Rumble on the steppe

I ran a spur of the moment Kampfgruppe Commander game at The Panzer Depot yesterday. Around Thursday, I stopped by to see if there was anything planned for Saturday and on hearing there wasn't, I determined to get a game going.

Because my figures are all Germans and Russians, I didn't have any trouble deciding where the scenario would be set. The big problem was my lack of enough models and figures to pull it off using only my own figures. (Mark "Joe Stalin" Serafin couldn't make the game, so his vast store of Soviets wasn't available—and it slipped my mind to ask Ken Kissling if he had any Russians.) As I've posted before, I have a lot of irons in the fire. Figures I started painting years ago are tucked away unfinished. I knew I had some partly-completed Russian tanks stashed somewhere, so I got to work—rare for a sluggard like me—and finished 11 tanks for the game.

I set the scenario in late 1943, after Kursk about the time the SU-85 appeared in service.

The Germans comprised two SS panzergrenadier battalions, a understrength tank battalion of Pz IVs, and a late-arriving "fire brigade" of a heavy panzer company of Tiger Is with an attached GW 38t "Bison." The German forces would start with a single battalion on the table ensconced in one of two towns (their choice). The remaining German forces would come on piecemeal with the Tiger company arriving last. Chris Craft, Ken Kissling, and Steve Puffenberger played Germans.

The lone German position at the start: bristling with nastiness

The Soviet force comprised a tank destroyer regiment of SU-85s, a tank battalion of T-34cs, a tank battalion of T-70s, and two Guards mechanized infantry battalions, one of which had an attached company of lend-lease M3 Lee tanks—known infamously to the Russians as a "coffin for seven brothers." The Soviets all entered the table on turn one. John Kennedy, Bob Mackler (playing his debut KGC game), and I were the Soviets.

Victory conditions were points based. Each side got five points for every town block they controlled plus a variable number of points for destroying enemy stands. These points were biased towards German losses being more dear than Russian losses.

I figured that the SU-85s were more than a match for the Pz IVs and that by turn six, when the Tigers came on, the Germans might be on the ropes. As it turned out, the Soviet battle plan didn't match our strength against their weakness.

I came up on the right flank with a mechanized infantry battalion (plus the M3s) and the T-70 battalion. My goals was to occupy the two-block town that was about 2/3 of the way down the table and deny it to the Germans when they came on. Bob went up the center with the T-34s to support my attack on the left, and John was on our far left flank with the other mechanized infantry battalion and the SU-85s to attack the town where Chris had dug in his panzergrenadiers.

Bob's T-34s take position on a ridge with my Guards infantry behind

John's attack started to fall apart quickly. Chris plastered him with 120mm mortar fire and opened up on the SU-85s with his PAK 40 causing losses. 

John's Guards dug in during their attack on the town

My advance on the empty town stalled after Chris moved the Pz IVs right outside it to blast out anything that came in.

Panzers vor! That's a lot of metal to face sober. It's good that we have vodka!

As it turned out, Ken, with the other panzergrenadier battalion, managed to occupy one of the blocks in the town before I got there. I did, however, start moving up my T-70s to a position to occupy the woods next to the town.

Fear me: Wee T-70s prepare to occupy the woods and face off Pz IVs

I threw one infantry company into the remaining block of the town along with the M3s. The resulting firestorm of  opportunity fire put losses on both companies, who failed morale and sat shaken. I figured a strong German counterattack would sweep me out and give the Germans complete possession of the town.

Russian advance into the town stymied

The counterattack didn't come, but the M3s disappeared the next turn after return fire from infantry, a PAK 40, and some Pz IVs obliterated it. The shaken infantry hung on and later recovered from being shaken. Meanwhile, the T-70s outperformed all expectations by inflicting more damage on a company of Pz IVs than they took. Never underestimate the salutary effect of vodka on communist ardor. Fearing the ignominy of losing real tanks to a swarm of armed wind-up toys, Chris withdrew his panzers to a safer place.

Fear me part deux: T-70s inflicting hits on Chris' precious panzers

Now was the time to go for broke and see if I could take the other town block. I figured that I would make one attack that might weaken Steve's defense and follow up on my next turn with the real attack that would take the town. I hit the town with mortar fire, which resulted in the defenders being shaken, and then I moved in. I managed to pass through the opportunity fire unscathed and to my surprise, took the town after two rounds of close combat when Steve decided to pull out rather than die to the last man (an interesting side effect of having enemy points gained for your losses). Bob moved some T-34s into the other town block and another company beside the town in support.

The town is ours! For now.

I also immediately attached a 45mm AT gun to my company and forced Chris to withdraw another company of his panzers to safety. My victory proved short lived, however. In the next round, Steve counterattacked with a panzergrenadier company. My company broke, losing half its strength and all its assets (an MG and the AT gun). The only bright spot was that Steve had called in a barrage of 105s on the town block, which didn't wind up coming in until the end of the turn. Without any remaining command pips to call off the barrage, his company had to tough it out, which they did without loss (sad to say).

