Hammers Slammers at GZG ECC

I'm going to run a big-ish Slammers game at the GZG ECC this year.  After laying out armour in prep to pack I thought I'd take some photos

I've got quite a few 15mm scifi vehicles, so rather than buy new vehicles I'm just using what I've already got.  All my units were formed prior to getting the HS rulebook, so they are not generally 'cannon' vehicles. One of these days I'll spend the time fitting them in better.

Detachments laid out

Commonwealth Battle Group

Free Foreign Legion (Division Legere)

Hi-Mobility Unit

Colonial Group (old Matchbox given to me by a friend)

More hover MICVs

7th Armoured Division

 Some old Grav-tanks

 Air Mobility

 Zoom into Commonwealth Armour with Artillery in rear

Commonwealth Command

Commonwealth MICVs with Support Group in rear

Commonwealth Artillery, Air Defence and Heavy Armour

Urban Combat unit

Commonwealth Infantry companies

Zoom into Command groups (all basing is finished now)

And, part of the terrain to fight over, a corner of a city

Next, packing these ready for the trip, quick read of the rules and prep some unit cards.

New Year, New Game

New Year, new resolution time.  My resolution for me: I will play at least one game per month.  Pah! easy I hear, perhaps not.  As I look back over the blog I've not managed it.  Lets see if I can do better this year.

First up:  X-Com Enemy Unknown

I've had extended in-laws and kid sitting over Christmas, so figure gaming has gone out the window.  Fortunately, I discovered that the old game X-Com has been rebooted and released.  I spent many a hour playing the old one and have greatly enjoyed the new one.  While playing I got to thinking, I have most of everything I need to play this game in miniature. And it turns out I do!  My plan is to play out a series of missions and try to keep the same troopers progressing as in the computer game.

Rules are a poser.  Its an 'I go You Go' game, just like 40K Rogue Trader.  If I keep it up I think I'll use these rules, but for this first mission I'm using my simple 'play with the kids rules'

Mission 1: Alien Encounter

Aliens have taken over Smalltown, scramble X-Com to counter the alien threat.
Mission: eliminate all aliens
Forces: Four X-Com troopers
Aliens: Unknown (actually 6)

The board is divided in sections.  The base three sections are unnumbered,  X-com deploy in the center section.  The remaining six sections are numbered 1-6, aliens randomly deploy.  Aliens are randomly grouped: 3, 2 and 1

 The chittering horde (Rebel greys)

 X-com debus from the VTOL (Old Crow VTOL, Traveller X-com)

 Alien spotted in the center

 A Mk14 Assault Rifle barks out and the alien goes down

 Three aliens reveal on the RHS, the X-com trooper has no time to react

 X-com split into buddy-pairs

 Aliens scuttle to cover

Shots are traded, no effect

 Alien plasma fire wounds an X-com trooper (the alien on the 'roof' is inside the building)

 Two more aliens appear on the LHS

 Two turns in, X-com are pinned down by flanking aliens

 More wounds, alien plasma is more effective than X-com bullets

 Slowly the volume of X-com fire prevails, another alien goes down

 Then a third, the winds of war move in X-Com's direction

 A fourth! X-com is on the brink of a historic victory

 An alien retreats (goes on overwatch)

 Oh NO! first X-com trooper down, alien plasma proved too much for the fragile armour

 X-Com rush the lone alien on the RHS

 Overwatch misses

 And so do X-com...

 The alien shoots and does NOT miss.  Plasma at close range is nasty

 X-com on the LHS is more into sneaking than rushing

 On the RHS, steady, Aim and Fire

 SPLAT! alien down.  One more to go

 Alien retreats

 And is chased,  before it escapes a shot rings out and SPLAT, head shot: down it goes

 Leaking gently on the road

Two X-com rookies survive with two out (one dead, and one critically injured).  Time to evac back to X-com base.

Both rookies are promoted to Squaddies.  I also need new recruits: Rookies 1-4 hired.
Engineering working on: improved body armour
Research working on: laser weaponry

Summary: Short and fun.  Just like the computer game.  Time for another soon.

And, during the game, part of a Xmas present, beer of the month club.  Mmmmmmm Beer

More Games - Level 7 and Mercs

More from the w/e

After the Slammers game we played Level 7 from Privateer Press.

This is a cooperative place a tile/explore/fight game, the aim being to find the lift to escape level 7.  The back story involving our characters waking in a government lab which is overrun with aliens and security forces.  We (should...) work together to find the lift.  Unfortunately there was some misunderstanding over locked doors leading to our escapees splitting up, when the lift was found only one was able to get out, the other being left to be harvested by the aliens.

