Feel the Heat - Downsync AAR

Having moved from New Jersey to Maryland, I haven't had many chances to play (or even paint all that much, honestly). It's tough to leave behind reliable gaming groups and friends, and then try to build all that back up again. 

I've been somewhat lucky, however, since there's a local game store that looks like it has a pretty regular crowd of gamers, and with diverse interests as well (no Games Workshop monoculture!). 

While I was scoping out the gaming scene, I met Carl, who was helping to run a couple games of his own rules, called Downsync, and still being worked on. As he described them, I was instantly intrigued; 15mm scifi skirmish set in a world heavily affected by climate change with some fascinating mechanics. He was kind enough to run me through a small demo game (with Joe as my opponent) a couple weeks later when I had some free time.

Blinds (or "pings", as they're referred to in the rules) feature heavily in gameplay. Your force starts out entirely as pings, which act both as stripped-down units and deployment zones. They come in three sizes (small, medium, and large), and they don't have assigned units as they maneuver across the battlefield. The only restriction is that you must deploy the correct sized unit to its corresponding ping; small to small, medium to medium, large to large. 

The game uses a modified set of alternating activations. The active player makes a "taskforce" from any number of units on the table and performs actions with them. The non-active player can chose units to react. Players alternate back and forth, each being the active player until every unit has activated or reacted. 

This creates an environment where players need to consider what they're activating and when. Units are designed to create combos with each other, ramping up their effectiveness against enemy units.

For example, take the faction I was playing during this game, the Republic of Terra. I had a combination taskforce of a Vector Squad, a Courier APC, and a Crusader tank. The Vector squad has anti-tank weaponry that makes Countermeasures (CM) (a unit's ability to defend itself and a series of saving throws) roll on a 4+ instead of a 3+. When an enemy runs out of CM, it's extremely vulnerable, which is where the Crusader comes in with its +1 to hit against enemies without any CM (and in a 2d6 spread, that can make a lot of difference). And finally, both the Crusader and the Courier can act as cover for the Vector Squad, allowing them to use their CM as the infantry lacks any native CM. 

Alternatively, look at the Harbinger recon vehicle and the Samson heavy tank. The Harbinger's main gun can Stun enemy units, and the Samson gets a to-hit bonus against stunned enemies. 

The Vector/Courier/Crusader taskforce ended up working very well for me, allowing me to knock out multiple enemy tanks. 

Though Joe's Coalition forces had some tricks of their own. His Phantom support vehicle has the ability to tag enemy units, decreasing their defenses, while his Virago tank gets an additional +1 to hit enemy units at short range. Working together gave him a +4 to hit my Courier, which quickly blew up. 

We ended up trading more units, with Joe's spider-bot infantry taking out my own infantry unit. Still, the Republic was left standing when the dust cleared. 

I enjoyed the game thoroughly enough that I walked out of the store with a Republic starter set, which I plan to paint up soon. Expect to see more Downsync on the blog, and check out the website!

Painting Update - WWII

 I've been pretty busy recently (having moved from New Jersey to Maryland!), so I haven't had many chances to game. But I have been painting!

I finished some extra German infantry for my Early War platoon. The SMG-armed troops can be swapped out for rifle-armed squad leaders, which happened between 1939 and 1940. The extra rifle-armed troops can be used to bulk up weapon teams, since Bolt Action uses 3-strong teams and Chain of Command uses 5-strong teams. 

I also added some more tanks to the collection. Previously, the Germans could only call upon a trio of 38(t)s. Instead of captured Czechoslovakian armor, I wanted to be able to field "proper" German tanks, starting with this resin Panzer I from Blitzkrieg Miniatures. 

Next, a 3-D printed Panzer II from Blitzkrieg Miniatures.

And finally a Panzer III, 3d printed from a vendor at a convention whose name I can't recall. But they did a great job, and I'll alter this post if I can find out who made it. 

Case White Flag - Chain of Command AAR

This past weekend was my last proper SJGA meeting before my big move out of the area. I ran a game of Chain of Command, using modified platoons to match the provided collections (my Germans and Sam W's Poles) that had originally been used in our Invasion of Poland campaign for Chain of Command. 

Sam and I had ran a test game a few weeks ago, which had been a straightforward "fight-until-someone's-morale-breaks" that had largely been a firefight between the two sides' MMG teams. 

I changed the scenario to Blitzkrieg from the 1940 handbook (with the Germans attacking). I also added a small building, field, and hedgerows in the middle of the table to break up the wide open area.

Sam B was commanding the Germans (with some tactical advice from me), while Sam W and Rob played as the Poles.  

The Poles deployed their MMG and light mortar in the woods opposite the field, commanded by their platoon leader. Their rifles squads were setup in and around the village, waiting for the Germans. 

