Troops Movement




SHOOTING

Martini-Henry/ maxim gun Short 0-6” Medium 6-12” Long 12-18”
Webley revolver Short 0-2” Medium 2-6”

The British can either volley fire, or fire at will as individuals.
To volley fire, all figures must be in direct base-to-base contact and all must shoot at the same target and will mark off TWO rounds of ammunition for each turn of volley fore.

The officer/NCO commanding each section will decide which type of fire to use if the sections are separated by more than 3”; if sections are kept together, then the senior officer/NCO present will decide for the whole body firing.

Roll a d6 for each man firing:


Short range 3, 4, 5, 6 kills
Medium range 4, 5, 6 kills
Long range 5 or 6 kills
(Maxim gun roll as for 4 figures) a die roll of 1 will indicate a jam and will require one full turn to clear.

Modifiers:
Units firing volleys +1 (see above)
Target in cover -2
Dervish rifles -1

Target began charge two shots permitted,
at long range delivered at medium range

Target began charge one shot only permitted,
at medium range delivered at close range

Target began charge no shooting permitted
at close range



MELEE

Mêlées take place immediately when opposing figures come into base-to-base contact. They are decided by a modified man-to-man d6 vs d6 die roll. Highest score wins.

Modifiers:
Any troops charging +1
Dervish spear/sword unmodified
Fuzzy Wuzzy sword +1
Dervish leader +2
British NCO or officer +2
Defending obstacle +2
Uphill of enemy +1
Mounted +1
Mounted lance armed +1

2:1 or 3:1 (max) fight compare highest scores. If lone defender wins, he is considered to have parried the other attacks and felled one opponent.




DERVISHES

To win, the dervishes should capture the Christmas tree and prevent the British reaching their objective.

TABLE 1. Dervish deployment
D6 roll Outcome Positioning Strength and experience
1, 2 None this turn Roll for incident
3 One dervish unit appears at 18” from the British

Appear from behind the nearest cover to the position specified Roll another dice
1, 2, 3=In front of the nearest British unit
4= To the left of the nearest British
5= To the right of the nearest British
6= To the rear of the farthest British (behind the column as if pursuing) Roll 4XD6 to determine the strength of the dervish units appearing (minimum number is 6)
1XD6 for experience
1, 2, 3=Dervish horde
4=mixed arms, half rifles
5=Fuzzy Wuzzy
6=cavalry unit (2XD6 for strength)

4 One dervish unit appears at 12” from the British

Appear from behind the nearest cover to the position specified Roll another dice
1, 2, 3=In front of the nearest British unit
4= To the left of the nearest British
5= To the right of the nearest British
6= To the rear of the farthest British (behind the column as if pursuing) Roll 4XD6 to determine the strength of the dervish units appearing (minimum number is 6)
1XD6 for experience
1, 2, 3=Dervish horde
4=mixed arms, half rifles
5=Fuzzy Wuzzy
6=cavalry unit (2XD6 for strength)

5 Two dervish units appear at 18” from the British

Appear from behind the nearest cover to the position specified Roll another dice
1, 2, 3=In front of the nearest British unit
4= To the left of the nearest British
5= To the right of the nearest British
6= To the rear of the farthest British (behind the column as if pursuing) Roll 4XD6 to determine the strength of the dervish units appearing (minimum number is 6)
1XD6 for experience
1, 2, 3=Dervish horde
4=mixed arms, half rifles
5=Fuzzy Wuzzy
6=cavalry unit (2XD6 for strength)

6 Two dervish units appear at 12” from the British

Appear from behind the nearest cover to the position specified Roll another dice
1, 2, 3=In front of the nearest British unit
4= To the left of the nearest British
5= To the right of the nearest British
6= To the rear of the farthest British (behind the column as if pursuing) Roll 4XD6 to determine the strength of the dervish units appearing (minimum number is 6)
1XD6 for experience
1, 2, 3=Dervish horde
4=mixed arms, half rifles
5=Fuzzy Wuzzy
6=cavalry unit (2XD6 for strength)


Dervish foot move normally at 9”+d3
Charging move 12”+d3
Dervish cavalry move normally at 9”+d6
Charging move 12”+d6



INCIDENTS

When dicing for Dervish appearance should a 1 or 2 be rolled, roll another D6 to determine whether anything else happens that turn.

On a roll of 1, the column have veered off course and the zariba will be moved 1D6 inches to either right or left (odds indicating to the left, evens to the right)

On a roll of 2, the British see a dust cloud in the distance (roll a direction die to determine in which direction)

On a roll of 3, nothing happens apart from a sandstorm blowing up (roll a direction die to determine where it is coming from and its direction) If it comes towards the column, it will blow over in one turn but all movement will be halved and visibility will be zero. Roll 1D6 to determine how far to move the zariba (odds indicating to the left, evens to the right) as the column has become disorientated.

On a roll of 4, nothing of note, the sky is clear and the sun is smiling.

