The man with the ruffled collar has his ego ruffled as well.

Howard and I got together for a game of En Garde! last night. The others in the group were working or as Matt put it "murdering a Fir tree and dressing it's dead carcass with lights and shiny things."

Still not familiar with the rules, the first game was fun so why bother to read them, we came up with a scenario which essentially was to get into combat as quickly as possible.

Entering the square.

My band arrogantly enters the town square looking mostly for free food and drink but ready for sport.

Vengeance drives this leader. 

Howard's band enters from the other side clearly on a mission. Apparently I had insulted his sister and he was looking for revenge. I couldn't recall offending his sister but if she looked anything like him I must have erased the vision from my mind. Not looking to disappoint him or his friends I quipped that his cloak was a horrid color and the ruffled collar on his tunic clearly showed that he still thought Elizabeth  was Queen. His face burning a brighter red than his cloak the steel of his blade sung as he pulled it out of the scabbard. 

Exchanging words turns to exchanging blows.

I was able to parry the mighty blow of Howard's man and he in turn blocked my thrust. His next attack cut me lightly but enough to aggravate me and my next thrust critically  wounding him.

Not only were his cloths out of date so were his sword skills.

On the left Howard's second made short work of my underling. My companion not wishing to soil his blade hired a nearby group of ne'er do wells to attack. Concentrating on the biggest ruffian he was able to slow him down but the others slipped in and caused multiple wounds taking another of Howard's men out of the fight.

The sword master moved against me hoping to avenge his student/employers honor. His rage must have distracted him as I was able to over power him quickly.

Villagers hope for some excitement but are disappointed.

Across the square the other members quarreled but the fight was basically over and no one was looking to get injured. 

Tired from teaching others their place.

A good game all in all. We got the basic mechanics down and I think with a little more attention to the character development will have more entertaining games.

NUTS the second time I played

Last night we got together to play a game of NUTS from Two Hour Wargames. Howard and I had played them years ago but only once or twice. Nate and Matt had tried them of few weeks back but I was unable to be at those games. The rules have had gone through some revisions since I had played last and it seems for the better.  I don't own the rules but Nate had a set and both he and Matt pick these things up much quicker than I do so just as well. We chose a scenario involving Russians attacking a German position and attempting to cross the bridge. Matt provided most of the miniatures and scenery I brought a themed beer.

T-34s protect the Baltika #5 from the Huns.

So the scenario had the Germans defending the bridge with a Pak 40 and one squad of Infantry. Other forces would arrive based on some rule I didn't quite follow but worked pretty well. The Russians had two tanks, one halftrack, a squad of scouts, two squads of infantry, and a commissar with a heavy machine gun. Their objectives were to capture the command bunker and exit one tank off the bridge. Here's the link to the scenario. sbminisguy, nuts-stalingrad-filippov-at-the-bridge.

The Russians moved first. I raced my tank up the road hoping to reach cover before Nate could fire at me. I didn't make it. Luckily the tank was only immobilized but could still fire. 

Crossing open ground in front of a pak40 is never a good idea.

The tank offered no protection for the riders.

Howard worked the scouts and halftrack up the right flank and came under fire from a German squad on his left which forced him to duck back. I managed to knock out Nate's pak40 but was forced to duck back from the same squad hitting Howard troops. 

German HMG holding up the Russian assault.

The Russians are forced to duck back.

Nate rolled for one of the hidden units (there was a term for this but don't remember it.) It appeared in a house in front of Matt's group. He close assaulted the house with grenades and sub machine guns remove the threat. Matt then moved up his tank and took out the troops causing the Russians so much grief.

Scouts and tank begin there advance.

Surprised by a German squad the Russians go in for a close assault.

With the infantry ducked back the T-34 heads for the bridge.

I laid down covering fire as Matt's squad went in for the attack on the bunker.

Two Russian squads prepare for the assault on the bunker.

For the rest of the AAR you'll need to visit Matt's blog saltflats1929again.

So how did the game go. Very well. We came to a conclusion in under two hours even with some reference to the rules. Years back when we played I seem to remember activating each figure and going into what was a mini turn as the the figures reacted back and forth to each other, this game seemed much more stream lined.  Having not read the rules and nor really using a crib sheet it didn't take long to figure out what was needed to activate and fire. I'm looking forward to playing a few more games of this.

Latest games

Gaming slowed a bit near the end of summer but now has picked up a little. Recently we've played Flint & Feather, En Guard, and A Nobleman's War, a work in progress based on A Gentleman's War.

Flint & Feather played quickly as most of us are familiar with the system. The other two moved a little slower as we discussed and clarified rules. Fun evenings all around.

Iroquois warriors spy the interloping Hurons

Warriors outflank the Hurons

Ensuing melee goes poorly for the Iroquois.

Bloody defeat for the Nation.

Trial game of A Nobleman's War. The English formed up on a hill and waited for the French attack. A group of English Knights grew impatient and charged into the advancing enemy. The game was played as much to see how the mechanics worked for this  era as for glory and plunder.  I think things worked well maybe a few tweaks will be needed but it looks like I'll be painting some Knights soon.