The Germans set up a similar firebase with their MMG team and light mortar commanded by the platoon sergeant. Sam B also took a Panzer III (the earlier A-C version) and a 221 armored car (proxied by a 222) for his platoon support. 

The two platoons skirmished through the village, using the hedgerows to cover their movement. 

The Poles took a huge Force Morale hit when their MMG team broke and ran, dragging their wounded Lieutenant off the table. This dropped their morale from 8 to 3 in a single phase!

The the German advance bogging down in the village, Sam B brought up the armored car (which had taken a critical hit from the Poles' anti-tank rifle team and could only drive Flat Out when moving) and the Panzer III in support. 

Two infantry squads blazed away at each other from their respective hedgerows. 

And two other infantry squads laid waste to each other in the spaces between the village houses. 

To help save his infantry, Sam B drove his Panzer directly towards the Polish infantry. With no dedicated anti-tank weapons, the Poles were forced to pull back. 

Unfortunately, we had to end the game due to a lack of time and didn't come to a conclusion. The Poles were still a Force Morale of 3, but had accrued 9 pips on their Chain of Command dice. The Germans were sitting fine at a Force Morale of 8, but hadn't managed to get any units off the opposite table edge. Had we more time, I'm not sure which way the game might have gone.

Still, the players enjoyed the game, and I'm glad we got a chance to make use of Sam W's extensive Polish collection before I left. 

Painting Update - Napoleonics

Well! It's been few months since I talked about the Napoleonic project. While I had to take a slight detour to work on finishing two Strength & Honour armies for Chaeronea, I've delved back into the Napoleonic project with the Russians. 

The first unit I finished this year were Russian Dragoons, specifically the Finland Regiment. Likes all of the cavalry so far, these are from AB miniatures. 

They're the only regiment so far to carry a flag, which from what I've been able to find was relatively rare for cavalry units during the Napoleonic period. 

I also finished a unit of Hussars, the golden-boys of the battlefield. These striking uniforms belong to the Alexandria Regiment. 

To command the various cavalry units, I painted a trio of commanders for the Russians. These are from AB Figures, like the rest of the cavalry. 

Here's the first Russian infantry battalion, flying the Mourmansk muster colors. They're Hamilton figures from Viking Forge. Not overly detailed, but they're cheap and paint up quickly.

Let Me Be Flank - Chain of Command AAR

After a slight break, the group met at Ted's to continue the "29, Let's Go" campaign for Chain of Command. 

This was the third scenario of the campaign, "Flanking St Germain‐du‐Pert", which takes place on the flank of the prior scenarios. 

After losing a Sherman in the prior scenario, the Americans have realized that advancing any further with mobile anti-tank guns on their flank would be a disaster, so a platoon has been dispatched to capture the town of St Germain‐du‐Pert and drive off the German defenders. 

The Americans had 19 support points for the game, but 12 of them had to be spent on a pair of Sherman tanks. We opted to bring a medium machine gun and a light mortar. 

The Germans had a fresh platoon, but no support options outside of the pair of Marders that had fired on the American platoon in the previous scenario. 

With little terrain on the approach to the town, I had Steve push one JOP way up the table edge, which allowed him to deploy an infantry squad close to the church's stone walls. 

I deployed a second squad to cover the town in case any Germans showed up. 

Ted deployed an infantry squad in the Church and managed to score a few hits against the Americans. 

Despite the German fire, the Americans pushed towards the cover of the stone wall.  

With the support of a Sherman, the Germans were eventually forced to retreat from the church. 

The appearance of American armor warranted an escalation from the Germans, who brought on one of their two Marders to counter. 

The two vehicles were stuck in what any American trooper would recognize as a high-noon duel down the dusty road of a mining town. I wonder if there's a German equivalent? Two knights preparing to charge at one another? 

To secure the Church, Steve brought on a second infantry squad. 

Chip and Ted did try to ambush the Sherman with the German platoon's Panzerschreck, but the anti-tank weapon missed and the team was killed by American overwatch fire. 

Thanks to a double-phase, the Americans rolled up and knock out the first Marder. A second German vehicle (a StuG standing in for a Marder) appeared and tagged the Sherman with a hit, driving it back.  

Taking offense at the attempt to drive them off, the Americans pulled their Sherman back up and promptly knocked out the second Marder. 

By this point the Germans were reeling, but they did score a hit against the Americans by deploying a squad, firing the squad's panzerfaust, and destroying the Sherman that had carried most of the American attack. 

Unfortunately, that German squad was then targeted by the other half of the American platoon that had been waiting for a target. The resulting casualties were enough to force the Germans to retreat, landing a solid victory for the Americans who took limited losses. 

This was a tough scenario for the Germans. Losing the church early took away a good defensive spot, and losing both Marders to a single Sherman also hurt.  

We're going to take a quick break from the campaign and try out a game of Big Chain of Command, since Ted has enough in his collection to run two platoons each of Germans and Americans. That should be interesting!