Tank on Tank: Eastfront - Meeting Engagement

I played a game of Tank on Tank: Eastfront against the sprog this morning, with a German Kampfgruppe against an equal points value of Soviet T34 and T34/85's. The scenario was the generic meeting engagement in which the first side to knock out half the enemies points wins, with a game length of ten turns as a cut off point. The Soviets gained an early advantage by destroying several Panzer IV's with some high dice rolls but the Germans counter attacked by the end of turn six by knocked out half the Soviet points value in tanks. This was a draw if the end of Turn Six was the cut off point, although the Soviets did actually win it by achieving the objective first. A good game and one which my daughter, who was chief dice roller for the Soviets, enjoyed a lot especially when her brother's Panzer IV's brewed up!

Easter Holidays

I have ten days of holiday from tomorrow, so will finally get to open the Tank on Tank East Front box and play through some scenarios. I'm also planning to pack a couple of extra beer and pretzels style games to while away the evenings and the inevitable rainy afternoons. :0)

Blood, Sweat and Cheers

This looks really good, especially as it's written by Nic Wright, the author of Galleys and Galleons, one of my favourite 'beer and pretzels' style age of sail naval wargame rules. The blurb for Blood, Sweat and Cheers says it all:

Blood, Sweat and Cheers is a tactical, two-player, card and dice game, that recreates single combat between gladiators in the arenas of the Roman world from the mid-third century BC to the start of the fifth century AD.

Cards are used to abstractly represent the different options available to a player’s gladiator during the ebb and flow of a gladiatorial bout, while dice are used to resolve interactions. The watching crowd interacts with the gladiators in the arena by rewarding showy attacks and spilt blood with favourable cheering which may in turn be utilised to buoy up a gladiator’s performance.

Almost everything you need to play the game, including a basic area, is included in the deck. All players need to do is download the free two-page rule sheet and provide their own gladiators, dice, and a few wound tokens or markers.

I've been looking for a decent set of fast but fun gladiatorial combat rules for ages, having been disappointed by Warhammer Historical's Gladiator and put off by the intricacy of other alternatives like Viktus and Jugula. In have a nice selection of gladiators in 28mm too, as you can see from the group photo, so would only need to order the deck of cards to get a game underway.

Apparently, if enough people ask, the cards could be printed in the EU by Ganesha Games, which would solve the postage and/or customs tax issue if you live on this side of the pond.

Table Air Combat Il-2 Shturmovik

A second new addition to Table Air Combat has arrived, this time the iconic tank buster the Il-2 Shturmovik. I read recently that they weren't as tough as they were reported to be, with a very high casualty rate amongst the Shturmovik regiments compared to other branches of the VVS. I'm not surprised given their extremely hazardous ground attack role. This set includes a range of scenarios that are typical of these types of low level, ground pounding efforts:

Air and Bread: Attack a bridge on the Berezina river to slow down the invading German army.  This is a standalone scenario using only the Il-2.

Circle of Death:  Il-2s form a defensive Lufbery circle against  Bf-109 fighters.

Anti-Transport: The Luftwaffe tries to supply by air, but has a shortage of transports.  He-111 bombers are loaded with supplies and used instead. The Il-2 aircraft are assigned to shoot down the lumbering aircraft.. The airfield is defended by Bf-109F fighters.

Zement bomber:  Fight the battle of Kursk by attacking German tanks.  Il-2 are escorted by Yak-7 fighters, but the Luftwaffe defends with Fw-190A fighters and counter-attacks Soviet tanks with Ju-88 bombers.

Table Air Combat B-25J

There's a new addition to the Table Air Combat stable in the shape of the ubiquitous B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, in this case the B-25J variant. This is an excellent choice for a USAAF aircraft to add to the existing fighters and heavy bombers that are already available. The set also includes three scenarios, two of which come with target markers for a bridge and rail marshalling yard, so there's plenty of scope for re-cycling them into other missions. Excellent! I haven't had a game of T.A.C. for ages so this is a good excuse to dig out the rules and set one up, especially as the holidays are only a few weeks away.

Birthday Present

I have been given a brilliant belated birthday present by my dad, a copy of the re-released classic boardgame Escape From Colditz. I've been trying to find a copy for ages but they disappeared from Waterstones really quickly, so I couldn't make the most of my Xmas vouchers. I'm really looking forward to opening the box for a proper rummage and a game or two.

Atlantic Fleet Campaign

I've almost finished playing through the campaign system in Atlantic Fleet, with the Royal Navy pretty much hammering the Kriegsmarine in every game, with one or two exceptions. The British definitely have an advantage in the range and strength of the units they can deploy, although the Germans also have some powerful options.

After a while and particularly toward the end of the fifty scenarios, the gameplay tends to repeat itself a bit, so I've not enjoyed the latter stages of the campaign as much as the first thirty scenarios in the sequence. I think I'll swap sides next time or just embark on the Battle of the Atlantic campaign, which looks a bit more challenging.

It's about time I did some proper board gaming too, with the half term holidays in a couple of weeks being a perfect opportunity to dig out some classics and some new games I haven't got round to playing yet.