I then attempted my own counterattack with a fresh company backed by engineers with flame throwers, but it got shot to bits by the defending Germans.

By this time, John had come to the conclusion that using the SU-85s to attack the town held by Chris' panzergrenadiers was a wasted effort. He had recovered his earlier losses from the PAK 40 and figured that he should be going after the Pz IVs instead. He shifted the regiment to the center of the board and started exchanging shots.

Tank destroyers in the center

By this time, Ken's anticipation of the Tigers arriving was satisfied. In my scenario planning, I thought the Tigers would arrive to save the day, instead of just coming to pile on.

дерьмо! The fascist invaders of the Motherland bring on the big guns!

Ken started shooting at my T-70s, so instead of having bloody great chunks torn out of my battalion, I fell back behind the woods to rally and recover. Even for mad Russians, discretion is sometimes the better part of valor. Bob also discreted and pulled out his T-34s that were beside the town rather than see them aerated by 88mm holes.

By this time, things were looking hopeless for Stalin's minions. Chris' control of the town he started in had never been seriously threatened. John had suffered some losses in his mechanized infantry battalion and it looked very doubtful that he would be able to take the town.

Still defiant! Chris' panzergrenadiers hold the town

I had shot my bolt with my own mechanized infantry. I lost one company outright and the other two were licking their wounds behind a ridge line. The gallant T-70s hadn't lost a stand, but that would change if they ever got seriously entangled with the Tigers.

On the other had, the Soviets had lost only two tanks so far (my M3s—now burning coffins for 14 brothers in the town). We still might have hurt the panzer forces and gotten the better points total in an exchange of losses. But, I don't think we could have taken any town blocks from the Germans. Our infantry strength was shattered. By this time the Germans had about 60% more points than we did: another victory for Deutschland in its losing war on the steppe.

Post Mortem
I like the scenario and the other players did too. It needs to be tweaked for balance, however. The choice of units was largely determined by the figures and models I had painted. I would rather have used Pz IIIs for the german tank battalion, which is correct for 1943, but I don't have any painted. Otherwise, I could have used another T-34 battalion, but I only have the one painted. As it was, the T-34s were badly outgunned by an equal number of Pz IVs. But the T-70s were perfect!

I used the alternate Command Decision TO&E for the Russians of a battalion with three two-stand companies instead of the KGC formation of a regiment comprising three four-stand battalions. The battalion formation makes the Russian units too brittle and too weak in firepower. I've used the battalion formation in other games, but I think I'll abandon it. As with the tank units, it's a matter of how many figures I have painted. I only have enough for one regimental formation (12 stands), so I couldn't field more than one formation. I do have enough figures already started (and nearly done) to fill out a Soviet infantry division of three regimental formations.

I think the panzergrenadiers were too strong as well. I might have used two-stand companies instead to make them less resilient and reduce their firepower. If I had PAK 38s painted, I would have used them instead of the PAK 40s, which were still limited in number in 1943.

Another factor was the terrain placement. I intended to enable the Russians to fully occupy by turn 1 or two whichever of the two central towns the Germans didn't occupy at start. Instead, it took too long for the Russians to get there, by which time the Germans had already occupied part of it. Still, the back and forth attacks and counterattacks proved to be the liveliest fight of the game.

I need to get back to the painting table and replay this scenario again.

Ma vie en plomb (My life in lead)

Today I stopped by the American Eagles hobby store in Lake City, WA to confirm a rumor that they were closing. Indeed they are. Their last day of business will be April 9th, 2011, just over 42 years since they opened for business.

American Eagles had seen its better days pass some time ago. The store's founder, Mike Edwards, opened his store a few blocks from his home in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle in April, 1969. His son George, who's run the place for the last decade since Mike died, says that his dad started the store because he was a plastic modeler and he had had the wonderful epiphany that if he owned a store, he could get his plastic model kits at wholesale.

For military-minded hobbyists in the greater Seattle area, American Eagles was a mecca. In their hey-day they carried several lines of miniature figurines, as well as paints and other accessories for wargamers. They also had a basement/back room where there was regular miniature wargaming. During its career, American Eagles moved from Ballard to the Greenwood neighborhood, back to Ballard again, and finally to its Lake City location. A scrapbook at the front counter of the store contains several clippings of antique articles from local newspapers telling all about the store and its devotees. Even though I've only been a customer since I moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1991, I felt very nostalgic looking at them—less because of the store itself than because its history and eventual demise resonated with my own experience growing up as a kid who liked models, wargames, toy soldiers, 'n' stuff. The hobby stores of my youth have almost all come and gone as well.

American Eagles' closing is another mark indicating the passing of an era that will never return. In the 1950s to 1970s, hobby shops were a going concern. Before video games and the overly-structured lives that kids live today, hobby shops were a wonderland of creative things to do. Kids these days don't go into hobbies like we did in our youth. Internet commerce, too, has extracted its toll and the brick and mortar hobby shop is a dying breed.

