Jungle Fever - Congo AAR

Thanks to the diverse interests of the group I game with, and their willingness to buy into and playing new games, there's always something new on the table. Carl and Gary have apparently gotten lost in the wilds of Africa with an interest in Congo, a game from Studio Tomahawk, the same studio that created Saga and Muskets & Tomahawks. They've been trying to set up a demo game for me. 

I arrived at the game after the first turn, which both sides had used to move forward. The scenario was a fight between two pygmy tribes, with each trying to capture the large "Tree of Life" in the middle of the table.

My tribesmen managed to reach the tree first, setting up a defensive line after slaughtering a number of enemy archers. Gary's tribe moved up, with his Witch Doctor attempting to call on the spirits of the jungle. Something went wrong, however, and a freak bolt of lightning from a clear sky turned the spellcaster into a pile of charred flesh.

A group of cannibals who were allied with the enemy pygmies, done snacking on the fried pygmy Witch Doctor, attempted to rip and tear into the archers protecting the tree. But a poor set of dice rolls meant that the archers were only chased off a short distance. My tribe retaliated with a volley of arrows and assegai, reducing the cannibals to a single man. Gary's pygmy king led a charge against my own king, decisively winning the combat.

Gary's king cut down my own and turned his men towards the tree. Arrows and assegai flew through the air, but couldn't manage to hit their targets.

The game ended with Gary's king and his accompanying warriors defeated, and the tree secured in the hands of my tribe. 

Congo has an interesting mix of card usage for activations and bonuses and various types of dice to represent a unit's skill with certain actions. I'm looking forward to seeing how the game handles the European and Arab groups, who can bring muskets and rifles to the table. 

2017 6x6 Challenge - August

Games Played in August

Run the Gauntlet - Strange Aeons AAR

Snakehead Shootout - Fistful of Lead AAR

Graveyard Rave - Strange Aeons AAR

Flipping Out - Warhammer: Diskwars AAR

When Fantasy Flight Games and Games Workshop had their falling out, I took the opportunity to grab enough of the Warhammer: Diskwars boxes to be set for life (two starter boxes and one each of the expansions). I found the premise of the game intriguing, and I'm always interested in playing a game that simulates a miniatures battle through other means. 

Kevyn was kind enough to agree to a game, and chose to form his army from two Vampire Count regiments and one Orc regiment. I decided to take three Empire Regiments. (I've set the game up with the pre-made regiments in each box's rules, which makes 84 possible army combinations!)

The table was set up with two marshes, a lake, and a gully. 

We both set out our deployed units. Early moves saw my Hochland Pistoliers take out a unit of Wolf Riders, but were pinned in return.

Our first turn was mostly spent reinforcing units onto the table, with limited ranged skirmishing.

The Orc hero, Azhag the Slaughterer, rolled up and used his Fist of Mork to take out three of my units and place a wound on my Steam Tank. In return, I had Luthor Huss and a unit of Knights Panther pin Azhag, who took enough damage to be removed from the table. For the moment, the battle seemed to be in the balance.

However, it only took a turn for the battle to turn. One of the Vampire Counts fell, along with more of their units. With numbers on their sides, the advantage fell to the Empire.

The next two turns went quickly, with the Empire units killing another Vampire Counts hero and mopping up the remaining undead units.

With the game ended at turn five, we revealed our objectives. I scored a victory point for every enemy unit removed from the table, while Kevyn scored five victory points for every enemy hero removed from the table. With no heroes lost, the Empire managed a crushing victory (with an asterisk. I did make a mistake with one of the deployment zones, meaning I had a few more activations then I should have been allowed. Something to remember next time!)

Painting Update - Wrath of Kings

Let's take a look at what I've managed to paint since last time. 

I finished the Celestials for my Shael Han force in Wrath of Kings. These guys are awesome looking. They're something of a departure from the humans and Oni-esque infantry that make up the rest of Shael Han's units, but they're still close enough in aesthetic to fit in.

I have one little quibble with the set, and it's that fact that the Leader, an Avatar of the Monkey, is actually a Chimpanzee. Chimps aren't monkeys! Ah, well.

Graveyard Rave - Strange Aeons AAR

Kevyn's Threshold team was back, having dusted themselves off from their last unfortunate encounter with the weird. 

The scenario was Retrieve the Artifacts, with four markers scattered around an old graveyard. The Threshold team would need to secure these artifacts while dealing with the Lurkers.

The night's calm was broken by the shrieking and whooping of an approaching horde of Degenerates - a local family guarding the dark secrets of the burial grounds, whipped into a frenzy by the unseen hand of the Cult of the Dying Light.

It seemed as though the task would be an easy one, as the horde's numbers were countered by the Threshold team's marksmanship. The team managed to secure three of the four artifacts.

The team leader, was set upon by a pair of degenerates, however. He took a wound, but managed to keep fighting. 

Hoping to save her leader, one of the Agents charged into the fray. However, the grisly and hideous nature of the degenerates was enough of a shock to send the agent into a catatonic state.

With no support, the team leader fell, as did the prone and unresponsive agents. It only took a moment, but suddenly the Threshold team's chance of victory suddenly looked very much in doubt. The civilian photographer was attacked and bore down by another degenerate.

The remaining Agent faced off against three of the nearly inhuman monsters. Her .22 pistol fired again and again, but the small caliber bullets weren't enough to drop the approaching Lurkers.

One of the Degenerates finally reached the Agent and bashed her over the head. A backup team from the Threshold was able to rescue the defeated agents, but not before one of their numbers had died. With another defeat, the team was told to re-equip with more weaponry and personnel. Only time would tell if this would be enough to deal with the Cult of the Dying Light's growing influence.