Then we read the blurb only to find out that the sole survivor was doomed, as the lift only went to level 6 -  they would have to do it all again - all the way to level 1.  They had no chance.

"Chomp Chomp" say the aliens.

This was a fun game, playing coop was different to the usual back-stabbing in games like Zombies.   As its a structured game I'm not sure how replayable it is, once a player reaches Level 1 would they really want to go back and try L7 again?

Sunday was a short morning.

Mark's lad plays Mercs and has some really nice figs.  He was kind enough to walk me through the basics and we played a short game.  I picked the red guys (Sefadu) as I liked thier paint job, I was up against the Yellow ones (CCC), it was great playing with nicely painted figs (sorry, got no pics).  It was tricky picking up the card mechanic, but it was an intersting approach to to a skirmish game.

After that it was home time.

Hammer's Slammed

More from wargaming w/e at Mark's.  After some chinwagging and a couple of beers, and a very helpful suggestion from John Treadaway (adv rules, use extra LPs to double fire!) we decided to rerun the Slammers scenario.  For this game I wanted to field my 'mosquito fleet' of light tanks and drone-equipped infantry.

The scenario is the same a before, my forces (the Free Foreign Legion, in green armour) hold the town, while Commonwealth Marines (guard force O'Higgins) hold the flank.  The FFL (Div Legere), have medium tanks and two tank destroyers, the Cmmwlth Marines are equipped with two heavy ATGM APCs, two ATGM drones, one 6cm Powergun drone and three 3cm tri-barrel drones, the infantry have two heavy aTGM launchers and three light ATGM launchers.  All non-specialist infantry have buzzbombs

A sleepy town

With dug-in infantry - Commonwealth Marines occupy the area around the farm

Infantry debussed in place, drones circulate in guard positions

Heavy ATGMs cover the main road

FFL tanks cover the approach to the town

FFL tank destroyers cover the roads, while FFL command provide airdef

Uh OH, the Slammers are on their way

Slammer Tanks enter the town and are met with a volley of missiles

Combat cars enter in parallel to the tanks, they too are met by a swarm of missiles

View from the heavy ATGMs

View towards the Combat Cars

The Combat Cars intercept all incoming missiles

Three missiles get through the tank's tribarrel screen

Medium tanks take out two Combat Cars

Then a third

The missile volley takes out one blower

"NO NO! That never happened" said the Slammer's PR guy

Satellite imagery confirms the loss of three Combat Cars

Slammers respond by shooting the heck out of everything, including buildings

Drones and heavy ATGM APCs

The Tanks destroyers sneak up on the blowers

Immobilizing one (skirt holed) and destroying another

[I have no idea why this is rotated?]
Medium tanks attempt to flank the blowers, the lone combat car dives among them hoping wreak havoc with its tribarrels

[this is rotated too?]
It takes all four Med tanks to take out the Combat car.  Seriously, three weapons per tank and it was the twelfth shot that takes out the Car!

The Med tanks are gutted by the blowers

The Commonwealth Marines use their two surviving tribarrel drones to gain rear aspects on a blower.  the Blower reacts by destroying the first drone, but just misses the second.

The second drone hoses the blower in the rear, puncturing its skirt, walking fire up the tilting rear deck until it hits a weak spot and BOOM! the blower is gone.

With only one immobilized blower the slammers surrender

The town belongs to the allies

Barely...   ...if that combat car had survived this town would be in Slammers hands

The only serious firepower left to the allies is two medium tank destroyers and one tribarrel  drone

The allies will have to rush some reinforcements into the town if they want to keep it out of the Slammers hands

This was a really fun game (thanks Mark!), despite the early losses the Slammers really had an edge, and the defense was desperate.  Volley after volley of missiles were intercepted, medium tank rounds were bouncing off the Slammers superior armour and the slammers were whittling down the defensive forces quite quickly. The game turned on the action with the combat car.  If that last (of 12) shot had not gone through the slammers would have won.  We we tried it out by rolling for hits as if the car survived, the result: 4 dead med tanks, leaving both blowers to face the two med tanks destroyers and drones.

As it was, the Slammers decimated the armour of the allies.  If this were just the vanguard of the Slammers forces the allies would be unable to hold the town without significant reinforcements.

Now I've played a few Crucible games I'm convinced this is a fun rule set and I plan expand my forces and keep on using them.  Next its time to try some more of the advanced rules.  As a quick plug, I'm planning to run a Slammers game at next year's East Coast Ground Zero Games Convention (http://www.warpfish.com/gzgecc/gzgecc17/index.shtml)