I grew up in San Jose, CA where the notable hobby shops of my youth were Huston's Hobbies, D&J Hobbies, and San Antonio Hobbies. Huston's was around in the 1960s when we first came to San Jose and I recall it as a place my father would take me to buy plastic model kits (of tanks and warplanes, of course). Huston's disappeared in the early 70s. Later, the shopping center they were in, Town and Country Village, was bull-dozed for a new, swank shopping center (Santana Row).

D&J hobbies started as a wee nook of a place next to a pet store in Campbell, CA. My friends and I used to ride our bikes there to buy Rocco Minitanks and plastic models. My first job was working at D&J from 1977-1978 (by which time they had moved to a larger location). They're still in business—it must be almost 40 years now—and their current location is even larger than when I worked there. I think that diversity, especially Jan Pozzi's (the "J" in D&J) emphasis on crafts, has kept the store viable for walk-in shoppers. D&J never had much in the way of miniature gaming, but I was able to order Hinchliffe figures for myself and get them cheap through the store. But Darryl ("D") and Jan are getting on in years. When they retire, I don't see the store remaining.

The big store for wargamers in my area was San Antonio Hobbies in Mountain View, CA. In our pre-driving days, my friend Ron and I used to take a long bus ride up from San Jose, through Cupertino, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale to Mountain View. The event was always a day-long excursion, which usually netted us a handful of Minifigs, dearly bought at 25¢ a figure. San Antonio carried the full range of Minifigs in their little boxes. We would have Natalie, the attractive older woman who worked the wargaming section, pull out box after box for us to pick through and get the figures we wanted. San Antonio closed shop some years ago after the owner suffered a stroke. He couldn't find a buyer for the store, so he just shut it down and liquidated whatever stock he had. San Antonio Hobbies had a few career workers, one of whom I knew for years, who were well paid with competitive benefits. I'm sure they once thought their future was secure.

There were a few other places as well, like Mickey's Model & Hobby Shop in Sunnyvale, whose eponymous proprietor sat painting bootlegged Britains toy soldiers in his tiny store. Even with his limited stock, Mickey never knew what he had on hand. Any call to ask if he had something would just get the response that he had "many, many things" and that we should come in and look for ourselves. Mickey's is long gone, I don't know when. Even the shopping center, another Town and Country Village (there were three in the Bay Area in my day), has been bulldozed and a newer shopping center built on its ruins.

There was also The Gametable in Campbell, CA that opened in the mid-70s. It was the first dedicated gaming store in the area. It was co-owned by three brothers and for some years was a hot-spot for miniature gaming. It went out of business in the mid-80s after a brief change of ownership and a few location changes. One of the original owners, Larry Duffield, now runs his own board game company, LPD Games, in picturesque Fort Bragg, CA.

I get a little misty-eyed thinking back on those days and how I've lived my life in lead minis. However, there are still stores that remain. The Panzer Depot in Kirkland, WA has been hit by the economy, but it's still a great store with a lot of miniature figures, paints, etc. It's also a place where gaming occurs regularly throughout the week. The Game Matrix in Lakewood, WA has miniature gaming one Saturday a month (when it's not pre-empted by a Pokemon tournament).

Despite constant bewailings of the "graying" of the wargame hobby, I can't help but notice how many gamers are younger than me (leaving aside notice of how many are older). One store's passing, doesn't mean the end of the hobby. Still, I think Donne's lines are fraught with portent: "Send not for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee." When I'm an old older fart, will there still be a wargaming hobby to participate in that doesn't involve only me and a lot of other toothless fossils? I hope so.

Postscript Jan 12, 2016

I noticed today that D&J Hobby is gone. When I was in San Jose in 2014, I saw that the store had been sold to new owners who moved it about a half mile down the road to a much smaller space. I poked around, but the new store was clearly not the old store. The people running it were young and enthusiastic, but I had the sinking feeling then that the store wouldn't last. Alas, their Facebook page shows them as permanently closed. Their last timeline post is November 3, 2015, so the end was recent—although they were posting liquidation sale notices for several months before that.

Holiday gaming: part deux

The second part of my holiday gaming was briefer than expected. I had planned on spending a good part of the day at my friend Rick's house in Carnation, WA. However, I spent the morning and early afternoon at my mother's house assembling a TV stand and setting up her 42" plasma TV that we bought her for Christmas. These things always take longer than expected.

My brother and I finally got everything set up and ready to go by around 3:00, then off to Rick's, which was tricky. It snowed here in the Seattle area on Monday and has remained frozen ever since. Some thawing has made most roads passable, but you never know. I was keen to avoid anything that might prove unmanageable in my 350Z. It's a great car for dry roads, but on ice it's like an elephant. I generally stay home in conditions like this, but I'd been out an about for the last few days and the roads seemed OK. On I went, but I took the safer back way and didn't get to Rick's until almost 4:00.