French Billmen and Sargents

The French Knights

English Knights charge the Sargents

Never good to be caught in the flank.

The impetuous Knights the charge the Crossbow men.

As a group we'd been looking for a set of rules for swashbuckling games. We gave Ganesha's Flashing Steel and Eureka's And One for All. Neither gave the game we were looking for. The other night Howard and I tried out Osprey's En Guard. As per usual we quickly scanned the rules and started off playing. After a couple of fights things didn't seem right so we gave the rules a more thorough reading. Yes there were some more modifiers, different level characters had better skills, there was more to it. The next round of combat was more interesting and provided the player with some decision points. We burned through our allotted game time  and finished one section of the planned game but did have a better grasp on the rules. This set definitely calls for a few more tries and may well offer what we're looking for.  

An argument in the Tavern spills out onto the street.

The discourse escalates from taunting to cold steel and warm blood.

Everyone as an opinion to express.

after the loss of so many comrades both sides are happy to pull back and end the fight.

It's been good to get back into the swing of gaming.

Flint & Feather review.

A few years ago Howard asked if we could try some combat rules that he was working on of course I agreed. I was happy when he showed up with beautiful looking Native American figures ( and somewhat envious of them). Although I like to use my own figures when playing I'm always willing to play with figures that are well sculpted and painted such as these were. The rules were similar to Battle Troll but the tweaked a bit to give more of the combat style of the period. A few more games followed and time passed on. Then Howard mentioned that Bob Murch who had sculpted the figures was interested in the project, there was a blog with a group posting their playtests, the game showed up at the conventions and then the Kickstarter was launched.

The Kickstarter was funded quickly and work started on the rulebook. Pulp Figures produced some more figures, rules were tweaked, player aids improved, The figures shipped, and then the book and cards were sent out.

The Kickstarter

Here's what I got. Rulebook (hardback), a set of attack/defence cards, 28 miniatures (unpainted) representing Huron and Iroquois and a bonus Great Warrior.

The figures had been sent out ahead of the rulebook so I was able to paint them up. They're great sculpts and were fun to paint. I used the guide on the website but there is one in the rulebook and the photos in the book are provide inspiration.

Hurons

Iroquois

The production quality of the book is outstanding. Filled with pictures of the figures in action and  artist's drawing for more inspiration. Organization moves from an introduction to forming a Warband, Combat, Campaign, Supernatural, Scenarios and Optional rules. In the back is an index and all the charts, roster and cards needed to play.

Combat Cards

example page

example page

example page

The game sequence is player1 rolls to see who can activate (one group,all groups) activate, player2 reacts, player1 activates again and then it is player2s turn. Combat is by card draw and then a die roll to determine winner. Damage is rolled for on a chart. It plays quicker than those two sentences. There's lots more to the rules. We've played mostly straight up combat games but may try a campaign game out soon.   Some AARs are posted elsewhere on this blog.

I knew I liked the game before joining the Kickstarter and feel that the quality of the book, figures and cards was well worth the price.
Check them out https://www.cruciblecrush.com/

Thanks for reading.

From beginning to end.

This time of year keeps me busy with work,vacation and exercise. I haven't been getting much painting done or playing done however last weekend I was able to do something I've wanted to do for awhile now but always seemed too pressed for time to do.

I live on the western shores of the Hudson river and ride my bicycle for exercise. Normally I'm with a group or trying to get the ride in before work. Surprisingly this past weekend on day with a poor forecast for outside activities I found myself with a changing weather pattern and route.

The Weather channel called for rain to start in about an hour and I felt like I had just enough time to get a quick ride in. I planned on going out for about 15 miles and headed to a local off road path. The sun was peeping through when I saw the marker on the side of the path, the writing blurred a little and not photogenic.

Within these woods, in the early morning hours of September 22, 1780, American General Benedict Arnold and British Major John André plotted the surrender of the American fortress at West Point. While attempting to return to British lines, André was captured by American soldiers. He was tried, convicted and hanged as a spy at Tappan on October 2, 1780. Arnold escaped capture and joined the British army.

I decided here that I should ride down to Tappan where the story continues.

Had things been planned better my wife could have met me and we would have had lunch in this fine restaurant. 

Looking to see this to it's conclusion I went over to Andre Ave. and up the hill to the Andre Monument

I ride past these sites and others often but rarely stop to enjoy them. This type of ride needs to be put into the rotation more often.

When I got home I saw this article in my feed. Some coincidence!
https://allthingsliberty.com/2018/08/the-death-and-resurrection-of-major-john-andre/

Missed a month.

The one hobby activity I missed out on in June was writing a blog post. I had started one and it's still in the draft stage but it needs a little more work. I did get some painting in but nothing was finished. Flashing Steel and Disposable Heroes were played and both provided a great game.

This month saw the start of a new aspect of the Hobby, casting miniatures. I had some old equipment from when I was a kid and had bought some molds about a year ago but hadn't used them. I had a few hours before work so gave it a try. I got the basics OK but will need a few more times to improve the results. It's pretty exciting producing the figures by yourself and I can see this being fun way to do a new project.

The Prussians from a newer rubber mold came out fairly well the Native Americans from an older metal mold not so good. Practice should help.