If you are in a hurry you should scurry!

We decided to give Five Core Company Command another try. Our first game was fun, we did fudge some rules tweak the activation system and left stuff out but it was fun and after we were able to see what we missed.

The rules use a activation system were you are given a number activations equal to one activation per three squads in your force. You then roll a D6. A 1 lets you activate all your units but you can only move your units and after the other side can move theirs that were in line of site of the ones you moved. 2-5 allows you to activate your units (move ,rally,fire) based on the number of activations you have in your pool, a 6 has you shooting all and then opponents return fire. Combat uses two different color D6s one is a shock die the other a kill die. Rolls of 1and 6 affect the unit, 2-5 having no effect. Ivan explains it much better in the rules:-).

Our scenario was much the same as last time with the Germans and Americans attempting to occupy and hold the village. Matt moved his troops up quickly while I was a little slower to advance. It then became a slow grind for the Americans to dislodge the Germans from the buildings.

We finished the game in about two hours. Was a tie but came down to the last die roll with the Americans rallying a unit to get control of the building.

There's a newer version of the rules than the one I had so the next time we'll try those out and add the bits we've missed.

American armor approach the village

German Infantry move up.

Another building occupied by the Germans.

Two Shermans are knocked out.

Finally the Americans get into a building.

German armor threatening the American flank.

Again there's more photos over on Matt's saltflats1929again blog

Flashing Steel and Paper Buildings.

Howard and I got together for a second try of Ganesha Games Flashing Steel  . Howard made the scenario and brought the buildings. I provided the table and beer. Neither of us had read the rules recently and we relied on our previous game for how the game went. The scenario had me as a gallant and handsome rogue accused of thievery and pursued through town by the Watchmen assisted by nosy citizens and lackeys. I was aided by a young lady who besides her charm was adept at disarming the guards she encountered. Here's a few photos of the midpoint of the game.

The action starts at the Tavern on the top right.

Looking up the street towards the stables.

The action heats up.

As in all towns everything happens near the fountain.

I look for a chance to get past the Guards.

A concerned busybody point me out to anyone who would listen.

We had a great time and the rules are fairly easy to grasp. The rulebook is a little difficult to follow and I would say part of it is me using a PDF instead of a hard copy. There's lots in the book to create characters and add color to the game. 

The building were very nice. Thick card colored with detailed interiors. Check them out here.

More on the game at Howard's blog
Thanks for reading.

I was sent to clean my room.

And found some things never change. So it was a rainy day and the only thing on the honey do list was picking up a mattress. I decided it would be a good day to clean/organize the workroom. Not a task I enjoy but things had gotten out of hand and came to a head when I went looking for a bolt to put a headboard together and dumped three jars filled with nuts, bolts, washers screws and various other thingies on top of the work table to find the size I needed, yes after that I went to the hardware store and bought the right size. I clean and slightly organized the hardware then pulled out some boxes to re stack them in a more compact space then I opened one of the boxes. Hey I remember these...

These remind me of a Pauline Baynes drawing.

I forgot I had these..

Airfix WWI Germans repurposed as British attacked by the Tarzan set Africans.

I was glad when Ral Partha came out with British and Zulus.

What else is in here?

Daktari.

Bond, James Bond.

Green Hornet.

I've got to get it all out now.

The box says it all.

I need to bring out the Castle.

When I decided that 4 shells weren't enough I sawed up some nails to make more.

Collectors will hate me but I really want to pull these guys out and use it for Flint & Feather.

The final charge.

Not in scale with Airfix but saw a lot of action.

Much as it was when my Mom sent me up to clean my room more time was spent "playing" than actual cleaning. A well spent four hours anyway. I've decided that I need some shelving to help with the organization but there's no rush and the main part of the work area is clear enough to paint on.

Three Wargamers, three hours and no game played.

We got together on our usual night the plan was to take a few photos for the A Gentleman's War rulebook then play a game. Well the photo shoot took a little longer than expected as figures were rearranged, lines straightened, better light sources found, so the game was never played. How was the night overall? Fantastic! We talked about past games, plans for the future, looked at some Britain's Detail figures and old Timpo knights. Time is so tight on most nights we get together that we never really get a chance to sit, relax and talk. It really was an enjoyable evening. I only took one picture with my camera but Howard has posted a few of his on the A Gentleman's War facebook page.

Matt's Naval Gun with 40mm figures.

My only photo. 

The back drops were a great idea that give the photos a nostalgic quality.

Matt has some more photos on his blog.

https://saltflats1929again.blogspot.com/2018/05/photo-ops.html

Littler figures bigger scale.

We broke out the 15mm WWII figures for a try at Five Core Company Command. We've been looking a larger level of WWII game and I wanted to get all those mini's I bought when I thought I was going to play Flames of War on the table. 

Once again Matt set out a great looking table. We each selected a company of infantry with some armour support and started rolling dice. As I learned from the 6x6 challenge last year it takes me about two to three games to get a decent grip on the rules., A few things were missed and some just skipped over but I felt we got the basics right and the game moved along well. The game uses a D6 for everything. Two color dice are needed one for shock and one for kills, sometimes they are rolled at the same time, we used white and red. A few things that I felt were unclear from the reading of the rules immediatly became apparent upon rolling the dice. We could have used a few markers for some action but worked our way through it. Occuping the buildings in the village was the objective and in the end it came down to a draw.

The Americans advance towards the town as the Germans move up.

US troops take cover behind the wall and open fire on the Germans.

The Puma moves down the road engaging the US squad.

An American platoon moves in to occupy the church.

Definatly a rule set that needs further exploration. Check out Nordic Weasel's  Blog for more info.

Matt has a good AAR on his blog Saltflats1929

Went on down to Dixie.

We just got back from visiting our daughter down in North Carolina. Ten and a half hours of driving broken up by a stop at the Petersburg battlefield. We didn't want to stop long so it was a quick stop with a movie at the visitors center and three of the eight stops. 

Stop #1

 Confederate #5 battery

The Dictator

Gun and caisson.

Stop #3

Battery #9

Stop #8

Start of the Union tunnel

Approach to the tunnel.

The Crater

My wife's reference for all this.

A good spot to stop for BBQ before or after the Battlefield

Jumping forward ninety years we went to see the USS North Carolina. Although my father was a destroyer man during WWII I enjoy seeing any of the ships from that era. It always amazes me at the technology available and the logistics involved with a Navy ship.

 

You could climb into two of the 16" turrets and one of the 5" turrets. The AA guns were set up so they could be moved up and down and side to side. 

The  last spot of interest was Moore's Creek Battlefield.  The visitors center was closed so there was no overview of the battle but there was a nice interpretive trail. 

Widow Moore's bridge.

The view from the Patriots side.

The Patriot earthworks.

A 3# field piece.

Whig view of the Loyalists advance..

From behind the earthworks.

After this it was off to pick strawberries at Lewis Farms .

A great trip all around.