Game 1: Team Yankee ate my baby!
Our first game was a play of the first scenario from World at War: Eisenbach Gap. This is a fairly straight-up Soviet attack against a US defense. I had 10 T-72s against a US force of two M1 Abrams, one ITV, and one infantry unit with an M113 APC. On the face of it, the Americans looked to be screwed. Oh alas for me, no.

Looking back to my days playing any board game that represented actual or hypothetical combat between US- and Soviet-produced equipment, the US-produced equipment rips the Soviet crap apart. This was true with Red Star/White Star, MechWar '77, MBT, and The Arab-Israeli Wars. World at War is no exception. The T-72 is no slouch as a weapons system, but the game models not just the equipment; it also models the tactical doctrine, tactical flexibility, and training of the units—another area where the Western-equipped and trained forces prevail. The game uses a chit-draw system to activate formations one at a time. Team Yankee got two chits to my one. Plus, the Abrams is a mother. The units are more effective and outrange the T-72. Add to that the TOW ATGM system used by the ITV. Then factor in that the Soviets are on the attack and therefore subject to opportunity fire as they move in.

I had to take all the town hexes of two locations to win, which meant that Rick had only to defend one town hex in one location to win. He abandoned any defense of the the first location and set up around the second with a nice kill zone in front of him. I figured that if I came in en masse, he just couldn't kill all of me before I got my shots against him. I erred. The chit draw didn't help. We played six turns out of the eight for the scenario and I missed activation on two of them. Overall, I managed one shot at an Abrams the entire game. All but two of my T-72s were wrecks and my formation commander had been eliminated. I need to refigure Soviet tactics. Unlike Nations at War: White Star Rising, the WW2 variant in this series, World at War is unforgiving in tank kills. The technology of the 80s is just too advanced. If they hit you, they get you—at least if you're in a Soviet AFV.

The smoking ruin of the Soviet First Tank Regiment

Game 2: Fall Weiß
We played part of a game of Conflict of Heroes: Price of Honour-Poland 1939, the latest in the tactical series from Academy Games. I was the Germans storming in with my armored cars and wee Panzer I and Panzer II tanks against a Polish force that was coming in from both my flanks. The scenario has the Poles trying to get a small convoy of guns away from the Germans as the Germans race towards them with their Sdkfz 221 and 222 armored cars. It's a choice for the Poles whether they want to just run the guns off the board or deploy them against the advancing Hun. Rick chose to vamoose, and fight with his infantry troops rather than risk losing the guns, whose loss gives big points to the Germans.

The first firefight was between one of my 221s and some infantry in a stone building. I shot up a couple units by the end of round 1. In round 2, I moved on against some other Polish infantry only to get close assaulted. It was a brief fight, but I lost a 221 to determined Polish infantry, which my remaining 221 shot up. The 222s moved over towards some other Polish infantry and got good results shooting at them. It was starting to look a bit dicey as more Polish infantry was coming on the board. I had my own reinforcements and it looked to be shaping up to an interesting game, but it was getting late, the roads home were even more frozen, and dinner beckoned. Rick, his wife Janet, and I went to dinner at a local biker bar. The clientele were an interesting lot, but the food was terrific. After that, home to my ravenous cats, who didn't get fed until after 9:00 PM.

Price of Honour looks to be a very good game. Rick and I hadn't played the Conflict of Heroes system for some months, so we were a bit rusty, but it comes back quickly. The scenario we chose was a bit ambitious for our time constraint, so next time we need to go smaller. One noticeable aspect of Price of Honour is that the Poles don't suck like the Russians do in the other games in the series. They have movement and combat cost that are equivalent to the Germans, so they can actually do a lot in a round, whereas Russians are usually limited to a few actions before they run out of action points (APs) and have to dip into their much-limited supply of command points (CPs) to get anything done.

And thus ends the holidays. Back, hopefully, to work soon.

Turkish un-delight (DANG IX)

Monday was the ninth running of Dave's Annual Naval Game (DANG). This is a tradition among a group of friends. Dave Schueler, former submariner and fellow technical writer, hosts a naval game that gets about 6 to 8 of us together for a day-long operational/tactical naval affair. Dave provided a compendium of DANGs past on his blog Naval Gazing.

For all but DANG I, Dave has provided a small set of possible themes that we can vote on to determine the year's game. This year's voting inclined towards the Battle of Lepanto where Turkish naval forces under Ali Pasha got shellacked by the Holy League lead by Don John of Austria. To put your suspense at ease: no, history was not stood on its head in our game.

The ships were Figurehead/Hallmark 1:2400 scale galleys. Dave bought these in October and painted both fleets in record time. The ships come with their own bases, but Dave put these on 20mm x 40mm Litko 3mm thick wooden bases for better movement and getting the ships to line up in formations better.

The Christian fleet, galleasses in front

After a brief intro by Dave, we chose sides. The Turks were Kevin Smyth, Dave Creager, Paul Hannah, and me. The Holy League was Dale Mickel, George Kettler, Scott Murphy, and Mark Waddington. The game started with each side choosing its admirals. We had a list of historical characters with a small bit of information about each choice. After choosing, we were given more information about each admiral, such as how they may react in a battle. The final characteristic of the admirals would not be known until they actually got into a battle, when we would roll to see if they are superior, average, or poor. More on that below.