On a roll of 5, a couple of fuzzies appear over a rise in the ground, anywhere on the board and stand there watching the column, they will move off at the end of next turn

On a roll of 6, due to the poor map reading skills of the lead section, they have veered off course and will be positioned 1D6 inches to left (1, 2, 3) or right (4, 5, 6)


DERVISH MOVEMENT


D6 roll Outcome Movement
1, 2 Slink away Remove from play. They have just appeared to have a look and then disappear.
3 Act with caution Move no closer to the British, mill around on the spot unless easy pickings can be spotted elsewhere on the table. May fire rifles
4 Advance Move towards the nearest British unit contacting them if possible. May fire if rifle armed
5 Charge! Charge at full speed towards nearest British unit
6 C H A R G E ! Charge at full speed towards nearest British unit, if no contact made add 50% to the charge distance.

Modifiers
+2 if within charge distance
-1 if retreating or failed morale test last turn
-1 if outnumbered by target unit
-2 if outnumbered by target unit by more than 2:1






DERVISH MORALE

Test when unit takes 25% casualties and then each 25% thereafter.

D6 roll Outcome
1, 2 The unit disperses, remove from the table
3, 4 Gone but not forgotten. The unit routs towards the nearest table edge but may return!
5 The unit retires one move at the start of next turn and then may move as desired
6 Bring it on! The unit carries on as desired

Modifiers

+1 for fuzzy wuzzy unit
+1 if the unit won previous round melee
+1 if cavalry


SHOOTING

Martini-Henry/ maxim gun Short 0-6” Medium 6-12” Long 12-18”
Webley revolver Short 0-2” Medium 2-6”

The British can either volley fire, or fire at will as individuals.
To volley fire, all figures must be in direct base-to-base contact and all must shoot at the same target. The officer/NCO commanding each section will decide which type of fire to use if the sections are separated by more than 3”; if sections are kept together, then the senior officer/NCO present will decide for the whole body firing.

Roll a d6 for each man firing:


Short range 3, 4, 5, 6 kills
Medium range 4, 5, 6 kills
Long range 5 or 6 kills
(Maxim gun roll as for 4 figures) a die roll of 1 will indicate a jam and will require one full turn to clear.

Modifiers:
Units firing volleys +1 (see above)
Target in cover -2
Dervish rifles -1

Target began charge two shots permitted,
at long range delivered at medium range

Target began charge one shot only permitted,
at medium range delivered at close range

Target began charge no shooting permitted
at close range









MELEE

Mêlées take place immediately when opposing figures come into base-to-base contact. They are decided by a modified man-to-man d6 vs d6 die roll. Highest score wins.

Modifiers:
Any troops charging +1
Dervish spear/sword unmodified
Fuzzy Wuzzy sword +1
Dervish leader +2
British NCO or officer +2
Defending obstacle +2
Uphill of enemy +1
Mounted +1
Mounted lance armed +1

2:1 or 3:1 (max) fight compare highest scores. If lone defender wins, he is considered to have parried the other attacks and felled one opponent.

Christmas game 2008

The last game of the year should be fun and this one was no exception. The British, consisting of five separate platoons of nine figures, including two Sudanese platoons, were led by each of the club members who had been able to attend, a further command consisted of the Colonel with a squadron of cavalry in the compound along with a maxim gun. The rules were slightly adapted from the set available from Battlegames as a free download for a participation game set during the Zulu war.

The game commenced with the British starting out across the desert towards the zariba and compound where the Colonel was waiting for his Christmas tree to be delivered. This same tree was the one on the wagon being transported across the sand by the approaching British.

One of the Sudanese platoons advances across the desert to warn off the approaching dervishes

The fuzzy wuzzies attack a British platoon, wiping them out to a man but the officer went down fighting and was mentioned in despatches as well as receiving one line in the local paper back home in Blighty.

The Dervishes, controlled by dice rolling and another member of the club, leaving me to umpire, appeared at random and in randomly generated numbers. They soon began to appear as the column marched across the desert and casualties began to mount up with the lead platoon being attacked by beja tribesmen and being soundly thrashed, although the officer in charge got a brief mention in despatches.

Slowly the British advanced across the baking sand with their cargo looking for gold along the route. This was marked by eldritch gems with number underneath to indicate the amount of gold found, if any.

The Sudanese protect the Colonel's christmas tree from the advancing hordes of dervishes as it makes its way slowly across the desert.

As the dervishes take their toll the Sudanese are in disarray protecting the wagon carrying the tree

At last the wagon makes its way into the zariba to the delight of the Colonel who came out of his cabin on the river boat to welcome the tree knowing that his christmas was safe. He then retired back to his cabin for a celebratory glass of port.

After much nail biting as more dervishes approached the column, some only coming to have a look then disappearing again, the British managed to fight off many attacks but losing casualties along the way. Eventually the Colonel decided to bring his cavalry out of the compound and was attacked by dervish warriors then the dervish cavalry appeared and managed to fight off the lancers killing them but losing many of their own number in the process.

Eventually the column marched into the compound having managed to march across the desert and deliver the Colonel’s Christmas tree. The gold was counted out and a number of chocolate coins were handed to the British.

All in all a fun game, just the type of game for a last meeting before Christmas. The dervish player was awarded the Mahdi’s chocolate orange and the player in control of the cavalry was awarded a box of Perry plastics for losing his entire cavalry command but allowing the wagons to enter the compound unmolested.