The first part of the game was an operational phase where each side jockeyed about attempting to raid enemy ports, consolidating our fleets, and seeking out the enemy. The Holy League managed one successful raid on the Turkish-held Dalmatian coast. Our attempted raid on Crete was a disaster resulting in a great loss of fighting crews. We had to slink back to a friendly port to get more soldiers for the fleet.

The fleets consolidating for the big clash

Paul seemed very interested in a raid on Venice, which looked much too formidable—especially after our Crete disaster. We feinted that way with a dummy fleet, but the Holy Leaguers didn't bite. As it was, the operational phase ended when our fully consolidated fleets met off the coast of southern Greece.

Now we rolled to see what our admirals' qualities would be. Of our for admirals, three were sucky and one was merely adequate. This would affect how well we handled our fleets. (The Christians, I believe, rolled better.)

The rules we used for the naval action were Christian Fire and Turkish Fury by David Manley. The rules are an adaptation of the popular American Civil War rules Fire and Fury. Manley's take on the galley-style naval actions is that galley fleets behave more like formations in a land battle than individual ships. He did an earlier set of rules for ancient naval gaming called Greek Fire and Roman Fury, which put shape to his ideas. Christian Fire and Turkish Fury extends that concept to the gunpowder era. It's unclear how to get copies of the rules. They were published in a magazine some time ago. Dave has copies he got from David Manley.

Dave set up the playing area according to his predetermined idea of how coastal islands would feature for any given area on the operational map. The island placement restricted us to a narrow front. The Turkish ships are faster, so we might have attempted a flanking run if we had open water. However, we had to adapt our thinking to what was pretty much a head-on fight.

One restriction to our battle plan was Paul's admiral. Sucky though he was, Hassan, the son of the great Turkish admiral Barbarossa, was a fire eater. The wing he commanded must move at full speed towards the nearest Christian squadron. We lined up with my two Turkish squadrons in line abreast in the center. Paul was on our left in line astern, with the plan to skirt the island there and then form up against the Christian right. Kevin's Barbary squadron, our only elite formation, was behind me as a reserve, and Dave Creager's squadrons were on our right.

The Turks arrayed

We thought, well hoped, that we would have an advantage in numbers to offset the Christian advantage in technology. But that didn't seem to be so. Also, many of our "numbers" were smaller ships with paltry combat value. Against us were several elite Christian squadrons and their galleasses. In the Mediterranean of 1571, the galleass was the dreadnought of its day. With a much broader beam, it could mount a heavier battery, including broadsides, that provided all-around fire rather than being limited to straight-ahead fire as other galleys were. The Leaguers concentrated their three galleasses in the center between two galley squadrons.

The Christian center

We set up far enough apart that it took a few turns of movement before we came in gun range of each other. Paul (a.k.a. Hassan) ran up at full speed, while the rest of the Turks came on at half speed so as to be near enough to support Paul, without being the first into the narrows between the island groups.

The action started, as expected, with Paul's squadrons meeting the Christian right wing. Paul's two leading squadrons were wee galiots with poor long-range fire. The initial long-range volleys had little effect. But in the ensuing close range fire and melee, Paul's galiots fared for the worse worse. In the first couple turns of the game, our left wing was in severe trouble.

Christian fire! Dale shoots Paul's lead squadrons

In the center, I came on with my two large Turkish squadrons right into the teeth of Scott's galleasses. The result was predictable. Both squadrons got shot to bits. My lefthand squadron managed to get into melee contact with its tormentor, but that didn't change things. The Venetian galleys I fought had the upper hand throughout and my squadron was flotsam in just a few rounds. My other squadron held out long enough to inflict a bit of gunfire damage on Scott's ships. I even managed to put a galleass into disorder a couple times, although there was no chance of sinking one.

The fleets closing in after Paul and Dale's first clash

My squadrons engage - poorly

Kevin brought up his elite Barbary squadron and its supporting squadron of fustas. In just a few rounds, Kevin managed to shoot up Scott's lefthand squadron and then close in to destroy it. In the follow-up to that he also managed to contact a galleass that had been disordered by my feeble gunfire (my only tangible contribution to the game) and destroy it.

Kevin's Barbary squadron makes its presence felt
while only two ships remain of my two squadrons

On our right (the Christian left), Dave Creager and George slugged it out in the shadow of the hampering islets. The result was much like the legendary Kilkenny cats. Dave C. came out on top, but with only the bare minimum of ships in one squadron and only his wing flagship surviving out of the other locked in mortal combat with George's flagship, which was George's only survivor.

Turkish Barbary fury! Kevin's squadrons break through
supported on the right by the remnants of Dave C.'s squadrons

The situation by now was Dale victorious over Paul, with little damage to himself. Scott was somewhat diminished in the center, but with two of three galleasses remaining. George vanquished on the Christian left. My two squadrons were as gone as Paul's. Dave C. had just a few ships. Kevin was victorious and undamaged in our center. However, Dale's squadrons were turning in and Kevin had yet to bear the fire of Scott's galleasses. We called it a Christian win.

The day was another DANG success. Much thanks to Dave and his wife Lynn for their hospitality. In addition to a great game, they provide a spread of delicious food. One treat this year were Lynn's rum balls. I haven't had a run ball since the 1970s. My friend Chet's mother used to make rum balls and brandy balls every Christmas and I couldn't get my fill of them. I don't think I ever got drunk on them, but I did retain a fondness for rum well into my 20s.

The day ended with us admiring George's latest model aircraft creations. He's been making masters for 1/285th scale planes for about ten years. He had Phantoms, MiG 21s, MiG 17s, F-105s, and others that were being readied to be sent for casting. It brought to ind how long it's been since we played an air game. We also, discussed options for next year's DANG, although it will be October before we get down to voting on choices.

Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!

I saw the new release of True Grit on Sunday. I've been anticipating this movie since I saw the preview for it this summer. The 1969 version with John Wayne, Glen Campbell, and Kim Darby is one of my favorite movies. If it's not the favorite, it's at least in my top five. The movie is memorable for many things: John Wayne's only Oscar, Kim Darby's breakout role (although it never flourished after that), and early performances by Dennis Hopper as Moon and Robert Duvall as Ned Pepper. The movie also featured uncredited performances by Wilford Brimley and Jay Silverheels.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the remake, but it's a Coen brothers movie, which is always a good sign. It also features Jeff Bridges, the Dude (or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing) as Rooster Cogburn. I'm a big Jeff Bridges fan and he did a great job in the role. I wasn't too sure about Matt Damon as LaBoeuf, but he was good in the role. The LeBoeuf character in the new version is the biggest departure from the 1969 version.

The biggest uncertainty was about Mattie Ross. Kim Darby gained a great deal of recognition for her acting in that role. Although 24 at the time, her small size and slender frame made her pass well enough for a 14-year old girl. That fact that she was an adult herself, contributed to her ability to portray Mattie's precociousness when dealing with, and getting the best of, her elders. Hailee Steinfeld, who is actually 14, plays Mattie in the new version. She is brilliant. She has put her stamp on the role.

The Coen brothers' remake is said to have followed the novel by Charles Portis more closely than the original. I'm eager to read the book to see for myself—but it's not available for the Nook yet! There are noticeable differences between the two versions, but it's endearing, too, to see how much alike they are in many respects. Much of the more memorable dialogue in the 1969 version is repeated in the 2010 version, which means either that the Coen brothers kept it from Marguerite Robert's 1969 screenplay or that the dialogue comes from the book. In either case, any remake would be the poorer without the climactic exchange between Rooster Cogburn and "Lucky" Ned Pepper as well as other lines and exchanges between the characters.

One interesting homage in the movie is the hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms". The tune plays at times through the movie and the hymn is sung by Iris Dement during the ending credits. The only other western that Jeff Bridges has done, as far as I know, is Wild Bill, where "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" is also sung at the movie's end (with the chorus variation "Leaning on Jesus").

As I watched the movie, I unconsciously ticked off every favorite quote from the 1969 version that was retained, in some form, in the 2010 version, but not everything got in. Here are a few favorites that didn't make it:

Rooster Cogburn: By God. She reminds me of me.
LaBoeuf: Well, then we might just not get along.

Mattie Ross: I won't rest until Tom Chaney's barking in hell.

Mattie Ross: Those horses can't get away from Little Blackie - they're loaded down with fat men and iron.

Rooster Cogburn: When's the last time you saw Ned Pepper?
Emmett Quincy: I don't remember any Ned Pepper.
Rooster Cogburn: Short feisty fella, nervous and quick, got a messed-up lower lip.
Emmett Quincy: That don't bring nobody to mind. A funny lip?
Rooster Cogburn: Wasn't always like that, I shot him in it.
Emmett Quincy: In the lower lip? What was you aiming at?
Rooster Cogburn: His upper lip.

Tom Chaney: What are you doin'?
Mattie Ross: I'm getting some water so I can wash my hands.
Tom Chaney: A little smut won't hurt you.
Mattie Ross: That's true - or else you and your chums would surely be dead.

Rooster Cogburn: You can't serve papers on a rat, baby sister. You gotta kill him or let him be.

Mattie Ross: Why do you keep that one chamber empty?
Rooster Cogburn: So I won't shoot my foot off.

Mattie Ross: Do you know a Marshal Rooster Cogburn?
Col. G. Stonehill: Most people around here have heard of Rooster Cogburn and some people live to regret it. I would not be surprised to learn that he's a relative of yours.

LaBoeuf: I wouldn't count too much on bein' able to shade somebody I didn't know, fella.
Rooster Cogburn: I ain't never seen nobody from Texas I couldn't shade.

Rooster Cogburn: LaBoeuf, you get cross ways of me and you'll think a thousand of brick have fell on you! You'll wish you was back at the Alamo with Travis!

Rooster Cogburn: Baby sister, I was born game and I intend to go out that way.

Rooster Cogburn: Any man who packs a big bore Sharps carbine could come in mighty handy, if we're attacked by buffalo... or elephants.

The new True Grit is a great film in its own right and I recommend it for any westerns fan or anyone looking for a good adventure film.

Holiday gaming: Part Un

Being currently out of work, "holiday" gaming is a bit of a misnomer. Apart from looking for work and waiting, waiting, waiting to hear about positions I've interviewed for, I have a lot of time on my hands. However, in this formulation, time does not equal money. When I'm making money, I have no time. When I have time, I'm not making money. Why can't I have time and money?

So, during this—hopefully brief—period between jobs, I have been able to get some gaming in.

Boardgaming
Boardgaming is a kind of first love for me. I started in the hobby with it, left it for some years, and am now re-enjoying it. My friend Rick recommended a game released this year called Nations at War: White Star Rising from Lock 'n Load games (which I've mentioned in my last posting). It's tactical combat in Western Europe in WW2. I ordered a copy straight away and I've managed to get a number of games in in the past week. I expect to play a few more times in the next week.

White Star Rising (WSR) uses the same games scale as PanzerBlitz/Panzer Leader where a single counter/unit represents a platoon. But after that WSR departs considerably. WSR uses a chit-pull command activation system that limits what you can move at a given point, randomizes who gets to move what when, and may cause one or more formations to skip a turn, which can matter much for an attacker who needs to take an objective within the game's turn limit. Formations, when activated by their chit being pulled, can fire, move, overrun, or close assault. After they complete an action, they are marked as Ops Complete. Meanwhile, enemy units can opportunity fire against an activated unit moving.

Rick and I have learned through the game that infantry, especially panzergrenadiers, armored infantry, and paratroopers, are tough. Somewhat easily killed in the open but formidable in close combat against tanks, infantry is best when holding woods or built-up areas against attacking armored forces.

The system uses hit dice and saving rolls, which is novel in a board game. The system is reminiscent of Flames of War in some ways, but more sophisticated. It would make a good translation to miniatures. (Note to self: translate to miniatures.) All you would need to do is make up charts indicating the combat values for the units in a formation and convert the hex distances to inches. There may be some other tweaking desired; for example, it may be a good idea to make standard range bands that apply to all units. You would also need to work out combat, armor, and movement values for vehicles not yet covered in the system.

I like WSR so much that I've ordered some of the the World at War (WaW) system games from Lock 'n Load. This series predates WSR by a few years and is the genesis for the system, except that WaW depicts hypothetical conflict between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces circa 1985.

WaW should arrive tomorrow via UPS, so I hope to get a game or two in this coming week. I also have the Vassal module for it, so I can practice online and work out the rules kinks.

I got my long-awaited pre-ordered-back-before-the-earth-cooled copy of Columbia's Shiloh: April 1862 just before Christmas. I've played one partial game with Rick, just enough to get a feel for it. Its rating on BoardGameGeek is a wopping 8.17 out of 10, so it's been well received in its first month.

As is inevitable in playing a new game, we fumbled through the turns we played. I was Grant, Rick was Johnston/Beauregard. He came on pretty strong in the first turns, but I got lucky on a counterattack and set him back a bit. It bears replaying to see whether or not I was truly lucky or if we got something wrong.

Miniatures
I've only been able to get one miniatures game in. This was a Kampfgruppe Commander game run bu Mark Serafin. The scenario was set Russia 1941 with a pretty poor Soviet force defending a bridge and ford on a river line against a pretty good German force. Pz 38(t)s went up against T-28s, T-26s, and early model T-34s. Unfortunately, all the Soviet tanks were, well, crap. Poor training, low morale, and feeble response ratings pretty much made them fodder for the panzertruppen. Of course, my singular excellence in rolling 10s (the worst result) for my defensive rolls helped considerably.

The game played well, even if a German win was almost inevitable. It provided a good example of the early Barbarossa actions: good German armored forces concentrated against unready infantry forces supported only by a few tanks here and there. Alas, I didn't get photos.

Other stuff
Don't be shocked, but I managed to some painting done as well. I have a box of 15mm buildings cleaned and primed for painting that have sat unmolested in my garage for a few years now. I finally got to a couple. When painted one by one, they go pretty quickly. They're all western European types. Because my WW2 figures are exclusively Russian and German, they'll be good for scenarios where the Russians are running roughshod over the Reich in '45.

I got to some of my half-finished WW2 vehicles, too. Closer to be done are some Russian T-28s, T-70s, and T-34/85s. I also got well along with some StuG IIIs and a Hornisse.

I've also pulled out some 28mm Copplestone Castings Future Wars figures that I've had sitting about for some time. I have long had a desire to use them for playing Stargrunt II. I have enough for a single side with a small section of power-armored troops. (I've been a fan of power armor since I read Heinlein's Starship Troopers.) The Stargrunt II rules are a solid system, but seem a bit cumbersome for larger games. However, if I keep the scale small—just infantry and support weapons—it should make for some nice games.

Monday is DANG. We're playing Lepanto, so I hope to get some photos and do a write-up.

I am a Vassal

I've been aware of the Vassal online game engine for some years, but my initial foray into its use didn't impress me. It seemed flaky on the Mac, which was the only computer I had back then, and I was somewhat confused by it all. I immediately gave up. However, I gave it another try today using my PC and I've been having quite a time downloading modules and playing a few solo games—even though Vassal is ideal for playing a board game with an online opponent.

The engine supports modules that someone has designed and uploaded to the Vassal web site. Creating these modules no doubt requires developer/coding skills I lack, but I am curious. Many thanks to the guys who create these modules for no remuneration. They are heroes in the hobby—although I suspect that if I had skills, I would create modules a) for bragging rights and b) so I could play my favorite board game on Vassal.

The number of modules available is pretty impressive. The quality varies and several modules have multiple versions that are either incremental improvements or creations by different designers.

The first module I downloaded was, of course, PanzerBlitz/Panzer Leader. I'm pretty impressed at how well this module works. The graphics are great and all the charts and situation cards are available.

Initial Russian attack: Lots of wrecks.

I played a solo game using the Vassal engine, Situation 6.

Russians get past the hill defense and prepare to push onto board 3

The Germans squeaked out a tactical victory, but it was close. The challenge for the Russians is to get from Board 1 to Board 3 by way of Board 2, which is lousy with Germans. It was a nice solo game. I avoid solo board games at Chez Dave because les chats vilains tend to fiddle with the pieces even when I'm right there; to leave the game unguarded is inviting disaster. But with Vassal, the cats are reduced to merely walking back and forth in front of the computer, or sitting on the laptop.

Save your sorry panzer division or feed me. Choose wisely.

Vassal also has a module for The Arab-Israeli Wars, so you get the Avalon Hill trifecta. I hope someone does the Panzer Leader 1940 variant...

Another online game is the fairly recent Nations at War: White Star Rising, which is my new favorite board game. The graphics quality for this module is excellent:

S.Pz.Abt. 501 heading into disaster.

I fiddled around with this solo as well, although I didn't play a full scenario game. My friend Rick and I played WSR scenario 1 yesterday and we debated and alternate approach for the Germans. I tried that approach using even better units that were in the scenario and I think that my avoidance tactics of yesterday was the better course. In the few turns I played, the Tiger were burning, the other panzers were burning, and the SS detachment was cowering in the woods and town to avoid getting shot to bits.

Vassal has modules for several GMT games, such as Men of Iron and Nothing Gained but Glory. There are modules for the World at War series from Lock N Load Publishing (an earlier released system similar to WSR for hypothetical tactical combat circa 1985 in western Europe). I have these games on order, so I look forward to playing them on Vassal.

The Vassal module provides all the graphical elements you need (map, counters, etc.) and provides the dice-rolling mechanisms. It does not provide the rules of play or, in most cases, the game scenarios. You need to buy the games to get those. In some cases, however, you can download game rules for very old games. I downloaded the 1965 and 1975 versions of the Avalon Hill Blitzkrieg game.

I'm not sure how much I'll play with online opponents. For a while, I'll just fiddle with the engine doing solo games and getting to know the ropes. The Vassal modules have no controls that limit your actions. They play just like a board game except that the board, pieces, and die roll results are online. I fear that I'll screw up so badly when playing a live opponent that they'll interpret my stupidty as deviousness.

One sad note about Vassal is that there is a very small number of copyright owners who won't allow Vassal modules for their games. One of these is SPI. That's a shame. I don't know who actually owns the SPI copyrights. Most of these games are 30-40+ years old. I see no intellectual property that they are protecting. None of the old SPI games are available for sale—nor have been for many, many years. Maybe I should start a campaign to get the SI copyright owners to unclench and let those of us who own decaying copies of their board games to play them online. Heck, I'd even pay to get a Vassal module of games like Armageddon or Musket & Pike.

Postscript
The mystery of SPI's exclusion from Vassal is solved. Decision Games, who holds the copyright on SPI, has it's own online server called HexWar. SPI games will only be available there. HexWar is subscription based and currently offers only 41 games—none of which are the ones I want to play. However, HexWar, unlike Vassal, provides rules and has the game constraints built into the engine. Users don't need to have the game to play it online because everything is provided.

Post-postscript
After fiddling with the PanzerBlitz/Panzer Leader module, I've discovered that the module designer included a large number of counters for variants. Even though the Panzer Leader 1940 scenarios aren't included as preset games, you can easily play them using the scenarios from the variant that appeared in The General. You can also create new situations for either game using counters that extend PanzerBlitz back to 1941 with Panzer IIs, Panzer IIIs, Russian KVs, T-26s, T-28s, T-35s, etc. I'm very impressed with that module.